Japanese car imports

[tomaski]

Hey folks, I'm Tom and I'm looking to import a Mitsi Galant VR4 - I've paid my deposit and pestered Tez with about a million emails but I'm still no closer to finding the car I need, a 1996/early97 Galant VR4 with a manual gearbox.

Considering I want this all over and done with asap, I'm starting to find the 'waiting for a good one' is becoming a major problem.

However, I've seen loads of very good autos and I've started wondering exactly how big a deal it'd be to get an auto instead of a manual? I know some folks have said there are big problems with autos around 100'000km and at the end of the day, the manuals are supposed to be 'sportier'. (which is exactly why I want such a powerful car)

Can anybody shed any light on how big a difference it'd make to get an auto instead of a manual? Is it really worth waiting for 'perfect' VR4 and can anybody reccomend anything roughly similar in terms of performance and cost?

Essentially I'm stuck between importing a VR4 Galant or Legnum, a Celica GT4 or simply buying a 328i BMW from inside the UK.

Anybody got any good reccomendations on imports? I want something around 250bhp without the massive insurance bill to go with it, so I'm staying away from the obvious - Imprezas / Lancers / Skylines.

So to recap, autos - good or bad? Is waiting really worth it? And good shouts on imports...

Thanks a lot for your help!

[Tez]

I am a big fan of the Legnums myself.

Most Galant VR4's are auto. They are only a -little- slower than manual versions.