Import question

[andyjmac]

Hi all,



Ive posted this question in a few other forums and had a few responses but guess there is probably a wealth of experiance here too which may be able to offer some good advice.



Having just purchased a mk2 Mazda MX5 import from a garage ive discoverd that the electronic odo is reading in miles and not the kilometers as stated and advertised!! The car was advertised as having done 62K miles and the guy at the garage assured me the odo showed kilometers ie ~100K. Now after checking out a few known mileage routes the odo is recording miles and not Km, ie the car has an extra 40K miles on than i thought!



Where do i stand legally?? Im fairly happy with the car as it is, can i claim some money back to compensate for the additional mileage??

[trickywoo]

The speedo may have just been converted from Km to miles hence its now showing miles but the accrued distance showing was indeed 100Km.



How long has it been in the country?



I doubt you would be able to prove when the conversion was done without a receipt for the work.



Is the steering wheel shiny, pedal rubbers / gear knob badly worn? Or the drivers seat belt slack on the return spring or drivers seat threadbare?



If so that may point to 100k miles and not Km.

Edited by trickywoo on Wednesday 23 May 13:44

[andyjmac]

trickywoo said:

The speedo may have just been converted from Km to miles hence its now showing miles but the accrued distance showing was indeed 100Km.



How long has it been in the country?



I doubt you would be able to prove when the conversion was done without a receipt for the work.



Is the steering wheel shiny, pedal rubbers / gear knob badly worn? Or the drivers seat belt slack on the return spring or drivers seat threadbare?



If so that may point to 100k miles and not Km.

Edited by trickywoo on Wednesday 23 May 13:44

The car has been in the country since 1998 so i assume the conversion was done then?



Gear knob was worn and the front end didn't seem to 'chippy' but then ive never had a jap car so i cant really judge on how well they age

Edited by andyjmac on Wednesday 23 May 14:12

[Riknos]

If it's been in this car since 1998, hardly worth buying an import really was it?

The reason I bought an import was because it is in better condition due to warmer climates in japan, lack of rocksalt used so no rust, and the fact they have stricter MOT's and higher ron fuel out there. That's the reasons most people who buy imports listed.



Anyway, back on topic:



If it was converted back in 1998 chances are you've got 40k km on it followed by 60k miles, or something like that?



When I was looking at cars, they would have 88k on the clock but the owner would *claim* that was 60k of km, and only 28k of miles on there, but it could all be miles for all you know? No way to tell without a receipt of when it was converted and at what mileage

[andyjmac]

Riknos said:

If it's been in this car since 1998, hardly worth buying an import really was it?

I got the import cos of better spec ie air-con etc is that hardly worth it? I wanted air-con and most uk cars don't have it so i brought the car, it was the car i brought not where it came from.

[Riknos]

Didn't realise the '5s had better spec in JDM. Most JDM cars have lower specs then the UK market ones, but I guess back then the UK didnt want air con etc whereas the japs have all along

[Tinohead]

Riknos said:

Most JDM cars have lower specs then the UK market ones

Sorry to disagree mate but I'm pretty sure that's completely wrong! Take the new Civic Type-R as a prime example, the UK one doesn't even have an LSD as an option, where as it's standard on the JDM one, as well as the JDM having a more powerful engine, amongst other things.



It's the same story with older Japanese cars, all the ones I've imported have had more 'toys' than their UK equivalents, LSDs, climate control, full electric packs, fold in mirrors, as well as quite often having a few more BHP that the UK versions.



Cheers.

[T_J]

Tinohead said:

Riknos said:

Most JDM cars have lower specs then the UK market ones

Sorry to disagree mate but I'm pretty sure that's completely wrong!

Yep, fraid thats complete rubbish. The main reason people buy jdm cars is the higher level of equipment and more power.



As for the MX5, the older ones (pre 98 which your must be) had a cable driven speedo. When they are converted the odo will start to read miles as well. With the leccy speedo's the odo is driven from the ecu and will remain in km's.

[phoenix-pete]

Hi guy's

Sorry to butt in,usually on the TVR section.

Just bought a freshly imported Toyota hilux surf.

The speedo has had the face changed to read MPH, will the odometer which is mechanical still be recording in KPH? and will the speedo be reading accurately in mph or not?

Sorry but I can't figure it out.

Thanks for any help.



Pete.

[cptsideways]

phoenix-pete said:

Hi guy's

Sorry to butt in,usually on the TVR section.

Just bought a freshly imported Toyota hilux surf.

The speedo has had the face changed to read MPH, will the odometer which is mechanical still be recording in KPH? and will the speedo be reading accurately in mph or not?

Sorry but I can't figure it out.

Thanks for any help.



