Discussion
Hi all,
does anyone have any advice on buying an import? looking at a mk5 Golf gti which was imported from Japan last year. The seller has sent me some service history documents (in japanese) and some invoices for work done in the last 12 months. Also a letter from the DVLA to say the 'import vehicle post clearance checks have been satisfied'. It has one years mot history online but doesn't show up when you apply for an insurance quote.
It is priced low, is this normal for an import? what else should i be aware of and is there any further documentation it needs to have? Thanks
does anyone have any advice on buying an import? looking at a mk5 Golf gti which was imported from Japan last year. The seller has sent me some service history documents (in japanese) and some invoices for work done in the last 12 months. Also a letter from the DVLA to say the 'import vehicle post clearance checks have been satisfied'. It has one years mot history online but doesn't show up when you apply for an insurance quote.
It is priced low, is this normal for an import? what else should i be aware of and is there any further documentation it needs to have? Thanks
Generally the DVLA won't let a car be road-registered until they're satisfied that all tax is paid and it's road-legal, so from what you say about the DVLA letter and the fact it has an MOT showing online under it's registration number, I'd say that side of it is fine, I don't think you need any more.
Things to be aware of:
- Rear foglight may be an aftermarket add-on or a re-wiring of the standard light cluster, this is fine but may be worth checking the wiring is done properly.
- Speedo and Odo may or may not still be reading in Kilometres. If the odo's been adapted, worth checking for some kind of proof of what the real distance is as it may have ended up counting a combination of kilometres and miles.
- If the car has sat-nav built in that'll probably be for Japan only.
- Japanese radios only go up to ~89Mhz so will only recieve Radio2, look for a frequency adapter or more likely a replacement.
- If the car was first registered new (in Japan) earlier than 1 Jan 2006 it will be charged to enter London ULEZ (and potentially other similar zones that may spring up) due to not being categorised as meeting Euro 4 standards, even where the same model and same year EU market car is. If dates from 2006 onwards you can ignore this.
- Fewer insurance companies will cover imports
- It may or may not have received less underseal originally as a JDM car, possibly worth checking and topping up if it seems inadequately protected. However, generally cars rust a lot less in Japan than here, so with only a year or so on UK roads it should be in good condition.
Low price probably reflects some or all of the above, but as cars in from Japan are often low mileage and good condition, can be worth a punt. None of the above are necessarily show-stoppers, just points to check / be aware of.
Things to be aware of:
- Rear foglight may be an aftermarket add-on or a re-wiring of the standard light cluster, this is fine but may be worth checking the wiring is done properly.
- Speedo and Odo may or may not still be reading in Kilometres. If the odo's been adapted, worth checking for some kind of proof of what the real distance is as it may have ended up counting a combination of kilometres and miles.
- If the car has sat-nav built in that'll probably be for Japan only.
- Japanese radios only go up to ~89Mhz so will only recieve Radio2, look for a frequency adapter or more likely a replacement.
- If the car was first registered new (in Japan) earlier than 1 Jan 2006 it will be charged to enter London ULEZ (and potentially other similar zones that may spring up) due to not being categorised as meeting Euro 4 standards, even where the same model and same year EU market car is. If dates from 2006 onwards you can ignore this.
- Fewer insurance companies will cover imports
- It may or may not have received less underseal originally as a JDM car, possibly worth checking and topping up if it seems inadequately protected. However, generally cars rust a lot less in Japan than here, so with only a year or so on UK roads it should be in good condition.
Low price probably reflects some or all of the above, but as cars in from Japan are often low mileage and good condition, can be worth a punt. None of the above are necessarily show-stoppers, just points to check / be aware of.
scoey1001 said:
Thanks for the advice, very useful info. there. The main thing I am worried about is the mileage. However I suppose you could also say that for UK cars.
You can get a BIMTA check done which will show the mileage of the car if it went through an auction there.But if you have the Jap history, does that tie in?
Trevor555 said:
scoey1001 said:
Thanks for the advice, very useful info. there. The main thing I am worried about is the mileage. However I suppose you could also say that for UK cars.
You can get a BIMTA check done which will show the mileage of the car if it went through an auction there.But if you have the Jap history, does that tie in?
scoey1001 said:
I've only seen one bit of the service book that's in Japanese which I can't read but hopefully can work it out when I view the car tomorrow. Looked at the BIMTA check but it's steep at £49.
