The BIG thread on how to import from Japan

5500

VRT could throw a curve ball, was it registered originally in the UK and exported to Japan then back again, or first regged in Japan? As its unregistered in the UK revenue will take it as JDM with its export docs, but there's a chance they may come back with a different figure on the VRT price than whats showing up on the calculator for a UK car.

I've had similar happen with a "euro" JDM export golf before where the VRT was higher than expected, a few hundred in the difference but you just never know these days with vrt and anything jdm

pscully365

It was first registered in Japan (built in the UK). I guess I could go up North and register it there as a mitigation if needed ?

Esel

pscully365 wrote: »

It was first registered in Japan (built in the UK). I guess I could go up North and register it there as a mitigation if needed ?

Pretty sure it has to be landed into the UK from Japan...

positron

Just FYI one of the links in the first post (removed by mod) is now pointing to a random porn landing page.

With Brexit, I would imagine there will be a bit more interest in importing from Japan and more visitors to this thread - so perhaps worth fixing this minor surprise for future visitors!

LeifErikson

Hi all,
I was recently looking at a VW Sharan at Naas Road Autos and was surprised to see that the screen inside was in Japanese, I was told that many of their cars for sale come from Japan and that it would be easy to swap out the screen and set it up with an English UI. The car was built in Germany. I liked the car I saw but have my apprehensions, anyone have experience with this kind of set up? Would it be fairly seamless or would I have headaches from mechanics over this? Would really appreciate any advice.
Thanks

bazz26

They are the same as any other imported car from Japan really - they have different specs to what was sold in Europe, most of them tend to be higher spec. You need to watch out for the emissions on them however as the annual road tax might be higher on them. The stereo/infotainment system will probably have to swapped out alright as Japan uses a narrower fm frequency range than we do so you won't be able to pick most of our radio stations on it. You also need to check insurance premiums on any Japanese import as insurance companies tend to charge more for them.

Midnight_EG

Most importers offer a new radio in English upon sale these days

User1998

It’s pretty much just insurance youd need to check with. Everything else is the same. You can get something like this to replace the Japanese radio:

https://carplayinstaller.com/products/volkswagen-carplay-installs

projectgtr

OEM VW radios are relatively cheap, i replaced the one in our Jap Polo for a little over 150, that came with apple carplay and android auto but more basic models can be gotten much cheaper , it was a 5 min job.

As for insurance and parts, parts wise, i havent found any difference in parts when ordering stuff from the main dealer. Insurance was not an issue and didnt seem to be loaded like other japanese cars we have owned.

corks finest

bazz26 wrote: »

They are the same as any other imported car from Japan really - they have different specs to what was sold in Europe, most of them tend to be higher spec. You need to watch out for the emissions on them however as the annual road tax might be higher on them. The stereo/infotainment system will probably have to swapped out alright as Japan uses a narrower fm frequency range than we do so you won't be able to pick most of our radio stations on it. You also need to check insurance premiums on any Japanese import as insurance companies tend to charge more for them.

I've had 3 jap imports, no problem ref insurance, and all had new nct so no emmision problems either

LeifErikson

Thanks for the responses, this is really helpful.

Asdfgh2020

Just wondering if anyone out there has ever gone to the bother of importing a car directly by themselves from Japan as opposed to just buying a jap import from some one here......with Brexit making Uk imports cost prohibitive could japan be another option especially given that they drive in same side of road as us. from a quick google shipping costs are around €1000 and there are literally 1000’s available....I would suppose biggest risk is having to buy something without ever seeing/testing driving it first etc......?

passatman86

The fees to get a jap import are also just as expensive

biko

Merged with the big Jap import thread. Much info if you read it all

passatman86

passatman86 wrote: »

The fees to get a jap import are also just as expensive

No. Customs Duty between Japan and E.U. is being removed over a number of years. It has already begun to sink and will continue to sink over the next decade.

