Self Importing of a Japanese car

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#1219224 21-Jan-2015 15:34

k14:
graemeh: I also wonder how you can avoid buying a car that reeks of cigarette smoke.

Very easily. The auction houses are fastidious in their rating system which goes to the auction sheet. Their integrity rests on the quality of the information put into these sheets. Any car with even the slightest hint of cigarette smoke will have a D rating for the interior. When I purchased I only considered B and A grade interiors.

The same goes for the exterior of the car. Anything rated above 4 (out of 5) is very tidy. Sometimes a car will be rated 4 (instead of 4.5, 5 is brand new) if there is the slightest scratch on some panel that no one can see. Their auction sheets are very reliable and I wouldn't be worried about being mislead in regards to external or internal quality of the car.

wow didn't know that. i thought it was a random number by a random guy. i guess they are japanese after all ..

Talkiet

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#1219238 21-Jan-2015 15:41

trig42:
Talkiet: Thanks guys - the car I want is a 2009-2011 Nissan Skyline Crossover with ALLLLLL the tech goodies (Radar cruise control, around view monitor, Lane Departure Prevention, Blind Sport Warning etc etc etc) and I'm after something with 50-70k on it. There's 2-3 in NZ at the moment that almost meet my wishlist but none that tick all the boxes.

I'm also after the half leather seats, not full leather.

Cheers - N

Nice Wagon!

Wont all the candy be in Japanese though?

Yes, the candy is all in Japanese and there's (currently) no way to convert it. That said, it's all usable except the GPS...

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Batman

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#1219256 21-Jan-2015 15:56

all you need is google translate app :D

Talkiet

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#1219259 21-Jan-2015 15:58

joker97: all you need is google translate app :D

Heh - yep they are pretty good. Also check out "Waygo" to translate Japanese to english on the fly. I also have translations of the menus.

Could take a little while to learn, but all the info is available.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

heylinb4nz

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#1219296 21-Jan-2015 16:17

joker97:
k14:
graemeh: I also wonder how you can avoid buying a car that reeks of cigarette smoke.

Very easily. The auction houses are fastidious in their rating system which goes to the auction sheet. Their integrity rests on the quality of the information put into these sheets. Any car with even the slightest hint of cigarette smoke will have a D rating for the interior. When I purchased I only considered B and A grade interiors.

The same goes for the exterior of the car. Anything rated above 4 (out of 5) is very tidy. Sometimes a car will be rated 4 (instead of 4.5, 5 is brand new) if there is the slightest scratch on some panel that no one can see. Their auction sheets are very reliable and I wouldn't be worried about being mislead in regards to external or internal quality of the car.

wow didn't know that. i thought it was a random number by a random guy. i guess they are Japanese after all ..

Saw a documentary on Japanese car auctions once and its amazing how skilled their assessors are. They do many hundreds of cars per day and can spot things that normal humans like us would miss.

Also interesting to see how quickly the cars are sold, usually a matter of seconds then straight onto the next.

nakedmolerat

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#1219298 21-Jan-2015 16:23

This is a nice car for the ladies.

Your partner is lucky!

Talkiet

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#1219429 21-Jan-2015 20:03

nakedmolerat: This is a nice car for the ladies.

Your partner is lucky!

Not sure if that's a crack at my choice of car or what... But then again, I think MX5s are great cars too - mainly, well, because they are.

And anyway, I'm single. So ladies, blondes form a line to the left, brunettes to the right please and redheads in the middle.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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turnin

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#1219446 21-Jan-2015 20:29

I've imported 3 cars, 2 for track use ( skylines) and 1 as a daily driver DC5 Integra which I ended up selling.
The main thing is be really really careful.
You really do need someone over there to check out the car because there is no backing out of it.
There seems to be no advantage in cheaper vehicles, you probably want to be spending 12-15 K + before you'll make a profit, if that is your intention.

