Importing Japanese cars to Australia and New Zealand

worldbubble

worldbubble

Active Member
Hi,
I have some questions:
What are the most popular Japanese cars in these two countries?
How popular is it among folks to import cars from Japan?
What problems might importer face when buying from Japan?

Questions are for both new and used vehicles

Thank you

Beck
 
Something in today's paper about the tackos being would back in Japan then imported and sold here
 
I assume your talking about grey imports ?
Models that don't come into the country via the manufacturer
You can't bring in vehicles models that are imported from manufacturer
What ever your thinking the market is flooded with grey imports
Insurance companies don't like them
 
Nedsnotdead said:
Something in today's paper about the tackos being would back in Japan then imported and sold here
Click to expand...
what is tackos?


I assume your talking about grey imports ?
Models that don't come into the country via the manufacturer
You can't bring in vehicles models that are imported from manufacturer
What ever your thinking the market is flooded with grey imports
Insurance companies don't like them
Click to expand...
yeah, grey imports
insurance cos don`t like them but do they insure them?
 
worldbubble said:
Nedsnotdead said:
Something in today's paper about the tackos being would back in Japan then imported and sold here
Click to expand...
what is tackos?


I assume your talking about grey imports ?
Models that don't come into the country via the manufacturer
You can't bring in vehicles models that are imported from manufacturer
What ever your thinking the market is flooded with grey imports
Insurance companies don't like them
Click to expand...
yeah, grey imports
insurance cos don`t like them but do they insure them?
Click to expand...


i think he was meant to say odometre is being wound back
 
I found one company who imported cars from Japan and they had a BIG notice saying "Don't bother to ask us to import a Mazda RX7 for you, even if you only want to use it on a race track it isn't worth the effort"

So a company who makes money importing cars and obviously gets a lot of requests for RX7s didn't feel it was worth the effort to import RX7s.

Shame because I really wanted one :(
 
They don't like them because they are hard to fix, the local car industry isn't going to stock JDM parts...

I think New Zealand has much less stringent import laws than Australia and parts are more readily available
 
Well, I know that there are a lot of companies that sell to NZ, so I thought Australia is following. Company I work for is opening devision to sell preowned and new cars, and NZ is one of the target destinations.
 
I had a Eunos Roadster in the UK (Mazda MX5) no problems, I was always worried about finding spare parts but absolutely everything I replaced went straight in with no mucking about, clutch, ladder rack, grindy thing which makes the engine go round, all the same as the domestic acquired versions.

Just had to change the speedometer to work in prehistoric units, stuck on a fog lamp that was about it.

When I wanted to bring it over to Australia, I had to drain all the fluids, remove the airconditioning unit because it was only compatible with bad ozone killing refridgerant, have it sterilised by a laboratory to insure no contamination could spread, install side impact bars and then subject it to an inspection, cost to be disclosed on arrival, have it stored in a facility, cost to be disclosed on arrival, pay an import tax, cost to be disclosed on arrival, have it recleaned, cost to be disclosed on arrival and then have a new airconditioning unit put in. And then change the speedo back.

So I got the feeling they didn't want me to bring it in.
 
Most popular models are the Nissan Skylines (R32, R33, R34), Nissan Silvia S15, Mazda RX7 FD and things like Mitsubishi Delica and Legnum. Lots of folks import vehicles under the Special Enthusiast Vehicles Scheme. It is an exercise in beaurocracy to say the least but there are companies in Australia set up who will charge a fee to help you find a vehicle at auction and take care of all the paperwork, importing process and compliance process. Despite all these mounting costs it can still work out cost effective for the car you get compared to domestic offerings.

It is popular amongst car enthusiasts who want one of these iconic models that were never sold in Australia or the models here were significantly different to the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) model. It is also popular amonst racers who import full cars or half-cuts for race use without the costs of compliance - which is a cheap way to get engines and race cars.

The problems faced by the importer are language barrier (hence go through a broker), shipping a car without getting prior import approval, buying a car model that can not be complied here, the fact that you're buying a car based on an auction report written in japanese and 3-4 low resolution photos, having to sort through masses of information, being ready to act quickly and decisively.
 
This is nothing new. Profit margins are slim, especially if you are having someone import the car for you ($700-$1500 service charge).

More money in finding the right classic car to bring in IMO.

Edit: Beck, just saw that you live in Japan. Are you planning to move to Australia or NZ? If so, consider owning a car that cannot be imported to Australia, own it for a year, then bring it in as a personal import. Much better profit margin. :)
 
Your better of looking at the other way around
Find the early classic Jap cars & bring them back to Japan ;)
Those early classics fetch the biggest $ in Japan
 
that's not for personal business ... doubt company would go through the hassle of importing car to Japan )))
 
Look into heavy machinery and wrecked cars/bikes, or unreg imports for race/rally only as I think you avoid most of the import fees. Also look at the European second hand luxury/sports car market, it is very low at the moment.
 
spannermonkey said:
worldbubble said:
insurance cos don`t like them but do they insure them?
Click to expand...
YES but not all insurance companies will
& it's expansive
Click to expand...


most will insure them and most are about the same price to insure.

The "grey" import matters muc much less than the actual driver and their history, and performance aspect of the car.
 
I can tell you my own experience.

Bought a "Toyota Granvia" which is a hilux, long wheel base. It has a Camry six cylinder engine. Firstly my mechanic loves to fix it. He says Toyota didn't release v6 Camry engines here, so he likes it.

In terms of insurance, yes, Nrma is the only mob who were interested. It is dearer, but there is nothing I can do.

In terms of "tacko" it was legit as I was given copies of the Japanese rego checks for the previous three years of registration in Japan, and the numbers were on the paperwork, so there was no rolling back. Anyway, it runs LIKE A DREAM and had only done 67k Kms in ten years. It was imported to aust as a two seater caravan and when here was reregistered as an eight seater. So, when I was comparing taragos for the most absurd prices, my car was only a quarter of the price, was twice the size, had climate control, driver and passenger controlled curtains, driver controlled side door, two sun roofs and even a tv... The list just goes on.

All I can say is that when the time comes to get another one, I will ONLY buy a jap import.

Shiny
 
ShinyStuff said:
I can tell you my own experience.

Bought a "Toyota Granvia" which is a hilux, long wheel base. It has a Camry six cylinder engine. Firstly my mechanic loves to fix it. He says Toyota didn't release v6 Camry engines here, so he likes it.

In terms of insurance, yes, Nrma is the only mob who were interested. It is dearer, but there is nothing I can do.

In terms of "tacko" it was legit as I was given copies of the Japanese rego checks for the previous three years of registration in Japan, and the numbers were on the paperwork, so there was no rolling back. Anyway, it runs LIKE A DREAM and had only done 67k Kms in ten years. It was imported to aust as a two seater caravan and when here was reregistered as an eight seater. So, when I was comparing taragos for the most absurd prices, my car was only a quarter of the price, was twice the size, had climate control, driver and passenger controlled curtains, driver controlled side door, two sun roofs and even a tv... The list just goes on.

All I can say is that when the time comes to get another one, I will ONLY buy a jap import.

Shiny
Click to expand...
Finally, real experience from fellow stacker!
 
ShinyStuff said:
I can tell you my own experience.

Firstly my mechanic loves to fix it. He says Toyota didn't release v6 Camry engines here, so he likes it.
Click to expand...

I would get new mechanic

There have been v6 camry's sold over here for many many many years

and recently it was rebadged the "auron" over here but it is just a v6 camry.
 
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