Japanese car imports

[MidNite-D]

First I would say that you should read the excellent post by Romeo, follow this link http://www.japaneseauctions.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=121 , it has all the details that you would need and more to guide you through the process of importing a car from Japan, this thread is by no means meant to replace or duplicate this excellent post.

It was suggested to me to start this thread to document the purchase of a Mitsubishi FTO GPX, bought 30/3/2006 for my wife. We had been looking for this particular combination for quite a while and had to buy this one as it had all the options we were looking for, namely Manual, GPX and Wine Red. We won our car with a bid of 236,000 yen. It does need some work with the bodywork, we have a panelbeater waiting when it arrives to deal with this so we were not worried about a few paint blemishes.

We got the email the next day from Advan informing us and set about putting things in motion for the transfer of the money to Japan. A word of warning here, ensure that your bank is able to make the neccessary arrangements in a timely fashion. We had the money in the Alliance and Leicester, who wanted to charge ?30.00 for the transfer and as it would have to go through an intermidiary bank, we were told it may cost us up to 1.5% of the value of the transfer to do this. I moved the money to the HSBC, who chargd me ?21.00 to transfer the money and it was done in front of me.

We faxed the copy of the tranfer to Advan who have confirmed receipt of the fax and we are now waiting for more information as well as the pictures we have been told will be sent to us when they have the car in their own yard in Japan.

I will post again when there is any thing more to report.

MidNite

[MidNite-D]

Today we got an email from Advan stating that Japan had confirmed receipt of the money and were making arrangments for the car to be moved to be made ready for shipping.

Quote: Thank you for payment for your vehicle, received with thanks.

We will be shipping your vehicle to your preferred port : Liverpool.

Please allow 4-6 weeks for shipping once the vehicle is loaded onto a
vessel. We will ship your vehicle as soon as a space on a vessel becomes
available.

When the vehicle arrives the shipping agents will have the vehicle cleared
by customs on your behalf. We will also prepare for you the paperwork
associated with your vehicle.

You will be contacted by the shipping agent when your vehicle is ready to be
picked up.

Nearer the time of arrival the shipping agent can be contacted for a more
updated shipping schedule if you wish.

The shipping agent can be contacted 1 week before your vehicles arrival.

We also received an email from Barratt Shipping Ltd re confirmation of our details and the port to which the car will be shipped to.

So it looks like things are moving although we still have no photo's of the car, much to my wife's disappointment

MidNite

[MidNite-D]

Well the first thing I should say is that we got an email from Barratt Shipping regarding the delivery date for our car. 27th May. It is on a ship called the Grand Quest and is now bound for our port which is Liverpool. Kerrie at Barratt Shipping has been very quick to respond to my email requesting information on the arrival date, thanks Kerrie.

MidNite

[MidNite-D]

Now the second thing, I am posting this as two posts as this deals with an issue that has me fuming . I have requested on several occasions pictures of the FTO we bought, as we have had our payment cleared for a while now I thought that the pictures would like I have seen with others arrive with me after seven to ten days. It is now closer to three weeks and I have just been sent the pictures of the car, which looks like it is on the docks awaiting loading.

What has got me so mad is this picture. It looks like it has been scraped down a wall or another vehicle, it is even on the wheels and side skirting. The damage looks new and was not listed on the auction report. I was aware after reading Romeo's post that his FTO had some minor damage to the front spoiler caused by the people who load the cars on the Roll on-Roll off ships, but this is ridiculous. The auction report stated this:

Non Genuine Aluminum Wheel, Rear Spoiler, Fog Lamp, Keyless Entry, Sun Roof,
Written guarantee & Service manual, Scratch on Windshield, Interior Dirty,
Paint Bald on Rear Spoiler, Electromotive Retractable Mirror Not good,
Audio Missing Hole, Small Scratch & Small Dent & Paint Balds.

I was aware of the paint missing on the rear skirt and taken steps to have it sorted out when it got here, but I am not prepared to have a new door skin or a major repair and repaint on the entire leftside of the car.

The damage to the side of the car seems to include the both wings on that side, minor to the front but the rear three quarter panel also looks very badly damaged, as I have said I was prepared for some minor touching up which is the case for a few areas which are shown in the other pictures I have received but not this.

