glastoveteran

If anyone is still watching this thread and is interested in one of these kits then I have one for sale here: http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=234902#234902

Hi all, I ordered one of these directly from Works Bell in Japan whilst expecting my JDM import to be ready. I've wait so long for the car that I've now gone and bought something else instead so this column shifter kit is up for sale. Here it is in action on YouTube: And here's the details on the Works Bell website: http://www.worksbell.co.jp/en/products/boss/column_shifter.htm The difference between the "paddle shifter" in the video and the "column shifter" which I am selling is that the paddle shifter is for aftermarket steering wheels and the column shifter is for OEM. Also the paddles on this kit are carbon fibre with an alluminium body. You don't need to buy anything else to go with the kit and I can provide you with English instructions and a link to a step by step install guide on a US forum (looks like an easy enough DIY job to me taking about an hour). As far as I know these aren't available from any UK sellers and to my knowledge nobody on the forum has one so be the first! Needless to say this is only for JDM tiptronics! I just want to get back what I've paid with VAT and shipping etc, so the cost is £260 + £9 next day delivery. Please PM if you're interested. Thanks.

Yep - slightly better than a tape but only just! I can imagine them at Nissan thinking hard about which on-the-way-out music format to replace the old died-a-death-20-years-ago tape player with! Why MiniDisc?! If they had spent their efforts putting an ipod / aux input on instead they would have saved themselves some cash and had much happier customers!

2007 JDM: At least it's vaguely hopeful that the GT-R won't have a tape player!

I'm just weighing up the differences between the TomTom XL Europe V2 and the TomTom GO 920 which seem to both be available for around the same price, yet the GO 920 seems to offer more functionality, e.g. Bluetooth, hands-free calling, FM transmitter etc. I think the GO 920 is an older model than the XL Europe V2 but is there much new with the XL that makes it worth going for? Anything else I should be looking at? My main requirements are a decent sized screen and Western Europe maps. Thanks

Thanks for all the replies guys

So does that mean it's actually the height that's more of a problem than the width?

Cheers Ekona - useful to know. Yeah lomoto's looks pretty cool but I really want the 4.3" widescreen version so it was just whether there is enough width to support that.

Not sure what the dimensions of the cubby are (haven't got the zed yet!) but wondering if a TomTom XL v2 (118 x 83 x 25 mm) would fit? Thanks!

Beavis for the purpose of the search I'll certainly mention who it is but I'll just wait until the whole process is over if that's ok and see what compensation package they give me, and then form my opinion of them.

Well I need them to be as cooperative as possible so I'm slightly reluctant to do anything to jeapordise that! Sarnie I've paid £18.5k. Obviously in December when I bid and March when it should have been ready it was still a reasonable price, but of course now it's less so. At least it's a less common colour (Night Blue) and leather (Frost Grey) combination, plus it will be the only one of its type in the country, for a little while at least. I'm not sure you could get a UK 2007 roadster for that price just yet, but nearly. Salieri I think you'll be ok. Ask them when the lab in Southampton is going to be up and running again as if yours goes through there to get the test data produced then it should be much quicker. Mine has taken this long as it sat with MIRA for four months with nothing happening. Thanks all for the responses.

Thanks so much for passing that on Phil. I believe it is in fact www.modelreports.com that are commissing my report to be produced. They've got one there for a Manual Cabriolet 2006> but mine is a tiptronic, and they have also got Auto 2006 > Petrol but it's coupe but not roadster, so I think they have pretty much everything there apart from 2007 tiptronic roadster! So Kevin at modelreports.com is probably quite happy, as he's getting a missing report out of it! At least someone is benefitting from my dire situation!

Thanks so much all - Yeah that's pretty much the case so I think that possibly means I don't have a legal leg to stand on really. Thanks Phil - I will indeed give him a call, and I'd held off until now as I thought it was a bit unfair running to someone saying "well I've got this problem with one of your competitors and I'm after your advice"! I've learnt a lot more about the process now than when I started and I think I know what the holdups have been and what still needs to happen. I think the problem has been made worse by the fact that the normal lab in Southampton that does the noise and emmissions tests is being moved so instead my car was sent to MIRA in Nuneaton and they are not sending the required test data to VOSA in order to be able to compile the model report. Well I may be wrong, but as I understand it there are 3 seperate elements that determine whether a new model report is required and that's body type (coupe / roadster), transmission (manual / tiptronic) and model year. So for each model year there are 4 different reports for the different options x 3 model years = 12 different reports. Unfortunately my 2007 tiptronic roadster falls into the category of needing a new report. Looks like it. There's actually a list on the VOSA website of all the reports available to the public and who owns them which might be handy to someone at some stage: http://www.vosa.gov.uk/SCRIPTS/texis.exe/webinator/search/?query=model+reports&pr=CORP&x=0&y=0 That would have been useful to me at the start! But I guess the reason for going through an importing agent is because you don't know enough about the process, and they are supposed to take care of it all for you. I do now know enough to handle it myself I think - and certainly what to avoid!

