Japanese Import, how to verify mileage ?

peasant

Going to look at a japanese import this evening. All those I've ever seen advertised have suspiciously low milage for age. Ok ..so driving conditions in Japan might be different ...but they just might be all clocked.

Other than looking for the tell-tale signs of wear and tear around the car and the trim that might hint at a harder life than the mileage suggests ...is there any other way to verify the mileage?

Do jap reg cars come with some sort of export certificate or any other sort of documentation / service record that might substantiate the reading on the odometer?

If so, what kind of document would one have to ask for /

Thanks for your help, sages ...

Henry Ford III

I think this is an issue with all Jap. imports.

I know they have very strict maintenance which limits mileage and makes it uneconomic to run older vehicles, but I guess they are cheap(ish) for a reason despite expensive shipping, import duty, vat and vrt.

bmoferrall

'Tis more than a bit suspicious that they're all around the 55K mark...and some of the dealers are decidedly dodgy arfur daley types. Frankly, I wouldn't trust the mileage on any of these cars.
Will take some time, but the best advice would be to order yourself through one of the auction agents. For more advice, do a search for past threads on the subject.

Tipsy Mac

Best way to check that it's not being clocked on arrival in Ireland would be to ask the dealer for the auction details which will list the milage, doubt any will supply this though as it will say what they payed for it. No way to prove if the car was clocked prior to auction.

Ratchet

peasant wrote:

..Do jap reg cars come with some sort of export certificate or any other sort of documentation / service record that might substantiate the reading on the odometer?

If so, what kind of document would one have to ask for /

Thanks for your help, sages ...

importers will not show you any auction related papers,

so you wouldn't see real price and possibly get heart attack on their premises:D

peasant

So my only hope would be to find a nicely filled in service booklet in the glove compartment ...

...and being able to make sense of the Japanes characters.

Oh, the chances of that happening ...

Well, I guess, the good old "gut feeling" will have to be listended to again

smash

kind of hard to even run a background check because plates are removed from the cars, I wouldn't buy one. better off with an english import with an HPI report

Mc-BigE

Very hard to prove mileage on a Jap import, it’s true that mileage is a lot lower in Japan than Ireland, as someone said, buy one yourself through an auction website if you’re willing.
Try to get the auction report from the Irish importer with the price he paid blacked out might be the answer, however the report will also point out
good and bad issues with the car also, doubt he will hand it over.

Good common sense is all that’s left,

Bring a friend with you who knows about cars if possible,
check for damage repair along both sides of the car, look for ripples in the panels, sure sign of a cheap filler repair, check under the bonnet for repair to the front and wings, same in the boot, check under the oil cap for white gunge, check for respray around window rubbers, lift a few rubbers to check if it was taped up.

Never view a car in the wet or dark, check that all panels line up and are equal distance between gaps in the panels/doors/bonnet etc.

Next check for wear and tear on peddles, carpets, seats.

Check for a lot of movement in the gear stick, should be smooth gear change for a low mileage car.
Check if screws around the clocks/dashboard have been opened in the past.

There’s probably a lot more, but that’s all I can think of.

peasant

Well at least this particular dealer sells his cars warrantied and NCT'd ...couldn't be a total lemon, so.

I'd say it's pretty much the same risk as looking at any other used car.

In the sub 10 k segment where I'm looking you really see all sorts.

Was given the praise of an Audi A4 estate yesterday ...perfect car for me ...blahblah ...only 100 k miles ..blahblah ...perfect ...turbodiesel ...blahblah
great condition ...

Until we walked up to it ...two flat tires, scratches and dents everywhere and a lake in the footwells from a leaking sunroof.

perfect car eyh ?

Wouldn't like to see that one and the price tag on it once it's been "prepared" ...

5500

Any decent jap importer will have no problem showing you the auction sheet for you car,if they refuse to then simply walk away.Ive looked at cars from a crowd before and they had no problems showing me the auction sheet,the mileage was also the same as what was on the cars clock.

Ratchet

mileage doesnt really worry me too much if it is mechanically sound. jap imports could be also previously damaged and repaired .

seen good few of them but have to say that quality of work was very high

colm_mcm

go on condition rather than mileage. people are so obsessed with mileage!

peasant

ah ...all the fretting for nothing ...

Car was a heap. Lovely on first glance, with all the gimmicks. Grubby on second glance with all the grime (defo more than the advertised 57 000 kms worth). Doubtful on third glance with weird noises from one axle and minor electrical glitches...and a definite walk-away at closer inspection when one side of the car turned out to be a different colour and texture than the other.

Don't even want to know what that vehicle went through ...

A quick inspection of the rest of the stock showed up similar things ...non matching panels etc ...all that at typically inflated "Jap import" prices.

Best Motor Trading (Japan) Ltd, Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo ....AVOID !!

Couldn't even be bothered to enter anything remotely resembling negotiations ...just left ....

Should have gone fishing instead, lovely evening that it was :mad:

colm_mcm

try Enterprise catrs in Limerick. their prices are massive, but the cars are usually straight.