Talkiet

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#1219448 21-Jan-2015 20:33

turnin: I've imported 3 cars, 2 for track use ( skylines) and 1 as a daily driver DC5 Integra which I ended up selling.
The main thing is be really really careful.
You really do need someone over there to check out the car because there is no backing out of it.
There seems to be no advantage in cheaper vehicles, you probably want to be spending 12-15 K + before you'll make a profit, if that is your intention.

I have no intention of trying to make a profit - it's a one off purchase for my daily driver and looks like it's going to be about $25k.

Seems that the places like carweb, once you place a bid with them, have someone translate the auction sheet properly for you, and have someone on the ground go and check the car against the sheet and look for anything obvious like surface rust on the underside of the car. If the deescription you bid on doesn't match the translated auction sheet or the observed condition of the car, you can withdraw the bid.

Seems like a pretty good system actually... I'm looking forward to finding a car I like :-)

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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#1219449 21-Jan-2015 20:36

update us will ya :)

Talkiet

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#1219450 21-Jan-2015 20:38

joker97: update us will ya :)

More than happy to - but not sure how I am going to identify if an individual car has the options I want. Without a photo of the steering wheel I can't tell if the cars have the particular features I want and even the translated auction sheets don't seem to include all the info for this particular model - plus there's often no mention of whether it has the around view monitor, or just the reversing and left wing mirror cam. A right pain.

N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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#1219453 21-Jan-2015 20:42

that;s what I discovered. no way of getting the car I wanted. and more expensive than car yard. so I gave up. maybe the contacts the people will give you could be more helpful, but the big companies won't help find a car with all the 'features" I require

Handle9

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#1219455 21-Jan-2015 20:45

I imported a car using car webs late last year. The process is pretty straightforward but it does take a long time. All up from start to finish it takes about 3 months.

I wanted a Caldina with low kms and a factory body kit etc in black or silver. I bought a grade 4 2004 Caldina with 37000 kms which was landed on the road for about $1500 cheaper than what they were selling for here, if you could find one with low kms.

The advantage of importing yourself is what you see is what you get. You don't get a car which has been altered once you get it to NZ. The auction sheets are very strict on any marks or damage and a grade 4 car is very tidy overall.

If you register with them and then contact them they will give you access to all the features of the auction history which is very useful for price guides etc.

Handle9

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#1219458 21-Jan-2015 20:48

Talkiet:
joker97: update us will ya :)

More than happy to - but not sure how I am going to identify if an individual car has the options I want. Without a photo of the steering wheel I can't tell if the cars have the particular features I want and even the translated auction sheets don't seem to include all the info for this particular model - plus there's often no mention of whether it has the around view monitor, or just the reversing and left wing mirror cam. A right pain.

N

There will generally be a specific chassis number which has all the features.

Also if you use a company like car webs they will get their local agents to go and check for whatever you want them to check for on the day of the auction. You tell them, I'll pay $25k landed for that car but only if it has XYZ features. Pretty painless really.

Talkiet

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#1219462 21-Jan-2015 20:51

Handle9:
Talkiet:
joker97: update us will ya :)

More than happy to - but not sure how I am going to identify if an individual car has the options I want. Without a photo of the steering wheel I can't tell if the cars have the particular features I want and even the translated auction sheets don't seem to include all the info for this particular model - plus there's often no mention of whether it has the around view monitor, or just the reversing and left wing mirror cam. A right pain.

N

There will generally be a specific chassis number which has all the features.

Also if you use a company like car webs they will get their local agents to go and check for whatever you want them to check for on the day of the auction. You tell them, I'll pay $25k landed for that car but only if it has XYZ features. Pretty painless really.

The only chassis numbers for the Skyline crossover I have seen are J50 (2wd) and NJ50 (4wd)... All the other specs seem to be hidden in option packs like the "Tech pack" or "touring pack" and I can't see how they are represented anywhere :-(

A photo of the steering wheel will show the buttons used for cruise control and blind spot warning which helps.

I'll send them my wishlist - perhaps there is something magic in the Japanese on the auction sheets...

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

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