Hi all, I'm sure some of you might have read the odd whinging post from me going on about how I've been waiting ages for my JDM to get through the import process, and I've been pretty patient up until now, but I have finally snapped and lost my patience in a big way and I'm hoping somebody might be able to offer me some legal advice. I won't mention the importer's name just yet, but basically I won an auction in December last year, and the car arrived in the UK in March this year as agreed, but only then did they tell me that there was no model report in existence and one needed to be produced. Since then I have been chasing and chasing and chasing and I'm always assured that "it won't be long now". I've started to do my own research and contacted the relevant people directly, and this morning was told by VOSA that they still haven't received the technical data for the model report that the importers claimed had been sent a long time ago. So it's 8 months in now and the car is still a long way off being ready. I've had a driving holiday in Europe in September planned and booked for ages, but there is no chance of the car being ready, so I'm more angry and disappointed than I can begin to explain. It's a roadster and given that I'll have missed out on an entire summer with it and also won't have it for this road trip of a lifetime, I just want to get my money back. I have spoken with Trading Standards how initially told me I could give them 28 days notice to get the car ready after which I would be entitled to a full refund, albeit without the 8 months worth of interest. However when I explained to them how the payment process works - i.e. payment to Japan for the car, payment to customs for import duty and VAT, SVA payment, importers fee etc. - they said it was too complicated and I would need to seek legal advice. So, that is now what I am considering. I'm not really sure where to start - I just know that as soon as I start talking to a solicitor it will cost money from the word go and I would only stand any chance of getting that back if I was successful in court. I don't doubt that I will eventually get the car - maybe this year, maybe next year - but by the time I do get it it's going to be worth significantly less than what I have paid. Any legal eagles out there that might be able to tell me honestly where I stand? If there is anybody reading this that is thinking about importing, I urge you to think very carefully about it and understand exactly what is involved. I wouldn't want anybody to get hemselves into the horrific situation that I have got myself into. Thanks guys, Alex Moderators - sorry for posting this in the general forurm when perhaps it should be in JDM but I hoped that it more people read it I might stand more of a chance of finding help.

Also Nimrod, was your route Davos to Stelvio via Bormio, and if so did you do it in both directions? We're only going to be doing it in reverse - i.e. Stelvio to Davos via Bormio and I'm not sure if that matters. Cheers

We're driving to Tuscany and back in September, taking in this route, so might have to contact you for some tips!

Just go here: http://s294.photobucket.com/albums/mm95/Nimrod58/Zorro/Stelvio%20Road%20trip/

Do they actually affect the sound quality in any way then? I've read on here that most people hate them because the resulting sound is crap. Is that because the reception just isn't very good for whatever reason?

There are a few around me actually - Redland / Clifton - anyone on here?

Seen on Monday 7th July.

Ok making some progress - I've been emailing Works Bell in Japan and here is their latest response: JPY36,800 is £173 and they have quoted 2,800 shipping to UK which is £13, so just VAT and import duty(?) left to pay which won't be that much. So just a touch over £200 which isn't bad at all. Just not sure how easy / difficult it is to fit. Think I am going to order one!

Was that 6 months from when it arrived in the UK? And was that through Bonsai? When I spoke to Gary there having a whinge about how lomng mine was taking he mentioned somebody who had recently put a Type-G through.

Well correct me if I've misunderstood, but from what I can see here there is a version specifically for the OEM wheel and better still it's the cheapest of all the kits: http://www.z1auto.com/prodmore.asp?model=350z&cat=interior&prodid=2835 Seems to me it's roughly £200 plus shipping plus fittting (which they say is easy). Have I missed something?!

I really do fancy it actually - just getting a cost for shipping and fitting and I'll keep you all posted.

That's exactly how I feel! I have well and truly learnt a lesson from this and I really hope you don't have to go through the same stress that I have! I would try to put your mind at rest now and find out whether a model report exists for your variant. I'm not sure whether it's a comprehensive list or not but have a look on modelreports.com. I have just done so and they have listed a "Nissan 350Z (2006 >) Auto CBA-Z33". Not sure whether yours is an auto and whether the 2006 > covers 2007... I would ring Steve and ask him - I'm sure he'll check for you. If there is a model report then you won't be waiting 7 months. A report didn't exist for mine and that's what the delay has been, worsened by the fact that the lab that produces the reports in Southampton was in the process of being moved so instead my car was sent to MIRA in Nuneaton. It seems they couldn't be bothered to do anything with it so it sat there without anything happening for four months, and they still haven't finished. I really wish you the best of luck - and feel free to PM if you have any Qs.