dead_neurons

beginning to see a repeating pattern here...
Asked to see auction sheet *before* i toddle off to look at the prospective cars (thanks CustomScoobyIOM!!) and there's a pattern emerging...

No Auction sheet = Crash damaged repaired vehicle bought for £1.50 and on the forecourt for £10,000

heres a few of excuses from places i've been ringing this afternoon in search of my dream scoob...

--

1) them :"We dont keep the sheets around"

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2) Them "Sorry sir, i -think- it was a grade 4"
me: "Oh, ok, so you can guarantee me that its not accident damaged before i travel 180 miles to see it or have it inspected?."
them : "well actually i seem to remember it having rear panel bumper damage"
me: "so its not really grade4 then is it?"
them : "probably not"
--

3) them: "Our buyer in japan deals with all the japanese paperwork"

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4) them: "What do you need the auction sheet for?"
me: "To check the grade, and for accident damage"
them: "we dont let buyers see the sheets sir"

--
there were more, but the story is the same!

so far, only 1 dealer out of about 8 or 9 i rang is willing to fax me the auction report.
IMO 1 out of 9 ISNT GOOD ENOUGH, looks like the fly by night merchants are cashing in on unsuspecting buyers.

Now either im going to all the wrong places, or theres a lot of ppl who accect poor quality imports with little or no checking!.. thing that worries me, is they're the ones that will be floating round in the UK as one owner imports

/2ob
(now .. contemplating getting a skoda..... NOT)


XPosted posted on SIDC...
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ScoobyDoo Where are you ?
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http://www.worms3d.com

Luke

its been going on for years!!!!

itsajapthing

Ive bought and sold imports for years and ive only ever bought the odd cosmeticlly damaged car ie bumper scrapes scratches etc etc usual stuff no diff to uk

I have been offered none runners and smashed up one`s but if i was to bring these in id have to pay extra for shipping if non running and then id be selling them as damaged vehicles if within what id class as economical repair. I do keep auction sheets if possible but some vehicles have them removed at auction by auction company if i buy car whilst at the auction i try and get sheet and bring home to use as a selling tool......

Grades vary from auction to auction ive seen grade 4`s that were not worth a grade 0

G

wrrjones

is a main dealer going to tell you if a car on there forcout has ever had paint ie 6 months old dont think so im not sayin that people dont but damaged repaired cars in japan they do but the auction sheet tells if that car has ever had any repair in its life .. you are in the same position in the uk if a car has had paint the dealer aint going to tell you and if its not on the regiser then you cant check ... chris the only way to tell if the car is right for you is to check it out ie AA insepection

GC8

The reason that most 'importers' arent able to show you the auction sheet is because they havent ever had it; contrary to what most dealers will tell you they dont have an 'agent in Japan'; they buy their cars from auctions in Southampton and suchlike where cars have their sheets removed as well as their oil change stickers (work it out)... As Itsajapthing says; a good auction sheet is a selling aid. I would advise anyone to only consider a fresh import where the auction sheet is available. Bear in mind also that a non-repair grade doesnt guarantee that the vehicle hasnt been damaged or repaired; only that it hasnt had an internal panel repaired. Ive never had a sticker disappear in transit; but Ive lost a few stereos! Persoanally Id advise you to steer clear of the AA; they know next to nothing about Impreza's; as Ive suggested before; take it to an independant specialist with dealer experience; I get all of my Imprezas checked out at Subaru Service Centre on St Mary's Gate: Select Monitor and a full inspection for the price of a round of beers...

Simon

dead_neurons

I've no doubt that quite a few dealers are honest reputable dealers, that genuinely care about the machines they sell.
But, it has to be said, I'm having trouble finding them

if indeed you're selling good quality machines (itsajapthing, & GC8) then your customers will vote with their wallets.
Im under no illusions that a 5yr old car should be in absolutely showroom condition, but theres a difference between been that and being blatently lied to which is what's got my back up. The dealer said that the car (and infact their stock) wasn't damaged, whereas about 2 minutes into the inspection i get a telephone call telling me to avoid the car at all costs, because its practically a write off. Add to this, i'd travelled some 220 miles to view/drive it, the guy knowing full well the car was a spanner. All this and it cost me £150 to find out.

WRJones : im not being picky about the paint jobs etc.. its obvious if a 5yr car has no stone chips on its bumper its been touched up/resprayed etc, but trying to hide the fact that the chassis is still bent......

as for the AA. i cant knock em, the guy seemed to know enough about imprezas when i spoke to him this morning, and erm.. he did save me £10K.

One last thing GC8, do you have any stock currently, i live in sheffield (woodhouse) , and if you have a web page/details can you send em to me please

cheers!

/2ob

dead_neurons

whats the significance of the oil change stickers?

GC8

I import cars one at a time; its primarily a 'hobby'. The car that I currently have is a 95 GF8 in silver; complete with auction sheet! I appreciate that the AA saved you in this instance, but I can't recommend Jeff and Dean enough and it only costs £20 - £40 for them to check everything. As for the integrity of dealers; it's subjective and we could discuss it all night; I was actually calling into question the integrity of the dealers further up the supply chain, whom I wouldn't trust at all. Recently a large well known and 'reputable' importer / wholesaler closed down and it was discovered that far more than half of their cars had been clocked and tarted up before they were sold at UK auctions; possibley to decent traders; that doesn't make them decent cars though...

Simon

GC8

Home-maintenance is unheard of in Japan; the majority of cars will have an 'oil chage due' sticker in the door shut, not all but most. When an unscrupulous importer clocks a car the sticker will be removed. This is only really relevant if you are buying from a dock auction rather than a dealer.

Edited to add: after theyve done this, even if the car had a decent auction grade (whats the chance?) the auction sheet will be disposed of. When an unsuspecting dealer buys the car and retails it he wont be able to show you the auction sheet because he didnt ever have it; of course, people expect direct importation and it offers better value so he cant ever concede why.

Simon

[Edited by GC8 - 8/28/2003 11:20:00 PM]

JohnnyR6

Dead neurons try japanese vehicle sourcing (powervehicles.com) they are based in edinburgh and are very passionate about jap cars especially scooby's and andy will e'mail you with the auction sheet for you to see before you pick the car you want.

Johnny.

wrrjones

i buy all my imprezas direct from japan no uk auctions and can supply auction sheet with any scoob i import . chris

CC SPORTS IMPORTS

DaveD

iTrader: (2)

If there's no auction sheet, does this also mean that there's no de-reg docs or import documents?

How hard is it to keep a piece of paper with a car??

wrrjones

the auction sheet is not a legal doc un like the de reg no de reg no uk reg .. and if you were to lose it getting a copy is just about impossible .....chris