skoosh

Greetings, has anybody undertaken the task of importing a car from Japan for the own personal use........?

If so, what are the correct procedures and/or gains to be made by doing so?

All info appreciated.

Thanx in advance.

Si.

NXG

Ian (Litchfield) does it all the time. The procedure is; phone him up and he does it for you. The gain is you have no risk whatsoever and you get a pukka JDM motor.

Job done

Sti_Prodrive

isnt there that test to do ??? u know any car over a N reg needs to have the book test to go thro... which is REALLLLLLY hard 2 get hold ! (so they say)

any mod's on the car needs to be taken off meanin BUTTTT **** STANDARD dats what they want for the car to pass its test for it to be road worthy

skoosh

Thanx, I realise that people like Ian @ Litchfields can do that and absorb all of the risks but, also make a tidy profit and rightly so.

I was contemplating self-importing so as not to absorb profit margins and mark-ups. Although aware of risks involved, the actual procedure is the stumbling block.

Does anyone know if there is a japanese "autotrader" website.?

Si.

gussy

iTrader: (2)

Give steve beatty a pm he posts under stevebt on here Im sure he has just imported an sti by himself,he might be able to give you some help.

GC8

"Japanese Autotrader Website"? Are you having a laugh? I can see how it would appeal to you but Id advise you to let it go; its a bad idea. Instead of regarding Japan as a foreign country you should consider it as a another planet; its that different. You cant communicate; you dont understand the car market and you have no idea how to export. Hardly anyone speaks English (those hwo do probably wont let on in case their English isnt good and it shows them up); the car market is different in every respect to ours (all transactions have to go through a dealer, there isnt an 'Autotrader'...) and finally; exporting the cars is a specialised field which dealers wont be familiar with.

The majority of 'car importers' you come across buy their cars from a docks auction (most couldnt point out Japan on a map let alone export cars from there), but the cars are of a very low quality.

The final option is to search around on the internet where you fill find a lot of toffee apples at top price being sold by dubious characters. I have probably looked at well over two hundred sites over the last few years and I havent ever seen one that Id consider dealing with. Punters have no access to the Japanese auction houses (the only place to buy cars from) and a number of websites offer to bid on your behalf. These range from scams where you pay them to make your bid (the top bid in their own 'auction'; like stealing sweets from a a baby); to firms who will bid on decent cars but who rip you off at every turn.

Find an importer with a good reputation and talk to them about what you are looking for and what you want to spend then take it from there.


Simon

ste300

Try autoadvan.co.uk i use them regulrily, while there is still a small degree of risk, its not much more than buying a second hand car anywhere. Plus you'll save a hefty wack in the process.

ste300

i imported my wrx through them and its been perfect.

skoosh

Thanx for all the replies people, especially GC8 who certainly put me in the picture ....

I'll check out autoadvan.co.uk and see how I go, plenty of time as buying in October but want to do as much homework as poss and find just the right car.

Si.

GC8

I'd wait until theyre having a sale.... At £10 per bid and £5 per appraisal sheet translation you could make a tidy profit without ever actually importing a car (it isnt uncommon to bid on 10+ cars before you secure one; unless youre punting silly prices). Combined commission and FOB fees total nearly £1000 when £400-£500 would be more like it. A 'shipping agent fee' of £170 will sting too when youre looking at £65 from a good agent; and he will do up to five cars for that so it could be an extra £150 that youre paying.

3scoobs

let some one else do it for you!!!!!!!!!!!!

i t took ages to get mine from cyprus where i owned it to get it through the sva test. on completion the police have just impounded it because the car was reported stolen in feb 04. ive owned since feb 05 so no car at the mo.

willipdarling

First of all you need to know what you are looking at. Grade 3 or above is the ONLY option you have. Buy one as standard as you can, so no dodgy ecu upgrades or owt like that. Virtually every car that comes out of japan has an exhaust upgrade on it, but as long as the car isnt molested too bad it should be ok. Look for stickers in the engine bay, this will tell you if the car has been serviced. Japs dont have a book like we do, the garage will just slap a sticker on it in the relevant places, ie cam belt casing if the cam belt has been done. Auction warehouses are a bit hit and miss, but occasionally a good one comes up and itll be worth the dosh.

