Buying a used car from Japan

[JD001]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I have never done it but a couple of summers ago spent an hour or so chatting with a guy that imported a STi (I don't remember what) from Japan.
He said that finding what he wanted and getting them out of Japan is a piece of cake. Getting them into Canada however was damn near impossible for somebody without very specialized knowledge. He tried to do it on his own for a couple of years and finally just gave up and used an import service. He also said he actually saved money in the long run.
Don't know about the UK import system for cars (hell I don't know about Canada's) but his biggest concern was that if all the documentation was not "perfect" upon arrival then the car would go straight from port to a crusher without appeal, recourse or any other possible action. Seems extreme to me and I can not confirm the accuracy of the statement but knowing how the government works sometimes it could be true.

Plenty of cars out there, just struggling to establish communication with the respective dealers. The UK has a well established Japcar importing business so I think the route should be straight forward but will involve "experts" along the line. Whether the "experts" come into play in Japan or here is to be decided.

The cars are right-hand drive so that is not an issue but I think lighting especially related to fogs needs addressing but I'm not sure if there is much else to do on the cars. Oh, apparently the Japanese cars are not undersealed so that's another job to do..

[krayzie]

I guess Brexit couldn't happen sooner lol!

In the EU you need washers for HIDs being one thing which JDM isn't an requirement. Rear fog is another but this is an option that could be added in Japan.

And yes JDM cars have no factory rust proofing like the export variant. I found this out from looking at all these pix off Subaru Japan's website for the BRZ.

Here in North America we also have this 5mph / 8km/h bumper regulation. That reminds me is the UK still on English miles for the dash? But then we went to metric in the mid 80's in Hong Kong.

[JD001]

Originally Posted by krayzie

I guess Brexit couldn't happen sooner lol!

In the EU you need washers for HIDs being one thing which JDM isn't an requirement. Rear fog is another but this is an option that could be added in Japan.

And yes JDM cars have no factory rust proofing like the export variant. I found this out from looking at all these pix off Subaru Japan's website for the BRZ.

Here in North America we also have this 5mph / 8km/h bumper regulation. That reminds me is the UK still on English miles for the dash? But then we went to metric in the mid 80's in Hong Kong.

In the UK we have a MOT that cars 3years and older need to pass each year. It involves, safety checks lights (white light forward, red rear with amber bulbs for the direction indicators), safety (belts, brakes, tyres, dampers/springs, glass/wipers, horn etc), emissions and structural (key areas). The age of the car is taken into account regards some safety items eg passenger safety belts and types of lights.


Cars can run KPH or MPH speedos but not just KPH if the car is to stay in the UK, the lights need to be adjusted to conform to driving on the left.


The stigma regards parts availability is now banished to history so that's not really an excuse not to buy however lack of history on the car is a challenge and buying blind..

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Don't know about the UK import system for cars (hell I don't know about Canada's) but his biggest concern was that if all the documentation was not "perfect" upon arrival then the car would go straight from port to a crusher without appeal, recourse or any other possible action. Seems extreme to me and I can not confirm the accuracy of the statement but knowing how the government works sometimes it could be true.

That exact thing happened to a member on a different forum several years ago when he bought a handful of older Skylines with the intent of reselling them here, and when got them to the US they were immediately seized at the port because his paperwork was not in order. And yes, the cars were eventually crushed by the DOT/EPA/whatever agency it was, although it took several months of failed appeals before that happened.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by venturaII

That exact thing happened to a member on a different forum several years ago when he bought a handful of older Skylines with the intent of reselling them here, and when got them to the US they were immediately seized at the port because his paperwork was not in order. And yes, the cars were eventually crushed by the DOT/EPA/whatever agency it was, although it took several months of failed appeals before that happened.

I have no doubt that there is actually an avenue for appeal here and the dude was just paranoid from the horror stories. I can't see them rushing the car off from the shipping container to the crusher because you missed signing a document or something.

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I have no doubt that there is actually an avenue for appeal here and the dude was just paranoid from the horror stories. I can't see them rushing the car off from the shipping container to the crusher because you missed signing a document or something.

The impression that I got was that the 'appeals' were the agency going through the motions required, but they had no intention of ever allowing these cars on the road at all. Of course, all we heard was one side of the story, but it was told with a fair amount of detail, and there was no real reason NOT to believe him as things unfolded..

