The BIG thread on how to import from Japan

One question i don't see here is your Japanese Import car does not have Japanese registration plates on it  - so how do you drive to the NCT Centre without registration plates ?  Or does it ?? you can't drive to the Centre without some plates on it

Mmmmm.... i dont think so - didn't see a set of them on a car with what - 25 yrs maybe  ?? Anyone go with the previous Japan reg ??

charlietheminxx, I'm having similar problems. I've put a deposit on a jap import from a dealer. It is a prius estate, 2013. Allianz said no flat out. Did you tell Liberty that it was a jap import? Was it more expensive?

The dealer told me that there would be no problem insuring the car but now I'm finding that is not true. I've paid a deposit & the dealer has registered it now in my name. Is it too late for me to pull out of the sale? Anyone have any legal advice on this?

Thanks.

Thanks Charlietheminxx
I'll keep trying. The thing is the car reg has to be searchable for any of them to give a quote & that won't happen till next week. I'll have to wait.

Charlietheminxx - did you do the whole quote online? Or did you have to speak to a call agent? If you did it all online, did you have to say anywhere it was an import?

If you read in the assumptions link in a lot of the online quotes they are assuming the car is not an import.

Could someone confirm my comment above? Cheers

Fantom wrote: »

I have recently import same car 2012 Hybrid L-G. You will be asked to get a proof from Department Of Transport in Japan or you can download it from theirs website.

I'm having difficulty locating proof of CO2. Would you be able to provide a link please?

I would like to share my Experience buying and importing a car through JDM auction watch.
I will happily share further details and all mail chains with anyone who wants more info. This was a very personal project for me. The project was to buy a car for me and my son Killian to work on, develop and enjoy.
After a bit of research and changing of the goal we decided on a Nissan Skyline R33 GTR or a R34 GTT. Being in Ireland I found the thought of dealing with a buyer in Japan a bit too risky. I found JDM auction watch mid May 2019. By Early June I had a Euro 500 bidding deposit in place. Patrick at JDM Auction watch was very helpful with Auction sheet translation and advice on price. It is difficult to bid accurately as you are bidding on a car landed in Dublin with Vat and duty paid.

Armed with Google translate or translation from Patrick and historical value I started the search. 27th June I bid Euro 16,000 on a one owner R34 GTT lot # 50175 @ USS Nagoya and the car was secured for Euro 16,240. This is landed in Dublin with Vat and Duty paid. This was Euro 240 above my max bid. I was reasonably happy with this and accepted it. The shipping was problematic and the car only landed in Ireland and cleared on the 4th November. There were three issues during the shipping.

1.Despite paying JDM Auction watch fees and various commissions to secure, ship and import the car for me Patrick said I was required to register as an importer with “EORI”. This was not an option for me as I work abroad and do not qualify to register.

2. Patrick informed me that although I bid and paid for the car landed in Ireland, I may be required to pay more VAT and duty. This is a grey area as JDM Auction watch are managing a transaction which is not in their name. There is no proof of price actually paid at auction for Vat and Duty valuation/purposes.

3. I had to sign over authority to a customs agent to act on my behalf for the clearance in Dublin. This transaction was administered by JDM Auction watch. Again, no control of a transaction that was in my name.

Another niggle was fees stated. I was told JDM Auction watch fees were Euro 500 +vat. I was charged in excess of Euro 922. The X-ray check, De-reg, port handling and storage, shipping prep and inspection fee of 126,000Yen is over double that of the competition (auto access Japan).

Finally, the car landed in Dublin port and was cleared. I was abroad at the time so paid my local garage owner to drive the car to my house on his trade plate. My brother also helped out at the port. When they arrived at the car, they checked the levels before starting.

The engine had no oil and 50% coolant. The battery was 100% dead as the lights had been left on during loading and unloading. Leslie and Dean alerted me to this issue straight away and I contacted Patrick. Patrick said to go and buy oil, coolant and a battery and he would cover the invoice and my concerns were noted. He said to drive on and see if the car was OK. This was a schoolboy mistake on my part.
This conversation was verbal and I should have told my guys to leave the car there until the problems were properly documented. The car should have been inspected at the Auction house, by the buyer in Japan, after the car was won at auction, during the pre-shipping and de-registering process and also by the shipping company.

The worst-case scenario is the car has been driven around the auction site, during transport to export location, during transport to port, during transport/trans-shipping (on and off ships 6 times). All this with a dry sump.

When I returned home on the 24th December, I had a look around the car and did test drive. The car is nice but the engine is not running right and wont rev past 4K. It is knocking and rattling badly. I did the usual tests. I also did an oil sample, compression and endoscope. After fresh oil was driving for 4 hours it shows alarming levels of hard metal, soft metal, fuel, coolant and water. Results also sent to JDM auction watch.

So far JDM auction watch have stonewalled me or passed the responsibility back to me. Patrick even went on to say that a far less patient person would have told me where to go sooner. If you pay for a service you should receive the service. If you charge fee you should stand over your product. I have asked for fees to be returned to the value of Euro 2500 (cost of a donor engine). I would like everyone to be aware of my experience with JDM Auction watch and act accordingly. Please feel free to contact me if you want to discuss details or costs involved further.
I have shared this doc with JDM Auction watch