After a 2 hour flight, an overnight stay in a hotel room, and a 3 hour car drive, the car I had been watching for the better part of this year was now within minutes. I was getting pretty excited. I had my camera, flashlight, and a small magnet to inspect the car. As I pulled into the dealership they recognized me as the crazy American and greeted me immediately. I don't speak Japanese and they don't speak English, so we conversed through Google Translate, pointing and gesturing. Almost immediately we were in the car for a quick jaunt around the block. We pulled back into the dealership and I got to work inspecting the body. Afterwards, they pulled it over an oil change pit and I checked out the bottom. By the time this was all over, I realized my trip was for not. I could see small cracks forming where the car had started to rust under body filler. Every body plug seemed to be missing and I found a few places the magnet would not even stick to the car; particularly the front of the rocker panels. It was very weak to adhere on a patch of the one front door, the bottom of the rear window, and behind both rear tires low on the quarter panels. On the test drive the suspenion rattled and knocked at every bump. Still I went in and talked prices. I know what I could get all that sorted out for here on Okinawa so we talked numbers. Who knows maybe I can get a steal that would make it worth it. As you probably can guess, they did not want to go even close to the number I was looking at. They knocked $1000 off their price. Sadly, I thanked them for their time and walked out the door. I never even got my camera out of the rental car while I was there. The car truly looked beautiful in pictures...
So disappointed I left and stopped at a 7-Eleven just before getting back on the freeway (yes they have those here). I was rehashing the car, wanting to like it, but damn, it just wasn't worth the money and trouble it would bring. So my brain started turning thinking of the other cars I've seen and how this was THE ONE in my price range in the "right condition." I remembered a few cars were at a dealership in Hiroshima. That place was 2 hours the opposite way from my hotel though. I rang the wife and she reaffirmed that I wasn't crazy and it made sense since I had already made the trip that far. So a quick search on the internet got me an address and I was on my way.
After 2 more hours of driving, I arrived. The place has a pretty big online presence so you may have already seen the cars or even the dealership, but I was overwhelmed. NSXs, an R34, a Hokosuka GTR, Land Cruisers, Toyota Corollas, RX-7s, Supras, and all other types of vintage JDM (and non JDM) cars. Maybe I died in a car accident on the tollroad and went to heaven? I could have just looked around for hours, but I only had 2.5hrs or so before they closed and I had to be on the road to go back (another 4 hour drive) for my flight the next morning. 2.5 hours is normally a lot of time to look at a car, but using Google Translate to talk really slows things down and you essentially have to stand in one spot as each person types. I walked around and found the Bluebirds in a back area all huddled together. A red 1600 SSS Coupe, an orange 1800 SSS Coupe, a gold-silver colored 4dr DX, and a silver 1600SSS 4dr. It was quite amazing. I checked out the two Coupes, but spent 95% of my time checking out the 1800. I actually had dismissed that car because online I thought the orange was hideous. In person though, it looked the part. So now after being let down on the yellow 1800 I originally saw, I am considering this 1800. It has it's problems, after looking for this long I think they all do. However, all the parts of the car are there (minus the grill badge, but I can locate that or have one made). I am now contemplating if I want to spend that kind of money and if it's worth it for what defects I did notice, most of which I can fix myself with minimal money. Who knows, maybe I'll end up flying back up there in the coming weeks to be sure.
I did learn a few things from this trip. I will never buy a classic car or maybe even any car by looking at online pictures. I knew they weren't 100% representative before this excursion, but I was completely surprised at the stark contrast between what I saw at home and what I saw at the first dealership. Also, if you are paying someone to find you a good car, verify it's condition, and then ship it; make sure you trust them. I guess that really goes unsaid. I also learned gas off base is ~$4.40/g and tolls are EXPENSIVE. My toll coming back from Hiroshima to Osaka was $58, then in Osaka I had to take another toll road for $10; almost $70 in tolls just to drive back to my hotel!
Well thanks for reading my story anyway. Maybe in a few weeks I can post up pictures and say it's mine or in a few months or a year I'll own a different one, but I look forward to being in the group. Thank you for sharing your stories on your cars. I really enjoy reading the builds and the general threads, I've learned a lot from this board and it's helped me in searching for a car of my own. Also, thanks to Okayfine who has answered a few PMs I've sent him regarding previous cars. I'm still deciding if I want to put up a "is this car worth this money" post about the 1800; part of me wants to know what you all think, and part of me just wants to buy it and live life (I don't think it would be the worst investment by any means).
Here's an auction for a $6500 car. A starting to be rusty DX with a motor that doesn't start at a minimum or won't run (not really clear with Google Translate).