To say I am angry is an understatement, after the problem with Romeo's FTO I would have thought that steps would have been taken to avoid any such future problems with the cars. I am also unaware as to whether the car was taken to a secure compound as they are supposed to be or if it was just left somewhere.

Your comments would be appreciated!

MidNite

[Yann]

Hi Midnite,

Sorry about your FTO!! That does NOT look like a "small scratch/dent" !! Have you spoken to Tony about it yet? If not I would get on the blower quick smart mate.I daresay he'll be able to sort it out.....although that's not really the issue, the point is, it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

I too thought that after Romeos incident, steps would've been taken to prevent this sort of thing happening again.......I'm getting angry on your behalf now, sorry

Got me really,really worried about mine now too.........I haven't seen any pics of it except those when I bought it.No new ones sent out before going onship..... Going to be SERIOUSLY P'd off if that's happened to mine aswell.

Email and let me know how you're getting on.......or you just want to vent lol(you still have my address I think?)

[MidNite-D]

Hi Yann,

I also dont think that they are small scratch, small dent but i did get an email from Raymond from the Advan office that says the damage was noted on the guide. When it said small scratch I thought that meant the paint was scratched and would need either touching up or need to have a compound used to rub out the scratches. I knew about the rear skirt and as I said have put things in place to sort that out, but this is at another level.

Re your car I really hope there are no issues with it and from what I can remember about your pics it looked pretty good all round, so I wouldn't worry unduly.

I have showed the pictures to the paint sprayer and he said it might need a full respray to look right, I'll have to wait and see.

MidNite

p.s. this is the guide, maybe I just dont know how to intepret them.

[glanma]

Hey MidNite - I would say howz things lately, but having just read this latest episode I can guess what the reply might be!! Um, oh hell springs to mind - something is very wrong somewhere here i think. I'll pm you tomorrow once I've had more time to have a good look at this - but my first reaction would be to have a chat to one of the Advan guys on here to see what they can tell you.

[mikeeboy]

[quote]When it said small scratch I thought that meant the paint was scratched [/quote]
I dread to think what they'd mean by a large scratch!!
Totally out of order

[MidNite-D]

I suppose that now I have paid the cash out I will have to accept it and try and get it all sorted out when it gets here. The thing that annoys me is all the Grade marks on the Auction Report were listed as A and U, which I believed to mean they were small scratches/dents, if they were listed as A3 or U3 I probably wouldn't have bid on it. I have seen other cars that looked fairly good but the report listed several A3's and U3's which put me off. Also the translation said nothing about anything major, and I quote again:

Non Genuine Aluminum Wheel, Rear Spoiler, Fog Lamp, Keyless Entry, Sun Roof,
Written guarantee & Service manual, Scratch on Windshield, Interior Dirty,
Paint Bald on Rear Spoiler, Electromotive Retractable Mirror Not good,
Audio Missing Hole, Small Scratch & Small Dent & Paint Balds.

There is nothing there to me that would give any clue to that amount of damage, but again maybe I am wrong as it is my first import.

MidNite

[MidNite-D]

Well today I went over to Liverpool to pick up the FTO, I organised a trailer on the good advice of Msdunn, good job really as the battery was totally flat and we had to get a jump from the guys at the yards to be able to move it out of its bay. That said it did start nearly first time and we loaded it onto the trailer for the long journey home. I have dropped it off at a friends garage to have the cambelt changed and a general check of things like the brakes as well as having an oil/oil filter change. We will pick it up next week to have the paint and body work sorted out then get it prepped for the MOT.

I will let you all know how it all goes.

MidNite

[msdunn]

sorry to hear about the fto midnite - i have just been so busy - i havn't logged on here for god knows how long

you won't believe it but i was in liverpool on thursday - twice - picking up 2 mx5's

wish i'd have known the fto was on the grand quest - we could've arranged to go over together

hope the mrs isn't too upset - but it should mend and blend

[MidNite-D]

I tried to get in touch a while ago but when I got no reply I thought you had gone away on business or something. Picking up the car went fairly well so all I have to do is get the car sorted. I suppose I am lucky really as I know a few people who can help me out so it could have been worse. Regarding the missus, she's not seen the car and wont now until its done. Could you let me know which form it is I need to fill out to get a log book, I've seen it somewhere on the forum but can't remember where.

