Importing an RX7 from Japan

[Rotaryguru]

The purchase...
 
I Thought I would write about my experience of buying my car in japan, and getting it to these shores.
First thing you need to do is get an agent. Do lots of looking around, I signed up to heaps of exporters, but I eventually chose //www.B-Spex.com, they had a guest system to log in, and look around at the cars you can buy. They had lots of information on the site, and were very professional. I was very happy with their service, and would recommend them to anyone.
Next you need to set your budget, and what you want. I really think writing a list of your wants is a very good idea, so that you don\'t end up bidding on a car that doesn\'t have what you specifically want. After paying your deposit to your agent (so you can bid) you begin bidding! You make a bid on a car, then they translate the auction sheet for you. They then check the car over and give you a verdict. you can then adjust what you want to pay, or withdraw your bid.
I bid on 8 different cars, 9 times, over a course of a month to get the right car. The number of RX7\'s each day differed, some days there were three, and some days 80 RX7\'s to bid on. I chose ones that fit what I wanted, and went from there. The car I ended up buying, got passed over at auction, so when it came back up for auction the next week, I increased my budget, and won the auction for the car. Note that you simply put a limit for what you will pay for the car, they do all the bidding, and try to get it at as cheap a price as they can.
Of the 8 cars, I only got out bid once (on the first car I bid on) the rest of them, once I knew more about the car, I withdrew my bid, and waited for another car.
I now believe that there aren\'t that many good RX7\'s left there, you really have to take your time, and wait for a good one. There are so many grade R\'s (repair) out there that i\'m glad that I know for sure mine hasn\'t been crashed. Ones that are repaired are great, as they are cheaper, and more often than not, repaired to perfect condition. I just wanted to know that mine had never been in an accident.
Once purchased, you pay the balance of what you owe, and they de-register it, and get it ready for the boat.

[Rotaryguru]

Boats generally go once a month, and when I purchased mine, the last boat had just gone. So I had to wait 4 weeks, and then the shipping company was two weeks behind. This is normal, they said to me to expect at least 7 weeks from purchase. Once on the boat, it takes 5 to 6 weeks. This is completely dependant on the weather, and number of stops the boat has to do.
During this time you have time to organise your clearing agent. Again, shop around as prices differ. I went with one that my shipping company recommended. Once the car arrives, I\'ll tell you how they went! More updates soon on the arrival, transporting to my house, and registering and insuring it!
 
:chat

[Laeeq]

nice one and thanks for the info...you have any pics of the car and yes please keep us posted.

[20B_boy]

Ones that are repaired are great, as they are cheaper, and more often than not, repaired to perfect condition. I just wanted to know that mine had never been in an accident.[/SIZE][/FONT]

From experience, cars that have been crashed do get through auctions without an \'R\' grade, it may be the extreme minority perhaps, but it does happen.

[Rotaryguru]

nice one and thanks for the info...you have any pics of the car and yes please keep us posted.

I had pics on this thread when I bought it, more will be on the way when it arrives....Finally!!
 
http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43513

[Rotaryguru]

From experience, cars that have been crashed do get through auctions without an \'R\' grade, it may be the extreme minority perhaps, but it does happen.

Yeah, I\'m sure they do, I mean, I\'d still buy an R, often they put better bodykits on the car, rather than new stock panels.... cos it will then hold value better. But its nice to know that it has been crashed... you know what you\'re getting into....

[Laeeq]

I had pics on this thread when I bought it, more will be on the way when it arrives....Finally!!
 
http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=43513

ahhh ok i\'ve just replied to your other thread...

[Freddy]

From experience, cars that have been crashed do get through auctions without an \'R\' grade, it may be the extreme minority perhaps, but it does happen.

Just as here when people decide to privately repair the car and not go through insurance. Hence, you find CAT C, D cars on the road without being checked by the DVLA.

The auction sheet is set by the seller in terms of history and aftermarket parts. The condition at the given time is assesed by the auction house.

