Japanese Imports

D

darraghdog

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Has anybody bought one ? Can you give me indication of the pros and cons which should be considered.
 
Had a Mitsubishi RVR 4 wheel drive jeep thingy - was a nice car, but had a few problems with parts as this vehicle is not normally sold in Ireland.
 
They should be cheap as muck but Revenue discourage their import by putting absurdly high VRT values on the cars vis-a-vis similar model sourced in E.U. to discourage their import.
If VRT weren't applied prices of all cars in Ireland would collapse.

Nissan march is very slightly different to Nissan Micra even though they look the same but Japanese cars don't often break down so sourcing parts is less of a worry.
 
Yes I brought a cheap one just to see if I could.You should only get one that has a rating of 4 or more.Jap fees are about 80000 yen and shipping costs about 600 euro. Customs don't want to deal with the public so you have to go through an agent.This aget costs about 300 euro in total.Customs also charge a fee( for cars outside europe)This is based on the price you paid for the car.Its calculated as follows: 10% of the price you paid.This is then added to the price you paid and 25%(I think) of this total is calculated.This is the figure you have to pay. Vrt also has to be paid and this can got from www.revenue.ie .The company in japan I used is www.rizubi.com After they buy the car you've picked out they have to de-register it.This takes about 5 weeks and the shipping takes about 4 weeks.You will also have to collect the car from dublin port.As far as I'm aware you can't just drive it away, you need some sort of transporter.
All this is a bit of a pain but it is worth it IF you are buying for yourself.

ps I'm still trying to sell the one I brought in!
 
Yep brought one 4 years ago from a dealer here, great car, v reliable, Toyota. I only had to get 1 part, a door handle and my local toyota garage had it for me from stock in Dublin the next day.
I would say go for it if the price is right.
 
Hi, check out www.japnuts.com I test drove a Subaru Legacy B4 with the guy and all his charges are listed on is website - hes seems honest (oxymoron... I know.... honest car dealer !!!)
 
The figures quoted in the illustration are amazing. They buy a car for 7200 and with all the charges and taxes sell to you for 17300 and it's still a "bargain" compared to what you'd spend here.

Was that the new Legacy or the old one? I'd be careful of variants that you can't get here. Was talking to my mechanic who had a Toyota/Lexus Soarer in. Beautiful car, twin turbo. Says parts are a real ordeal to get his hands on.
 
I would imagine trying to ring previous owners, or testing the provenance of any service record would be quite an ordeal. I'm not one for trusting people who try to sell me stuff (even when I make the approach) so the inability to check what they tell me independently is why I will never take this route to "cheaper" motoring.
 
I had a 13 year old Jap import which was still going strong (never one bit of trouble) until some unsavoury characters helped themselves to it last week. Which is a con I guess, but I'm sure you're not gonna go out and buy a 13 year old car. The security should be better on the new models.

A pro is that the wear and tear seems to be less than that of 2nd hand Irish cars.
 
jdf said:
I would imagine trying to ring previous owners, or testing the provenance of any service record would be quite an ordeal. I'm not one for trusting people who try to sell me stuff (even when I make the approach) so the inability to check what they tell me independently is why I will never take this route to "cheaper" motoring.
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Well, in that case, enjoy getting ripped off by our home-grown cowboys!
 
the jap made/assemblied hondas toyotas are ************************* and they are finished greatly.elect windows mirrors are all standard plus A/C and the workmanship is the very very best.the toyotas you buy from a showroom here are assemblied in the uk and are not up to scratch and are an embarrassment to toyota.

if the price is right def go for a jap import
 
Was that the new Legacy or the old one? - it was the old one - the Japanese really like anything new apparently thus older models depreciate fast.
I have bought numerous cars from the UK and imported them here, paid the VRT and still saved thousands. I always get the AA to perform an independent check for peace of mind before I pay a deposit to the UK seller.
Obviously this is not possible with a Jap Import but the B4 I'm interested in, is only available in Japan.
 
