The BIG thread on how to import from Japan

tromsharry1

Thanks for guiding us about how to import a car from one country to another. I got it very well and I really appreciate your post

Stephen7287

colm_mcm wrote: »

With respect, Do people really dream of AE101s?
Can't imagine paying 10k for one

Yeah... They can.

colm_mcm

fair enough. my mother imported one in the latest 90s and it was a lovely car and loaded with kit.
you are gonna get fleeced on insurance though

out of interest, what's your position on wrx imprezas and evos?

Stephen7287

colm_mcm wrote: »

fair enough. my mother imported one in the latest 90s and it was a lovely car and loaded with kit.
you are gonna get fleeced on insurance though

out of interest, what's your position on wrx imprezas and evos?

They're nice cars, why? Do you think I'm buying a Corolla to rice it out? That's not me.

5ub

You could buy an already imported one and spend the change on making it how you want it?

et la http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-corolla/10274058?offset=17

Stephen7287

I'd rather import one so that I know exactly where it's coming from. Plus, I live in Leinster and there's not a lot of great condition Corollas here, and I'm not travelling Ireland to get a car when I can get a better one from Japan.

Greenmachine

colm_mcm wrote: »

fair enough. my mother imported one in the latest 90s and it was a lovely car and loaded with kit.
you are gonna get fleeced on insurance though

out of interest, what's your position on wrx imprezas and evos?

Interesting that you asked about wrx imprezas. A lad I worked with about 10 years ago bought some from japan from some kind of an agent. Insurance was an issue even then. Crowd he went with had a huge loading on the policy and as far as I know no longer exist he was also 25 at the time. :eek::eek:

Stephen7287

How is there so many Corollas on Done Deal if no one can get insured on them?

D_turbo

Id highly recommend JapancarsIreland on facebook.
Hes name richie.

Absolute gent to deal with, will only import stuff to a high standard

colm_mcm

Stephen7287 wrote: »

How is there so many Corollas on Done Deal if no one can get insured on them?

JDM models or European?

The reason I asked about evos and imprezas was that with 10k you could get a nice one of either with far superior performance to the Corolla. If you are gonna get fleeced on insurance why not get something fast?
I didn't assume you would ruin the car - interesting that you would think that.

Even an ae86 would make more sense on paper than spending so much On a 101

Stephen7287

Here's a question for everyone in the thread. If I was to buy a 94-97 Corolla on Done Deal for 1.5-5k, how long would I get out of it?
The whole reason I want to import one from Japan is because I want it to last a lifetime.

colm_mcm

It really depends on how it's been treated up till now.
As long as it hasn't been ragged and it's been serviced every so often it'd be grand.
Obviously you'd need to do the timing belt if it's due.
They are very robust cars. It might be worth getting one from the UK as you often get OAP owned minters over there.

colm_mcm

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201508296451205?maximum-age=over_10_years_old&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&keywords=1.3&price-to=2500&make=toyota&sort=priceasc&model=corolla&body-type=hatchback&radius=1500&channel=cars&search-target=usedcars&page=2&postcode=ln12na&logcode=p

This one looks great
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201508286428827?maximum-age=over_10_years_old&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&keywords=1.3&price-to=2500&make=toyota&sort=priceasc&model=corolla&body-type=hatchback&radius=1500&channel=cars&search-target=usedcars&page=2&postcode=ln12na&logcode=p

colm_mcm

1.6 3 door
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201507265526019?sort=priceasc&radius=1500&price-to=2500&page=1&maximum-age=over_10_years_old&body-type=hatchback&onesearchad=used%2Cnearlynew%2Cnew&search-target=usedcars&make=toyota&postcode=ln12na&keywords=1995&channel=cars&model=corolla&logcode=p

gt4-wrc

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Jap imports cant be classics, apparantly.

personal experience,this is not true i have a jap import on a classic policy

Stephen7287

im looking for the 7th generation saloon.

9935452

colm_mcm wrote: »

It really depends on how it's been treated up till now.
As long as it hasn't been ragged and it's been serviced every so often it'd be grand.
Obviously you'd need to do the timing belt if it's due.
They are very robust cars. It might be worth getting one from the UK as you often get OAP owned minters over there.

if he can get a good one for 2 or 3 grand , it leaves 7 grand of the budget which you could do an aweful lot of work to a car if he wanted

Stephen7287

You can't really get a lot done out of 7 grand. Do you know how much a good set of wheels cost? And a vinyl wrap? And if I pay 2 or 3 grand on a car, is it worth paying 10k - 15k on it? Or will it just break down in a year because it was so cheap?

9935452

Stephen7287 wrote: »

You can't really get a lot done out of 7 grand. Do you know how much a good set of wheels cost? And a vinyl wrap? And if I pay 2 or 3 grand on a car, is it worth paying 10k - 15k on it? Or will it just break down in a year because it was so cheap?

So you are looking to do a boy racer to the car then?

