importing cars from japan

[gleem]

Hi all, im looking at importing a caldina gt-t.

and yes before you say use the search function i have looked through various threads and saw that there were quite a lot of people looking at doing the same.. however i could only find one that has actually gone through with it and done it in my 20 odd minutes looking.

So if anyone one on here knows of people that have gone through with it or have researched it in depth i would appreciate any help.

How much cheaper is it?
How long does it take?
Who did you go through to do it?

Thanks.

[Caveman]

Well its not a caldina but...

i got a corolla for my olds

2002
11,000km
perfect all round
$17000 landed, customs, rego, car groom, etc

same thing from most dealers we were looking at atleast $20000, mainly $22000 - $24000

took 6 weeks from buying at auction to driving it here

i went through jdm wholesale (http://www.jdm-wholesale.com/)

they were awsome, you tell them what you want, they email you everyday with the days auctions. You tell them your highest bid, etc

just get in touch with them, theyll tell you everything you need to know

[YeMs]

iv considered it but the possibility of getting stung is far to expencive for me. unless u can go over to japland and inspect the car yourself, you have to go off photos taken. on top of that, stuff gets stolen between the time it leaves and the time it turns up. nothing major... but gauges, pod filters, little bits and pieces that come off easy blah blah. and your going off pictures so the information given is sometimes not what u get. a dude i kno brought in an rx7, that was wrecked. but supposedly had heaps of bolt on stuff. came with standard suspension.. and no bolt ons. boy was he wrapped... or not.

[andyztouring]

I got a 1997 Carib Z Touring with 63000kms grade 4 landed rego etc for $6200 when these cars where $9500 to $12000.Car was exactly as photos and descriptions ,I buy most of my cars thru www.tau-sales.com.I have also purchased thru Tau auction agent,Bought a car from USS auctions.delivery is anywhere from 1.5months to 2.5 months.Pick cars that have a no previous damage history,usually grade 3.5 or 4,(higher the number the better.1&2 are rubbish,6 is a new car,RorRA is previously damaged car,*** is damaged.)Get a customs broker to do the paperwork, arrange delivery from the port etc.I find the worse part is waiting for the car to be delivered from the port,been waiting since Queens birthday for my latest car!!!

[gleem]

Wow! thats a nice price for that carib.. How much was the Inland Delivery Expense + Shipping Expense +Ocean Freight for you?
Also is it worth going through an agent? I calculated it to be around an extra $500 depending on the price of the car.
When searching the stock list there was only 2 pages of toyota's most of them corolla's or am i doing something wrong

[TRD Man]

In reality both those cars could probably have been bought at auction here in NZ for about the same as the landed cost.
I'd suggest you take the time to research auction prices here before deciding to import.
I know Turners have a large import auction here in Wellington nearly every weekend and would also in other parts of the country.
The used car market is in a slump right now and so the prices are likely to be down as dealers are not replacing stock.

Remember when looking to buy on price alone, that a good car fetches good money no matter where it is, here or Japan. If a car appears to be cheap there will be a reason for it.

Going through an agent? Do you mean a Japanese buying agent or a NZ Customs agent? Regardless you can't avoid either.
A customs agent should only charge around $80 to $100 for customs clearance regardless of value.

When discussing price with the Japanese make sure that you are talking FOB prices.
Otherwise you may find that you're charged the agent's fee on top unexpectedly. This will be anywhere between 50,000 yen ($700ish) & 120,000 yen ($1700 ish).

[andyztouring]

I don`t think it is worth going thru an agent except when you want to buy a vehicle from USS auction(you need an agent,which TAU do,and I have bought a car from USS).Inland freight in Japan varies on location of car to port,usually 35000 to 50000y.At the moment freight from Japan to Lyttleton is $1165. Send me your Email addy,I`ll give you an address for a website to look at(ussauctions)It only gives you basic info ,2photos,anything you`re interested in you send away for the auction sheet,very detailed,with expected sale price.(119 caldina wagons on there now)

[Emperor]

Sometimes importing isnt that much cheaper, it really depends on the car. Skylines, are most of the time (R34's) cheaper in NZ than Japan.

PM me with all the details you want, i'll try get you a good deal.

Year
Model
Km's
Colour
Auto/Manual
Mods or no mods
How much you want to pay

[gleem]

well unfortunatley i crashed into another car this afternoon, so its probably going to cost me 2 grand to pay the excess and fix my car.

andy my email address is jeremy@knockturnal.org

Emperor im after a white 1997-2000 caldina gtt manual, pref lower than 130,000km's on the clock. Had about 8-9k to spend now its going to be a bit less but we will see.

cheers.

[Emperor]

Hard to get a GTT Caldina for under 10 in manual. Tiptronic will be easy to get for around 9.