[JD001]

Originally Posted by venturaII

The impression that I got was that the 'appeals' were the agency going through the motions required, but they had no intention of ever allowing these cars on the road at all. Of course, all we heard was one side of the story, but it was told with a fair amount of detail, and there was no real reason NOT to believe him as things unfolded..

Can't you guys imports cars just for track use or to stick them in museum/collections? It hurts to hear cars getting crushed just because of some stupid paperwork.

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by JD001

Can't you guys imports cars just for track use or to stick them in museum/collections? It hurts to hear cars getting crushed just because of some stupid paperwork.

I assumed the same, and I'm sure the same question had been asked at the time, but this was 10+ years ago now and I don't recall the details. It was on the AF1 Aprilia forum if you wanted to dig through close to 20 years of forum activity...lol.

[mav1178]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I have no doubt that there is actually an avenue for appeal here and the dude was just paranoid from the horror stories. I can't see them rushing the car off from the shipping container to the crusher because you missed signing a document or something.

Originally Posted by JD001

Can't you guys imports cars just for track use or to stick them in museum/collections? It hurts to hear cars getting crushed just because of some stupid paperwork.

https://www.importavehicle.com/faq-and-info

Welcome to the USA, where Federal, State, and Local laws serve to confuse the crap out of you.

In general:

Anything 25 years or older, you can import, but you must declare it properly.
21 years or older, you can import in original (unmodified) condition, but you must declare it properly.

http://www.importavehicle.info/2014/...es-3520-1.html

My friend has been running this importing business for close to 20 years now. He's the #1 authority on importing cars from Japan in the US.

From his post:

Vehicles over 21 years old, in original configuration are EPA exempt for import. We get this question a lot these days, people asking for clarification. Here is some additional information pulled out of the 3520-1 or EPA form required for importation. This is VERY IMPORTANT. I can not stress enough how important it is to read and UNDERSTAND this form if you are importing a car. Anything you say, or post on a forum or Facebook can be read and used against you if you make a false statement. So make damn sure you understand it.

As for the crusher: it's for those that willingly lie to the government.

[Allch Chcar]

Originally Posted by JD001

In the UK we have a MOT that cars 3years and older need to pass each year. It involves, safety checks lights (white light forward, red rear with amber bulbs for the direction indicators), safety (belts, brakes, tyres, dampers/springs, glass/wipers, horn etc), emissions and structural (key areas). The age of the car is taken into account regards some safety items eg passenger safety belts and types of lights.


Cars can run KPH or MPH speedos but not just KPH if the car is to stay in the UK, the lights need to be adjusted to conform to driving on the left.


The stigma regards parts availability is now banished to history so that's not really an excuse not to buy however lack of history on the car is a challenge and buying blind..

That's funny. Here they require a smog check and visual inspection but only for importing out of state (US only) cars. They verify insurance and the vin number too. Instate cars are outrageously expensive so it's cheaper to drive out of state. The smog check is only $60 and the visual check is free. Then send payment for annual registration and vehicle tags every year. My county doesn't have anything after that. We don't do regular smog either.

[JD001]

Originally Posted by mav1178

My friend has been running this importing business for close to 20 years now. He's the #1 authority on importing cars from Japan in the US.

Interesting to hear about your friend, where is he sourcing the cars? Auctions or dealers or both? Does he have someone working for him Japan?

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by Allch Chcar

That's funny.

Even more funny when the inspector shows up at your door checking to see if you've been paying the color tele tax to Aunt Beeb. Bunch of wankers.

[JD001]

Originally Posted by krayzie

Even more funny when the inspector shows up at your door checking to see if you've been paying the color tele tax to Aunt Beeb. Bunch of wankers.

I presume you have lived in the UK?? BBC make some great TV that's sold throughout the World and you would think that they earn enough from the sales to do away with the TV license!!! Everything is taxed in this country!!!

[krayzie]

Originally Posted by JD001

I presume you have lived in the UK??

No never but I've read about it and they've mentioned a lot of these taxation crap on Top Gear over the years.

Actually where I'm from our last governor in Hong Kong Chris Patten (aka. Fat Pat) ended up running the BBC for a while after going back to England.

Some of the YouTube JDM importer/exporter channels I've watched include Edward Lee's, Fraser Vally Imports and Pacific Coast Auto.