There are plenty of 2-3 grand cars on the road that are reliable, as colm pointed out look in the uk for mint ones. a well serviced car 200k miles can be more reliable than a underserviced unloved 50k miles one

so say you pay 10k for one from japan and you dont like the alloys that come with it, you will have to replace them anyway. i stuck a nice set under the A4 a few months back, came off a 2015 A6 span new , the owner didnt like them, 5 genuine audi alloys 5 pirelli p7s locking wheel nuts for 500 euro.

Will you be getting one that has been vinyl wrapped? , probably not , so you are budgeting for that anyway.
even if it is wrapped you might not like the wrap and have to go again.

Other cons as mentioned are insurance will be dear on a jap import.
Another thing to think about is if you were were involved in an accident , lets say someone hits the car and causes 4 or 5 grands worth of damage , the insurance will pay out market value which means straight away you will be badly out of pocket . just because you paid 10k for a 97 corolla doesnt mean its worth more than 3k to the insurance.

Stephen7287

Type in 'LadyOnWheels 94 Corolla' on Google. That's how I want it to look. No spoiler, no loud exhaust, no ricer ****.
If I bought a Corolla on Done Deal, I'd get it refurbished (remove dents, scratches, and rust) get it vinyl wrapped (black gloss) get a really nice set of wheels, and change the interior.
So, I can pay 2k on a car off Done Deal, then pay 10-15 grand on it. Or import one from Japan for 6,500-10,000 and do the same amount of work on it. Which one are you saying would last longer (When you buy them from a Japanese auction site they are near mint condition.

Kevhog1988

Stephen7287 wrote: »

Type in 'LadyOnWheels 94 Corolla' on Google. That's how I want it to look. No spoiler, no loud exhaust, no ricer ****.
If I bought a Corolla on Done Deal, I'd get it refurbished (remove dents, scratches, and rust) get it vinyl wrapped (black gloss) get a really nice set of wheels, and change the interior.
So, I can pay 2k on a car off Done Deal, then pay 10-15 grand on it. Or import one from Japan for 6,500-10,000 and do the same amount of work on it. Which one are you saying would last longer (When you buy them from a Japanese auction site they are near mint condition.

you want to spend 10k on a corolla? i know of a spotless levin for 3.5k. also know of a completely rebuilt 20v ae101 for around the 4 mark

millington

Stephen7287 wrote: »

When you buy them from a Japanese auction site they are near mint condition.

Haha you've obviously never seen the state of some of the heaps that roll off the boat here. They're are good cars still out there alright but theres also plenty a hell of a lot worse than here.

Why on Gods earth would you need to spend 10k on an E10 Corolla? :eek: And then bring vinyl wrapping into the conversation :rolleyes:

You'll be a long time waiting for a grade 4 E10 saloon to come up in Japan. Better off looking around here, still plenty of minters about. 1500-2k will buy a fine car. But if you want perfection, then another 2k will give it a perfect paint job.

What the hell could possibly cost 10k without coating it in gold?

JC01

Stephen7287 wrote: »

You can't really get a lot done out of 7 grand. Do you know how much a good set of wheels cost? And a vinyl wrap? And if I pay 2 or 3 grand on a car, is it worth paying 10k - 15k on it? Or will it just break down in a year because it was so cheap?

You really really can actually, genuine set of Volks in 15" 1k-1.5k for an immaculate set.

Full respray 2.5k

7k would fully rebuild the suspension, brakes etc, spray the car and throw ina healthy 20v to boot.

And what can break down in it? There a ridiculously simple engine it's half the reason there so reliable. The biggest bill you could have is 500e for a replacement engine.

And as an owner of a performance jap car your tapped to be considering spending 10k on a 101

Pascal101

Hi there, NCT office in carrick on shannon asking a letter from honda dealers in ireland for Co2 emmision of Honda Insight.
Refusing the certificate of emission from Japan from exporter, the specification sheet from Honda Japan cannot be print from a website.
Honda dealers ireland refusing to issue letter for a car that was not sold in ireland.
What others importer presenting for Co2 emission?
Pleased provide the NCT center you go.

5500

I've seen this a lot lately, they won't accept a letter issued from the exporter anymore with the co2 figure wrote on it, and likewise a dealer here wont want to know about it.

Your exporter/agent has to get the official spec sheet with co2 rating from Japan and send it with a translated English copy.

If not you'll be charged the vrt rate at the highest level of 36% as opposed to the 14% that it shows up as on the online system.

Don't leave it over 30 days or you'll be fined, better off paying and appealing if you can get the papers at a later date

ejabrod

Anyone able to give a rough estimate of landing (ex VRT) a €3,000 car from Japan?

5500

Is the 3k your CIF price or FOB price?

ejabrod

I am assuming FOB as €3,000 is just the price of the car only, nothing else.

5500

Shipping varies on car size so that's a variable but roughly around €5500/€5700 for a saloon sized car by the time it's cleared customs ready to collect from the port ex vrt

Barr

Prehaps I missed it in the thread.

If you buy from a place like trade car view , is there a way to get it checked beforehand ?

I suppose something like an AA inspection in Japan ...does this exist ?