I was browsing TradeMe (New Zealand’s version of eBay) this morning and came across the following listing for what appears to be a truly mint, immaculate R34 GT-R for sale.
Because New Zealand has traditionally had fairly “liberal” import laws when it comes to bringing ex-JDM cars, relative to our tiny population NZ has a lot of interesting and desirable JDM cars.
Most R34 GT-Rs that I see for sale in NZ these days, however, are being sold by dealers – typically as fresh imports.
This listing is a bit different as the seller is a private individual who has decided to sell part of their collection and considering how insane R34 GT-R prices are it actually seems somewhat competitively priced relative to what dealerships are usually asking when you factor in the low mileage and seemingly excellent, original condition. The seller also has another R34 GT-R for sale (a 1999 example) and a rare Holden … clearly a big-time car enthusiast.
My experience has also been that private sale cars of this nature tend to be a higher standard (especially if they have been owned for a while) whereas dealers can enjoy higher profits by importing lower grade cars and then touching them up … that’s why it’s important to read our R34 GT-R buyer’s guide if you are considering one of these epic JDM icons.
In terms of the specifics of this listing:
- 2000 Nissan Skyline GT-R V-Spec (R34)
- 31,000 verified kms (~19,250 miles)
- 1 of 522 V Spec GT-Rs in black
- Full ceramic coating and detailing completed
- Seller claims immaculate condition and it certainly looks so from the photos, presenting in highly original condition which is great to see
- The car was imported into NZ in early 2022 (according to CarJam – NZ’s version of Car Vertical)
- Vin: 7AT0DH12X22006372 – potentially useful if you want to decode it using the GT-R Registry VIN Decoder
- Asking price: $295,000 NZD, around $180,000 USD
- Check out the full listing here: https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/motors/cars/nissan/skyline/listing/4025802737
One thing to consider if you’re living somewhere like the United States or Europe is that it might be more affordable to look outside of Japan to import a car like this (and also you then don’t have to deal with buying from an auction). If you buy from a Japanese auction, for example, then you’re going to be competing with dealers and collectors who are looking “at source” whereas you might enjoy more opportunity to negotiate by looking for an example from a smaller market.
This particular example won’t be legal in the United States for another couple of years, but could potentially be imported for storage – learn more in our guide to why the Nissan Skyline is illegal in the United States for more info.
Wherever you are based in the world, if you’re after a nice, clean R34 GT-R and have the money to afford it, this could be a good example and it is definitely possible to export cars like this back out of New Zealand and into countries like the United States, Australia or the UK (local laws allowing)
