Self importing from Japan

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gzt

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#323727 8-Jan-2026 09:43

Self importing from Japan. It will be a standard non-performance car nothing special. Moat likely a Toyota hybrid. Maybe maybe an EV.

I'm comfortable with lack of warranty and those things.

Other than that I have a lot of questions. Shipping cost, shipping time, insurance, nz compliance cost, recommended Japan auction services, random vehicle selection advice, any gotchas.

Linux

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#3450687 8-Jan-2026 10:02

@gzt Don't do it yourself speak to an expert and does this for a job! I know a number of people who have been burnt / ripped off

Senecio

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#3450688 8-Jan-2026 10:06

If you are intent on a specific car that isn't readily available locally then engage a broker to do all of the hard work for you. You might think you're saving some money by doing it yourself but you really won't. At the least it will cost you a heap of time, or worst case it will really cost you if you miss something.

wellygary

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#3450689 8-Jan-2026 10:07

Linux:

@gzt Don't do it yourself speak to an expert and does this for a job! I know a number of people who have been burnt / ripped off

If the car is "standard" and "nothing special" then get a NZ importer to source it for you.. then you have a party in this country to pursue if things go sideways,

Importation compliance/regulations are a constantly shifting bag of hammers and trying to pursuing actions across borders easily gets expensive and difficult

What's your time worth....

sqishy

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#3450695 8-Jan-2026 10:34

We imported a stock standard Toyota RAV4 a few years back, you need to do your homework like is the car your importing already here and was anything done to make it compliant, ours was fine. Compliance was $500 with VIN and WOF. Pretty easy to find a company who can ship the car, just shop around.

gzt

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#3450712 8-Jan-2026 10:48

Linux: @gzt Don't do it yourself speak to an expert and does this for a job! I know a number of people who have been burnt / ripped off

I used to work with someone who imported several hybrids a year and had a pretty good run. I figured with a reputable auction house and a reputable seller and reputable inspection service I could not go far wrong with an $8k-$15k low kms vehicle and the worst case might be losing $3k on some unanticipated repair. Maybe I'm too optimistic.

eracode

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#3450714 8-Jan-2026 11:05

@gzt Presumably you want to do this to save money? To put this in perspective, how much do you expect to save? The answer will help point towards whether it’s worth taking the apparent risks.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

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gzt

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#3450721 8-Jan-2026 11:20

eracode: @gzt Presumably you want to do this to save money? To put this in perspective, how much do you expect to save? The answer will help point towards whether it’s worth taking the apparent risks.

Maybe 3-5k on a 20k vehicle with some luck. The secondary motivation is just doing it for the experience and then doing it more regularly if it works well. I have two cars to replace sometime in the next year or so.

Edit: Motivated by a few years earlier and a few less kms than I'd typically buy in NZ.

gzt

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#3450722 8-Jan-2026 11:21

sqishy: We imported a stock standard Toyota RAV4 a few years back, you need to do your homework like is the car your importing already here and was anything done to make it compliant, ours was fine. Compliance was $500 with VIN and WOF. Pretty easy to find a company who can ship the car, just shop around.

I'm interested to know which service you purchased from and who you used for shipping and arrival time.

JemS

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#3450805 8-Jan-2026 18:22

We have imported 5+ cars from IBC Japan in the past few years with 100% success rate. Our most recent car needed new fog light bulbs as the aftermarket led ones weren't accepted.

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#3450900 8-Jan-2026 22:39

Linux:

@gzt Don't do it yourself speak to an expert and does this for a job! I know a number of people who have been burnt / ripped off

I've imported three cars, two car engines and an outboard engine. No problems. I worked with reputable people.

Saved 60% on the outboard, vs local prices. The only downside is that the local outboard agent won't service it, as it wasn't bought in NZ. Doesn't really matter. I've no warranty on it anyway, and I obtained a service manual and proprietary tools on eBay. Too easy.

Mike

atsan

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#3450978 9-Jan-2026 11:00

I have imported few for myself and helped few friends over the years and didn't have any big issues (minor possible issues are changing tires, break pads, removing tints etc). Because I was using reputable agents, buying cars with Auction grade 4 or higher and always check auction sheet before selecting the car.

The car price in Japan auction may change depending on supply and demand and if we wait for right time, we could save a lot.

Shipping would take around a month (depending on the time you buy the car and the next available shipping to NZ) and normal passenger car (sedan/hatchback) used to cost less than $2500 (The agent in Japan would help with shipping). Compliance would cost $600 - $900 (you can shop around).

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gzt

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#3450980 9-Jan-2026 11:08

Thanks @MikeAqua and @atsan, what sites and services did you use?

atsan

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#3450986 9-Jan-2026 11:27

gzt: Thanks @MikeAqua and @atsan, what sites and services did you use?

I have mostly used sbt japan (they aren't good as earlier, but still OK for me) and couple of my friends used jpc trade