Japanese Import

waxingsatirical

Hi,

I need a car. It needs to be a reliable car, a big car and a hybrid.

I don't want to pay the 'new car' premium, so I have been looking for something with very low mileage and still within manufacturers warranty.

There's this one for sale at a small local dealership which is about 20% less than market rate, ~£18 000 vs ~£22 000. This difference is that it's a Japanese import, yet to be registered in the UK, although the dealership have already started the process of registering it.

I asked them why it was cheap and they just said that they can get them cheaper and that the radio unit was in Japanese.

Is there anything else I should be wary of? Seems a bit too much of a discount for having to learn the Japanese for "Volume".

foxy-stoat

More than a volume button;

Radios do no pick up our stations,
Limited to 115mph
Tyres are rated to 115mph
Retro fit rear fog lamp
Unknown history of the car if it is an import

What car is it?

MovingForwards

Grey imports (same car as available in UK but imported from another country) attract a higher insurance premium.

jimbo6977

Japanese radio is broadcast on different frequency ranges compared to UK or Europe. You will get few or no stations. Most decent experienced importers will change the radio, speedo, add foglights etc before retailing the car, which makes me suspicious of this one.

And who's going to warranty it? Not the manufacturer that's for sure.

Have you looked at importing a Renault Grand Scenic hybrid from Europe?

reeac

waxingsatirical wrote: »

Hi,

I need a car. It needs to be a reliable car, a big car and a hybrid.

I don't want to pay the 'new car' premium, so I have been looking for something with very low mileage and still within manufacturers warranty.

There's this one for sale at a small local dealership which is about 20% less than market rate, ~£18 000 vs ~£22 000. This difference is that it's a Japanese import, yet to be registered in the UK, although the dealership have already started the process of registering it.

I asked them why it was cheap and they just said that they can get them cheaper and that the radio unit was in Japanese.

Is there anything else I should be wary of? Seems a bit too much of a discount for having to learn the Japanese for "Volume".

If it's like my Lexus hybrid then the handbook is 600 pages long so you wouldn't want to wade through a Japanese version. A curious thing that I've noted is that whilst my car had depreciated from £33k to £20k in just over two years (at which age I bought it) the same dealer now has an identical one so now 3 1/2 years old for £18995. Both cars about same mileage at 10-12,000.
If you want a hybrid then Lexus/Toyota have been building them for over 10 years now.

Roland_Sausage

It's also going to have the speedo in km/h and the odometer in km.

Brilley

..and presumably if you do manage to get a radio station it will be in Japanese ....
(I thank you....)

facade

It will have a really useful mirror on the passenger front wing as well, most JDM cars have them.
It will be made properly in Japan, but it won't be rust proofed, as they don't salt the roads in Japan, you will have to get it Dinitrol'd if the dealer hasn't done it.
As said already, the manufacturer probably won't honour any warranty on a grey import.

jimbo6977

LPG rather than electric. Left hand drive. Nice car though.

https://www.autoscout24.com/offers/dodge-grand-caravan-3-6-v6-lpg-stow-n-go-kamera-klima-lpg-blue-a7245da3-950d-4544-8322-030c551a8e3d?cldtidx=1

Noree

reeac wrote: »

If it's like my Lexus hybrid then the handbook is 600 pages long so you wouldn't want to wade through a Japanese version. A curious thing that I've noted is that whilst my car had depreciated from £33k to £20k in just over two years (at which age I bought it) the same dealer now has an identical one so now 3 1/2 years old for £18995. Both cars about same mileage at 10-12,000.
If you want a hybrid then Lexus/Toyota have been building them for over 10 years now.

20 years!

I would certainly endorse a Toyota or Lexus ‘self-charging’ hybrid.

reeac

Noree wrote: »

20 years!

I would certainly endorse a Toyota or Lexus ‘self-charging’ hybrid.

Yes, 20 years overall. The current so called Toyota Hybrid Synergy System has been in production for about 10 years in a variety of versions ...should be fool proof by now.