Importing: Japan V The UK

gary the great

I've decided after a lot of thinking that im going to get a toyota celica.

Now i dont have that much money, so need to get it as cheap as possible. So im going to either bring it in from the UK or Japan.
Which is liekly to save me most money? I'll be doing it in January and will have a month off work in between contracts so can spend loads of time on this.

The only thing about bringing it in from Japan is i may find it harder to get insurance, but if i get the car a lot cheaper i wont mind to much.

I know the UK will be handier and I can view the car before buying, but will the Jap route save me much money? Also note that i will be in Japan in December so that could help!

When im in Japan id like to just go pick a celica out then get someone to sort the rest out for me without charging me a fortune!

Any advice or comments would be appreicated?

littlejukka

i test drove an altezza last month. i was worried as he was looking for only 13k for it, beams engine, etc. turned out he'd imported it only 2 months before from japan and it was an absolute pig of a car. transmission was in bits, the engine was producing nothing near the 200bhp he had been told, it sputtered and farted up to 6000 revs and from there up to 9000 it was just awful and unreliable. the suspension was knackered, dangerously so. i could go on.

he knew it was in bits so he was willing to let it go for 10k. between the price of it, importing it and VRT he must have been hit for 14-15k, not having test drove it. i would say it's not worth the risk. there's no substitute for sitting in a car and using your intuition.

bazz26

To be honest if looking for a Celica I would go to the UK for one. Nicer and higher speced versions over there imo. The VVTI-L or T-Sport models are the ones to seek out, 190bhp compared to the standard 140bhp plus most come with the Premium pack which includes 17" alloy wheels, sunroof and leather interior. Another important factor imo is that you get the usual HPI checks and car inspections done easily on UK models which will also include a service history.

I would image trying to get a genuine service history on a Japan import would be more difficult plus the Japs like very much to modify their cars which means there might be all sorts of things done under the bonnet. This could spell trouble later down the road plus you may never know how the car was treated.

There also seems to be a nicer variety of colours in the UK, most Jap imports you see here tend to be either black, white or silver.

gary the great

bazz26 wrote:

To be honest if looking for a Celica I would go to the UK for one. Nicer and higher speced versions over there imo. The VVTI-L or T-Sport models are the ones to seek out, 190bhp compared to the standard 140bhp plus most come with the Premium pack which includes 17" alloy wheels, sunroof and leather interior. Another important factor imo is that you get the usual HPI checks and car inspections done easily on UK models which will also include a service history.

I would image trying to get a genuine service history on a Japan import would be more difficult plus the Japs like very much to modify their cars which means there might be all sorts of things done under the bonnet. This could spell trouble later down the road plus you may never know how the car was treated.

There also seems to be a nicer variety of colours in the UK, most Jap imports you see here tend to be either black, white or silver.

I think your right, I considered Japan to be to much hassle anyway. Don't think i'll go for the 190BHP model as i'll never get insured on it, im 24 with a Full licence and 1 yr NCB.
I think the 140HP should be a step up enough from my 1.5 mazda 323f. TBH im not mad into the power i tend to drive quite slow, but then sometimes if i have a big open road ahead I put the foot to the floor and im sure the extra 50HP be nice, but its not essential!

What are peoples opinions on these cars anyway? I think there a really good looking, comfy and relaible motor. Has it all imo. Plus they can be picked up for quite cheap over in the UK I was looking at a 00 yesterday, 87K with great spec for £4.5k which is reasonable imo. Hopefully the value will drop a bit more after xmas and the VRT system doesnt change to much.

C_Breeze

Getting insured on the 190 at 24 with a full & 1yr NCB shouldnt be a problem i would imagine. Even if youre not gonna be racing around, the 190 is a whole different beast to the 140.

Werent you complaining that the 323f was too low and sporty and were having difficulty getting in & out as you're so tall!?? ... celica seems a strange choice!

NiamhB

Hi there,

Highly Recommended , a new consumer show for RTE is looking for participants and people who have imported cars and made money from it would be perfect for the show. If you think you've a great story on a great deal you can contact us at highly.rec@gmail.com or 0818270941.

You could be in with the chance of winning €2000!

craichoe

NiamhB wrote:

Hi there,

Highly Recommended , a new consumer show for RTE is looking for participants and people who have imported cars and made money from it would be perfect for the show. If you think you've a great story on a great deal you can contact us at highly.rec@gmail.com or 0818270941.

You could be in with the chance of winning €2000!

Thats sounds a bit dodgy

Why would they be using a @gmail.com addy

bazz26

The 140bhp Celica is no snail either, plenty of them about in the UK too. As I said try and find one with the "Premium" or "Prestige" packs which includes sunroof, climate control, 17" alloys, leather interior and cd changer.

gary the great

C_Breeze wrote:

Getting insured on the 190 at 24 with a full & 1yr NCB shouldnt be a problem i would imagine. Even if youre not gonna be racing around, the 190 is a whole different beast to the 140.

Werent you complaining that the 323f was too low and sporty and were having difficulty getting in & out as you're so tall!?? ... celica seems a strange choice!

Ye i was complaining about that, but there is actually a load of difference between the 2! Its really easy to jump in and out of the Celica as opposed the F surpisingly!

smash

UK 190bhp version with Leather and lots of extras! Japanese cars don't have half of what the UK cars have

Henry Ford III

Nice cars. I like them. As usual, look at a few, and then buy the best one you can afford.

p.s. Personally I wouldn't be happy with a Jap import, nor anything modded.

5500

Is there a performance difference between jap and uk specs or different parts?

AntiVirus

I have a UK Celica T-Sport model and have had no problems getting it serviced as all the parts are the same as the Irish model.

UK T-Sport models come with ABS, Tracktion control and Vehicle stablity control, this makes it much harder to lose control of and it has a much nicer digital climate control panel.

A great fun car to drive everyday.

skyhighflyer

NiamhB wrote:

Hi there,

Highly Recommended , a new consumer show for RTE is looking for participants and people who have imported cars and made money from it would be perfect for the show. If you think you've a great story on a great deal you can contact us at highly.rec@gmail.com or 0818270941.

You could be in with the chance of winning €2000!

Heh, either that's a scam or the Revenue Commissioners have become more inventive in the ways they track down tax-dodgers