Imported “ordinary” cars, Golf GTi
Discussion
I get why some more specialist/rare cars would be imported to the U.K., particularly Japanese metal, but I’m looking to try and reduce my outgoings and sell my BMW 3 series and buy a Golf GTi for around £11k and I’m finding is that lot of the GTi’s circa 2010/2011 are listed as being imported.
I can’t figure out why someone would have gone to the trouble of importing something like this when as far as I was aware U.K. cars were readily available?? They aren’t exactly rare or really special, so very strange there’s a lot of imported ones about from those years.
Are there any differences between a U.K. vs imported model, and any reason to avoid an imported GTi?
I can’t figure out why someone would have gone to the trouble of importing something like this when as far as I was aware U.K. cars were readily available?? They aren’t exactly rare or really special, so very strange there’s a lot of imported ones about from those years.
Are there any differences between a U.K. vs imported model, and any reason to avoid an imported GTi?
Does it say where it's imported from? I know some people like Japanese imports even for normal stuff as they don't salt the roads and generally cars are kept to a very high standard. And I think they get taxed a lot more for older cars, so a lot of them might be sold to export to reduce costs as they buy new cars?
Simple answer...more for your money. Somehow, you're likely to get a car with much less miles if imported from Japan. Which I guess means the car itself is much much cheaper to buy over there?! When it comes to Mk5 GTi, I bet it's quite hard to find one without some kind of rust issue in the UK [I've kind of been looking as I like the mk5] but there is plenty of very clean ones in Japan.
It's also a great place for performance Volvo's [see BHP Imports, who I think are called JPN now].
Obviously the stereo will all be in Japanese. I'm not sure how easy it would be to replace? Make sure, whoever you buy from, are legit and can verify miles etc.
It's also a great place for performance Volvo's [see BHP Imports, who I think are called JPN now].
Obviously the stereo will all be in Japanese. I'm not sure how easy it would be to replace? Make sure, whoever you buy from, are legit and can verify miles etc.
Edited by BUG4LIFE on Friday 8th March 13:04
Edited by BUG4LIFE on Friday 8th March 13:05
There was a chap on the old e39 forum (Dan - not sure if he is on here) that imported a nice e39 touring a few years back - not entirely sure where it was from.
I think the reasons for doing so was the fact the car wasn't exposed to road salt so was in very good condition, I believe it also had a few nice options.
If you like the marque enough, then why not.
I think the reasons for doing so was the fact the car wasn't exposed to road salt so was in very good condition, I believe it also had a few nice options.
If you like the marque enough, then why not.
I live in a small village, one of my neighbours is a retired former senior engineer in the motor industry. He drives an old Jaguar XJ X300 (I think). I was surprised to see that it had a bonnet mascot - I thought these had been banned (in the UK) since the early 80's.
Apparently, his car was an import from Japan, hence the mascot - a very popular, and legal(?) option there.
According to Ken, in Japan company cars are the norm for all (reasonably) senior management BUT the norm is for virtually all managers to get a free train season ticket. So senior staff get, as a right, a free season ticket - and, as a perk, a company car.
The company car - such as a Jaguar - is a status symbol, and usually just parked outside the owner's house - whilst the owner goes to work by train.
The consequence of all this is that in Japan, there are a lot of high specked imported cars with tiny mileages. After just 3 years very onerous MOT / emission legislation means that many of these cars are uneconomic to own in Japan and so they are exported.
I was in Australia in the early 90's and very surprised to see just how many new spec. secondhand cars were for sale. Apparently 10,000s of second hand Japanese cars were exported to Australia for the used car market. Don't know if that is true now.
Apparently, his car was an import from Japan, hence the mascot - a very popular, and legal(?) option there.
According to Ken, in Japan company cars are the norm for all (reasonably) senior management BUT the norm is for virtually all managers to get a free train season ticket. So senior staff get, as a right, a free season ticket - and, as a perk, a company car.
The company car - such as a Jaguar - is a status symbol, and usually just parked outside the owner's house - whilst the owner goes to work by train.
