| polishguy |
Hello all,
I've been lurking on these forums for a bit now so first of all I would like to say "hey" to all members. Previous car was a 1993 Audi S4, so I'm a boost-o-holic :D However, the car dug into my pockets hard and I had to part with it.
Nonetheless, back to the post. JDM cars and the pricing. Vehicles in japan are a lot cheaper then the landed cars that are in Edmonton. Is that just the way it goes, you pay more for a landed car for taking the risk?? or are people clueless about where these cars come from and have no idea how much the cost
Thanks for any imput
Adam |
|
|
| TrevorK |
quote:
Originally posted by polishguy
Nonetheless, back to the post. JDM cars and the pricing. Vehicles in japan are a lot cheaper then the landed cars that are in Edmonton. Is that just the way it goes, you pay more for a landed car for taking the risk?? or are people clueless about where these cars come from and have no idea how much the cost
Thanks for any imput
Adam
You take a big risk when buying the car sight unseen.
There have been success stories, and horror stories. One that comes to mind is a gentleman who bought a 180SX (I think, could've been a Silvia. I'm not into the JDM thing), which was in 3 or 3.5 condition but had the strut towers rusted so bad he couldn't get it to pass OOP.
Then there have been the horror stories of people that boughts BMW/Mercedes and having electrical problems...
But, there have also been many stories (And they outnumber the bad by far) of people that have bought cars that turned out just as they were told. |
|
|
| McFly |
peice of mind being able to see the car.
no dealing with out of province inspection(assuming its not being bought out of province)
its already here so its quicker:) |
|
|
| fartcannon |
| personally if i were going to buy a car from japan i would probably do it myself. Yah there is some risk but those cars are dirt cheap. you can get those imported yourself for 5 grand. kids here are paying 10-15, the profit the importers are making is insane. IMO its worth the risk becasue the worst that can happen is you loose another 5 grand importing another one. I guess if you got really unlucky both cars could be f'ed but you need some bad luck i guess. |
|
|
| Soulfly |
quote:
Originally posted by fartcannon
personally if i were going to buy a car from japan i would probably do it myself. Yah there is some risk but those cars are dirt cheap. you can get those imported yourself for 5 grand. kids here are paying 10-15, the profit the importers are making is insane. IMO its worth the risk becasue the worst that can happen is you loose another 5 grand importing another one. I guess if you got really unlucky both cars could be f'ed but you need some bad luck i guess.
Pretty sure.. theres a little bit more to it, then Just that..^^ |
|
|
| fartcannon |
| im sure there is, but its not like a person is incapable of ordering and importing a car from japan. sure you have to get the inspections yourself and pay for freigth and del along with customs but its not impossible. Sure it takes some work but isn't it worth it? you save thousands. |
|
|
| polishguy |
| my thoughts exactly, I don't know about 5$ for a good car all imported. Those are the cars with damage, high km's and issues. I would say 7-8K you got a solid car. my $.02 |
|
|
| Bad Egg |
A lot of the JDM importers have very clear, detailed breakdowns of the costs of bringing cars in, including their profit. I have seen them take under a thousand for their trouble, up to several thousand, depending on the delivery conditions. It is feasible for the average Schmoe to do it himself, but the work involved and the learning curve involved can easily balance out an importer's fee.
Those that only sell cars already here have the highest markup, but you get what you pay for. Those importers typically deliver you a car that is in above average shape, with all of the problems fixed and OOP inspection done. You may be able to import a decent car for $5000, but don't think your costs end there. Even a well maintained imported car can cost you a few bucks for things like batteries, tires, and so on.
If you do your research, and are willing to gamble a few thou, then go ahead and import a car yourself. Lots of us have. If you are pressed for time, and don't want to spend a lot of time worrying about what you will get, then spend a little more for the peace of mind. The great thing about the market is there is a nice variety and price range so that we can all find something that suits us. |
|
|
| polishguy |
| thanks for the solid info bad egg !!:bowdown: |
|
|
| Godzilla |
| Its cheaper to import your self but it is a bit of a hassle and headache, trust me im going through it right now. You have to decide if its worth the hassle. For me it was because i went to Japan to hand pick my car. If thats not an option for you, then you wont beable to look at your car before it gets here anyway so id recomend an importer, its a tonne easier. |
|
|
| 180sxforthewin |
| Because people are willing to pay for them. They are in demand and alot of people dont want to go through the hassle of bringing a car over from japan. It took my buddy 6 months from the time he paid them to begin looking till the time he got the car. Also have too factor in imports fees, customs hassles etc. |
|
|
| Godzilla |
| I think 6 months is a bit of a stretch for the average guy. I Purchased my car in Japan july 27, it was shipped on Aug 23, will be here on Sept 3 and is expected to clear customs and be on the roads by Sept 12. But im definitly not looking forward to the customs hassles and fees. If you have no way of seeing a JDM ride before you buy it, go through and importer and save the hassle. |
|
|
| McFly |
i purchased my car in oct. 2004 and it arrived in late late march 2005.
only because it was march 05 legal. |
|
|
| rdreamer |
| It is NOT easy, OR fun to import cars into Canada from Japan. A friend of mine has done it for years and honestly I don't know if I could do it. First you have to FIND a car in Japan, then once you find it getting it on a ship is the next trick, then once it is on a ship the dates that it hits Canada are really loose to say the least. Then you have to deal with a customs broker who may or may not lose your docs, in which case you have to call Japan and get new docs, all the while your car is racking up starage charges at the warf while you wait. So after 200 - 400 bucks in storage fees you will be hit with another grand or so for all the customs and tax hassles. So your "cheap" car you found is not so cheap anymore, then once all the headaches of customs is complete you need to arrange to ship the cars from BC to where ever you might be. So when everything is said and done you have paid more in all the bullshit that goes along with getting the car here, than you actually paid for the car in Japan. THEN after ALL of that you still don't actually know if you bought a car that actually will pass OOP inspections, so you better have more money when the car gets here once again. All and all it is better to buy a landed car WITH an OOP already completed, because importers are paid to deal with the headaches that most people just don't want to deal with. |
|
|
|
