Driving past an import specialist yesterday, I noticed a lovely Honda s2000 sitting outside, looking all lovely in shiny blue.
As this car has now been around three years or so, was I looking at the start of cheapish imports coming in from Japan?
Will I be able to pick one up for less than £10,000 at the end of the year due to Japan's stringent MOT tests? And would it be a wise move?
Yours in hope...
Maz
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If you could get one for £10k, it would be a very wise move. Unfortunately, there's not a hope in hell.
For some reason, Japanese imports aren't noticeably cheaper. Why anyone would pay £6k for a 10 year old Nissan Serena I don't know, but apparently people do, possibly on the basis that it's 'low mileage'.
4 year old imports seem to go for about £15k at the moment. Maybe you'll get that down by £2000, but not more, next year. A UK car with traceable history and good parts backup is only worth about £1500 more, apparently, so I can't imagine why anyone would buy the import as insurance, possibly parts, resale (dealers will knock far more off at trade in time than they would on the forecourt - and in the case of Jap imports, rightly so, as they are can be as dodgy as you like), risk of its having been stolen in Japan, and lack of history unless you read Japanese, add up to a nightmare.
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Thanks DavidHM. That's a shame, it seemed like a great idea. Surely the 3 year olds are as cheap as Ulrika in Japan now, after 3 years?
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Well, I know that care should be taken, as with any second hand car, but there is also unwarranted prejudice.
I suggest-
1. Find a long established importer, who will properly convert, prepare and register the car for UK, with a choice of the car you want, and don't rush straight in but have a jolly good look, and be prepared to wait if nothing quite rings a bell.
2. Make noises about price.
3. When, and only when, you really like something stump up for a proper engineers' report, letting the firm know. After which I reckon you will either feel committed or go off the boil.
It has to be admitted I scarcely did all these things when I got my Supra, being filled with enthusiasm. But I did make sure I got a low mileage and unmodified car, even accepting an automatic which is really against my religion!
The local Toyota people happily service it, by the way. And I am very happy.
A bit of an internet search, for the model or for car importers, should turn up stuff of interest.
Take care,
Tomo
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Thanks Tomo. I already run a Japanese import and I agree wholeheartedly. Japanese weather is kinder to cars and spec tends to be higher.
A full engineers report is essential, but other than the theft and service history angle, I can't think why an import should be any riskier.
That said, when I bought my import, the Garage took me through the log book in Japanese and 'translated' it for me to claim FSH! It didn't really wash to be honest.
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Fantastic car,if you are prepared to do the legwork yourself you can just about get a nice 1999 OTR in UK for about £11,000.
Strange that the 'they are stolen in Japan myth persists so much'.Oh well,sounds exciting anyway.
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