The consequence of all this is that in Japan, there are a lot of high specked imported cars with tiny mileages. After just 3 years very onerous MOT / emission legislation means that many of these cars are uneconomic to own in Japan and so they are exported.
I was in Australia in the early 90's and very surprised to see just how many new spec. secondhand cars were for sale. Apparently 10,000s of second hand Japanese cars were exported to Australia for the used car market. Don't know if that is true now.
sam.rog said:
On the whole Japanese cars are looked after better, they don’t salt the roads so rust is normally not an issue
Jayho said:
Does it say where it's imported from? I know some people like Japanese imports even for normal stuff as they don't salt the roads and generally cars are kept to a very high standard.
Sorry to break it to you but Japan does use road salt and has for many years. https://www.c-nexco.co.jp/en/special/vehicle/cold/...
ecsrobin said:
Sorry to break it to you but Japan does use road salt and has for many years.
https://www.c-nexco.co.jp/en/special/vehicle/cold/...
I knew this would get mentioned when I posted. Yes certain regions do salt the roads but this is a tiny portion in relation to the whole country. https://www.c-nexco.co.jp/en/special/vehicle/cold/...
If you are looking for a import then TAA is the auction house to buy from. I believe it’s toyota owned/affiliated. They are much stricter than the others and the cars are of better quality in general.
There was a lovely E91 325i or 330i M Sport Touring I spotted on FB Marketplace going for about 8k that was a Japan import and it looked absolutely immaculate. I did see a MK5 Golf GTI DSG that looked pretty good too, which was another import. Not sure if it's the same one.
Don't they tend to be better specced aswell?
Don't they tend to be better specced aswell?
Back in the mid-late 90s there was this thing in the media about how it was cheaper to buy an import than to buy the UK version so a lot people did this.
I myself imported an MX5 NB from the Netherlands. Looking at the numbers I saved a few thousand. The Netherlands tax-free price + uk vat + fees was cheaper than the UK OTR price for the same car.
Looking at the different pricing models, I found that in the Netherlands there was the equivalent of a "new car tax" on their cars so a local there would end up paying a similar amount to a UK buyer. The manufacturer had reduced the tax free price of the cars so that the final price was broadly across the same across Europe and the UK. So by taking the tax free price and then the lower UK taxes you'll be better off.
I myself imported an MX5 NB from the Netherlands. Looking at the numbers I saved a few thousand. The Netherlands tax-free price + uk vat + fees was cheaper than the UK OTR price for the same car.
Looking at the different pricing models, I found that in the Netherlands there was the equivalent of a "new car tax" on their cars so a local there would end up paying a similar amount to a UK buyer. The manufacturer had reduced the tax free price of the cars so that the final price was broadly across the same across Europe and the UK. So by taking the tax free price and then the lower UK taxes you'll be better off.
Pfft !! You lot can keep your GTi's and BMW's and other decent/up market/performance cars.
Why oh why would somebody import the following... A 4 door Toyota Corolla 2ltr diesel. I picked this up for literally pennies from a friend who ran a garage and had taken it in Px. Had it quite a few years and to be fair it ran perfectly with no issues at all. All stickers and labels in the engine bay/door jams were in Japanese. The handbook and service history was in Japanese. Getting insurance was interesting though
It had clearly been a cab in its early days as there were big gaps in the dash where a meter and radio had once been. Led to it being affectionally called the Tokyo Taxi by my mates.
But again, why import that !!! Why go to all the expense etc.
Sorry but this is the best pic I have.
Why oh why would somebody import the following... A 4 door Toyota Corolla 2ltr diesel. I picked this up for literally pennies from a friend who ran a garage and had taken it in Px. Had it quite a few years and to be fair it ran perfectly with no issues at all. All stickers and labels in the engine bay/door jams were in Japanese. The handbook and service history was in Japanese. Getting insurance was interesting though
It had clearly been a cab in its early days as there were big gaps in the dash where a meter and radio had once been. Led to it being affectionally called the Tokyo Taxi by my mates.