It is better to pay a specialist to get the car for you, then it will be sva tested if nec, also the mileage will read in mph, not in kilometres. The mileage would be changed so that it reads in mph. They will fit the required foglight to the back, check it over give it a service, and you will get some sort of warranty so you get some peace of mind. I have been to see a couple of import cars and some are atrocious(i think thats spelt right). Crank seals spewing out oil, dodgy gearboxes, clutches that are absolute poo. So be careful . If you are worried about it being stolen most good places will check the vin with interpol befroe deportation, and you can even get a mileage verification from bimta if you need. Above all good luck and happy hunting

GC8

You should be able to negotiate a settlement; no one will want to repatriate the car... I assume that it was stolen in Cyprus because the vehicles provenance is checked when its de-registered in Japan.....

Id say that you shouldnt entertain a Grade3 car; itll be a shed. You need to be aiming for a Grade4 car only although in some circumstances a Grade3.5 can be an excellent buy (some auction houses wont grade a car over 3.5 if its odometer reading is over 100k kms). The auction appraisal sheet will also substantiate the odometer reading of a car in the UK (and it can be relied upon); making money spent with BIMTA wasted (any money spent with BIMTA is a waste in fact...).


Simon

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

if you are importing yourself you will have to find an absolute bargain or IMHO it is better to buy one already registered in the UK as lots of people are trying to sell so there is bartering to had!!! plus one cost i didnt realise about was the ESVA test. the liverpool testing station want aprox £2k for to do everything to make it road legal and that is already on top of all my other costs there is cheaper ways to get your car thru an sva test but the liverpool test centre is a private garage so will add any parts needed to get your car thru the test. depending on what you are after personally i would just buy one that is already in the country unless you are going to buy something that is really old

GC8

£2,000 for an E-SVA is a **** take of the highest order. My advice would be to avoid these monkeys and their colleagues at Southampton, at all costs.

Its a shame really because Ive found YA Logistics -the parent company- to be straightforward to deal with (unlike their agents Anglia Forwarding, who theyve fortunately f*cked-off now, the *******).


Simon

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

i even rang model reports.com up and they said it was better to take the car to them!!! they are extortionate for the cat1 alarm at £500 and other things the car is unregistererd so its hard to shop around and get cheaper stuff fitted that will pass the test

but they supply everything and register the car as a package so for ease i was just gonna take it to them, the thing that boils my blood more is that they have quoted me 10 days to do all the work to get road legal

GC8

Its best to collect the car form the docks and drive it (if you dont have trade paltes) to a pre arranged MOT appointment, stop off at home and then cancel.... I understand what you mean though.


Simon

GC8

Model Reports whilst 'seperate' now are closely tied to them..... Im not sure that that could be considered as impartial advice.

andyd9577

iTrader: (1)

Ive done a couple in the last few months for Personal use and Simons (GC8) advice is spot on, I put one of these threads up a few months back and he replied to mine,
It really can be a stressful procedure, Im buying Damaged cars straight from Japan so I really know what to expect, ive also bought from UK dock auctions- a lot less stressful-and less time consuming,

where are you located?

robsw

http://www.japan-partner.com/faq.php

That site should help answer a few of your questions, skoosh.

Rob.

skoosh

Cheers for all info and replies guys, despite what SIDC claim I've always had good honest info from s'net members...................

Think I may buy in uk then and save the hassle and grief of importing just to save a few quid.

Much appreciated once again.

Si.

GC8

Andy are you buying half-cuts or complete cars and do you container them or use YUWA and their rolling caddies?


Simon

Rob82uk

is it possible for them to import used stuff

eg an STI 6 Type RA ?

bobthebodger

www.japperformanceuk.co.uk

These are based in bradford. bought mine from here and i will be buying off him again.

Bob

GC8

You can import whatever you like; but you wont be able to register the model you mention until 2010.....

Rob82uk

tbh i prefer the '05 shape. But im too young to afford insurance atm, so im saving for a few years

but i really fancy a jap import one

what about an '05 JDM STI in say 2 years time

In 3 years time, ill be 26 and have no points and 5 years NCB. Currently im 23, with 2 years NCB but 6 points making insurance, rather "expensive" ie read something like the GDP of your average african nation

how difficult would it be to source one of those ?