Nissan cars from Japan

Nissan covers two very different kinds of buyer at Japanese auctions. Everyday buyers look at the Note and Note e-Power, the Serena family van and the X-Trail SUV. Enthusiasts look at the Skyline GT-R (R32, R33, R34), the GT-R (R35) and the Fairlady Z.

The e-Power models use a petrol engine to charge a battery that drives an electric motor, so ask for the hybrid-system notes on the auction sheet. For the GT-R family, originality and history matter more than age: check for modifications, accident repair and gearbox service records. The R32 and R33 Skyline GT-Rs are past the US 25-year import mark, and R34s become eligible as each car turns 25.

Japan's shaken roadworthiness inspection (first at three years, then every two) and the country's low average annual mileage mean many cars reach auction with a documented history and modest kilometres for their age.

Most of Nissan's everyday range uses a CVT automatic gearbox, so look for any notes about judder or slipping on the auction sheet and ask whether the CVT fluid has been changed. The Note e-Power arrived in late 2016 and the Serena e-Power in 2018; earlier cars of the same generation are conventional petrol models, which matters for both price and import duty in markets that tax hybrids differently. The X-Trail T32 was sold in Japan with petrol and hybrid engines.

Our catalog prices start at about $2,000–$10,000 FOB for a Note and $5,000–$15,000 for an X-Trail, with the Serena at $2,000–$25,000 depending on generation. Performance models cost far more: about $40,000–$45,000 for a Fairlady Z or Skyline 400R, $70,000–$80,000 for an R32 or R33 Skyline GT-R, and from $50,000 for an R35 GT-R. Clean export examples typically carry auction grades of 3.5 to 4.5. Our country guides list the X-Trail among popular imports in Botswana, Namibia, Malta, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, and the Note in the Maldives.

We track 9 Nissan models from model years 1989 to 2024. Recent Japanese auction prices run from about $2,000 to $500,000 FOB, depending on model, grade and mileage (estimates, as of 2026-07-06).