It is part of the reason why Nissan, Toyota and Honda are reviewing their production activities in the UK.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/customs-traders-and-agents/brexit/brexit-for-individuals/importing-a-vehicle-from-great-britain-gb-or-northern-ireland.aspx

https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2018/august/tradoc_157229.pdf

passatman86

[Deleted User] wrote: »

No. Customs Duty between Japan and E.U. is being removed over a number of years. It has already begun to sink and will continue to sink over the next decade.

It is part of the reason why Nissan, Toyota and Honda are reviewing their production activities in the UK.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/customs-traders-and-agents/brexit/brexit-for-individuals/importing-a-vehicle-from-great-britain-gb-or-northern-ireland.aspx

https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2018/august/tradoc_157229.pdf

I wouldn't have the skill to do it, but would like to see a comparison of difference in price to buy an on the road example for lets say a 2015 camry. The 3 examples being one irsh, a jap import, and uk import - all with an irish reg. Would make for an interesting read

Camry isn't a good example for importation.
Something with a hybrid powertrain or small petrol engine is cheaper to import.

passatman86

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Camry isn't a good example for importation.
Something with a hybrid powertrain or small petrol engine is cheaper to import.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-camry-2-5-hybrid-face-lift/26754514?campaign=3

I was thinking this camry hybrid as an example buts its neither here nor there.. Its the price comparison i was more interested in

Atlantic Dawn

I was looking at importing directly from Japan myself, I notice on the likes of a Prius, Corolla, Civic, Jazz etc they are priced generally a fair bit cheaper than here but on the premium brands like Lexus, BMW etc a lot of them are actually more expensive than car of same age here. The run of the mill stuff seems to depreciate much more over there than the premium cars which is the exact opposite of what happens here.

This site has a large selection of cars...
https://www.japanesecartrade.com/

Not sure on shipping costs now, when I looked in to it would have cost around €1200 but I have seen costs to bring a container from China to UK has jumped from about £1600 in November to £10,0000 now.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55740063

Midnight_EG

I'm currently in the process of privately importing a car from Japan, deregistration and shipping costs were roughly €1000

trellheim

I was looking at importing directly from Japan myself, I notice on the likes of a Prius, Corolla, Civic, Jazz etc they are priced generally a fair bit cheaper than here but on the premium brands like Lexus

Yes premum brands are eyewateringly expensive

bazz26

Deleted User wrote: »

Camry isn't a good example for importation.
Something with a hybrid powertrain or small petrol engine is cheaper to import.

The Camry has been available as a hybrid in Japan for nearly a decade. If you look at most of the 2012 to 2017 ones being sold on the likes of carzone you will see they are all hybrids imported from Japan.

5500

Deleted User wrote: »

Camry isn't a good example for importation.
Something with a hybrid powertrain or small petrol engine is cheaper to import.

The only value really to be had out of Japan is the likes of the above, smaller petrols/hybrids can come in better than buying here, anything performance related forget about it.

Rough breakdown in euro is

Car cost XXXX
Local transport, dereg, agent commission fee €700 (usually built into price if buying a car dealer, some will charge more for transport if the shipment port is far from their yard, or if your using an agent it will be their set fee to you)

RoRo Shipping (€600/800 depending on car size and shipping company used, container will cost more )

That's your CIF (cost including freight) price and will get you the car out of Japan, once it gets to Ireland its then

10% Duty of the CIF
Then 23% VAT on CIF and duty added together
€90 Stevedore fee for unloading the car from the ship
€150 customs clearance

That'll be your cost up to the point of collecting from the port, then just factor in possible miscellaneous expenses eg battery, service, tow of car from port, tyres

Then get your VRT quote off revenue, it should give you a rough idea of how prices compare.

If your buying through one of the bigger companies there's normally slight haggle room, but similar to UK it tends to be hundreds rather than thousands of a discount.

Its cheaper to use an agent and buy from auction than direct from stock, as the dealers stock has likely passed through the auction and now has their profit added on, but there's a heap of variables that will dictate the auction price eg mileage grade/condition colour model ect, it can take time to find the right car so you need patience otherwise straight from a dealer is the easier and quicker option

Esel

I think CIF is Cost / Insurance / Freight?

