Buying a car in Japan

[Carnutbmw]

Good evening all,

Currently I am trying to determine whether importing a Toyota Landcruiser from Japan is a good idea, and through what channels I might do this. I am interested in a Landcruiser Colorado from the 90 series (made from 1996 through 2002), and in The Netherlands - where I live - and surrounding countries these cars are quite rare and mostly rather expensive.

One option would be to use the services of a company specialising in car import from Japan. Obviously this would make things relatively hassle-free, and from what I've read there are several companies in the UK which have a reputation for being reliable. Unfortunately, in The Netherlands direct import from Japan is less common because we prefer the steering wheel to be on the correct side of the car

A more satisfying and cheaper option could be to have an agent based in Japan buy a car in an auction (after a thorough inspection, obviously), and try and get through the import formalities myself.

Have any of you gone this route, without regrets afterwards? Can you recommend agents based in Japan who can be trusted, and who make sure to provide cars which meet their customer's requirements regarding condition?

Any help to point me in the right direction would be greatly appreciated, thanks !



Regards,
Frans

[Lollypops]

Newera Imports
Pacific Coast Auto
Autospecs

They are all based in Japan and reputable.

Pacific Coast put some of their car condition videos on Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/PacificCoastAuto/vide...

and I know he has imported to the Netherlands before.

Edited by Lollypops on Sunday 4th November 21:55

[Carnutbmw]

Thanks for the info’s, I’ll have a look at their websites.

Does anybody have any information on Autoaccessjapan (Stuart McKean)?

[mnaylor]

I have just bought a fresh Japanese import from Torque GT. I highly recommend them.

[aka_kerrly]

mnaylor said:

I have just bought a fresh Japanese import from Torque GT. I highly recommend them.

Apart from the chap is in Holland.

Get on some Jap auction sites and go crazy, the auction reports are done in such a way that you can get a reasonable idea of the cars condition from their grading system + diagrams, plus there are plenty of pictures to.

It all appears quite straight forward so far... I may have a different view next week if a wreck of an Toyota turns up at Bristol dock with my name on it;)

[bedonde]

I've just done the Jap import thing with a Merc C55 estate that landed in Southampton docks last week.

So far so good-ish, but don't underestimate the charges this end (or indeed your home territory..) in terms of customs clearing and freight forwarding agents, transport costs (unless you plan to pick it up yourself with a trailer or drive direct to the MOT/ or its equivalent testing station).

The garage mine's gone to said its in good order, but even still I've got a bit more outlay than expected in terms of routine stuff like an A service due, a couple of suspension bits needed and engine mounts (all standard items on a C55 of this age).

Then there's the cost of infotainment conversion which I haven't yet worked out how to sort cost effectively...

The upside which OP is probably already aware of, is the supply of well maintained and low mileage cars which go through Japanese auctions, European stuff but also loads of JDM stuff which you can't buy over here etc.

I used Autospecs who have been good overall, attentive and responsive to emails, although slightly tricky to deal with in other respects. However, it's a big learning curve. I haven't even seen my car yet - only pics from the back of a transporter

[Carnutbmw]

aka_kerrly said:

Apart from the chap is in Holland.

Get on some Jap auction sites and go crazy, the auction reports are done in such a way that you can get a reasonable idea of the cars condition from their grading system + diagrams, plus there are plenty of pictures to.

It all appears quite straight forward so far... I may have a different view next week if a wreck of an Toyota turns up at Bristol dock with my name on it;)

I have spent a lot of time already browsing auction sales data, in fact I’ve been losing quite a bit of sleep over it lately

What Toyota have you bought, and what company are you using?

[Carnutbmw]

bedonde said:

I've just done the Jap import thing with a Merc C55 estate that landed in Southampton docks last week.

So far so good-ish, but don't underestimate the charges this end (or indeed your home territory..) in terms of customs clearing and freight forwarding agents, transport costs (unless you plan to pick it up yourself with a trailer or drive direct to the MOT/ or its equivalent testing station).

