Not sure if anyone has any experience buying from the 'source', but is there any price advantage to buying while I'm in Tokyo?

(As if I could carry a nismo cat back exhaust on the plane back with me... let alone a set of rims ;-)

I definitely plan on looking at the Sony head units (for the Korean marketplace anyway.)

 

you get to pay in yen, what could be cooler than that?

 

Don't do it, you will pay a lot more!!!!!!!!!! My Nismo Wheels cost $3K directly from Japan, and I just found out that I could have gotten the same wheels in the U.S. for half the price. When you buy from Japan, you have to 1: Pay higher prices, 2: pay for shipping, and 3: you might have to pay port fees and an import broker to recieve your stuff (depends on the size of the shipment I think). You are much better off buying in the U.S. and also will be better off the longer you wait. As more competition for products surfaces (which is presently happening at an exponential rate) prices will come down with competition. This is happening as we speak. The Nismo headers are a good example, when they first came out (they were defective!) they were around $1,200. A few months later I have seen prices in the High $900 range. You'll probably be able to pick up a set for $600 by the end of this year?

Also, Buyer beware! I not going to get into it, but be very, very careful when dealing with Japanparts.com. They have all the Nismo products (overpriced!), but you can get the same stuff here in the states cheaper if you have a little patience, don't have top pay for shipping from Japan, and don't have to pay an import broker.

 

well, something being available in japan that is available here doesn't mean you have to become an uninformed consumer. not everything is marked up higher than here. some things are available there that are not here. focus on those things.

 

alex30327 - good points, thanks for the info. I figured unless there was a huge discount, there was no sense in doing it due to extra fees.

I suppose I'm best off getting small stuff that can fit in my suitcase... In the mean time, I'll compile of list of prices from vendors over here to compare once I get there...

 

Keep in mind that some things are made for the Japanese versions of the Z, i.e. headers. Someone posted a while back about getting headers and receiving the JDM versions. That meant that there wasn't clearance for the steering column. The clearence was setup for the other side since its a right-hand driver.