Japanese import or not?

swht

I have a 2005 T3 corolla that was first registered in the UK but manufactured in Japan. I was looking for a quote from an insurer recently and they refused to quote me because they said the reg was showing the car to be a Japanese import.

Are they correct in this, I always thought it related to where the car was first sold and registered not where it was manufactured?

djimi

Are you sure that it was first registered in the UK?

Toyotafanboi

yeah a t3 would be a UK import most likely, don't think that spec was available new in Ireland.

i think they have had a confusion between a Japanese built car that is an (UK) import and a "Japanese import". whether that be out of their stupidity or their perceived intelligence to screw you out of more money i'm not sure.

i'm sure a scanned copy of the log book showing them its previous UK reg should clarify things?

Cee-Jay-Cee

gonzo.phd wrote: »

I have a 2005 T3 corolla that was first registered in the UK but manufactured in Japan. I was looking for a quote from an insurer recently and they refused to quote me because they said the reg was showing the car to be a Japanese import.

Are they correct in this, I always thought it related to where the car was first sold and registered not where it was manufactured?

Isn't the Japanese corolla hatch called a Runx and not a corolla?

swht

I checked all the documents I have and the car was definitely first registered in the UK, just thought I might have misunderstood what they meant by imported as the car was manufactured in Japan. Tried to explain it but it seems computer says no!

bazz26

What insurance mean by Japanese import is that the car was originally sold for the Japanese domestic market (often referred to as JDM) rather than country of manufacture.

Have you encountered this issue from any other insurance companies or just the one. It is possible that this particular insurance company's database is wrong. Might be just less hassle to go with a different insurance company.

MugMugs

gonzo.phd wrote: »

I checked all the documents I have and the car was definitely first registered in the UK, just thought I might have misunderstood what they meant by imported as the car was manufactured in Japan. Tried to explain it but it seems computer says no!

Wasn't Chill by any chance, was it?

Had the same issues with them on a TR Avensis which really didn't make much sense.

T3 is UK Spec. She would have even been assembled in the UK AFAIK.

swht

MugMugs wrote: »

Wasn't Chill by any chance, was it?

Had the same issues with them on a TR Avensis which really didn't make much sense.

T3 is UK Spec. She would have even been assembled in the UK AFAIK.

No haven't encountered it with any other insurers just Axa. Chill quoted me on their website and it actually says UK import, not going with them again though, they're not good to deal with. I guess its just Axa's database.

MugMugs

gonzo.phd wrote: »

No haven't encountered it with any other insurers just Axa. Chill quoted me on their website and it actually says UK import, not going with them again though, they're not good to deal with. I guess its just Axa's database.

I'd still kick up a fuss over it.

They've got it wrong and there's no reason for it frankly.

Jap motors attracted increased premiums due to rarity of parts etc..... That's not the case here.

colm_mcm

OP, What's the first few letters on your VIN?

swht

colm_mcm wrote: »

OP, What's the first few letters on your VIN?

JTD

colm_mcm

It was built in Japan so. But you'd know if it was a Japanese domestic model import as it'd be different to a European model.

I'd assume the clocks are in mph anyway?

swht

colm_mcm wrote: »

It was built in Japan so. But you'd know if it was a Japanese domestic model import as it'd be different to a European model.

I'd assume the clocks are in mph anyway?

Yup and no funny little symbols anywhere, put the old reg from the vlc into the dvla site and it says first registered in January 2005.

Just got a quote for the correct model from axa online by saying I don't know the reg and they were way more expensive than other quotes I was getting.

Chris_Heilong

gonzo.phd wrote: »

JTD

It would be easy to spot if it was JDM, look in the engine bay or behind the sun visor for any Japanese text, check the passenger side front footwell for a round clip, this is where the Japanese would keep a flare in case they broke down.

this is what the clip looks like, yours would not have the red flare.

joujoujou

colm_mcm wrote: »

OP, What's the first few letters on your VIN?

gonzo.phd wrote: »

JTD

So it's not a JDM for sure. There's no VIN on JDM cars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_domestic_market#VIN

djimi

joujoujou wrote: »

So it's not a JDM for sure. There's no VIN on JDM cars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_domestic_market#VIN

Never knew that. I always assumed that the number in my engine bay that starts with DC2-xxx was the VIN number.