Import from Japan to uk directly

I think the original poster was asking if anyone had experience with imports and could recommend an agent.

Paul, I haven't seen anyone with such experience here on this board. And we're probably not the right place to ask: the question has more to do with the import process, and the fact that the car is a Jimny is not really material to the issue.

Also, here on the board we pride ourselves on our savvy management of pounds spent (i.e. penny-pinching), see for example the recent thread where several forum members were revealed to have stashes of used brake pads. So if you ask us about an expensive process for purchasing a new car, we can only give you all the reasons why it will make your pocket hurt.  Best to go to a forum more focused on car import, or to talk to a specialist firm, for example a dealer whose stock often includes grey-market vehicles.

Then come back to us after something breaks on your new Jimny and you want tips on how to fix it quickly, cheaply, and well. We're good at that kind of thing.

 

Thank you for all your feedback. I would appreciate a name of a trusted company in Japan that someone has actually dealt with.Japanese Car Direct appear good - any advice anyone ?

A grey import is one that has not come in as part of a manufacturers import.

Sorry, I probably wasnt very clear, thats what we mean by a "jap import" down here. A used vehicle from japan that has done maybe 100,000km over there and is then hocked off in auction houses for opportunistic car sharks to make a profit on here, hence the boatloads of used japanese vehicles. Imported vehicles through the official dealers are regarded as "NZ New" and often fetch a higher price in the second hand market. This is all a bit off topic though sorry. 

I didn't realise that you guys couldn't get the 4 door or autos. We've just started seeing the 4 doors here, I saw them back one off the delivery truck at the dealer the other day as I drove past. I can see now why the OP was looking at importing one themselves. Pretty sure any joe bloggs can import a vehicle here in NZ,  but you do need to be a registered motor vehicle trader if you import more than 3 x vehicles in any 12 month period.
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373paul wrote:

Thank you for all your feedback. I would appreciate a name of a trusted company in Japan that someone has actually dealt with.Japanese Car Direct appear good - any advice anyone ?

There are a number of companies in the UK that offer import services. I'd speak with one of them. The process isn't or shouldn't be overly difficult, but unless you can speak Japanese or have a contact over there, you might find it a bit more challenging.

I've not used these people, but did have them bookmarked: www.torque-gt.co.uk/

Give them a call and see if they can help you.

I have never imported a car but did import a fibreglass dome from the US. It was a few years ago, cost $5,000 (about £3,500 at the time). Shipping, handling, customs clearing, import duty and VAT as well as I had to pay everyone at the port meant it cost about £5,500. Then shipping in a van from port to home.

I found this guide about importing cars from Japan, it’s from money transfer company Wise and seems to be a fairly comprehensive guide.

wise.com/gb/blog/importing-a-car-from-japan

My best guess would be that a new 4 seater Jimny would be somewhere near £30k to buy and import, plus you might not have a warranty and tax and insurance could cost more.

Robin

Hughes wrote:

A grey import is one that has not come in as part of a manufacturers import.

Sorry, I probably wasnt very clear, thats what we mean by a "jap import" down here. A used vehicle from japan that has done maybe 100,000km over there and is then hocked off in auction houses for opportunistic car sharks to make a profit on here, hence the boatloads of used japanese vehicles. Imported vehicles through the official dealers are regarded as "NZ New" and often fetch a higher price in the second hand market. This is all a bit off topic though sorry. 

I didn't realise that you guys couldn't get the 4 door or autos. We've just started seeing the 4 doors here, I saw them back one off the delivery truck at the dealer the other day as I drove past. I can see now why the OP was looking at importing one themselves. Pretty sure any joe bloggs can import a vehicle here in NZ,  but you do need to be a registered motor vehicle trader if you import more than 3 x vehicles in any 12 month period.
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A grey import can be a new or used vehicle. Vehicles sold here (well most places) require a form of Type Approval for the market. There are different categories and levels of Type Approval, such as low volume manufacturing like Caterham and other specialist car builders.

A grey import denotes it has no Type Approval and can be from any country. The usual process is that a vehicle goes through an Individual Vehicle Assessment (IVA) to gain Approval on a case by case basis. Numbers are limited to around 50 vehicles of a given make/model in a calendar year. Even large car makers go down this route and some Subaru Impreza's and Nissan Skylines would have had an IVA instead of full Type Approval. I believe vehicles over 25 years old are now exempt from needing an IVA, but I'd need to check the regs. Although not relevant for the op anyway.

This isn't about protecting local car industry, just to ensure vehicles meet a certain standard for things like emissions, lighting, safety etc.

While the UK has lost the large home brand mass market cars like Rover. There is still a large car manufacturing industry in the UK. Not just from companies like JLR, but Toyota, Nissan and others.

Gotcha. That sounds like a lot of paperwork!

We only get the 2 seater commercial version now, all in manual, and in very small numbers.  Autos were available for about 18 months but apparently only 10% of sales were auto, so there are only a few hundred in the UK.

We normally refer to unofficial imports as "grey imports" here.  The abbreviation "Jap" is considered slightly racist in the UK, although not as offensive as it would be in the US.  Mind you, people who really love Japanese cars and culture hold "Japfest" every year, so work that out!

Sorry, no offense meant on the abbreviation.
If they're as popular over your way as they are here, it seems kind of backward to restrict sales, even if it means a long waiting list, which is a pity. Motoring journalists here were a little skeptical of the new model after testing, and still are a bit, mostly because very few of them seem to know how to handle a "proper" vehicle that doesn't just about drive itself. Hasn't stopped people buying them, we can't seem to get enough. Sorry I've derailed the thread again!

The sales restriction was because Suzuki wanted to avoid an EU* fleet emissions fine for going over 95g/km.  Other, far more polluting, manufacturers used ruses like partnering with Tesla or other big EV manufacturers.  Suzuki found it could avoid the fine by simply dropping its one non-hybrid car from the range.  Had it kept the Jimny on sale, the fine would have worked out to £8,000 per Jimny sold.

The LCV is outside the 95g/km limit because ir's not a "car".

The other reason the UK never got, or gets, many Jimnys is that Suzuki can't make them fast enough to meet demand from the rest of the world.

*I have no idea why this still applies post-Brexit, but Brexit hasn't managed to deliver any of its other supposed benefits, so I'm not surprised.  Oops, bit of politics there.

rogerzilla wrote:

*I have no idea why this still applies post-Brexit, but Brexit hasn't managed to deliver any of its other supposed benefits, so I'm not surprised.  Oops, bit of politics there.

It can't be Politics as it's true

373paul wrote:

My wife currently has a SZ5 auto (from new 2019 )trouble free motoring. We would like to replace it with a new one.The only way to get an automatic is to import  directly from Japan.
I have done research online but I am  apprehensive of online reviews.I would love to hear from someone who has experience importing to the UK .which company they would  recommend.

I'm not recommending these people as I have no clue about them, but this is likely to be the type of firm you need  algysautos.com/about-algys-autos-importi...rs-from-japan-to-uk/ they were just chosen at random from a Google search.

We used to be into a Japanese car scene MR2 Turbo, Skyline etc. where all the cars were grey imports, but most were over 10 years old as in Japan they used to have to have a massively expensive test at 10 years old & it was cheaper to sell the car, allow it to be exported & buy a new car than do the test. No idea if that still applies, but presumably it was to support the internal car market.

But a phone call to them explaining what you want to do should put you on the right track even if you go with somebody else.