Importing from Japan

[mattm117]

Does anyone have an experience of importing from Japan. Is it worth the hassle?

Just as an example a '98 Beams for £1500 + shipping costs.

http://www.tradecarview.com/used_car/ja ... /14999888/

Any idea how much shipping is?

I guess there are all kinds of risks associated with importing but does anyone recommend it?

[ashley]

Give Jurgen a shout for advice, and costs mate

http://jm-imports.co.uk/

[Tedtiler]

Bought one on tradecarview this year. 1500 quid plus about 1500 usd shipping plus 150 paytrade fee plus import duty/vat plus dock fees to take it off the boat. Then cost to actually pick it up from docks.
Then 55 quid registration after mot. You need insurance to register it so think about how you're going to do that cheaply before registering. It adds up quite a bit.

Paytrade is a bit like paypal, get your money back if car not sent or wrong car sent etc. I was lucky, car was mint.

Used a company called trust company. They were really good.

[markstevieandmads]

Bought one on tradecarview this year. 1500 quid plus about 1500 usd shipping plus 150 paytrade fee plus import duty/vat plus dock fees to take it off the boat. Then cost to actually pick it up from docks.
Then 55 quid registration after mot. You need insurance to register it so think about how you're going to do that cheaply before registering. It adds up quite a bit.

Paytrade is a bit like paypal, get your money back if car not sent or wrong car sent etc. I was lucky, car was mint.

Used a company called trust company. They were really good.

So roughly total cost in GBP for the whole lot?

[jimGTS]

probably near 3-3.5k id say.

[Tedtiler]

My car was 2600usd before shipping, about 1500 quid. Including a years road tax took it to 3700gbp on the road, job done.
But it's the only one in Ireland and I love the car so it was worth it. And no rust underneath whatsoever!

[mattm117]

And thats the key point - no rust whatsoever.

[Nic]

And thats the key point - no rust whatsoever.

They get a lot of rain and snow in Japan, so not all cars will be rust free, it really depends what part of the country they are from and how they have been maintained/stored.

As said earlier, contact Jurgen at http://jm-imports.co.uk/ he has a man on the ground in Japan who checks the cars and he has a good reputation on the Supra forum (and others) for importing quality cars for members.