Japanese Import?
Discussion
My Subaru is an import, I'm the second UK owner, not sure if all imports are the same but these need remapping for UK fuel as Japanese fuel is 100 Ron. Some cars also need a foglight fitting.. on the subaru they have one as standard. The radio also needs changing as the frequency is different.
Other than the above you need to be aware that the Japanese imports aren't usually rateeld for towing.
You'll likely need a specialist insurer: greenlight, Chris Knott etc but I found it no more expensive than insurance for a UK car.
The tax is also cheaper than UK as they use a default tax bracket.
Overall an import usually costs more to buy but is usually better condition too
Other than the above you need to be aware that the Japanese imports aren't usually rateeld for towing.
You'll likely need a specialist insurer: greenlight, Chris Knott etc but I found it no more expensive than insurance for a UK car.
The tax is also cheaper than UK as they use a default tax bracket.
Overall an import usually costs more to buy but is usually better condition too
Roboticarm said:
My Subaru is an import, I'm the second UK owner, not sure if all imports are the same but these need remapping for UK fuel as Japanese fuel is 100 Ron. Some cars also need a foglight fitting.. on the subaru they have one as standard. The radio also needs changing as the frequency is different.
Other than the above you need to be aware that the Japanese imports aren't usually rateeld for towing.
You'll likely need a specialist insurer: greenlight, Chris Knott etc but I found it no more expensive than insurance for a UK car.
The tax is also cheaper than UK as they use a default tax bracket.
Overall an import usually costs more to buy but is usually better condition too
Some useful information there, thanks.Other than the above you need to be aware that the Japanese imports aren't usually rateeld for towing.
You'll likely need a specialist insurer: greenlight, Chris Knott etc but I found it no more expensive than insurance for a UK car.
The tax is also cheaper than UK as they use a default tax bracket.
Overall an import usually costs more to buy but is usually better condition too
Roboticarm said:
You'll likely need a specialist insurer: greenlight, Chris Knott etc but I found it no more expensive than insurance for a UK car.
I had a ring round recently to insure an import.Huge difference in prices, you must try a few insurers.
Admiral were the cheapest for mine.
If you felt like a little background check on the car a Bimta check on the vin number will give you mileages (Kilometers) of when the car went through an auction in Japan.
Many importers will supply you with one included in the sale.
Clocking isn't as much of a problem as it once was, but I'd still be checking.
Does anyone know if there's a way of checking the auction gradings of a car?
When looking recently at cars described as grade 4's there were some that were obviously not grade 4's.
Many importers will supply you with one included in the sale.
Clocking isn't as much of a problem as it once was, but I'd still be checking.
Does anyone know if there's a way of checking the auction gradings of a car?
When looking recently at cars described as grade 4's there were some that were obviously not grade 4's.
Be aware that the infotainment may not work well here - navigation may be Japan only and in Japanese, and radio may be limited to 89Mhz max. So if you're looking at an import, check that you can listen to more than just Radio 2, and check out any navigation functionality.
I don't personally think there's any need to remap such cars, especially run-of-the-mill European ones, on import; I don't believe they have a meaningfully different tune from the factory. If it's a performance car I'd probably run it on 97+ octane over here.
But yeah, in general there are more low mileage and good condition cars in Japan, so can be a good place to find a nice car. Also more cars were sold with petrol rather than diesel engines in Japan, so as people now want petrols but the used cars on the market are often diesel, that's apparently a reason. On that note, be aware that imports won't qualify for ULEZ unless they're 2006 or newer (whereas some pre-2006 cars registered here are Euro4 and thus ULEZ compliant).
I'd probably put a new head unit in anything I bought to give me Android Auto etc, so the nav and radio frequency thing wouldn't be an issue.
I don't really know what ULEZ is. so I assume it doesn't affect me.
Likewise salted roads. In 30+ years of car ownsership, I have never had a car go rusty because I ueed it in the winter.
I don't really know what ULEZ is. so I assume it doesn't affect me.
Likewise salted roads. In 30+ years of car ownsership, I have never had a car go rusty because I ueed it in the winter.
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