Distinctive Cars Jap Import Specialists

[wizzer]

Has anyone had any dealings with this dealer (based in York). Good or bad, i'm off to look at a car there tomorrow and just thought i'd ask!

Cheers!

[jimGTS]

sorry to say it mate, but ive heard this company mentioned a number of times on the forums, and all have been bad mate!

[jimGTS]

http://www.mr2oc.co.uk/index.php?name=F ... ic&t=11151

[wizzer]

Cheers for that - well i'm not going to let that put me off straight away, though i'm not expecting a lot. If i do decide to go any further i'll get a car check done!!!

Anyone with any *good* experiences with them?

[jimGTS]

Cheers for that - well i'm not going to let that put me off straight away, though i'm not expecting a lot. If i do decide to go any further i'll get a car check done!!!

Anyone with any *good* experiences with them?

yeh, check the car out mate, im not saying dont go and have a look see, im just saying i heard a few bad words about the cars, ie, having 12 months mot on it, and then it breaking down 5 mins later etc etc.
but that could be a one off, i dont no.

go check em out anyway.

[Dale_V]

Me and Craig had a look around his driveway the other week. There is some nice cars but they are well expensive. £4800 for a 1993 rev3 G-Limited T-Bar

Some were nice, some looked a little ropey to me

[jamief]

I bought my car from them - not had any problems whatsoever with it, but I think I maybe paid over the odds. £4400 for a Rev 1 Turbo, although it was a fresh import and had a few pretty expensive mods, and car was mint inside and out.

Only thing is, make sure they stick new tyres on it, I had to replace the fronts about 3 months after buying it cause they were nearly bald.

[pete h]

a friend of mine bought a gt4 from them, freshly imported and he's had no problems what so ever with it. he got an AA check on it when he bought it, and the car was sound.

[wizzer]

Thanks for the good and bad experiences then guys! I'll go down there tomorrow and take a look, and i'll let you know how i get on

[wizzer]

Ah well my trip didn't go according to plan so i didn't get to go over to Distinctive, and i'm not going to get over there again any time soon. Anyway the car i was going to look at was this one:
http://www.japaneseimportspecialists.co ... /DC49.html

To be honest it sounds a bit too good to be true (or decent!), but if anyone else fancies a look...

[Ms Croft]

well im getting my MR2 from Distinctive Cars, as they are local and the guy that owns it happens to be a mate of mine, none of you have actually had any bad experiences from Distinctive Cars.. its just 'what you have heard' and those of you that have got cars from there seem very happy with your purchase as i will be with mine

infact im off to Distinctive Cars on thursday to have a look at the new arrivals..

[peterk]

Hi all,

Well i have a few friends that have all bought cars from distinctive, they have all been good and they are decent honest guys, I am currently buying a pugeot to use as a runabout from them and am also telling my GF to get her new jap car from there > Skyline R34 GTT ! these cars can be well expensive to repair / fix faults but they get some good cars in there so i know they can find a good one.

I know there have been some bad reviews and word of mouth but that is the same with all garages. But as far as all the posts regarding worn tyres ????? do people not look at the cars tyres before you buy it ?
I went through a set of brand new pirelli F1's in 4 hours on a trackday... you are talking about 3 months in a RWD turbo car... do you expect the tyres to last much longer than that ? I swap mine on the mr2 at least every 4-5 months (with changing front and rear half way through for even wear)

I dont mind paying good money if it's a good enough car to warrant it.
You can get a lot of crap from jap importers and it isnt easy to find a place that can get the good ones. And to get the good ones I know it costs more.

For example has anyone been to beechesmotorcompany in kiethley ?? If you have then you will know what I mean. These guys at distinctive cars dont buy pieces of xxxx and just touch them up cosmetically for a massive profit.

Just my 2 pence worth as i think distinctive are OK.

Peter

Rev3 MR2 Turbo T-bar in yellow with 300+ bhp
Nissan Skyline R32 GTR in yellow with 600 bhp

[Whizza]

The other point you should check is the Auction Grading document. If they have nothing to hide then they should be able to show/provide a copy - this way you can have some peace of mind.....

