Importing a car from Japan

cormie

Hi,
I'm thinking of getting a Toyota BB:


It seems the only way to get one is by importing from Japan (there's a yellow one on carzone but it's a bit expesive). I have no idea what these retail for new in Japan, or 2nd hand, I'd want to spend about 8K total including all import duties etc. I don't know where to look, who to talk to or anything and I don't even know if 8K is anywhere near possible for it.

I'd appreciate any info or advice:)

Max_Damage

It's a bit, eh, square, isn't it? Ha, makes my Micra (boxy type) look round!

They also sell them in the States under the Scion brand. You could try importing one from there (on eBay) if you are up to it.

cormie

are jap cars rhd or are the UK and Ireland the only countries in the world who have RHD?

zuutroy

Loads of places drive one the right including Australia, India etc....Most colonial countries. You can check prices and import using www.idirect.co.jp. They're very reliable.

cormie

jayziz, the scions are going for nothing on Ebay. How much would it cost to get it shipped over and on the road here and also change it to RHD does anyone know?

Max_Damage

RHD conversions are usually very expensive. If I were you, I'd leave it as a LHD if you do decide to get it from the USA.

cormie

It would deffo be LHD coming from Japan yeah?

Max_Damage

No, RHD from Japan (if you can find one)
LHD from America

cormie

sorry, that's what I meant:D

Squirrel

Find one you're looking at and ring the VRT office with the year and milage and get them to give you an estimate so you'll know how much you'll have to pay for the VRT. Check the sticky at the top about importing cars. I think there's mention of companies who'll do most of the work for a fee in there, if not, google it and see what happens. Budget a bit for shipping and good luck with it. This is for branding with Poker.ie yeah?

alastair

Check out www.ibcjapan.co.jp

'06 Toyota BB's have typically been selling for 12,000 euro at auction in Japan

Alun

cormie wrote:

are jap cars rhd or are the UK and Ireland the only countries in the world who have RHD?

Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, large parts of Africa and a good few other small countries drive on the left too.

See http://brianlucas.ca/roadside/

ta2kev

Hey, did you ever get sorted with a toyota bB? Check this one out.

blobert

I like that Yellow one!

Was looking at these recently when importing a car from Japan, went for the Yaris instead (the BB is built on the Yaris platform) as I could not justfity paying twice the price for the BB.

To import from Japan you will have to pay:

(1) The auction or cost price of the car
(2) Shipping: roughly €500 on a car of this size
(3) Docking Fee: €108
(4) Clearance Agent: €120
(5) Customs @ 10% of the total cost of the car (inc shipping)
(6) VAT @ 21% of the total cost (+ customs added on)
(7) VRT as worked out by the VRT office

It can all add up a bit but if you are aware of all the costs and budget your max auction bids accordingly (they will always charge you close to your max bid even if the car was cheaper I'd imagine) you can still get a good deal.

I used IBC Japan and found them pretty good, huge range of cars available to choose from when buying at auction.

It's a bit daunting doing all of the above the first time (I was greatly endebited to the folks here who explained it all to me) but if I were to go through the process again it is pretty straightforward. It's amaving to think that you can do everything from sourcing the car, to paying for it and getting it delivered, right up to the point of getting it at the docks, without leaving your chair!

Good Luck

Esel

Boo hiss to ta2kev for resurrecting a long-dead thread - and a cormie one at that! :eek:

bmbmbm

Hi im bringing in two cars from japan will i have to pay the shipping agent twice and double to the dock fees?

G Luxel

alastair wrote: »

Check out www.ibcjapan.co.jp

'06 Toyota BB's have typically been selling for 12,000 euro at auction in Japan

This very model is also available as a Daihatsu. Its already on sale in Europe and soon the UK so may be arriving here soon....

gniie

hello everyone.
I did import a car from Japan and I have serious problems with it so far. The car arrived with massive electricall dammage and is costing me a fortune to repair.
If anyone wants details please send e-mail.
I want to sue IBC Japan:mad: for repair cost ( they don't care about the problem) and I want to know if anyone has any experience in the matter and how to go about.
It looks that they are great to deal with when it is all well but as soon as there is a problem they keep saying that they are sorry and ignore you!!! All be ware!!!!:mad:

drdre

gniie wrote: »

hello everyone.
I did import a car from Japan and I have serious problems with it so far. The car arrived with massive electricall dammage and is costing me a fortune to repair.
If anyone wants details please send e-mail.
I want to sue IBC Japan:mad: for repair cost ( they don't care about the problem) and I want to know if anyone has any experience in the matter and how to go about.
It looks that they are great to deal with when it is all well but as soon as there is a problem they keep saying that they are sorry and ignore you!!! All be ware!!!!:mad:

What car was it? I dont think you can sue Ibc as i think its a sold as seen service

gniie

it's a toyota prius and the HV battery came dammaged beyond recarge and the car does not start without it= useless. The car supouse to be grade 4(out of 5 max) and the technical inspection said it was in good condition but as it arrived does not fit the purpouse.
It needs a new HV battery and it is very expensive to replace:mad:.
Any suggestions???

drdre

gniie wrote: »

it's a toyota prius and the HV battery came dammaged beyond recarge and the car does not start without it= useless. The car supouse to be grade 4(out of 5 max) and the technical inspection said it was in good condition but as it arrived does not fit the purpouse.
It needs a new HV battery and it is very expensive to replace:mad:.
Any suggestions???

