Toyota Hilux - Import! Will it be issues?

dares_uk wrote: »

But after getting home, and looking at the pictures/advert on the dealers website I noticed it said its an import. I was rather annoyed as I specifically asked the salesman if it was a local car etc... and nothing was said about it being an import.

They might not have even checked. If its been owned locally since imported then its a local car.

Anyway, after doing more digging online, mot is all ok etc.. mileage history all ok etc...
Im a bit worried if the fact that it is an IMPORT will be more hassle.

Not at all in the slightest. My wife had a Mitsubishi FTO for 8 years which was an import and never had a problem with the MOT, insurance or getting parts.

I will be calling insurance later this morning to check that side of things out,
but does anyone have any experience on these / imports and anything else to check/be concerned about? or is it no longer a big deal ?

The only issue you can ever have is with the MOT if your car is on a year where the emissions standards change and your car is on the earlier standard because it is from before that date but has been given a registration year from when the new standard came in. On the V5 which states date of first use and this is what determines what MOT standards apply to the test, not the year of the registration plate. We found the first time we took ours for MOT that the MOT tester didn't check so given it was assigned a 1996 M plate he put it through a MOT emissions test for a car with a CAT when the first date of use was actually before the M reg and therefore change of emissions standards so it didn't need a CAT emissions test. We never had a problem with the MOT test station we use after that.

The only real downside comes when you have a car in the situation of my wife's on a MOT standards change year when a car is imported and there is no information from the original registration info as to when that date of first use was. In that case DVLA put in a default date of 31st December of the year in question. Had that happened on my wife's car then she would have had to have a MOT emissions test to the standard for a car with a CAT fitted in a car not designed to have one.

I believe this model was sold in the UK anyway, and it only has one owner too.
So unsure why it would of been imported.

On a new car it is usually because it is either a model or a specification not available in the UK.

On an older car, to save a boatload of money. In Japan the MOT requirements are unbelievably strict and even check tracking and speedo accuracy. There can't even be any surface rust on suspension components such as springs which nobody would bat an eyelid at here. Basically the Japanese government don't want any old cars on the road so they just alter the test rules to make it almost impossible for anything more than 5/6 years old to pass without daft money being spent.

As very few Japanese become mechanics due to the strictness of the MOT and the shortage of mechanics repairs are very expensive to the point that once you get to 5/6 years old a lot of cars won't pass without seriously stupid money being spent on them so cars that age are effectively worthless over there. Those same cars without any work being done on them are perfectly serviceable and capable of passing a UK MOT test.