If the original Jap service book is there it's a good sign that it hasn't been clocked.I've just received a Honda and the mileages were readable in the book. Not much else was though.
scoey1001 said:
I've only seen one bit of the service book that's in Japanese which I can't read but hopefully can work it out when I view the car tomorrow. Looked at the BIMTA check but it's steep at £49.
If you install Google Translate on your phone, it can recognise text through the camera and give you a translation. Not perfect but could help you find which number is 'mileage' (which will be in kilometres).FWIW having spent time in Japan, people do generally drive less than we do here, so low miles for the year is relatively common. Personally if I felt that the condition of the interior was concomitant with the declared mileage, I'd probably be happy to accept a car on that basis.
ApexCult said:
Not all insurance companies will cover imported cars, but given it's a Golf GTI which are fairly plentiful why go for an imported one?
Rust, and a lack of it on imported Mk5 Golfs. I have seen some import mk5s and they are almost mint compared to some that have spent their lives here
magpie215 said:
I have had a few imports.
You can get a bit detective re milage.
Underbonnet service stickers can give some great info;)
There is also a weird Emperor based year system ie their dates are in year/month/day format on these stickers or in the service book but the year will appear odd.You can get a bit detective re milage.
Underbonnet service stickers can give some great info;)
eg 31/12/2008 will show as 20 12 31 not 2008/12/31 the 20 represents the 20th year of Heisei 'reign' which is 2008!
so 19 12 31 will be 2007
25 12 31 2013 etc etc
Thanks for all the advice. The car passed its MOT last year with no advisories, and the seller says it will come with a new one as it runs out in Jan. However just checked and it looks like he put it in yesterday and it failed;
Repair immediately (major defects):
Registration plate lamp inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (4.7.1 (b) (ii))
Exhaust carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (8.2.1.2 (b))
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Exhaust noisy (8.1.1 (a))
It does say on the ad it has an aftermarket exhaust. Thing is he hasn't mentioned this to me when arranging the viewing last night. Any thoughts, run away or can be easily fixed?
Repair immediately (major defects):
Registration plate lamp inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps (4.7.1 (b) (ii))
Exhaust carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (8.2.1.2 (b))
Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):
Exhaust noisy (8.1.1 (a))
It does say on the ad it has an aftermarket exhaust. Thing is he hasn't mentioned this to me when arranging the viewing last night. Any thoughts, run away or can be easily fixed?
Edited by scoey1001 on Saturday 19th December 07:50
The number plate lamp should be a trivial fix, most likely the bulb. The fact that the exhaust is noisy is just an observation, you'll be able to judge for yourself if you like that or not.
The CO level excess is more significant, it probably means the car's overfueling, or else perhaps the cat is missing, degraded or been replaced with a sports one. The risk is that if you say 'fix that and I'll buy', the seller may find a more 'amenable' tester who'll pass it, leaving you stuck with the underlying problem. I would want a diagnosis of what they think is wrong and what they propose to do to fix it, and ideally for the car to pass a re-test at the same MOT centre that just failed it, as I reckon that gives a bit more confidence it's been fixed, as opposed to a blind eye being turned. Tbh for a relatively common car it's nearing the 'walk away' point with the MOT fail, but if it's attractive then it may be ok if you can ensure it's fixed.
One more point on imports, all cars sold in Japan are fitted with an electronic limiter that cuts engine power when they reach 112mph (180kmh). Depending on your taste for speed you may want to ask the seller whether this has now been removed.
On the general point of why an import, due to various factors Japan exports large numbers of used cars, many (but not all) of which are well-kept, rust-free and of below-average miles. The used-car auction system is relatively transparent in that they look the car over, fill in a condition sheet and give it an overall grade. Echoing D_G, I brought an auction Grade 4 car in and I was impressed, it would've been pretty hard to find a UK market car in such good condition given it was a model that had been out of production for ten years.
There is still crashed/rusty junk in Japan that unscrupulous businesses can make money exporting, cashing in on the generally good reputation of these cars - so it's not a guarantee of a good'un, but it does generally tilt the odds in your favour.
The CO level excess is more significant, it probably means the car's overfueling, or else perhaps the cat is missing, degraded or been replaced with a sports one. The risk is that if you say 'fix that and I'll buy', the seller may find a more 'amenable' tester who'll pass it, leaving you stuck with the underlying problem. I would want a diagnosis of what they think is wrong and what they propose to do to fix it, and ideally for the car to pass a re-test at the same MOT centre that just failed it, as I reckon that gives a bit more confidence it's been fixed, as opposed to a blind eye being turned. Tbh for a relatively common car it's nearing the 'walk away' point with the MOT fail, but if it's attractive then it may be ok if you can ensure it's fixed.
