Importing Cars From Japan

[marky89]

Hey guys, im looking for some adivce on importing a car from japan to the uk. Im looking to buy a car at auction over there using one of the varified
auction/exporter dealers that are online. Can anyone recommend me a good one to use that doesnt charge a big commision fee and is reliable.

Also what type of things should i be on the look out for when buying in japan and getting it exported.

If you have experienced doing this yourself id love a opportunity to chat to you for some more info.

cheers

mark

[Si]

I used Jurgen at JM Imports - just up the road from you. Top bloke.
That was a forecourt car though, not an auction one, so can't help on that side of things, but he was great post purchase - kept me well informed, did all the paperwork, MOT and other stuff, and wasn't too pricey. Would thoroughly recommend.

[Tanuki]

If I were to buy a vehicle directly from Japan I would be keen to get as much history on it and have it translated. Especially recent work done and when it's 'shaken' (mot) ran out. The mots are very strict there so I would assume many of the vehicles exported have failed.

[ANDY black s13]

I was reading about jap imports as in the USA they have gone mad with r32 imports being now legal
one thing that surprised me was were in japan the car has lived/been used as in some cars endure winters like ours
and so have all the rust issues that we have,remember they didn't get the stone chip the UK cars got
and some never see any snow and crap weather and are of course the cleaner rust free cars
a thread on zilvia chap got his dream BNR32 and it turned out to be a rust bucket underneath (see above about areas)
car looked clean in the pictures from japan,but none of the underside showing the chassis,he went with seller's description
he had to sell it on at a loss and start over with another cleaner car that was from the better weather areas
just my 2p on the mine field of importing something you don't see till its arrived

[marky89]

Cheers for the advice guys,
I would use jurgen but im wanting to experience this myself as if it goes well and i find s good contact over there, id like to start my own small importing business. So thats why im just trying to get as much info as possible on it.

[Con2K]

Marky, i'm in the same boat. Wanting to do it myself without using an agent. Bottom line is, unless you speak japanese and/or are in Japan, it can be quite a difficult process. There are however companies based in japan who will handle that side of the process/translations and then it's up to you once it's booked onto a ship. You'll soon realise that it's volume of cars you bring in that make it worth while. There are always some that sell for strong money and some which appear to command a premium outside Japan, assuming it sells.

With regards to harsh winters, Hokkaido is the Northern island where the winters are worse and the lack of undersealing and general colder weather has a worse effect on J-Tin. Generally people avoid cars from this area unless it's really worth the risk. Coastal areas or smaller island cars fall foul to similar problems due to the salt air. Just depends how old tou're thinking of going with regards to imports. S14's, 15-20yrs old. Ours are bad enough even ignoring common failures of undersealed areas.

[Tanuki]

Dude, I hate to burst your bubble but you're going to probably need a fairly good grounding in Japanese if you want to start an import business. Most folk there can say a few phrases in English and that's it. I speak pretty good and I'd still be reluctant to carry out business deals over the phone tbh. Just my 2p as well

[ANDY black s13]

the other thing I read was they weren't all keen to deal with american's,some are ok
if they hold a grudge with the british or its some translation thing I don't know ?
Afaik the companys still doing the import disco have a man in japan or two doing the groundwork and dealing
and sorting the containers on another mans behalf at a price of course
your need a contact like that out there to get by if like tanuki suggests your not fluent in the lingo imo

[marky89]

thanks for the info Conk2. iv already been looking around alot of website that offer the services and a re registered so i know they are legitimit. Im sure if i give them the details of what im after and how much i have to spend on a car, they could go out and try find it for me and send me some info and pics of the car so i ca feel comfortable with putting a bid in. Im willing to learn Japanese as its always been on my Bucket list anyways so i guess this is as good as an excuse as any to learn it.
im going to send some emails out tomorrow to a few companies and ask them if anyone speaks english and what type of details they would be able to supply me about the cars they go for, etc.
cheers guys, keep the advice and info coming please, especially any dificulties and things to look out for when purchasing.

[Con2K]

To be honest, if you want someone to find a specific car, use a UK based agent like Jurgen at JM Imports (others are available).
If you want to trawl through potentially hundreds of cars, if not thousands, (with a short list based solely on import images and paperwork (normally a japanese spec sheet and 2-3 photo's), based on that info, you chase up a uk speaking, japanese based lead to provide greater detail and translations aswell as bid and port settlements.

You dont need to study japanese to get by. The same stuff will appear again and again, it's just familiarising yourself with the characters to know what they mean.

