Importing a car from Japan - any recommended companies

[Ffffaster]

Thinking of taking the leap and importing a car in from Japan.

Has anyone done this?

Is there a contact or company is Japan, who will provide the end to end service you need?

E.g. source the car, inspect the car, arrange for transport in UK.

Once in UK onus is on me to get it compliant and register it I guess.

[James_0541]

There are a number of companies/dealers that will have this all done as part of the sale.

One word of warning, when you see a car you want, first check availability of parts and whether or not a main dealer will touch it should you need an awkward job doing. Finding someone to reset the transmission control module on my JDM Subaru is proving to be an uphill struggle.

[rossub]

Depends what you want to import?

There’s a fair bit of specialisation amongst importers.

[Ffffaster]

Mclaren or Lamborghini.

[simon_harris]

is that really going to be a cheaper route than getting one already here? I thought they were expensive to get in japan due to import duties so would be just as expensive on the way out.

[simon_harris]

wow looks like I might be wrong!

https://www.goo-net-exchange.com/usedcars/MCLAREN/...

[simon_harris]

maccas look better value than lambos, don't forget import costs and duties (payabale on the cost of the car and
of transport) and then getting an SVA once in the UK.

[trails]

Not sure on sure on such high value cars, but you have two basic choices, auction or Goonet/BeForward type businesses. Only ever imported Jap stuff.

10% import duty and then VAT on car cost, shipping cost and import duty.

Find an agent at the port its arriving at to handle the offloading and paying HMRC, then you just need an IVA test as the car is under 10 years old..was approx 8 week waiting list for the last car I had tested. I would recommend finding an IVA specialist, as they will typically have secure storage while you wait for the test date and get the car registered for collection or delivery.

Happy to answer any other questions OP.

Edited by trails on Thursday 20th August 16:44

[simon_harris]

back in the day I bought a load of cars over from japan, Skylines and scoobies, the first one was done through an import company (bestcarjapan IIRC) and they handled everything , I paid them they bought the car across and did everything, I just went and collected the car from them with a fresh MOT and drove it home. After that I handled everything including buying direct from auction in japan (once mistakenly buying two Skylines at once thinking a cheap bid would get outbid) including arranging the freight, picking up from port and so on. It was never a difficult or overly complex process tbh and racing back from portsmouth to nottingham in the dead of night with two unregistered skylines was an experience I will never forget (no matter how stupid it was )

[trails]

simon_harris said:

back in the day I bought a load of cars over from japan, Skylines and scoobies, the first one was done through an import company (bestcarjapan IIRC) and they handled everything , I paid them they bought the car across and did everything, I just went and collected the car from them with a fresh MOT and drove it home. After that I handled everything including buying direct from auction in japan (once mistakenly buying two Skylines at once thinking a cheap bid would get outbid) including arranging the freight, picking up from port and so on. It was never a difficult or overly complex process tbh and racing back from portsmouth to nottingham in the dead of night with two unregistered skylines was an experience I will never forget (no matter how stupid it was )

Hells bells that would be an expensive 'mistake' these days...but well played sir

[simon_harris]

trails said:

Hells bells that would be an expensive 'mistake' these days...but well played sir

It worked out quite well tbh, sold one and it more than paid for the other, so much so that I then threw a cheeky bid on another highly modified one and won that as well

[trails]

simon_harris said:

It worked out quite well tbh, sold one and it more than paid for the other, so much so that I then threw a cheeky bid on another highly modified one and won that as well

There is a fine line between being impressed and jealous, you may just have leapt over it with both feet

[simon_harris]

trails said:

There is a fine line between being impressed and jealous, you may just have leapt over it with both feet

Dumb luck does sometimes pay off

[Billybob_55]

Im no help in buying but being a car transporter driver i collected a load of jap imports from Southampton which they all arrived at the place I collected from in containers. They all were badly damaged with roofs and bonnets dented as was poorly packed in. Customer that bought them had nightmare with repairs trying to colour match.

They now get shipped to South Shields

[trails]

simon_harris said:

Dumb luck does sometimes pay off

[simon_harris]

Billybob_55 said:

Im no help in buying but being a car transporter driver i collected a load of jap imports from Southampton which they all arrived at the place I collected from in containers. They all were badly damaged with roofs and bonnets dented as was poorly packed in. Customer that bought them had nightmare with repairs trying to colour match.

