Jap Import - Vin Number help needed

Greensprout

Hi, I recently have put a deposit down on a Japanese import car which is a '53' plate.

I've joined the forum for the car and have been reading several posts which have got me worrying.

The Vin number for the model obviously starts from 000..001 and counts up one for everyone off of the production line.
The car I have been looking at is 000..690 indicating it was the 690th one made.

This is where i get confused.. The model was released in 2001 (Y Plate), the car I have a deposit on is a 2003 (53 plate) there were def more than 690 made in the first year.

I have read some other threads and people with older cars have higher vin numbers.
Is this anything to worry about or could it have been made in 2001 and not registered until 2003 making it a '53'?

Conor_3

There will also be another part of the VIN number which is the year of manufacture so you'll find yours is no 690 of that year.

Greensprout

I've been back to the owners forum and had a further read.

On there it states that 'The Japanese vin system is unique. The chassis number is sequential, XXX-2xxxxxx. The earlier the number the closer to 2001 the car is mine is XXX-23xxxx and its a 2005 facelift model.'

So It does look like the car was manufactured in 2001, but could it not have been registered until 2003, hence the '53' plate?

epninety

Possibly the UK registration was 'fiddled' to get the car a newer plate (and higher value) than it should have? The UK logbook will state the date of import, and declaration of new/used at that point.

I would do some reading around the import process if I were you,so you can be sure what you are buying.

Remember that if it *is* a 2001 model, then even if the price you pay reflects that, it cannot legally have a number plate indicating the car is newer than it actually is.

Edited to clarfiy: I meant the plate should indicate the date of first use, even if that is in a foreign country. If it was first registered for the road in 2003, but was a 2001 model, that would still get a 2003 plate.

Greensprout

epninety: Thanks for the advice, I've been down to the main dealer today to get them to check their system to find out when it was manufactured, but it's a national holiday or something in Japan so he couldn't access the system.

I told him the situation and he said it is possible it was manufactured in 2001 but not put on the road until 2003 making it a 2003 registered car..

I'm going back down on the 2nd when he can tell me the manufacture date.

flutterbyuk25

Officially the '53' plate refers to the date of manufacture of the vehicle. If it was manufactured in 2001 then it should have a 'Y' or '51' plate.

The only exceptions to this would be:

1. As mentioned before, the paperwork was fiddled before the vehicle was registered in UK.

2. A !!!!-up was done when vehicle was registered and it was given wrong plate.

3. It's a stolen vehicle - unfortunately there are high incidences of Japanese imports being stolen to order, especially the sportier ones.

4. If the vehicle has sat in storage between 2001 and 2003 and had only delivery mileage and was still the current model being manufactured, then it could 'become' a '53' plate as would be identical to a vehicle manufactured in 2003.

I'd advise you thoroughly check all the paperwork, especially the V5C Registration Certificate before purchase. The special notes section (3) would say date imported/registered in UK. And do HPI/Experian checks yourself, don't rely on dealer.

Greensprout

I've done a HPI check already but as this is a fresh import it has no UK records.
edit: It does detail, not stolen, no colour changes, number of owners, vin number, first registration etc.

The vin numbers on the car and the HPI match, the date of UK registration was Nov 07 and all tallies.

Obviously I will check the V5 before handing over any money. I'm going to go down to the main dealer tomorrow and see what they can tell me about the car and see if it has had any services etc in japan at the main dealers.

Can you elaborate what you mean on point 3. Do you mean stolen in Japan or the UK?

flutterbyuk25

RE point 3 - I meant stolen in Japan, usually to order for UK or other foreign markets as some models are not readily available. Though saying that a few years ago there was a major crackdown with UK/Japanese police and Interpol to prevent this happening and is much less frequent now.

Hopefully the dealer's can shed some light on it for you when you speak to them.

ooo000ooo

Check the seatbelt tabs(orange label near the floor fixing, afaik all jap cars have the date of manuafacture on them, it's usually a good guide to when the car was made although not when it was first registered.

Greensprout

I've been to the main dealer today.
It was manufactured in 2002 so all seems about right, registered on the road 6-12months later sounds good to me, the guy at the main dealers agreed and said this is not a strange thing to happen and he's seen cars registered 2-3 years after they were manufactured.

Worry over!

Just waiting for the Bimta mileage results and it'll soon be mine