Can you get cheaper cars from Japan?

Hell, yes. Yes and YES!

I recently visited Japan and whilst there I decided to have a look, to see how much a new car would cost me.

Firstly, new cars, well car to be precise. I priced up a new Subaru Forester STI in Japan and including tax the car was £16,000 price to UK shores is about £20,000. You cant buy this car from a UK subaru dealer and Litchfields are selling the car for £26,500! Eeep. 300bhp sub 5sec 0-60 time and 150mph top speed!!

Secondly, I looked at second hand cars and these are a few of the examples I found.

98 Nissan Skyline GT-R Vspec - 22,000km - £18,000
99 Nissan Almera - 10,000km - £6,000
99 Toyota Celica - 19,000km - £10,000
97 Toyota Parado (Land Cruiser) - 31,000km - £14,000

A lot cheaper.

New cars are on average 20% cheaper. I could have bought a new shape Toyota Celica for £13,000 with everything. Air Con, electrics, leather, Sat Nav/TV, CD/MD, alloys or perhaps a V-Spec II Skyline for £30,000. Compare that to £55,000 in the UK and I think you’ll find that´s 45% cheaper. (I know that you have to get it here and pay import Tax, SVA test and register it but your still saving).

I can hear a few people saying, "Sure Mike, but Japanese cars aren’t the same as English ones".

Firstly... Please dont ask me for prices for parts, I can’t get part’s from Japan. I get loads of emails asking for parts, if you send one then don’t expect a reply!
Hogwash! Complete and uttery gonads.

Of course they are. Do you think Toyota, Nissan and others would sell different grades of car in different countries. That would make real financial sense!!!! Not. Can you seen them using different grades of steel or glass for Japan and the UK? Don´t think so!

"Okay lads thats the Japanese cars built for the day, roll out the good steel for the UK specification cars!"

Or perhaps you think they have two different factories side by side, one with Japanese Spec wrote on the front and another with UK Spec wrote on it. Dur!

If you look closely you’ll see the specs are usually higher on Japanese models than UK models. A lot higher. In the UK everything is extra.

There are however disadvantages to buying cars in Japan and shipping them here.
1. You have to pay to get the car here, about £600, depends on car size. I use £600 as an example as this is how much I paid to get my Toyota Crown here. The smaller the car the cheaper as price is dictated by space not weight when shipping items.

2. Her Majes Finest customs and excise want a slice of tax once the car is here. As always with the goverment they want there slice of the pie, and this will depend on the cars age and value. Don’t over value your car, you’ll end up paying more.

3. You have to get the car registered. If its newer than 10 years old it has to have a Single Vehicle Approval test £230, an MOT £50, then you can register it £30 and then buy road Tax - £160.

4. Some Insurance companies won’t quote you as its not a UK car. You usually have to find specialist insurance companies and you WILL end up paying a bit more, not much though. Privilege Insurance will quote you if your over 25. Failing that try A-Plan Special Vehicle department.

5. Don’t expect your local main dealer to help you service it, as most don’t want to know import cars. Probably because they haven’t been throught the extortionate prices that UK cars go through. If you do find a dealer who’ll help be aware he will probably try to fleece you.

I drive a Japanese car and have no problems with it whatsoever, except I have to take it to be serviced at a non dealer garage as the local Toyota dealer wouldn’t service it as "Its not UK Specification" This strikes me as stupid cos its exactly the same car as a Lexus LS 400 it just has different badges on it and it didn’t cost me UK prices. What amazes me even more is that my mechanic actually goes to the local Toyota dealer to get the parts for my car!!!!

If you want a new car then you should shop around, an import is a very viable option just make sure you get a warranty which will be honoured by your local dealer if you buy new and be prepared to pay that little bit extra insurance.

If you want more information then visit my Toyota Crown Pages. There is a bit more indepth information on here on importing your own car. I didn’t want to repeat myself so check it out.

http://www.toyotacrown.co.uk

Discuss Jap Import problems or ask questions here - Discussion Forum

Update: No.1

After watching Quentin (I hate Imports cos I’m a dealer and I think all imports have been stolen) Wilson on TV, with the BBC’s "Worst car fraud ever" program. I just wanted to add a few notes to this page.

First off the cars they showed where stolen from Japan, moved to Dubai then shipped to the UK with new identities. If you buy from a reputable dealer then this shouldn’t happen. If in doubt walk away. Other than that get the VIN plate numbers and then phone the Stolen car department of the Police. They can check it. Otherwise phone the DVLA if it has UK plates.

Important: Also it should have a de-registration document from Japan. Both a Japanese version and an English Version. Without these, walk away.

Secondly, if you goto Japan and buy your car from a dealer there, you have a greater chance of getting a NONE stolen car. The de-registration process they have in Japan would show up any irregularities in the vehicles history, and would most likely set alarm bells ringing in Japan. (When a car is sold to another owner or to a dealer the plates are removed and then re-issued when/by the new owner/dealer on sale of the vehicle.

If you do buy a Japanese car from a UK dealer, then pick somebody who has been around for a long time. Somebody like Japatrans (http://www.japatrans.com) just visit here to see how much cheaper their cars are. They will also buy cars to order.

Anyway, if your in doubt either walk away or if you must have the car, seek advice from either the AA or the DVLA.

Update: No.2
I have just found out one of the disadvantages to having an imported car. One of the parts has broken on my car and is unavailable in the UK from any Toyota dealer, this is a non-stock item.

I have asked my local dealer and they where very quick to point this out, but agreed to find me the part and get me a price and delivery date for it.

As it’s a Japanese car the parts have to come from Japan. Now the parts are £46 each plus VAT. I need 4 (Only because its safer to replace all 4, the parts are axle bushes).

Thats £216 approx in total. Here’s the stinger. The parts will also take 6 weeks to get here....

So, I phoned my Brother in Law in Japan and asked him to price up the parts and ask when he could get them.

In Japan there £12.50 (Including service tax or 5%) they can get them in 4 days and he can get them to me in 1 week.

Now it does strike me that the Toyota dealer here is still trying to make a fast buck off these parts.

Guess where I’ll be getting them from next time?

It just seems a bit stupid that my brother in law can get them for me from a Toyota dealer in Japan and a Toyota dealer can’t.

Moral: If your gonna import a car find a good parts dealer, in the country of origin.

PS. My local Toyota dealer wanted £26 for a 250ml tin of spray paint for my car, as "Its a non UK colour". Funny how I managed to get the same colour from a Motorstore in Manchester for £6 for 1 litre!

© Copyright 2001, Mike Porter.

Links
» Far East Services
- Some pretty useful information from this company on the SVA Test, they also have a news letter which is updated regularly. - http://www.importedvehicles.co.uk

» KBC - Used Vehicle Worldwide Exporter - Used japanese cars bought for you.
» JapaTrans
» SVA Test Informtion
» Department of Transports SVA page
» Jetro: Importing Used cars from Japan
» Prevent Punctures with this tyre sealant from OKO.

Need insurance for your motor, try here - http://www.findmeacheapquote.com

Page created on: 02/07/2001 / Last Updated: 15/07/2007 17:22:28

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