They now get shipped to South Shields

I never went to the expense of shipping stuff over in containers, people I know did and then packed the "space" with parts and such like, I only ever did RORO which has it's own issues - batteries tend to fail, loading and offloading drivers can rag the cars, steal bits from the interior and such like. with Skylines the jump points were under the bonnet beneath a fusebox cover so these tended to go missing as they were never put back on after they jump started the car.

Something like a macca or a Lambo I wouldn't do anything other than ship in a container though

[The Dictator]

I bought a Mercedes Viano imported from Japan back in October 2022 from a place near Uxbridge.

They dealt with everything paperwork wise and it has turned out to be a great family car. I didn't want a diesel and specifically wanted a 3.5V6 petrol engined one and they weren't sold over here.

Japanese spec cars tend to be very high spec (is what I was told) mine has 3 sunroofs, 2 cameras, 2 screens, curtains, upgraded stereo, sliding electric doors etc etc.

Crap on fuel as you might expect, but doing 3k a year it really doesn't matter and no DPF, turbo etc.

I did half consider doing it myself, but thought the stress and unfamiliarity probably wasn't worth it.

[simon_harris]

With the caveat that I last bought from japan a very long time ago buying direct at auction was a simple process and they usually handled the export and shipping side of it for you as well. Depending on what you were buying you could generally trust the auction sheets to be a very fair representation of the car you were buying, the pictures used to be a bit crap but the condition reports were regarded as truthful and accurate.

the conditions used to go from 0 to 5 with 5 being showroom condition and 0 either very heavily modified or a crash damaged and repaired car. You could see all of the shaken reports and things like that, I would imagine with car vertical or similar you could probably get some info on the car from the VIN to back up the auction reports and these days you can get the auction sheet translated fairly easily with AI.

Here's the translation of this Japanese vehicle auction inspection sheet (Aston Martin DB9):

Header
Auction house/lot section: Import Prime & D Corner
Lot No.: 83054
Evaluation score: 4
Interior/Auxiliary evaluation: B
Vehicle Details
Field Value
Displacement 6000cc
Model code Not stated ("フメイ")
First registration Feb 2011 (Heisei 23)
Car name Aston Martin DB9
Body/doors CP (Coupe)
Grade Coupe
Drive 2WD
Shaken (inspection) expires June 17, 2026 (Reiwa 8)
Mileage 86,700 km
Transmission AT
A/C AAC (Auto A/C)
Exterior color Gray (original, not repainted)
Fuel Gasoline
Interior color Red tones
Import classification Dealer
Seating capacity 4
Recycling deposit ¥22,810
Registration plate Fukuoka 301 た 1929
Chassis No. SCFFCAAEJAGA12817

Genuine equipment (circled = fitted): Alloy wheels (genuine), Power steering, Navigation, Power windows, Airbag

Selling Points (★)
First time listed at auction
Purchased directly from user (not trade-in)
Authorized dealer car
Push start, crystal key
V12 6000cc, power seats
19-inch alloy wheels
Bang & Olufsen speakers
Backup camera, paddle shift
Notes / Maintenance History

Service record book shows mileage history:

H24 (2012): 10,165 km
H25 (2013): 20,474 km / H28 (2016): 38,296 km
H29 (2017): 63,997 km / R2 (2020): 68,083 km
R3 (2021): 71,260 km / R4 May (2022): 74,394 km
R4 Dec (2022): 76,335 km / R5 (2023): 77,800 km
R6 June (2024): 81,073 km / R7 (2025): 83,215 km
Spare key: to be sent later
Inspector's Report
Steering wheel worn/rubbed
Seat wrinkles
Light exterior scratches
Wheel scratches
Diagram

Body diagram marks scratch/scuff locations around the car (front/rear bumpers, sides) labeled A1 and A3 — consistent with the "light exterior scratches" and "wheel scratches" noted above.

Bottom section
Cargo dimensions template (not applicable — passenger car)
Overall size: Length 471 cm, Width 187 cm, Height 127 cm
"First preference: Import Car Prime" (auction routing note)

Overall: a 2011 Aston Martin DB9 Coupe, 86,700 km, gray/red interior, well-documented service history, minor cosmetic wear (scuffs/scratches, worn steering wheel), rated 4/B — a solid mid-grade condition score.

https://www.autoselecta.com/auctions/aston-martin-... - this place clearly lists out all the fees but I would expect you could do it cheaper without using an intermediary service like this - though the shipping fees do look very similar to what I last paid, for one skyline it cost me more to ship the car than the actual cost of the car at auction.

[simon_harris]

FWIW the cheapest DB9 on At at the moment is with similar miles and is £18k