But again, why import that !!! Why go to all the expense etc.
Sorry but this is the best pic I have.
You can get a rust free low mileage car, with unkerbed alloys and they are always highly optioned.
It might even end up cheaper than a UK car as used cars are low value in Japan, certainly parity in lots of cases.
Road tax can also be cheaper on an import.
They were certainly much cheaper in the 90's with the low value of the yen hence the toyota above, would have been cheaper to buy used in japan and get it here and pay duty than to buy on locally.
This guy explains it:
It might even end up cheaper than a UK car as used cars are low value in Japan, certainly parity in lots of cases.
Road tax can also be cheaper on an import.
They were certainly much cheaper in the 90's with the low value of the yen hence the toyota above, would have been cheaper to buy used in japan and get it here and pay duty than to buy on locally.
This guy explains it:
Edited by was8v on Friday 8th March 15:12
kris450 said:
Pfft !! You lot can keep your GTi's and BMW's and other decent/up market/performance cars.
Why oh why would somebody import the following... A 4 door Toyota Corolla 2ltr diesel. I picked this up for literally pennies from a friend who ran a garage and had taken it in Px. Had it quite a few years and to be fair it ran perfectly with no issues at all. All stickers and labels in the engine bay/door jams were in Japanese. The handbook and service history was in Japanese. Getting insurance was interesting though
It had clearly been a cab in its early days as there were big gaps in the dash where a meter and radio had once been. Led to it being affectionally called the Tokyo Taxi by my mates.
But again, why import that !!! Why go to all the expense etc.
Sorry but this is the best pic I have.
All Toyota's in the mid 90's were imported technically, didn't make them in the UK at that point so perhaps that's why.Why oh why would somebody import the following... A 4 door Toyota Corolla 2ltr diesel. I picked this up for literally pennies from a friend who ran a garage and had taken it in Px. Had it quite a few years and to be fair it ran perfectly with no issues at all. All stickers and labels in the engine bay/door jams were in Japanese. The handbook and service history was in Japanese. Getting insurance was interesting though
It had clearly been a cab in its early days as there were big gaps in the dash where a meter and radio had once been. Led to it being affectionally called the Tokyo Taxi by my mates.
But again, why import that !!! Why go to all the expense etc.
Sorry but this is the best pic I have.
rossub said:
I bought my V60 T6 because:
1. 10 years old, but condition of a 2 year old
2. Road Tax less than half the UK ones - £325 vs £695
3. R Design spec UK supplied ones don't really exist
4. 37k miles
Out of interest, was insurance any more of an issue? And was the price of the car (on the road in UK) similar to that of UK examples?1. 10 years old, but condition of a 2 year old
2. Road Tax less than half the UK ones - £325 vs £695
3. R Design spec UK supplied ones don't really exist
4. 37k miles
I've had plenty imported cars before, but always odd JDM things you don't get here like my current Toyota JZX.
While it is true that on the whole Japanese cars are cleaner underneath, one downside is that due to the sun/ heat over there, cracked dashboards/ fading can be more common.
Also they are more likely, from my experience to have more holes in dashboards and weird addenda like toll booth electronics, sometimes badly installed.
Also they are more likely, from my experience to have more holes in dashboards and weird addenda like toll booth electronics, sometimes badly installed.
M.F.D said:
Out of interest, was insurance any more of an issue? And was the price of the car (on the road in UK) similar to that of UK examples?
I've had plenty imported cars before, but always odd JDM things you don't get here like my current Toyota JZX.
Price comparison websites are heavily dependent on what things are registered as these days, so can be an issue with imports. I went with Direct Line as I could choose from a drop down list.I've had plenty imported cars before, but always odd JDM things you don't get here like my current Toyota JZX.
Price was very competitive - exchange rate has been pretty decent for a while now.
MattsCar said:
Also they are more likely, from my experience to have more holes in dashboards and weird addenda like toll booth electronics, sometimes badly installed.
A domineering Japanese lady tells me my toll card is missing every time I start the car. At least I think that’s what she’s saying.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff