Right, so I'm visiting Japan again in February and I'm going to save up some dosh before I go. I want to hand pick a car while I'm out there, I had an R32 GTR before and the condition was really not great, I want to nose through a few nice examples in Japan and stick one on a boat. How would I go about doing this? Does anyone sell cars privately in Japan, or would I be better off going to an auction? If I do so, won't I have to find an agent to help me? I am tempted by the agents on here which will do this for you - but I can't help but think it'll be cheaper if I do it myself. Plus I want to have a good look at the car before I fork any money over. In an ideal world I'd find one privately, get the seller to drive it to the docks, fill in some paperwork then pick it up the other end. But I'm sure it's not so simple. Any help in this will be much appreciated!
i know joe public cant go to the auctions themselves. theres so many car dealers over there you could probably go that way and avoid the auctions. rees from japusedcars is the man to talk to
Yeah I read somewhere that you need a registered car dealer to do it for you, I wonder if anyone on here knows someone I can pay a couple hundred quid to tag along with me and buy the car for me. I'll look up Rees, however I was thinking if I can buy a car privately, like on AutoTrader, eBay etc... and just take it to the docks/get it transported to the docks. If so, it must be the cheapest way. (edit: give her the shocker)
Not as simple as you imagine, firstly you need to understand (read & write) some japanese to be able to complete the deregistration documents, and that would be once you even figured out where to get those documents, and then how about customs clearance and booking a vessel? You cannot export a car with out the deregistration documents and customs clearance being completed. If it was merely as simple as drive it to the docks and onto a boat life would be a breeze. If you turned up at the docks who would you speak to to tell him where the car was going and would he even understand you? And which dock would you go to anyway? Dont mean to sound like a prick mate but a little reality check is required. You need an agent to handle it or it won't happen. Pm me if you would like to make happen properly.
Right thanks. Southampton dock ideally. The thing is I really would like to actually see the car I'm buying before I pay money for it. I don't mind paying the deposit to the dealer/agent etc.... would this be at all possible with you guys?
Rees wont pick out a crap car dude He's been in the game a wee while now and probably the best. Sometimes its hard ordering a McDonalds.. let alone getting a car in Japan LMAO! Can you speak Japanese? Or read it?
Yeah I can speak a bit of Japanese, but crucially I have colleagues that have Japanese mates they can put me in touch with when I'm there. I've been there before for a couple weeks 2 years ago and I got around fine with my basic japanese. But buying a car might be a bit more difficult
Yeah man As said above though, its the paperwork thats the problem. As far as I can recall you cant go and buy a car in Japan second hand from a garage if you arnt a registered gaijin and have a parking space within a certain distance of the place you live. That may have changed though but its what I got told many moons ago.
Yeah man - I went over with the intentions you had, I found a super clean FC3S I'll go get a picture. I had bucks and was planning on getting it but when it came down to the fact I was on holiday and didnt live there.. it opened loads of problems for me :/ I had no agent or spare bucks at the time so I had to leave it. Was gutted as i fell in love with it after driving it down the back streets A visit to SCARAB, Japan. « minto fruit SCARAB was the name, they had some very nice cars for sale 420hp, I was so close to buying this !!! I could find out if they are still going?
dragyth we can ship to southampton no problem and if a deposit was in place we could take you to auction, getting around dealers though can be a mission as they are not all in one strip of road, auction is the best place for a deal and the most suitable. Dealers by their cars at the auctions and sell for a profit so buying off dealers is not always the smart way to go.
Yeah I've had a think and I reckon I'd be up for doing an auction deal instead, so that works for me. I'm going in february, and will be in touch. What are your fees like for this service?
Mate that car looks epic! 420bhp on 16" GTR rims, very unassuming. Did they just let you take it for a test drive right out with a translated UK license? You could find out if they're still going, but to be honest I want an unmodified (or at least relatively unmodified) R32 or R33 GTR, and I'm not sure if this is the place that will have that sort of thing. But if you reckon they might, then that'd be very much appreciated. Do you spend a lot of time in Japan?
seriously Rees is awesome, I just bought a car from him and couldn't be more happy with the service, it was all so simple
I don't post here often, but yes as said a relaity check is in order, especially if you want this to work out for you! No point having a wasted trip, do it right and use an agent like Rees, who knows how it works and will help you! People need to relaise you can't just show up here in Japan and drive away or do what you want, not so easy! There's ALOT of 'red-tape' compared to others, not to mention the language and 'specific' japanese system... My advice would be deposit with JapaneseUsedCars, and go to auctions, then Rees would sort out the rest! You can't just drive on a translated license by the way, you will need International Permit atleast, so get that! Theres ALOT more to being in Japan than people think, so plenty of research is best! and ask any questions!
I found shopping for noodles hard enuf. Sod trying to buy a car. I purchased a ps13 through saj at japperformanceparts trouble free. The car has never had any issues that were not my fault. Id always buy again.