1)I'd put a call into the service department in your local Subaru agent to ensure they can get their hands on parts for same.
2)I'd imagine there is possibly a B4 owners forum in the UK. Do a google on same. May be of help.
 
Alan Moore said:
1)I'd put a call into the service department in your local Subaru agent to ensure they can get their hands on parts for same.
2)I'd imagine there is possibly a B4 owners forum in the UK. Do a google on same. May be of help.
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Visit [broken link removed] , it's the Irish Subaru Drivers Club website, they'll be happy to give you whatever help/advice you need.
 
eoghanlk said:
shipping costs about 600 euro. Customs don't want to deal with the public so you have to go through an agent.This aget costs about 300 euro in total.Customs also charge a fee( for cars outside europe)This is based on the price you paid for the car.Its calculated as follows: 10% of the price you paid.This is then added to the price you paid and 25%(I think) of this total is calculated.This is the figure you have to pay.
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This is not quiet right, I brought in a Mazda MX5 in 2002 (sold now)

the total cost are as follows:

The Total costs is:
In japan:
Auction fee 8,000Yen
Inland Transport Fee 7,000yen
Customs Procedure 10,000Yen
Forwarding Clearing Documentation 15,000Yen
Storage at Port & Along side to vessel 5,000Yen
Commission 55,000Yen
-----------------------------------------
A.Local Expenses(Agent Fee) : Total 100,000Yen (about 700 euro)

B.Marine Insurance about 5,000Yen~15,000Yen (Depends on Value of The CAR) (about 100 euro for average car)

C.Ocean Freight : This is worked out by the volume the car takes up (m3)
Its about 70euro per m3 (about 700 euro for average car)


This total price (known as CIF price) A+B+C=1500 euro is to get the car to Ireland ONLY

Have a look at this for reference:
http://www.showatrade.com/auction/ocean_freight_fees.asp

When the car comes to Ireland (about 6 weeks)
You can arrange to do all the paperwork yourself but I got a
Custom clearance agents (which are listed in the golden pages) to do the work, they charged me 30 euro (its probably more now)

So the car is sitting in Dublin Port, you need to pay
A. Custom clearance tax of 10% of the invoice price converted to Euros.
B. VAT at 21% of the invoice price converted to Euros.
C. And VRT https://www.ros.ie:/VRTEnquiryServlet/showCarCalculator

Your Custom clearance agent will give you the figures for A&B and you will need to pay him to release the car.
My car was calculated for VRT at this point at the port also and a statement was posted to me with the amount of VRT outstanding.

All that’s left is Getting the car from the Port to your Driveway
Best way is by Car Transporter (the are several companies that will do this for you which are listed in the golden pages)
When the VRT statement arrives in the post (about 1 or 2 days) bring it to the VRT office and pay the figure, they give you your Reg. Number and you have to get the number plates made up.
That’s it! Simple!
 
No, VAT must be paid on all cars secondhand or new from outside the EU.
Shocking isn't it! Might be handy if you want to bring in a secondhand commercial vehicle

Bottom Line, you must do your homework before transferring money at Japanese auction, check the equivalent price here first.

A good rule of thumb is the Irish On the road price will be double the auction price in euros (depending on exchange rates at the time)
 
Just to expand this thread if I may....I'm looking at getting my wife an automatic car (she can't drive 'real' cars...women!). Anyway, I've looked at a Mitsubishi Colt 1300 in a garage. 40K miles, 2003, €11k. However, its a Japanese Import. Any advice? Is this deal Ok or should I run a mile. The Japanese import makes me worry in terms of servicing and resale value.
 
Squonk said:
Just to expand this thread if I may....I'm looking at getting my wife an automatic car (she can't drive 'real' cars...women!). Anyway, I've looked at a Mitsubishi Colt 1300 in a garage. 40K miles, 2003, €11k. However, its a Japanese Import. Any advice? Is this deal Ok or should I run a mile. The Japanese import makes me worry in terms of servicing and resale value.
Click to expand...

Is it a new model Colt or an Old model surely new for that kind of money?
 
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