One more point on imports, all cars sold in Japan are fitted with an electronic limiter that cuts engine power when they reach 112mph (180kmh). Depending on your taste for speed you may want to ask the seller whether this has now been removed.
On the general point of why an import, due to various factors Japan exports large numbers of used cars, many (but not all) of which are well-kept, rust-free and of below-average miles. The used-car auction system is relatively transparent in that they look the car over, fill in a condition sheet and give it an overall grade. Echoing D_G, I brought an auction Grade 4 car in and I was impressed, it would've been pretty hard to find a UK market car in such good condition given it was a model that had been out of production for ten years.
There is still crashed/rusty junk in Japan that unscrupulous businesses can make money exporting, cashing in on the generally good reputation of these cars - so it's not a guarantee of a good'un, but it does generally tilt the odds in your favour.
samoht said:
The number plate lamp should be a trivial fix, most likely the bulb. The fact that the exhaust is noisy is just an observation, you'll be able to judge for yourself if you like that or not.
The CO level excess is more significant, it probably means the car's overfueling, or else perhaps the cat is missing, degraded or been replaced with a sports one. The risk is that if you say 'fix that and I'll buy', the seller may find a more 'amenable' tester who'll pass it, leaving you stuck with the underlying problem. I would want a diagnosis of what they think is wrong and what they propose to do to fix it, and ideally for the car to pass a re-test at the same MOT centre that just failed it, as I reckon that gives a bit more confidence it's been fixed, as opposed to a blind eye being turned. Tbh for a relatively common car it's nearing the 'walk away' point with the MOT fail, but if it's attractive then it may be ok if you can ensure it's fixed.
One more point on imports, all cars sold in Japan are fitted with an electronic limiter that cuts engine power when they reach 112mph (180kmh). Depending on your taste for speed you may want to ask the seller whether this has now been removed.
On the general point of why an import, due to various factors Japan exports large numbers of used cars, many (but not all) of which are well-kept, rust-free and of below-average miles. The used-car auction system is relatively transparent in that they look the car over, fill in a condition sheet and give it an overall grade. Echoing D_G, I brought an auction Grade 4 car in and I was impressed, it would've been pretty hard to find a UK market car in such good condition given it was a model that had been out of production for ten years.
There is still crashed/rusty junk in Japan that unscrupulous businesses can make money exporting, cashing in on the generally good reputation of these cars - so it's not a guarantee of a good'un, but it does generally tilt the odds in your favour.
Hi and thanks for your input. He did say it has a milltek exhaust with sports cat? I have a agreed a price and am currently on the train to collect. This is with me sorting out the emissions issue. The mot is still valid for another 3 weeks as the fault isn't classed as dangerous which gives me a little bit of time to fix. Basically I agreed a price of £500 off an asking price that was already very competitive with the reasoning (blind hope?!) That this £500 should cover a worst case to remedy the emissions fail. I do know a good vw specialist who services our work vehicles so hoping he can do the business. The CO level excess is more significant, it probably means the car's overfueling, or else perhaps the cat is missing, degraded or been replaced with a sports one. The risk is that if you say 'fix that and I'll buy', the seller may find a more 'amenable' tester who'll pass it, leaving you stuck with the underlying problem. I would want a diagnosis of what they think is wrong and what they propose to do to fix it, and ideally for the car to pass a re-test at the same MOT centre that just failed it, as I reckon that gives a bit more confidence it's been fixed, as opposed to a blind eye being turned. Tbh for a relatively common car it's nearing the 'walk away' point with the MOT fail, but if it's attractive then it may be ok if you can ensure it's fixed.
One more point on imports, all cars sold in Japan are fitted with an electronic limiter that cuts engine power when they reach 112mph (180kmh). Depending on your taste for speed you may want to ask the seller whether this has now been removed.
On the general point of why an import, due to various factors Japan exports large numbers of used cars, many (but not all) of which are well-kept, rust-free and of below-average miles. The used-car auction system is relatively transparent in that they look the car over, fill in a condition sheet and give it an overall grade. Echoing D_G, I brought an auction Grade 4 car in and I was impressed, it would've been pretty hard to find a UK market car in such good condition given it was a model that had been out of production for ten years.