The garage mine's gone to said its in good order, but even still I've got a bit more outlay than expected in terms of routine stuff like an A service due, a couple of suspension bits needed and engine mounts (all standard items on a C55 of this age).

Then there's the cost of infotainment conversion which I haven't yet worked out how to sort cost effectively...

The upside which OP is probably already aware of, is the supply of well maintained and low mileage cars which go through Japanese auctions, European stuff but also loads of JDM stuff which you can't buy over here etc.

I used Autospecs who have been good overall, attentive and responsive to emails, although slightly tricky to deal with in other respects. However, it's a big learning curve. I haven't even seen my car yet - only pics from the back of a transporter

Thanks for your remark on the costs of customs clearing etc. So far I have concentrated mainly on shipping fees, import duties and VAT, I will need to get some quotes for the cost of making the car street legal. Various changes will have to be made as well, such as lighting and probably the rear bumper.

In what way have Autospecs been tricky?

[aka_kerrly]

Carnutbmw said:

I have spent a lot of time already browsing auction sales data, in fact I’ve been losing quite a bit of sleep over it lately

What Toyota have you bought, and what company are you using?

Im using BeForward and have an Altezza Rs200 on route and another one following shortly. Then im eyeing up a Civic type r or S15 Silvia or something 1JZ powered.
Bristol docks staff have also been really helpful sorting a lot of paperwork and calculating fees for a small fee of 50quid.

[bedonde]

So any UK people who’ve done this before; how did you obtain a European certificate of conformity? The DVLA need it in order to register the car, but my C55 which arrived today, hasn’t got one... head scratch.

[was8v]

bedonde said:

So any UK people who’ve done this before; how did you obtain a European certificate of conformity? The DVLA need it in order to register the car, but my C55 which arrived today, hasn’t got one... head scratch.

Ask mercedes, e.g. VW will mail you one for free https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/need-help/owners/impo...

EDIT: here you go, Mercedes charge £120 https://homologation.mercedes-benz.co.uk/Home/Faqs

If the vehicle is not of a type ever sold in EU markets so no CoC it will need to go through an IVA test.

If its over 10 years old you just need an MOT

https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/...

Edited by was8v on Friday 9th November 14:46

[bedonde]

Yep having eventually spoken to the DVLA - apparently it doesn't need the IVA test, as it's a 2005 MY. CoC not needed either, so I've sent off the V5 registration application to the DVLA this afternoon. Soooo frustrating not being able to drive it.

[was8v]

bedonde said:

Yep having eventually spoken to the DVLA - apparently it doesn't need the IVA test, as it's a 2005 MY. CoC not needed either, so I've sent off the V5 registration application to the DVLA this afternoon. Soooo frustrating not being able to drive it.

Yes as its over 10 years you just need an MOT, and possibly evidence of speedo conversion etc.

[Carnutbmw]

In The Netherlands an individual type approval is required for vehicles made in 1998 or later. I am told this is a very tedious and expensive process. Is it really true that in the UK vehicles older than 10 years only need an regular MOT? And does the speedo HAVE to be converted to miles to make it road legal in the UK?

I might need to go via the UK, but I'd like to avoid having to convert to miles and then back to kilometres ...

Hope Brexit is delayed until 2020 or so

[AlwynMike]

Carnutbmw said:

I might need to go via the UK, but I'd like to avoid having to convert to miles and then back to kilometres ...

If it has a traditional analogue speedo, just stick some stickers on the glass with mph on, tge remove them when you get home.

Chap on another forum imported a V8 MG from UK to Sweden - he just used stickers on the glass to get his (Swedish) MOT and registration. He has now sourced a proper kph speedo for it though.

[rallycross]

For anyone importing from Japan this video clip might just give you some sleepless nights!

skip forward to 6mins 35 seconds for a truly horrific scene, including the savage end to a rare white bug-eye Sti.

https://youtu.be/Le-tHm3OLMo