MidNite

[msdunn]

you don't get the log book till its registered - and you can't register it without an mot

so the first thing to do is take it down for an mot - as the damage is superficial (from an mot point of view - i know it wont be light to you both) bodywork - then you can get your ticket - arrange for a cat 1 to be fitted (as the insurance will need to see a certificate within a specified time) and pop over to leeds to register it.
then soon as you have the documents back you can get yourself some number plates made.
if you don't mind waiting theres a place that makes nice ones in ireland - but its a couple of weeks sometimes.
otherwise theres a place in bradford i go to who are reasonably priced - and will make the front number plate as small as you like - i got a teeny one for my skyline the other week .
i'd get a jap size rear - and have a think about what you want for the front, as to what will suit it best.

if you want the number of the guy i use for alarms let me know unless you know someone - he is very neat.

[MidNite-D]

Hi Msdunn, I spoke to the guys who have the car now and asked them to sort out the MOT as well, they've been doing a few cars for the family over the last few years so I know they will sort it out and not try and over charge me. Then we will get it over to the panel beater later this week hopefully. Could you ask the guy you told me about if he will be able to underseal/waxoil the car for me, also would it be better before or after its painted.

MidNite

[mosh]

excellent writeup, just to confirm, as long as the car is 10years or older, the first steps when it arrives is MOT (foglights etc.) (making sure your insured).

Registering vehicle with DVLA (Can some one explain this in more details on what to do with the plates already on car and also how can I / how much will it cost to transfer a private plate onto the car).

TAX it and all done?

[MidNite-D]

Its been a while since I last posted so I'd better bring everyone up to date with the state of play. About a week after the car was picked up we got the de-reg papers and the form V55/5 from the shipping agents. This along with the customs form 386 and the MOT is what you require to register the vehicle. I used the info from a post by MSDunn to wire in the inner set of brake lights as foglights. Just a quick note on that, take the actual light off and cut the wire just before it goes into the inner light cluster, I did it on the inside of the boot and for 5 mins had all the light working as fogs until I saw my mistake. The cost to register is ?38.00 and you can take the paperwork along to your local DVLA office although it is NOT an over the counter service. You will also have to tax the car at the same time, there is a section on the V55/5 for this.

The car is currently stripped down and being prepped for painting and we should have it back Mon/Tues next week. When we pick it up I will post up some pics so you can all see the before and after shots.

MidNite

[glanma]

Will be good to see it MidNite - and it'll still be worth all the hassle I'm sure. Don't forget to add all the details in the garage section either - we need a few more motors in there!!!

[MidNite-D]

Yeah I will, I've not been on for a while so not sure of whats happening, I sent you an email the other day, don't know if you got if you haven't let me know and I will resend. Hope things are well with you.

MidNite

[romeo42822]

MidNite,

I have just read your post on the advice of Gelnn, and to be honest I am not suprised with the damage.

I can fully apperciate how you felt, and feel to this day regarding the damage caused to your FTO.

Now that my problems have been settled with the damage to mine I will happily forward details on what hapened and why. I cant post them publically but it can be done on a PVT basis.

So how much did it cost for you to get the damage repaired ?, and are you overall happy with the car (not the service or damage) ??.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Rgds

Ben

[MidNite-D]

Well, after having to sit and look at my new FTO on the drive for over a week, the DVLA have finally got there act together and sent through the registration docs.

I have just arrived home after taking my baby for a drive, and oh what a drive !!!!!!!!!! It is so fast. My hubby (MidNite) said that I was driving like a 'learner' driver at first, but after driving my previous car (a metro I am ashamed to admit now ), what did he expect!!!.

I could hardly see over the steering wheel (being a mere 5ft 3'' and a bit), but who cares, my legs were long enough to reach the accelerator, and that was all that mattered at the time. I could have stayed out cruising all night, but my sensible husband said that it was time to come home (probably a good idea before I found myself in the possession of a speeding ticket). It would have been worth it though !!.

Well I just thought that I would let you all know that I am now finally now a member of the FTO clan, and very proud of it. I am soooo excited, and I cant wait for the morning, so that I can go out for another spin.

Mrs MidNite