It takes a long time to get here and most batteries die on the way.I dont think thats their problem seriously as if i buy a car from there and that happens to me thats just luck and you have to be prepared before you purchase.
Try find a battery in the scrap yard or in uk as irish prices are just too high.
What did you get quoted here?

Esel

drdre wrote: »

It takes a long time to get here and most batteries die on the way.I dont think thats their problem seriously as if i buy a car from there and that happens to me thats just luck and you have to be prepared before you purchase.
Try find a battery in the scrap yard or in uk as irish prices are just too high.
What did you get quoted here?

Jebus man, it's not a regular car battery! It's the huge series of batteries that power the car. Think I read somewhere that they cost €8K to replace?

drdre

esel wrote: »

Jebus man, it's not a regular car battery! It's the huge series of batteries that power the car. Think I read somewhere that they cost €8K to replace?

I understand what you mean, I didnt know they are that expensive but seriously do you think ibc will do anything about it.Well i dont think so.

gniie

the battery does cost several thou euros and i can get it sorted eventualy( very difficult to repair a jap import in Ireland) but if anybody have been in the situation to take on a japanese comp to court I would like to hear what way they went about with it. I don't want to let them get away with it just because it is confusing to make them pay for it.
It must be a international law that states that any product bought on line must be fit for it's purpouse. Even a used car that is described as better than average condition must be included in this description. So anybody out there has any suggestions???

blastman

To be honest, I don't think you'll get much satisfaction as it will be impossible to determine who is at fault. The Japanese seller? The auction house for incrrect rating? IBC? The shipping company? That's just for starters.

Tipsy Mac

gniie wrote: »

the battery does cost several thou euros and i can get it sorted eventualy( very difficult to repair a jap import in Ireland) but if anybody have been in the situation to take on a japanese comp to court I would like to hear what way they went about with it. I don't want to let them get away with it just because it is confusing to make them pay for it.
It must be a international law that states that any product bought on line must be fit for it's purpouse. Even a used car that is described as better than average condition must be included in this description. So anybody out there has any suggestions???

Toyota stand over the Prius batterys for 8 years, give them a call and they should help you regardless if it's an import or not as it shouldn't be failing at that age.

gniie

Toyota Ireland has changed the battery allright but they didn't do it under warranty and they were reluctant to get involved, from what I was told, because the car is a jap import.
They were more concern with the safety aspect of it and that is why they gave technical assistance to the mechanics doing the job.
Also it was suggested that the battery failed because it was missused durind transit from Japan to Ireland but would not give a statement on that because they would be afraid to get sued. So I was left with the bill( massive) but at least the car is running well now. I am talking to a solicitor at the moment and I'm hopping to get some results.

cormie

How much did it end up costing you? Close to 8k as suggested above:eek:?

gniie

Close to 6k but the battery is @ 4k supplied

Esel

At least with a new battery you should have no problems in that department into the foreseeable future. Hope the car is still a bargain!

Good luck seeking redress and keep us posted on how it goes.

gniie

At this price it is not a bargain anymore but it is smooth drive. As wrt recovering the repair cost it is not likely but I'm not done with them yet.
Word of advice to private importers: you are at seller's discretion when something goes wrong. Your rights are NILL.

gniie

gniie wrote: »

At this price it is not a bargain anymore but it is smooth drive. As wrt recovering the repair cost it is not likely but I'm not done with them yet.
Word of advice to private importers: you are at seller's discretion when something goes wrong. Your rights are NILL.

The shipping comp has confirm to me that any time IBC Japan has any complaints they are NEVER EVER taking any responsability.

gniie

For the attention of NOVICE IMPORTERS:
So far I couldn't recover any of the expenses for replacing the HV battery and I am left with the bill.
I would never import from Japan again no matter what the savings are and I will be very carefull about buying a japanese import cars even from here. I must be sure that can be easily fixed by any garage rather than specialists because what you save on the buying price you'll double spend when trouble comes.

importjdm

gniie I believe you about IBC Japan's complaints and shipping policies. I found so many complaints about them:

http://jdmvip.com/jdmcarforums/showthread.php?t=39