There is still crashed/rusty junk in Japan that unscrupulous businesses can make money exporting, cashing in on the generally good reputation of these cars - so it's not a guarantee of a good'un, but it does generally tilt the odds in your favour.
The car is rust free, in excellent condition in and out and no interior rattles etc very smooth and quiet. Also service history seems to check out with completed book from VW dealer in Japan and invoices for cambelt and dsg service in the last 12 months in UK. Basically everything looks great except for this issue. However I may be a complete idiot, will let you know when I attempt the two hour drive home tonight.
Ok, well personally I'd say it's 'bold' to buy a car with a known issue, but if the price and condition is attractive enough then I can see it makes sense.
The sports cat could well explain the CO issue. Certainly on 350Zs it's common to see them with a sports cat and if you look up the MOT history you see emissions failures. Many people say that if you get the cat hot enough by driving hard right before doing the emissions test, it'll pass (hot = chemical reaction goes faster = less CO in the exhaust). So you might find you can coax it through like that, or it might need some fiddling with the map to lean out idle a bit, if that's possible. Worst case I guess you need to find a standard cat in good condition and put that on.
The good news is it's a pretty common car so shouldn't be too hard / expensive to find parts / people competent to sort it.
Good luck!
samoht said:
Ok, well personally I'd say it's 'bold' to buy a car with a known issue, but if the price and condition is attractive enough then I can see it makes sense.
The sports cat could well explain the CO issue. Certainly on 350Zs it's common to see them with a sports cat and if you look up the MOT history you see emissions failures. Many people say that if you get the cat hot enough by driving hard right before doing the emissions test, it'll pass (hot = chemical reaction goes faster = less CO in the exhaust). So you might find you can coax it through like that, or it might need some fiddling with the map to lean out idle a bit, if that's possible. Worst case I guess you need to find a standard cat in good condition and put that on.
The good news is it's a pretty common car so shouldn't be too hard / expensive to find parts / people competent to sort it.
Good luck!
Thank you, I do actually want a standard cat anyway as i don't like the exhaust too loud. If that really is worst case then I would be happy with that. Do you think asking to go for a longer test drive say a good 20 min run before I buy would help? It certainly would give me a bit more confidence for driving home! The sports cat could well explain the CO issue. Certainly on 350Zs it's common to see them with a sports cat and if you look up the MOT history you see emissions failures. Many people say that if you get the cat hot enough by driving hard right before doing the emissions test, it'll pass (hot = chemical reaction goes faster = less CO in the exhaust). So you might find you can coax it through like that, or it might need some fiddling with the map to lean out idle a bit, if that's possible. Worst case I guess you need to find a standard cat in good condition and put that on.
The good news is it's a pretty common car so shouldn't be too hard / expensive to find parts / people competent to sort it.
Good luck!
scoey1001 said:
Thank you, I do actually want a standard cat anyway as i don't like the exhaust too loud. If that really is worst case then I would be happy with that. Do you think asking to go for a longer test drive say a good 20 min run before I buy would help? It certainly would give me a bit more confidence for driving home!
Yes, I think a slightly extended test drive would help you confirm that the engine runs satisfactorily under all conditions and both hot and cold, that sounds reasonable to me for a modified car. You won't learn anything about the emissions, but just checking it runs well. If it's a private sale you'll need to sort insurance for a test drive, dealers will have cover for that.I don't know how much a standard cat costs for a Golf Gti Mk5, but as long as no-one's fiddled with the mapping, that will very likely be enough to bring the emissions back into line and should be a straight swap with the sports cat I would think. I mean the 'worst case' is you need a whole standard replacement exhaust system, but even that should be available used for a reasonable price I'd imagine, as people take them off to upgrade.
scoey1001 said:
The mot is still valid for another 3 weeks as the fault isn't classed as dangerous which gives me a little bit of time to fix.
Is this correct?I thought that if your car has failed an MOT it shows on the system as not having a valid MOT, even if the old one still had some time to run.
I could be wrong, I often am, but that's what I'd heard.
Hope the purchase went ok OP, put some pics up tomorrow.
Trevor555 said:
scoey1001 said:
The mot is still valid for another 3 weeks as the fault isn't classed as dangerous which gives me a little bit of time to fix.
Is this correct?I thought that if your car has failed an MOT it shows on the system as not having a valid MOT, even if the old one still had some time to run.
Dangerous - car may not be driven at all until repaired
Major - MOT failure but can continue for duration of existing MOT validity
So with the above fail sheet the car's ok to be driven for the duration of its current valid MOT.
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