Containers are great but more expensive than RoRo. You can cram them full of stuff but being over here, you're unlikely to be able to manage that level or organisation to get a car and aload of parts all in one go at this early stage of importing. 40ft fit two cars so more cost effective if the cars are extremely precious and you dnt want to take any risks.
RoRo is fine 99% of the time. There is the risk of theft of smaller items, any 'spares' will probably be removed in japan and not make it into the ship(more so as they arent part of the car and u can't ship additional parts inside RoRo cargo. High tides and low cars make for damaged bodykits when loading/unloading and a non runner will literally be dragged off the ship by a rope around anything they can get to as they have a deadline to meet to get stock off the ship and refilled again.


Once landed, how do you collect it? Drive it home, trailer? Use a firm? If legit consider adding a tacho to your recovery vehicle, or trade plates and trade insurance. Day cover costs soon add up.
Same for heading to an MOT, costs keep coming.

All part of the fun though!

[Rubix_Cube]

Cheers for the advice guys,
I would use jurgen but im wanting to experience this myself as if it goes well and i find s good contact over there, id like to start my own small importing business. So thats why im just trying to get as much info as possible on it.

I don't want to shit on your idea but the Import market is saturated and with JM on your doorstep you'll struggle to make a thriving business. If its just something you wanna do on the side, you might find you make £500 on a car for potentially 6 months work of phone calls, ****ing about and hoping the car sells.

I know many who have set up and failed, if you do try and succeed please feel free to dig this post up and call me a dick.

[Tanuki]

As Andy has suggested you will need someone on the ground who speaks both English and Japanese (ideally) and whom you can trust, otherwise without using an established importer I'd say you'd be flying blind and taking a big risk.
As far as Japanese people holding a grudge, it is unlikely. Anyway money talks...

[marky89]

thanks for all the adivce guys, i really appreciate it all.

I really dont see it being a problem that JM Imports is local to me, every car is difference, its all personal so if i had a car that suits someones tastes n price that he didnt have, id sell.
Thats just like saying 2 car garages next to each other selling used cars wont work, and yet they do.

I can clearly see i have a lot to think about and this is definatly something im not just going to dive into so im going to be doing some more research and see what comes up.

keep the info coming tho guys, the more i know the better decision i can make. Iv got a couple of other ideas floating around so if this isnt going to work ill put my effort into something else.

cheers

Mark

[Mark]

thanks for all the adivce guys, i really appreciate it all.

I really dont see it being a problem that JM Imports is local to me, every car is difference, its all personal so if i had a car that suits someones tastes n price that he didnt have, id sell.
Thats just like saying 2 car garages next to each other selling used cars wont work, and yet they do.

I can clearly see i have a lot to think about and this is definatly something im not just going to dive into so im going to be doing some more research and see what comes up.

keep the info coming tho guys, the more i know the better decision i can make. Iv got a couple of other ideas floating around so if this isnt going to work ill put my effort into something else.

cheers

Mark

Yes and no.

The import business is strongly attached to reputation and there are a lot of people importing pieces of shit and passing them on. Therefore you will find most people will prefer to deal with a company that has a good rep and well respected than one thats just set up. Of course all companies have to start somewhere but dont think its simply a case of buying a car and it flying out the door.

good luck though

[piman2k]

As above, reputation is everything in the world of the internet.

[Rubix_Cube]

My advice if your going to make it work.

Start by importing small cars and cheap cars, do the odd customer request and grow from there. I know the margin on importing is peanuts as Jurgan has said many times that people want a Grade 4 180sx, with mods for 5k for example. That car at auction is a 5k+ car if it even exists, plus all your shipping, plus your profit margin.... Also, your out of pocket for every car until it arrives and the buyer collects. I don't know anyone who will pay the full price before picking the car up. You might be lucky to get 50% of it fronted to you and your out of pocket on the rest till it sells.

Its a tough fight, best of luck to you.

[marky89]

Cheers for the advice guys. Really appreciate it all. Some really good info here. Ill see how things5 go. As i said, I'm not in any major rush. Just want to do something i love.

Cheers

Mark

[marky89]

Does anyone think jurgen would have a problem with me asking him a few questions, i know id potentiallu be a competitor to him but i know some people would be really helpful here and since i don't know him, im just wondering if any of yous would
Know if he would mind.

Cheers

[piman2k]

It's not something I think he'd appreciate as a businessman. I don't know him but it's basically helping the competition start.