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What is an import?
A lot has been written, and talked about so-called imports, but what
exactly are they?
In Japan manufacturers such as Mazda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda and
Nissan, manufacture cars for sale to the Japanese public. The same factories
they manufacture cars for the UK. The Japanese have their own networks
of dealers here in the UK. "Imports" are vehicles which have
been used on the roads in Japan, and have been bought second-hand in
Japan, then shipped to Europe for British people to purchase.
There's nothing mysterious about it. All Japanese vehicles in the UK
are imports, even the new ones.
Reasons to buy an import?
Great savings on the purchase price. A vehicle the has spent the first
few years of it's life in Japan is almost always in better condition
throughout and a vehicles that has been on the road in the UK for a
few years. Higher specification, it is very rare you are able to find
a Japanese vehicle without air conditioning or electric windows
Has all the necessary taxes been paid on the
cars?
Import Duty and VAT must be paid at the port of entry before the vehicles
are allowed to leave. When registering the vehicles the Registration
office require the HM customs forms in order to register the vehicles
for UK use.
How do I know the vehicle has not been stolen
in Japan?
The Vehicle Registration office send details of all imported vehicles
to Interpol to check if they have been stolen anywhere in the world
before issuing the vehicle with a registration number.
Are the vehicles
speed restricted?
Yes Japanese vehicles are restricted to 180 KMH (112.5MPH)
We convert the speedos to read MPH and de-restrict the vehicles
Are the problems with the radios?
The frequency band on japanese radios does not go high enough
to receive our most popular radio stations. In order to receive all
the UK stations we fit a small device, the display does not read accurately
but all you need to do is use the presets to programme in your favourite
stations
Are the safety standadrs equivalent to UK vehicles?
Most imported vehicles now require a model report and must
under go and SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) inspection to unsure that
they meet UK safety requirements. Government employed testers from VOSA
carry out the inspection. Before issuing a SVA certificate they carry
out a comprehensive test on the vehicle checking seat belt anchor points,
glass markings, tyre markings (to make sure glass and tyres conform
to british standards) brakes and of course making sure that the general
conversion work like speedo and fog lights has been completed
A little about Japanese vehicles...
The Japanese drive on the left-hand side of the road, the
same as the UK, so it is not necessary to convert the steering as all
Japanese vehicles are right hand drive. The vehicles we offer for sale
in the UK are all registered with 12 months MOT and all customs duties
and VAT paid. Our vehicles are purchased from dealers, auctions and
occasionally private people, we are also able to offer very good prices
on new vehicles. A typical example of a Japanese imported vehicle is
the MX5 or Eunos roadster as it is called in Japan. Every MX5 in the
world comes out of the factory in Hiroshima, Mx5s manufactured there
without air-conditioning and without electric windows were not made
for the Japanese domestic market they were all exported to the UK to
be sold new through the Mazda main dealers here these are the so called
British MX5s. A similar story can be told about many other vehicles
manufactured by Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota, Suzuki. The main difference
British main dealer supplied Japanese vehicles and ours is that they
arrive on different ships from Japan.
Imported vehicles have many advantages over vehicles
that have been in the UK from new. Some of the advantages are:
CONDITION and EQUIPMENT
1) CONDITION: Almost
all used vehicles are low mileage in Japan it is very unusual to find
any vehicles that have covered the UK average annual mileage of 12,000
miles. It is very rare to see high mileage vehicles for sale in Japan
it is also very rare that the Japanese vehicles are driven hard as the
roads in Japan and driving habits make it almost impossible to drive
fast. Most of the sport cars with lowered suspension, after market alloys
and spoilers are usually prepared for their proud owners to display
at shows. Most vehicles in Japan are well maintained and serviced this
is necessary in order for the vehicles to pass the shaken test (very
strict MOT test)
Japanese people tend to sell their vehicles much sooner than UK drivers, this makes it easy for us to purchase good clean and mechanically sound vehicles. Vehicles described in the UK as fair condition would not be sold to the general public in Japan it would be too embarrassing for the dealer to offer such a vehicle for sale. Japanese are a very proud race of people and do not like anything shoddy. They never drive their vehicles until they are unroadworthy
2) EQUIPMENT: All vehicles in Japan
have air conditioning, and normally have all the extras possible, most
of which are usually considered as standard equipment, one of the few
extras that are not so popular in Japan is leather interior but apart
from that they don't leave much else from a vehicle when selecting the
spec Mazda don't sell in Japan the toned down versions of the MX5 that
are available in the UK. Another example, also Mazda, is that in Japan,
the MX5's all went from 1600cc to 1800cc in September 1993, and thereafter
1600 cc versions were not available. Mazda certainly don't sell MX5's
with pressed steel wheels, manual windows and no aircon in Japan. If
you drove one of those in Japan people would think you had fallen on
hard times!
Is there any reason to be concerned about cars
made for the Japanese market, and tcars made for the UK market
None that we have found in the last twelve years
