When I met Paolo, I already knew he had impeccable taste in cars, and when he bought this blindingly white Nissan Cedric… I knew it was going to be a one of a kind.
What I didn’t realise was the love, the passion and the dedication that went into this purchase!
This car had a story, and the story went a little something like this:
It’s a 1994 Nissan Cedric Y32. As far as I know it’s still the only registered one to this day, with the other two being a drift car and a wreck. The car had originally come on my radar in 2006. Back then I was a 17 year old living in the Philippines and a VIP enthusiast, but we never really had the right VIP platform vehicles available to us.
Originally the Y32 was sold in Japan, shipped to Hong Kong then the lady that owned it shipped it from HK to Australia, and it was then it made its way to Armidale. Dom, (who first started modding the car) originally just had it in its standard black with some 18″ wheels and at that time, it already really looked the part. This particular vehicle has always been one of the front runners or flag carriers for the VIP scene in Australia. He had gone through a few small changes (wheels, suspension, height etc), but devastatingly in 2009 some kids set fire to a bin in Dom’s apartment complex, resulting in a Toyota Echo that was parked beside the Cedric going up in flames and starting to burn the garage down.
The Cedric suffered melted glass, damaged paint and some interior bits.
Sadly, the car got written off by the insurance company, however Dom decided that he had put too much time and love into the car to let it just go to scrap. He bought the wreck back from the insurance company and had the body tested to ascertain if the metal in the body was still okay. Bingo! It was! The car was then been rebuilt to what it is now.
Dom moved to Japan in 2010 though and subsequently the car was sold.
As much as I wanted to purchase it then – I still lived overseas so there was no way it was happening.
Troy was next to purchase the vehicle. I then ended up moving late 2014. I was in Australia and had still wanted to own the vehicle. However, the stars didn’t quite align, as I was in the market for a car that my wife would drive (she ended up choosing a 1968 Mini – practical right? haha), so ultimately I had to let the car go. I checked up on it some time afterwards, the car had sold again, and I left it at that.
As with most things – I turned to Instagram to express my sadness at missing out on the vehicle and I got a reply from Alexandra who had purchased the vehicle. I joked that if the time was right I would buy it off them and I believe I originally got the reply of ‘I’m looking at keeping the car’.
Mid way through 2015 I saw an ad up for it and her reason for sale was essentially similar to the previous owners – an opportunity to work/study overseas. I wasn’t in the market then, so it was yet another case of closing my eyes and letting it slip past again.
Fast forward to 2016.. I had waited all week to attend a car meet only to find out I had a flat tyre and no spare on the day of the meet. To clear my mind I had gone out with a few friends instead to cruise and watch cars cruise and I saw a few neat LS400s cruising around and thought to myself: Thats it, I still need a VIP car! I still want the Cedric! At about 10:30 that night I sent a message over to the current owner asking if they had wanted to sell me the Cedric. The reply was ‘what is your offer?’ so at that point I knew there was some hope for me yet.
With a little bit more talking I was told I would be informed the following morning if they would definitely sell it or not.. around 12:30am that morning I just couldn’t sleep and so I had sent them a message saying “I cant sleep, I think we’ve got a deal”.
Then, 8am the next day I got a reply saying they didn’t think I would be so ready to purchase and that if I wanted, I could come have a look and pick it up Sunday. Well, that was all the encouragement I needed. By 9am I was in a car on the way to Sydney, ready to take the car home the day before it was ready. I got there, had a look, and was in love with it all over again.
They asked if I wanted to see around it etc but they knew I had been following the car for a while. I handed them an envelope and got a blank look and they asked ‘you’re not messing around are you?’ and I reminded them how I had been painstakingly waiting nearly 10 years (or 6 since it had actually been for sale) and I said there was no way I was leaving without the car, that was that. They agreed, and the car I had been waiting on, was finally mine.
I don’t have plans to change much, probably because when it was rebuilt in 2009 it was done so in the way I would have done it myself anyway. Perhaps just airbag suspension to make it easier to get around places. Other than that it will mainly stay the same. Do I plan to keep it? Sure I do. But as with most classic cars that come into my possesion, I believe you never really own cars like these. You merely keep them for the next person or generation that gives it the time and love that it deserves.
Paolo Nery
Story and photos by Adam Vlahos