Importing your own VR4 - My experiences.

[AncientOfMu]

You're not going to forget the extra costs:

Shipping ~ £450 (possibly more with the extra bunker fuel supplements currently)
Shipping agent fee ~ £150
Import Duty ~ £200
VAT ~ £380

Total £1180 ish still to pay.

I also wanted to comment on Autoadvan - I have imported both my Legnums via them. The first time was great - I told them my limit in yen and they came in under - 267,000 Yen which turned into £3135 after all costs UK Landed which I was very happy with.

The second time they took a different appraoch - Tony looked at eBay and said they are going for circa £4k (manual). He then asked me for a UK landed price I was prepared to pay (as opposed to a Yen auction limit). Needless to say, he brought it in for exactly the amount I said I was prepared to pay.

So, the first time I felt a got a bargain. The second time I felt Autoadvan made quite a bit of money out of me.

I believe Autoadvan also have 'contacts' at the auction houses / shipping yards where the deregistration docs are prepared - the declared value falls way short on the forms. This allows them to bid higher at the auctions because you pay less import/VAT for the same total amount. I tried to get details from them but they were only prepared to speak over the phone about their methods.

Needless to say I won't be using them again.

Bonsai have given me a UK landed total of £3100. thats everything.
Shipping vat shipping agent fees etc etc.

We shall see over the course of this thread how accurate that is.

[AncientOfMu]

Well I went tot he bank today. BonsaiCars now have thier fee. The money has been sent to Japan also. Just waiting for the pictures and update of when the car will be leaving now

Some Bad news and a lesson to be learnt.

I WAS BIDDING AGAINST MYSELF for part of the auction.

on the day of the auction I contacted IronChef Imports in Aus enquiring about the car. Because it was late in Aus and the time delay between there Japan and here he never got back to me with more info.

Thats why I made the decision to go with Bonsai Cars.

Found out today that IronChef decided to have a go at winning the vehicle for me

Luckily it would seem his yen limit was quite a lot below what ti went for so I dont think it bumped it up that much........



Lesson #1 In importing make sure you know who is bidding for you and who isnt.

[White Lightning]

That' a bummer

Good tip to remember though ... thanks for sharing it.

[the_boy]

Think this looks quite nice....

http://www.japaneseusedcars.com/auct...-25551304.html

50,000 Yen starting price = £238

Sold!

[pitslayer]

wouldnt be able to use it for year though at least though. under 10 years old, so you cant get it registered

[elnevio]

wouldnt be able to use it for year though at least though. under 10 years old, so you cant get it registered

Could always 'KTC' it!

Isn't that the same as Nick's?

[Nick Mann]

Close! The same shape and colour. Nice!

[elnevio]

Close! The same shape and colour. Nice!

That's what I meant!

I now realise it looks like I'm suggesting you 'KTC'ed yours! But I know it's on an S-plate...

[AncientOfMu]

Finally got some pictures in.





























Im pleased with a lot of what I see, but I'll let you guys go mod hunting .


She needs a hell of a lot of work to bring her up to my standard.... but I'm sure I'll get there


Still no news on when she is gonna set sail though .

[bradc]

the front bumper is obviously broken, and I think the rear bumper is bent inwards slightly. Other than that the exterior looks good, although I'm not a fan of the stickers or the chrome rear trim on a black car. You can obviously tell from the engine bay it was silver originally.

Buy a facelift bumper and grill, you know you want to

[AncientOfMu]

whats the thing on top of the steering column? is that a boost guage in the corner of the windscreen?

can you tell from the strut tops what suspention it has?

whats that thing in the boot?

The thing I'm most happy about is the interior looks very original and in good condition.

[bradc]

the thing on the steering column has min, max, mode and sec on it. Perhaps it is a lap timer or a turbo timer.

The thing by the A-pillar is definitely a gauge, most likely boost

It also looks like the windscreen is smashed, but probably just a trick of the light.

[orionn2o]

Im looking forward to seeing how your cleaning goes on this one Don!

[AncientOfMu]

Im looking forward to seeing how your cleaning goes on this one Don!

Not as much as I'm looking forward to it

[PaddyB]

Sexy.

Lurve the interior (might even beat my black leather in an interior-off - & I wouldn't even put up my nardi against that momo [which looks new to me]). The front has had some adventures - what's happened to the nearside fog ?? & I agree with brad about the windscreen. It should clean up real purdy tho' (esp. given who the cleaner is). Black & those wheels look like they were meant to be together.

What do you reckon that thing is in the boot ?? First I thought it was a battery type housing (it looks a bit UPS-ish) but there's clearly a battery in the engine bay (I'm knowledgeable about cars don't you know ). Is it a PC ?? What's them silver things on the wings ?? They look a bit like windscreen washers.

Nice find - you taking bookings ?? Having finally seen one in the flesh the Mrs. is now thinking about swapping her MPV for one.

[AncientOfMu]

Bad news

Just had a phone call from BonsaiCars. My leggie has been damaged sometime between Auction and getting to the BonsaiCars yard.

The windscreen has been smashed and the bonnet is dented.

I have gone for the option of having it repaired in Japan by the auction house (whos responsibility it is to pay for the repair). Will be repaired to manufacturers standard apparantly.

It was either that or get a full refund.

The good news is BonsaiCars have been more than helpful over this issue.

(Now I know why it has taken Japan so long to get photos taken..)


Means a delay in getting here. Going to be mid/end Sept now I should think.


I think I may have noticed a electronic boost controller.....

I have stressed upon BonsaiCars that they must make sure nothing on or in the car goes missing between now and when it gets to the UK. Hopefully that will happen.....

Time will tell.

[peter thomson]

Not so good but great that they are sorting out the repairs at there expense.

[Kieran]

Erk! THat's not good!

Hope it gets fixed promptly and to your satisfaction!

[Nick Mann]

Aftermarket speakers in the rear doors.
Turbo Timer above steering wheel shroud?
Amp? by left drivers foot.
I think the thing in the boot is a sub.
I think the pod could be a tweater?
There is obviously a pod filter and a double din head unit.
The incident that caused the damage has obviously also caused the wheel arch liner to come adrift, as it is resting on the wheel, so will be worn away rather quickly!
And I think the strut brace is on backwards, but I'd need to check on another car first to be sure.

[miller]

And I think the strut brace is on backwards, but I'd need to check on another car first to be sure.

same as mine, unless both of us are wrong!

Mike