Pete.

Its normally just the face thats changed thats it, should be vaguely accurate but always worth a GPS check to be safe.

[T_J]

phoenix-pete said:

Hi guy's
Sorry to butt in,usually on the TVR section.
Just bought a freshly imported Toyota hilux surf.
The speedo has had the face changed to read MPH, will the odometer which is mechanical still be recording in KPH? and will the speedo be reading accurately in mph or not?
Sorry but I can't figure it out.
Thanks for any help.

Pete.

The speedo will read mph, but will only go up to 110, not that it's a problem with a surf. Should be accurate if fitted properly.
As for the odometer. It will read km's, not km/h as they measure distance not speed.

[MrFlibbles]

Gazboy said:

T_J said:

phoenix-pete said:

Hi guy's
Sorry to butt in,usually on the TVR section.
Just bought a freshly imported Toyota hilux surf.
The speedo has had the face changed to read MPH, will the odometer which is mechanical still be recording in KPH? and will the speedo be reading accurately in mph or not?
Sorry but I can't figure it out.
Thanks for any help.

Pete.

The speedo will read mph, but will only go up to 110, not that it's a problem with a surf. Should be accurate if fitted properly.
As for the odometer. It will read km's, not km/h as they measure distance not speed.

me you're pedantic.

FFS Gaz, get it right!

[phoenix-pete]

MrFlibbles said:

Gazboy said:

T_J said:

phoenix-pete said:

Hi guy's
Sorry to butt in,usually on the TVR section.
Just bought a freshly imported Toyota hilux surf.
The speedo has had the face changed to read MPH, will the odometer which is mechanical still be recording in KPH? and will the speedo be reading accurately in mph or not?
Sorry but I can't figure it out.
Thanks for any help.

Pete.

The speedo will read mph, but will only go up to 110, not that it's a problem with a surf. Should be accurate if fitted properly.
As for the odometer. It will read km's, not km/h as they measure distance not speed.

me you're pedantic.

FFS Gaz, get it right!

My fault!!

As pointed out the odometer reads distance not speed.
My English teacher said I was b****y useless and she was not wrong.

No fighting please,it's past my bedtime and I get grumpy when i'm tired.

Oh!! and thanks for the help.

Cheers
Pete.

[Stu R]

Gazboy said:

Riknos said:

If it's been in this car since 1998, hardly worth buying an import really was it?
The reason I bought an import was because it is in better condition due to warmer climates in japan, lack of rocksalt used so no rust, and the fact they have stricter MOT's and higher ron fuel out there. That's the reasons most people who buy imports listed.

I bought an import MR2 becuase Toyota UK decided not to sell the Turbo version. I bought an import Supra because there were no UK cars for sale at the time. Japan has a warm climate, but it's also wetter. I can only think of three cars where the UK car is preferable- Supra, Skyline R34 GTR & NSX...

Can't really disagree with that, though I would say if you're buying from somewhere reputable importer wise, I'd take any JDM nissan over a UK spec one purely on the basis that they won't have been exposed to the salt. I know the UK specs are finished underneath but stick my 11 year old GTR up on the ramps against a 5 year old UK spec R34 and I know which will look the newer car to the untrained eye.
Plus you get flares to play with when you get most japanese imports, and I'm not talking about eccentric trousers

Importheads: flares matter

[chevy-stu]

You normally take the risk of the milege being innacurate on a jap import, part of the lower price i would have thought.
Mine was definately wrong.

[Stu R]

chevy-stu said:

You normally take the risk of the milege being innacurate on a jap import, part of the lower price i would have thought.
Mine was definately wrong.

Certainly a lot of them going around, but with a bimta certificate and a reputable importer you can get at least a little piece of mind

[Tinohead]

Stu R said:

Importheads: flares matter

I was gutted when I picked up my new Intergra in the docks and found the flare was robbed, but luckily I have a spare Of course, finding top notch coilovers and an LSD were also quite pleasing

[Stu R]

Tinohead said:

Stu R said:

Importheads: flares matter

I was gutted when I picked up my new Intergra in the docks and found the flare was robbed, but luckily I have a spare Of course, finding top notch coilovers and an LSD were also quite pleasing

I had 4 flares in the glovebox! was like christmas And of course the other goodies, like Nismo wheels, tein suspension, and a few other trick bits

[Stu R]

I feel your pain Gaz

I'd gladly offer you one of mine but they got tied to the roofbars of a mates pajero during some off road antics.

[MrFlibbles]

Stu R said:

I had 4 flares in the glovebox! was like christmas And of course the other goodies, like Nismo wheels, tein suspension, and a few other trick bits

I didnt realise the glovebox on a Liner was so huuuuuge!