Give me the following 2 cars to look at.

1.)MR2 Turbo looks good, importer comes up with an excuse about the grading doc £4k
2.)MR2 Turbo looks good plus importer provides auction grading document and allows AA check £5k

I'd pick the 2nd one every time.... do your homework, take along someone who knows more than you and if in doubt get it checked out.

Used Car Checks - do a check of the car and provide a 45 day warranty for £99

http://www.usedcarchecks.com/

[SFLee]

hi Pete, I disagree ur comment

you are talking about 3 months in a RWD turbo car ? do you honestly expect the tyres to last very long ? I swap mine on the mr2 at least every 4-5 months (with changing front and rear half way through for even wear)

2 thing Front tire on any Mr2 last longer than 3 months if drive with care
and second you can not swap tire front to back unless you want your car in a ditch or become part of a lamp post
rants over

nothing against any company the end of the day, they are business , business need to make money, you paid what you get, if you not happy dont buy simple

[jimGTS]

hi Pete, I disagree ur comment

you are talking about 3 months in a RWD turbo car ? do you honestly expect the tyres to last very long ? I swap mine on the mr2 at least every 4-5 months (with changing front and rear half way through for even wear)

2 thing Front tire on any Mr2 last longer than 3 months if drive with care
and second you can not swap tire front to back unless you want your car in a ditch or become part of a lamp post
rants over

nothing against any company the end of the day, they are business , business need to make money, you paid what you get, if you not happy dont buy simple

he obviously doesnt drive an mr2, as thats madness to rotate front and rears, especially if they are of different sizes (which they need to be). unless of course he has 4 exactly the same alloys (ie, same width), and same tyres sizes all round. which isnt good on an mr2 neway!

EDIT. infact i bet money he doesnt have an mr2!

[senie]

I always find it wary when someone has one post and is defending a company.

I think most people will advise you to check the car out throughly. If in doubt, get a fellow imcoer along, or do an AA/RAC check.

There arent that many good daelers left out there

[tonigmr2]

I find it quite interesting too.
PeterK, please post more details about yourself, like the sound of the yellow MR2 and skyline for starters.
T

[jimGTS]

hi Pete, I disagree ur comment

you are talking about 3 months in a RWD turbo car ? do you honestly expect the tyres to last very long ? I swap mine on the mr2 at least every 4-5 months (with changing front and rear half way through for even wear)

2 thing Front tire on any Mr2 last longer than 3 months if drive with care
and second you can not swap tire front to back unless you want your car in a ditch or become part of a lamp post
rants over

nothing against any company the end of the day, they are business , business need to make money, you paid what you get, if you not happy dont buy simple

he obviously doesnt drive an mr2, as thats madness to rotate front and rears, especially if they are of different sizes (which they need to be). unless of course he has 4 exactly the same alloys (ie, same width), and same tyres sizes all round. which isnt good on an mr2 neway!

EDIT. infact i bet money he doesnt have an mr2!

PPS, even more so now, as i dont think anyone in there right mind with a 300bhp mr2 would go changing front with rears to "even the tread"! and with a car like that, you would have to have different width wheels and different sized tyres!

i may be wrong tho!

[Raf]

Thats alot of defence for the first post!



But I assume all importers must be similar. If they buy from auctions and use agents you are never going to end up with minters every time- but i dont totally understand how all this importing business goes so cannot comment much.

Pete, do you mean Keighley Trade Centre? they aren't that bad- they do have some right dogs and they do have some heavily modded minters too. Surely the same applies for the majority of importers?

[jonno]

I went through a set of brand new pirelli F1's in 4 hours on a trackday... you are talking about 3 months in a RWD turbo car ? do you honestly expect the tyres to last very long ? I swap mine on the mr2 at least every 4-5 months (with changing front and rear half way through for even wear)

I assume you mean goodyear F1's? They dont stand up to track use very well, maybe you should use something like an S03 or even better a track tyre thats made to run at those temps like the R888, V70a or some Advans.

How are you managing to swap the front and rear tyres on an MR2 they are different sizes?