R34 Skyline Heaven: 20 Rare Seized JDM Cars Sold for $148,000 at Auction, but There’s a Catch
Who wouldn’t want to buy a lot of 20 incredible Japanese cars all at once? A group of R34 Nissan Skyline GT-Rs, seven Nissan S15 Silvias, Toyota Aristos, and a lone JDM Honda Odyssey Absolute went up for sale last week. These vehicles were seized by the feds and went up for auction in a lot auction that’s as rare as the JDM cars listed in it. Why were these vehicles seized, and what’s the catch?
Midori Parts Shop is a specialty importer out of Florida that found the auction of R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R and other rare cars. Most Japanese vehicles like the R34 Skyline GT-R and Nissan Silvia S15 aren’t allowed in the country yet due to the 25-year rule. In fact, none of the vehicles in this lot are allowed to be legally imported into the country yet. Due to these rules, the government seized all of these rare Japanese domestic market cars.
The listing from Apple Auctioneering Co. notes that none of the vehicles are allowed to stay in the U.S. Apple Auctioneering Co. is one of the official auction houses for the U.S. Marshals Service and the U.S. Treasury.
The cars are labeled “branded title, export only: Non-Contiguous Countries Only.” The auction winner must export these vehicles outside of the U.S. straight from the Apple Towing storage area. The titles have been blacklisted and cannot return to the country at any point. So if you know anyone in the market for a rare JDM car that’s outside of the U.S., this it is.
What exactly does the auction house include in this lot of JDM cars? There’s a ton of variety in the listing photos. A few Nissan Skyline GT-R cars are pictured. A Toyota Chaser, some Nissan Silvia S15s (including a GF-S15), a Toyota Aristo V300, and even a rare Honda Odyssey Absolute minivan. Also, a Nissan Stagea wagon casually appeared in the listing.
A few Japanese versions of the Honda Accord (LA-CL7) with relatively clean interiors are in the lot. Another Nissan Skyline GTT with a pretty complete interior and engine is included in the auction.
But it isn’t just the cars. Most of the vehicles are not currently running, but the seller included the engines in the sale. The engines are photographed and included in the listing, plus whatever extra parts the government seized. There are carpets, interior pieces, exhaust pieces, bumpers, and other small bits and pieces.
People try to import vehicles into the U.S. incorrectly or illegally and get caught. If the buyer of this lot does not abide by all of the restrictions, the government will seize the cars again. After 135 bids, the auction ended at $148,000. For 20 vehicles, that works out to be just under $7,500 per car. Not bad for the amount the winner can flip these for, which is very likely over $500,000.
The winner of the auction can sell the cars running, which will take some extra work. Or, the JDM cars can be parted out and sold piece by piece. That would also take some time to complete. At the end of the day, it will cost quite a bit to ship these anywhere. 20 cars can’t exactly fit in a small container. It might be worth the headache, after all, is said and done, but this requires a considerable investment of time and money.
If you are a big fan of R34 Nissan Skylines, keep an eye out for these vehicles in a few months. The buyer has 48 hours to pay and 60 days to export the JDM cars back out of the country. Some of these might be pretty easy to get running again for a knowledgeable buyer, which this presumably was. Good luck to the buyer and winner of this future Fast & Furious fleet.