Just wondering if anyone knows how to go about importing a car direct from, say, Japan rather than paying some middle man to do it? Also if you think it's worthwhile or not or anything else you can add?

Thanks in advance.

I think theres alway a middle man dude, unless you go over there yourself.

The best deal Ive heard of is from j-spec.

You pay em $500, tell them what you want, then their man in Japan goes through a massive list of all the cars up for auction, finds what you want, hooks up the shipping and everything, then it gets here, you pay j-spec another $500 when you get your car, and they organise compliance and all that (but you gotta pay for that too, obvisouly. and the car).

You could probably find your own import broker in Japan, but a 3rd party would save you a s***load of hassle.

Thanks maxe. Do you know if doing it through J-spec works out much cheaper than buying it through a direct importer (once landed)? I mean if it's only going to save say $1000 on a $25k car then I don't think it's really not worth the hassle.

its not worth the hassle

sometimes is just easier to buy through a dealer

Its not really a matter of hassle, its a matter of risk.

If someone f***s you over, and the car that comes off the boat isnt up to scratch (rare, but happens) j-spec will either source you another one or repair whats been busted on the one you got.

J-Spec have been in the game a long time, so you just give them your cash and they'll sort it all out for you, without the risk of you getting ripped off.

Im sure there are a lot of other direct importers that provide a similar service, just the j-specs that one I know of.

Read this I guess.

Jspec ^^

lol wow kekeke

was over reading fastfours forum and theres a thread there that mite be appropriate

http://forums.fastfours.com.au/messageview.cfm?catid=3&threadid=42398

I felt that comming on :)

yeah i think that you have to be a japanese citizen for like 3 years or something before you can start importing cars and parts to other countries

and the car might fall off the boat too.

and the car might fall off the boat too

thats what shipping insurance is for.

i've heard ALOT of good reports for this guy http://www.prestigemotorsport.com.au/ . Pay'em a grand and a bit up front and they will find your car exact to your specs. They have a number of ppl in japan covering thousands and thousands of cars so u won't miss out.

They also have a mailing list and send out cars up for sale on that but if you've paid your money they will call you first!


but good luck on getting compliance plates nowadays, the governments gotten really gay on laws regarding imports (prolly as a crutch to our "car" "industry")

www.autojmart.com.au

there is another on the southside as well Extreme Something.. very nice indeed :D