[Rotaryguru]

Remove at the request of the thread starter

Thanks

Stu / Grinder

[Laeeq]

very nice:mmmm

if you need help sorting things out then give us a shout

[Kevin]

My company has been importing cars from japan for over 12 years now.  All I can say is in that time period I have had some very good cars and some very bad cars.  Buying from Japan is a gamble and you have to budget for any eventuallity.

My agent, a very good friend of mine has been had one or two times by the people he works with over there, as the Japanese can be just as dodgy as any English person. (Forget all that nonsense about honour etc)

These are some of the recent examples of what i\'ve bought over there and what i\'ve ended up with:

Bought supposed:

1996 Grade 4 Driveable RX7 with 48K km on the clock.....

Got:

1996 Grade 0 Non-driveable RX7 with blown water seal and blown rotar.  (been sat in Japan for at least 6 months according to Pip as engine was siezed).

Bought supposed:

1997 Mitisubishi Pajero 2.8 TD LWB Grade 4 Driveable with 50K km.

Got:

1997 Mitisubishi Pajero Grade 0 Blown cylinder head (cracked on every cylinder) complete with drilled thermostat to make appearence that it wasnt overheating.

Bought supposed:

2001 Toyota MR-S Grade 4.5 with 20k km on the clock

Got:

2001 Toyota MR-S Grade 0 non-driveable with gearbox blown, damage to floor pan at rear, 4 bald tyres and numerous other items.

These are just a few examples of vehicles that have come over from let me stress different suppliers in Japan over the past year.

If you fancy doing an import yourself go for it, it\'s definately an experience, however there\'s no one to cry to when it all goes wrong.  At best you\'ll be offered a small amount of credit with an auction house that\'s not worth bothering with.

My advice would be if your going to spend aload of your hard earned money, then do it on something you can visibly see and drive, paying the extra to an importer (i.e most of the time we only take £500 for doing the whole thing) is alot less hassle and heartache than if you get it wrong yourself where it ends up costing you £000\'s to put right.

[Freddy]

Check your own auction sheets provided by the agent and have someone look over the car. Also, dont pay more than £350 to any agent wanting to buy the car for you. The £350 will include, all the buying costs, transportation costs, de reg costs, cost of port loading, port storage and getting the car to the road etc etc.

[Rotaryguru]

Thanks for the comments Kevin and Freddy! although i\'m a little nervous about mine now!!:3Confused
 
Well, since its a few days away from Landing, I\'ll soon find out won\'t I!!!:Thumbs-up
I had a really good Agent in Japan, and we searched hard. But you never know! The photos above are it in Japan, so it looks good......
 
Stay tuned!!:D

[Kevin]

Just a little tip, when you go to the dock to pick the car up, insist that you check the oil and coolant level before the monkey dock workers go ahead and try to fire it up.  (I had an FTO that they tried to fire, as I went over I heard it knocking...... it had only a few ml of oil in it!!!)

Are you driving it home from the docks or transporting it?

If your driving it, once you\'ve got the car started and know that the engine fluid levels are ok, let the car idle till it\'s warmed up, and check for any leaks before you set off.  Most importantly keep your eye on the temp gauage when driving home, if it looks like it\'s going anywhere above the half way point, then switch it off.

Other than that, fingers crossed for you mate!

[Rotaryguru]

Just a little tip, when you go to the dock to pick the car up, insist that you check the oil and coolant level before the monkey dock workers go ahead and try to fire it up. (I had an FTO that they tried to fire, as I went over I heard it knocking...... it had only a few ml of oil in it!!!)
 
Are you driving it home from the docks or transporting it?
 
If your driving it, once you\'ve got the car started and know that the engine fluid levels are ok, let the car idle till it\'s warmed up, and check for any leaks before you set off. Most importantly keep your eye on the temp gauage when driving home, if it looks like it\'s going anywhere above the half way point, then switch it off.
 
Other than that, fingers crossed for you mate!

Wish I could go to get it, but I\'m having it transported. It was started and put onto the boat, so assume it should be ok. I\'m abit more worried about someone taking it for a joyride! Does that happen?