Bing_2004

Has anyone imported a car from Japan privately?
How much extra cost is involved on top of price in Japan?
SVA?
Conversion?
Tax?
Registration?

GC8

The best and most honest advice that I can give you, is that if you need ask here then dont. Go to a reputable agent and deal with them.

Simon

Bing_2004

I bought my scoob from a Jap import dealer. Since then I was looking at a Japanese auction site and saw a car very similar age and spec to mine for 60% of price I paid.

GC8

But if you wont take my advice:

Expect to pay about £300 in Japan for transportation tot he port; de-registration and loading onto the ship. Cartage will be US$68 per M3 and a Scooby is approximately 10.5 M3. Make sure you get marine insurancel Id suggest using a YUWA ship to Southampton or Liverpool; the agents here will automatically include it at only £10. Customs clearance and unloading will cost about £100; you will pay import duty @ 10% on the cost of the car, Japanese expences and cartage with VAT on top. If the vehicle was manufactured after 311296 then you will probably need a Model Report to complete the E-SVA test; check with the MoT that one is available to rent before commiting yourself; if its a 4x4 its more complicated. I havent mentioned the classification of de-reg and designated model numbers; if theyre missing from the cert of de-reg then youre buggered. Make sure you dont get chagred sales tax either as its reclaimed in Japan.

wrrjones

right costs

sva £190 the car will idealy need to be pre 1997 and totally std if its not std you will have to put it back thats all parts wheels,exhaust,induction,seats, well everything.

converson parts all above+fuel neck restrictor,speedo,fog lamp
so £20,£70,£15 plus fitting.

you will have shipping to pay £500 ish

17.5% vat + 10% duty this is on car cost and shipping and insurance.

reg is £38 + tax you will need cover note for this so will have to insure on chassis no not easy ..

delivery as you cant drive the car on the road £150 ish

dont forget the agents charge which is usually £500 ish on the car cost

it all adds up ....and dont i no it ive been doing it for 2yrs ...

chris

GC8

Dont think that Im trying to undermine you here; but there are no auction sites; there are lots of 'auction sites' but they are mostly skankers. One I saw was charging fees but the highest bid didnt get the car; the skankers simply placed that bid at a live auction. If you tell me what the model was I'll give you an idea how much it will have cost to land in England though.

Simon

GC8

Thats not too bad is it? When you consider that the importer has had all of that money at risk for at least eight weeks the return is quite small. Those prices were for a Grade IV car; a 3.5 would be cheaper but a good Grade IV can also attract significantly higher bids too.

Simon

washer

the guys name is magal www.newera imports he buys over there he buys no sh?t hlly recem but y wait for a good one gaz

GC8

Miguel surely?

MattN

It's pretty staight forward really - up untill it gets to the UK. Then it all falls over at every point.

My last car turned up early, no one knew it was at the docs, paid the duty, took C&E 2 months to get me the certificate of payment. SVA took 2 months, which was just as well as I couldn't register it anyway. Got charge Quay rental as the car was delayed being picked up as the agents didn't know **** from elbow. Admitted it was there fault but couldn't refund me as I didn't pay it direct - the SVA people collected it. 4 months on refund in sight. SVA cost was £550

The other pitfall is trusting someone enough. Luckily I've got some good contacts so I know (hope anyway) they won't run off with my cash. You can save a bit but sometimes if you find someone desperate to sell you can buy cheaper here.

You bought from a dealer? So it's going to cost more. I've never understood why anyone would buy from a dealer when the autotrader is full of cars.

GC8

Surely the Bill of Lading was couriered to you so you should have known the date of arrival? There are a lot of pitfalls; most of them are actually in Japan; hence my advice not to try.

Simon

MattN

No. The BOL was surrendered in Japan. Oh and they switched vessels somewhere in Europe so i was tracking the wrong vessel.

I've never had a problem Japan side. Apart from delays booking cars on to vessels.

GC8

Dont your clearing agents require one of your copies of the BoL? I always get two copies sent over to me.

The problems to which I refer, apart from missing numbers on the cert of de-reg, are pitfalls for the novice, rather than for an experienced importer. Imagine all of the things that can go wrong for an inexperienced punter browsing t'internet with ¥3,000,000 burning a hole in his pocket.....

Edited to add: Switched vessels? ffs! Which shipping line was that; YUWA; HUAL or K-Line?

Simon

washer

i sat down and had a snooz for 7 months worth the wait

GC8

....?

MattN

No the clearing agents didn't need a copy as it was surrendered. The shipper was Wilhaus or something similar.

Sure, anyone that buys from an internet auction is waiting to get their ***** ripped off, luckily I don't have that problem and get the cars inspected before I bid.

sti8sam1

If you are to buy a car through a Japanese car auction. It is one of the best ways i have found, i have bought a number of cars ranging from GTR32 -34GTR, and a spec c. The auction houses especially the USS ones are spot on , Despriptions are accurate, and even the 1990 Skyline i had was a original untouched example with no running probs,
The people to watch out for is the dodgy dealers who buy all the bumped ****e up and sell it on as excellent cond, ( which i have seen)
Regards
Sam
Just make sure you have a good agent that is the person that can rob you.

GC8

The trouble is Sam; that when most people look on the internet, all they can find are the dodgy dealers that you mention (arabs being by far and away the worst). Out of curiosity I must have looked at over 100 internet sites selling used cars in Japan and I wouldnt entertain dealing with any of them, under any circumstances.

All Japanese auction inspectors are Government approved, so the appraisal they produce can be relied upon, as can the odometer reading; this is why Ive always advised people to only buy a car if they can see they auction sheet (an never to buy a car from a docks auction as theyre as bad as the arabs!).

Was it an R32 GT-R? I looked for a Grade IV '89/'90 car for ages but I couldnt find one; and there're 60,000+ cars a week being auctioned too.

Simon

sti8sam1

Hi Simon, I agree the sites are very suspisious, took me ages to find a good guy, as being female there are a lot of sharks out there.
The GTR is a Nissan Skyline , there are hundreds off them but 8/10 will have been wrote off, Check the Tokyo or Nagoya ones

GC8

I try never to buy at Tokyo auctions as the prices are SO dear. I select the vehicles myself so I have access to all of the auction reports, my agent just bids and ships for me.

With regard to the R32; I was only looking for a Grade IV car; out of hundreds that I looked at only a handful were grade IV and all of those had problems after the appraisals were translated for me. I came across a nice one after Id bought an Evo engined N23WG Super SportsGear though; Sods Law I suppose; maybe next time, as I fancy a GT-R for £4,000 FOB.....

Btw; there are a lot of Sharks here too.....




Simon

sti8sam1

The cheaper end stuff is fetching good money, Due to no SVA on cars manufactured before 94, I have found that the newer stuff is much more reasonable due to low costs brand new
But i still cant decide what i want

GC8

I agree; the average cost of a CD9a Evolution now is 240,000Yen and theyre all either a Grade III or and R/A/O; you used to be able to buy a Grade IV CD9a for 180,000Yen ffs.

Im tempted by HNU13 Nissan Bluebirds. SR20DET 210PS 4 wheel drive; no one knows what it is, is looks alright, and it goes as well as a Pulsar GTi-R but without attracting all of the eejits.