DC5 hunt continues...

[skipper]

Hi all, new member here. Been on the look out for a nice PFL DC5 for a little while now, having decided it ticks most of the boxes, and having ruled out the Fiesta ST and the E82 335i. Basically wanted something as close to my old Caterham as possible, but with a roof and four seats. Think the DC5 fits the bill nicely, and I really like the fact its N/A and proper PAS, with Honda mechanical longevity. We have a 2.0 VTEC FR-V as the family bus, and even at 11yrs old with 130K on the clock it just about feels run in.

Anyhoo... on to the 'issue'. No joy thus far in finding a CW PFL with no privacy and no rear wiper. Ideally I'd like a fairly standard car, with poss' exception of decent exhaust, susp' etc, but almost all the ones I've seen to that spec are either blue or black, and whilst I do quite like them, I just prefer the CW. And I figure if I'm going to buy something I want rather than 'need', then I may as well get near enough exactly what I want, at least colour wise.

So... how many of you guys have started out looking for cars already in the UK, got tired of waiting, and just bitten the bullet and had one imported? I know bringing one in directly from Japan will be the more expensive option, and will probably miss most of the summer, but in its favour you do get to specify the basic spec and get what you want.

Thoughts? Hold out or just call TGT and be done with it?

 

[wocka]

What your looking for a is a A pack I believe.... no tints, rear wiper or folding mirrors

I searched for a little while for one that ticks every box, only one did and I went to see it but the body work wasn‘t in good enough condition for what I was after

I had already been in talks with torque gt but after viewing that one car I decided that was the best option to go for so I contacted them with the go ahead and I‘ve got the exact car I was after sitting in Japan waiting to get a boat ride over here, well minus a parcel shelf but I can source that here

Your looking 3 months or so for a import through them so yes you will miss the summer unfortunately, there are some cracking examples out there in the uk so you will find one if your patient. All depends on what you want and how long you willing to wait

Feel free to pm me if you want any info on the import process and I can tell you what I know upto the point I am now

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[p1tse]

May I ask reasons for not wanting tints or rear wiper, both functional upgrade items from factory

I know some just plug a hole in the rear wiper.

 

[skipper]

Thanks Wocka, will drop you a pm.

Rear wiper just looks a bit like an afterthought to me, think it detracts from the clean lines at the rear. Always used to use rain-x on my bike visor, worked well, guess I'd coat the glass with that and be done with it (well, couple of times a month maybe...) And tints, well, just never been a fan, two reasons mainly. One, looks, whenever I see any car with privacy I just think of a self employed electricians van... I know most people love them, but I just don't dig em. And, on a more practical note, based on the two I've looked at so far, one with, one without, I think it makes the car feel even more claustrophobic in the back.

I realise I'm being quite specific with my wish list, and may well find there's nothing that fits the bill, but I reckon you may as well set the bar quite high to start with, you can always lower it. And, furthermore I'm happy to compromise on things like mileage, interior colour, mods etc, so hopefully won't be completely impossible to find.

 

[Marky.]

I don‘t think there is any harm in asking Torque GT to get on the hunt the now. It‘s a £500 deposit for them to start looking but the nice things is that if you find a car back here that you want to purchase and haven‘t yet bought one at auction with Torque, they‘ll refund you the £500. So it‘s a win-win really, can get the process started to minimise wait of an import at the same time as hunting your perfect teg back here

I got mine with Torque GT and couldn‘t fault them. Perfect service throughout and particularly in after-sales saying as I live in Glasgow.

Also don‘t rule out every car with a tint, some are installed and can be removed.

 

[Marky.]

Oh, and good luck!


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[skipper]

That's a very good point, certainly worth ascertaining at point of enquiry - if only they were all like that!

 

[Mike9000]

Mine lands in Southampton tomorrow. Exciting. There are more available cars in the UK now than when I started looking. I went with Torque. 4B, PFL CW with Red Recaro seats. Rear Tints are the only option. I specifically did not want the rear wiper for cosmetic reasons, and wasn‘t bothered about folding mirrors. Paid deposit and within a couple of weeks had agreed on the one I have after running a report through carvx. Agreed on a couple bits I wanted addressing from the pictures and paid the FOB. Overall happy so far - TGT got in touch to let me know when it was due in to Southampton even though I was tracking the boat.

A bit of blind faith really. Rather nerve wracking dropping £Xks on a car you‘ve only seen shit pictures of and I can‘t say I‘ve not had a few sleepless nights over the last 6-8 weeks...

 

[skipper]

Congratulations! I bet you're well excited now its about to drop, so to speak! Interesting it was that quick from pressing the button to securing a vehicle. I thought you were looking at many weeks, or even months, but I guess its pot luck with something like this.

You also highlight my other main concern... Every other car and motorbike I've ever bought used I've gone over in detail, inside & out, listened to cold start etc etc. I suppose the main thing to consider is the lack of/reduced likelihood of corrosion on older cars in Japan, and the fact its a Honda - there are RSX's in the US with 3-400K miles on the clock on the original engine!

I've heard the auction ratings, while mostly accurate, can vary depending on assessor, auction site etc, and one persons 3 could be another persons 4. Can you ask for a grade 5, or isn't there one?

 

[Johngreen537]

Grade 5 is a brand new car.

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[skipper]

Won't be requesting one of those then...

 

[wocka]

You also highlight my other main concern... Every other car and motorbike I've ever bought used I've gone over in detail, inside & out, listened to cold start etc etc.

This was the reason I wanted to find one in the uk but after speaking to torque gt over the phone I felt a lot more confident with the company, they have a big reputation to keep so they are not going to sell you something that isn‘t up to their standards

Once they have found a car that you want and they win the auction, you have to pay 50% of the price, this was the biggest problem for me as it‘s a lot of money to part with with just seeing a few crappy photos, in the end I thought F it, this is how everyone else does it so if I want to get a fresh import through them, then it‘s the only way I‘m going to get one.

Mine is grade 4B which is what I wanted, there are grade 4.5 out there but I‘m not sure how often they come up


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[hondamad2204]

Dazaturbos would have fitted perfect...shame it‘s now broken due to lack of interest.

Mine also came with no rear wiper / tints...but a start button. I too prefer the clean lines of no wiper on the back. Plenty of glass sealing and it will run off easily anyway.

 

[impne]

Mine is a std car no pack

A pack is rear tints
B pack is tints with folding mirrors
C pack tints, mirrors, wiper
Start button, parcel shelf, silver interior trim etc options which mine has

I got a std one just for miles as the ones available were apparently all the same grade but the miles were less, this was from TGT

I‘ve ended up getting proper tinted glass and swapping the windows and fitting folding mirrors as it was the B pack option I preferred

Easy enough to buy a pack car and change the windows to std no tint, I‘ve the glass here if required👍

 

[skipper]

Cheers. I'll bear that in mind.