cars to taiwan/island of formosa

[waynekarnes]

while looking for a pre 71 ghia for my son, one of the guys selling a ghia is from taiwan.

 

he bought it, then came across a nicer one for less money.

 

he's in his late 30's.

 

in his heart, he's a car guy. was quizzing me about mustangs, challengers, and why the 240z is so popular.

 

tells me, he and his brother are buying the older vw karmann ghias and shipping em to taiwan.

 

they shipped 4 of em 3 weeks ago, he's leaving on friday from san jose ca. to meet the boat in taiwan.

 

lives in a 800k town house, no on street parking, so is selling the one that they had to leave behind. his daily driver is a newer or new bmw 850 V12.

 

when the ghia ran out of gas, while i was test driving it, a block from his home. he grabbed a gas can, tossed it in the trunk of the 850 and off we went to the gas station.

 

after gas can refill of the ghia, batt went dead getting gas to carbs. he whipped the 850 around, opened the trunk, pulled some cables as if he were in an old chevy, jumped the ghia. offered to let me drive either the ghia or the 850 back to his home. i drove the ghia.

 

anyway, he says that the vw ghias are the hot car for the in crowd in taiwan, he and other nationals are scooping em up and shipping em out.

 

he tells me that they are also looking into mustangs and such.

 

says he has noticed a lot of older japanese cars there as well. says quite a few datsun 510's and more z cars.

 

he tells me that there are several people he knows of in california buying up ghias and they are looking for the next hit car. he thinks it is going to be the 510's and the z series. he likes the american cars, but they are a bit too large for tossing around on the roads in taiwan.

[TheNeedForZ]

Yes, small cars are the hot ticket in Taiwan. I have not been back to the island for 8 years but I hear about it from my friend. My friend shipped a new VW Beetle back there. Ricers want to race his car all the time because there isn't a lot of new beetles around in Taiwan. Because parking space is a concern, small cars like my friends Beetle is much desired in the city. I will not be surprised if 510 Dime or S30Z becomes a hot car, but they will probably buy from Japan since it's close. On the other hand Taiwan is a left-hand-drive country unlike Japan, so there will be people who want to buy LHD version from the US.

 

There are very few S30Zs in Taiwan. My dad and mom said they have never seen one back in their days, and my friend the car guy had only seen it once, owned by a guy who runs a performance shop. (coincidentally, the guy who owns the performance shop also have a V12 850)

 

You can make some good cash if you have the channel to import cars to Taiwan. Import car dealers are making money hand over fist, especially high end cars or exotic(sometimes 100% profit margin). But IIRC my friend said the cars must go thru an emission test RIGHT OFF THE BOAT....IIRC.

[waynekarnes]

regarding the taiwanese smog and safety check.

 

could be why they are buying and shipping the pre 71 federal certified cars.

 

i know the ghia i drove would not have been smog legal in calif. before the exemption of testing at reg.

 

it has two carbs, a larger cam full mech 009 dist. the vapor control hoses and charcoal canister were missing.

 

you think we get fumes in a z car, try a vw that ain't plumbed correctly and has bad weeping hoses. gas tank is in front, you get raw gas and even though the engine is in the rear, you get the unburned gas exhaust inside too.

 

that was this ghia.

 

he was gonna ship it to taiwan. told me he came across one that didn't run as well, but was prettier. says, lot's of vw speed equip available. cherry sharp looking cars are worth more, even if they don't run.

 

you may be correct about the rhd thing, either that or because of japan's strict smog and safety rules, there may not be many z cars for sale.