Imported car, what's the catch?

Probably half of main stream insurers wont touch it.

Otherwise probably not much.

EDIT: Its RHD also, wierd. Wonder if the speedo is in kilometers maybe, worth also checking the headlight units are the correct orientation I had an import car that was RHD and bascially 100% uk spec, had it years no problem until I missed the MOT and out of desperation took it to kiwkfit (i know i know) as they were the only ones open on a bank holiday.

Turned out the headlight units were for LHD.
 
On Holiday said:
I wonder what country it was originally stolen in :D
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japan, it says on the advert ;)

In the past I have owned imports from japan. B\est country as they are RHD and headlights are set up right.

Only issues is spec car vary massively so may not be to UK spec. Speedo is in KM. No idea whether that can be coded to mph on a merc.

Only other problems was insurance as a lot of insurers wouldnt touch an import.

if the car varies too much from UK spec, then parts can sometimes be a problem. i once had a renault laguna sport model which you couldn't actually buy in the uk which meant some parts on it werent available at UK dealers as they werent used on any other UK car and I had to wait for them to come from france. Apart from that the main dealer was happy to deal with servicing etc.

Also warranties might be an issue?

Nice car btw.
 
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Japan has a Vehicle Inspection process that encourages the purchase of new cars so it can get quite expensive to own an older car which may be the main reason this car is being exported. As it's not a JDM car the process to get it registered in the UK may be easier too.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
Will a Japanese import of that age have on of their 180kph speed limiters?
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Thought that only applied to Japanese cars built for the home market? hende why the japanese car manufacturers complained about it all of the time as it wasnt fair. Same with the 280bhp max limit on Japanese cars.
 
I heard something about some imports lacking underseal from Japan, surely that wouldn’t be an issue here? Really struggling to stop myself. Whilst I’d never justify a bigger purchase to the wife (yes, totally whipped), I could buy that with cash.
 
I’ve sent a few enquiries. Can’t harm to ask. Insurance would be the first thing to check I guess. I can’t imagine that car hanging around for long. In that price range they disappear, especially with those options. Wouldn’t go for white again, but I can live with it.

Bit of a pain being in Birmingham, even though my dad lives right around the corner. He’s no help!
 
CaptainRAVE said:
I’ve sent a few enquiries. Can’t harm to ask. Insurance would be the first thing to check I guess. I can’t imagine that car hanging around for long. In that price range they disappear, especially with those options. Wouldn’t go for white again, but I can live with it.
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Ask for auction grade sheet and chassis number so you can do a CarVX check. Like HPI but better.

I'd be stunned if it wasn't a grade R car (crash repair)
 
EddScott said:
Ask for auction grade sheet and chassis number so you can do a CarVX check. Like HPI but better.

I'd be stunned if it wasn't a grade R car (crash repair)
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Yes, that’s definitely a concern. I’ll do that.

I’ve also checked to see if they’d take my car. Just for ease more than anything. If not it’s just not feasible with my workload unfortunately.
 
The main issue is the history of it. Being exported it will lose any cat tags etc. or the equivalent.

If it's Japanese you will probably need to get it fully rust proofed.

Plenty of military guys bring cars back from Europe and don't have issues with the admin side of it though.
 
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Mr_Sukebe said:
Will a Japanese import of that age have on of their 180kph speed limiters?
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Yes.

You'll find euro cars in Japan tend to have a much higher spec than what you find over here, it's an expensive status symbol to have a euro over there, rather than just a base model cheap lease deal that they represent over here. I guess those were never basic spec cheap cars anywhere though.

Might be a bit more restrictive with insurance options but shouldn't be a huge problem.
Mercedes parts obviously not a problem in Europe.
 
Exchange rate has been unfavorable for a long time now and JDM imports are usually more expensive than UK ones. If it's cheap then definitely look closely into the history and be very wary.
 
So history seems to be the main concern. I’ll contact them tomorrow if I don’t hear from them first. Ideally I’d like the full aero spec with the ridiculous rear wing, but not many seem to have that and it’s very much a marmite addition :p
 
Had plenty but not of that value. Never had issues with insurance etc. Carvx is a good shout. £20 or so but will give you good view of the car in Japan. I'd expect that to be grade 4-4.5 at the very least.. If it's r it's been crashed and repaired.
 
grudas said:
Had plenty but not of that value. Never had issues with insurance etc. Carvx is a good shout. £20 or so but will give you good view of the car in Japan. I'd expect that to be grade 4-4.5 at the very least.. If it's r it's been crashed and repaired.
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So the biggest hurdle is a crash. If not then it could be a done deal. If they take mine. They seem to deliver too which would help with my workload at the moment.

What’s it like transferring private plates these days? All online? Quick?
 
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