Japanese imports

NL23

Hi all,

New to the board and am very glad to have found it. My question is about Japanese imported cars: are they easily serviced? Parts easy to get? Any major common problems with driving them on the Irish roads?

Been searching for a decent, small, used car, basic, no frills, bells or whistles needed. Must be realiable, in good body & mechanical order and economical to run. I have seen a few Nissan Micras around at various dealers which have been pre-owned by an Irish person but originated in Japan. One car I looked at seemed like a possibility, had passed the NCT in Sept 05 with no problems or recommendations but when I questioned my local Nissan garage about future services, they said that they don't take imports? Huh? This put me off right away! Is this normal?
Basically, are parts for an import so diffiult to find for a Japanese Micra?Should I just forget it all together?

I've asked and asked (generally everyone who I know and all my work mates) and no one can give me any info).

Thanks for any and all advice.

N

Eoin

Ask a non-franchise garage - i.e. your standard backstreet garage - to give you quotes for servicing and and ask them what parts are like to get. It isn't unsual for Nissan / Mitsubishi etc not to service imported cars.

I presume you know this, but if the micra is called a "March" and has a square number plate, rather than a rectangle one then it is an import. Not too sure about this, but I think a Japanese Micra / March is also more likely to have electric windows and power steering than it's Irish counterpart. Power Steering isn't really important in a micra though, it is still very easy to drive without it compared to the likes of a Polo or Fiesta without it.

colm_mcm

most of the Micra imports will be automatic, all will have air conditioning,

zuutroy

Jap imports are great! All but the wackiest of cars will share parts with their European counterparts, and even for parts that aren't common, Nissan or whoever will be able to order them in (but they'll be dear).
Main dealers are very snobbish when it comes to imports but as eoin_s, they're bread and butter for any backstreet mechanic.

blastman

Certain manufacturers have reprimanded their Irish subsidiaries for refusing to work on imports in the past (Honda for one), so even with main dealers, the situation isn't as bad as it used to be.

NL23

Thanks for the info. I won't give up yet! Have a good weekend!

N

richardson2525

To be honest, I find it quite difficult to get parts for my import Mazda. Most people turn there nose once you mention Japanese Imports. For example I got quoted €600 to fit a replacement windscreen cause they'd have to import from japan. Did a bit of internet research and managed to get a model number that would also fit and rang Traynors in the North who gave it to me for under €100! Even service parts are difficult to get, like oil filters and air filters. I had to replace the brake discs recently and couldn't find any spurious parts and so had to go directly to the OEM who supplied them for €180 each (€360 total) after a 2 week wait for them to order them from somewhere in Germany!
Having said all that, 90% of the parts will be found on an Irish model of some sort, depending on the actual car you go for.
J & S autopart tend to be very good for sourcing parts.

Eoin

richardson2525 wrote:

To be honest, I find it quite difficult to get parts for my import Mazda. Most people turn there nose once you mention Japanese Imports. For example I got quoted €600 to fit a replacement windscreen cause they'd have to import from japan. Did a bit of internet research and managed to get a model number that would also fit and rang Traynors in the North who gave it to me for under €100! Even service parts are difficult to get, like oil filters and air filters. I had to replace the brake discs recently and couldn't find any spurious parts and so had to go directly to the OEM who supplied them for €180 each (€360 total) after a 2 week wait for them to order them from somewhere in Germany!
Having said all that, 90% of the parts will be found on an Irish model of some sort, depending on the actual car you go for.
J & S autopart tend to be very good for sourcing parts.

What type of Mazda do you have? Do you have a rare enough car, or one that has an "Irish" version?

richardson2525

It's a Mazda Capella Wagon. It is based on the Mazda GV platform which saw life here as the 88-92 Mazda 626 Estate. However in 1995 form it has grown up a fair bit. Looks a bit like an impreza wrx estate with the gold wheels and stuff, a nightmare to find parts for!