Midnight_EG

Esel wrote: »

I think CIF is Cost / Insurance / Freight?

Insurance isn't mandatory

User1998

C&F is the car and freight. CIF is the car, insurance and freight. The insurance is only €50-€100

I wouldn’t really recommend importing from Japan for noobies or people not in the car trade. If all your paperwork isn’t in order your car will be stuck in Dublin Port and won’t be released. And if you don’t have documentation verifying the co2 and Nox emissions you will have to pay 36% vrt, €600 nox and I think the car will be in the highest tax band of €2,400. This rarely happens but if private individuals started importing from Japan I’d say it would become more common. And as above theres a few hidden costs such as customs broker, new battery, new tyres if they have no E mark, having the car towed from the port.

If your confident you can sort all that beforehand and your willing to wait 3 months until your car is on the road then yeah theres decent savings to be had on the smaller cars but unless your doing it for profit or your getting something interesting like a Skyline etc then I don’t really see the point

5500

Esel wrote: »

I think CIF is Cost / Insurance / Freight?

Yep typo your right, imo its worth always taking for the small extra that it costs. When the cars are being unloaded the guys wouldn't be the gentlest coming off the ramps, its not uncommon for bumpers to get clipped ect, its even more prevalent now with cars being transhipped due to no direct sailings to dublin, the car may be unloaded and sitting in zebrugge or Amsterdam for a week or two before going on another ship, regardless MAKE SURE you have a damage report form filled in at dublin port before taking the car away if you spot anything that wasn't there previously.

If you are importing anything fancy, ask the agent to remove the likes of gearknobs or anything easily detached and send them to you separately, as 90% of the time they go missing at some stage of the journey

I wouldn't discourage anyone trying it for themselves, just as above make sure you have your bits in order, there's more paperwork across the board nowadays than there was in the past, but its enjoyable to do, and you can't beat the excitement picking up something special from the docks either

deegs

Just saying thanks for all the info in this thread.
Been considering jdm for almost a decade and brought 3 petrol cars in from the UK in the same time.

Looking to bring in a large top spec hse discovery and the nox rates were mental. Finally pulled the trigger and found a Fab v8 version in absolutely ridiculous condition in Japan and teeny mileage. Literally only 2 or 3 available worldwide and this had the best mileage.

As others have said having an agent is very important. Found the car and bid last week. Was outbid but reserve not met and car didn't sell.

Same car went up last night, this time I upped my bid and won it but reserve was still not met and car did not sell.

Then the agent went (without asking or telling me me) and negotiated a off auction deal within my budget.

Not only are you paying for a stress free process, but your getting a years of experience that we just don't have.

Have to say I'm weeks without a car and have so much relief that I can stop looking now 🀣🀣🀣

nophd08

deegs wrote: »

Just saying thanks for all the info in this thread.
Been considering jdm for almost a decade and brought 3 petrol cars in from the UK in the same time.

Looking to bring in a large top spec hse discovery and the nox rates were mental. Finally pulled the trigger and found a Fab v8 version in absolutely ridiculous condition in Japan and teeny mileage. Literally only 2 or 3 available worldwide and this had the best mileage.

As others have said having an agent is very important. Found the car and bid last week. Was outbid but reserve not met and car didn't sell.

Same car went up last night, this time I upped my bid and won it but reserve was still not met and car did not sell.

Then the agent went (without asking or telling me me) and negotiated a off auction deal within my budget.

Not only are you paying for a stress free process, but your getting a years of experience that we just don't have.

Have to say I'm weeks without a car and have so much relief that I can stop looking now 🀣🀣🀣

Well done on your new purchase. Same as you I've toyed with the dream of a jdm for years (skyline) and watched prices rise and rise. Then its the onslaught of vrt which seems to be impossible to find out the amount until you present the car. Do you mind if I ask which agent you used?

Muahahaha

Sounds great deegs. How long do you think youll have to wait before it gets here?