It is true that some JDM cars, especially the rare collectibles, can be costly, but there are plenty of other cars that are suitable for any budget and will still give the sense of JDM pleasure. In fact, with a budget of below $5,000, you can buy yourself a JDM car. Long gone is the myth that you should settle for something boring if you are not ready to spend a lot of money on a vehicle. The truth, however, is that you do not have to spend so much money to own some of the JDM cars. It is not unusual for people to assume that all JDM cars cost beautiful bucks, especially with the iconic features, unique makes, and revolutionary technology associated with Japanese machines. Of course, they can be imported for track use – and Rospa does do this – but it’s a pretty limited market.When it comes to cars, the Japanese Domestic Market (or JDM) means a lot of things. Other popular performance models unable to be registered in South Africa include S15 Silvias and Toyota Altezzas. Some say that Toyota South Africa complained to the government that Supra imports were affecting the sale of new Toyota 86s, and the result of that was the A80 being blacklisted. This model used to be on the collectible list, but for whatever reason it’s now not. To be eligible, the model must be deemed ‘collectible’, but what is and what isn’t is somewhat subjective. Sadly, not all cars are able to be imported for legal road use in South Africa. It caused quite a stir, as VW SA thought it was illegally imported, but it’s just here temporarily on a Carnet De Passage. He also managed to beat Volkswagen South Africa to the punch when he brought the first Mk8 Golf R into the country last year for a local tuner. These have so far included E30 M3s, an E36 GT, E36 GT2, an Alpina C2 and more. Since starting Rospa Imports, Himal’s main focus has been Japanese cars, but more recently he’s branched out into Euros, especially BMWs. Once that arduous aspect was worked through, Rospa Imports was in business. The Skylines had been brought into the country in a legal but unofficial kind of way, so he knew he’d have to formalise the importation and local registration process moving forward. Himal did his research, secured a supplier in Japan, started advertising his new venture locally, and ended up purchasing two cars – an R34 GT-R for his first client, and an R33 Skyline GT-R for himself.Īs soon as the cars landed in South Africa, Himal was inundated with requests for other JDM machines. He also figured that there was a real business opportunity here. It was at this point that Himal figured out the best way to get his hands on used Japanese domestic market cars like RX-7s and GT-Rs, was to go direct to the source – Japan. By this time though he had been driving the Mitsubishi for two years, so he simply sold it on and set his sights on finding a legitimate JDM car locally. Unfortunately for Himal, what he didn’t realise when purchasing the Evo, was that it was registered with Lesotho (a neighbouring country) plates, and therefore was actually illegal to use in South Africa. But Himal didn’t stay JDM-car-less for long.ĭespite still longing for an FD3S, a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IV caught his eye and with cash burning a hole in his pocket he got the deal done. He couldn’t afford the RX-7 at the time, and by the time he could, it was long gone. Himal was meeting the Mazda’s seller for another reason, but was intrigued by the car’s look and unique twin-turbo rotary engine.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |