Japanese imported European cars in Europe- What's the story? | FerrariChat

Japanese imported European cars in Europe- What's the story?

Discussion in 'Europe' started by sixcarbs, Dec 6, 2017.

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  1. sixcarbs

    sixcarbs F1 Veteran
    Silver Subscribed

    Dec 19, 2004
    9,064
    SF
    Hi,

    I see a good number of ads for used Mercedes, Rolls-Royces, and even Ferraris in Europe that have been imported from Japan. They tend to be slightly better priced than similar mileage cars. What's the story with these cars? Are they to be avoided? It seems like some dealers have made a business of importing them.

    Thanks,

    Sixcarbs
     
  2. Simon

    Simon Moderator
    Moderator Owner

    Aug 29, 2003
    6,750
    Switzerland
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    Simon
    Not something that has struck me. People imported the models not available in Europe, FTO, early Skyline etc. but can't say I've seen "a good number" of Japanese imports for sale otherwise.
     
  3. Mikestradale

    Mikestradale F1 Rookie

    Jan 25, 2006
    2,596
    Netherlands
    Full Name:
    Mike
    Yes, quite a few CS’s have been imported to Europe lately, especially to the UK (I only keep track of the Stradales, no other models).

    You can also see this when you go to this page on my website (scroll to the LHD JAPAN cars), you can see the flags/country where the cars are right now:
    http://challengestradale.com/registry-market.html#JAPAN

    38 JP spec cars in the db, 14 of them are now in Europe.

    The cars in Japan are cheaper, but it’s harder to get the full history + some cars dont have paperwork + Japanese people like to mod their cars.
     
  4. Canuck550

    Canuck550 Formula Junior

    Sep 8, 2015
    462
    Incognito
    Full Name:
    RJA
    I have imported a Japanese 550 into Canada, a lot of work, however, the paperwork and history was present, to keep a car on the road in Japan is quite costly to renew your licence, they are typically well maintained as this is the only way to keep them road worthy
     
  5. Pav

    Pav Formula 3
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jan 18, 2006
    2,159
    Warsaw, Poland
    Full Name:
    Michal
    The keyword - AUCTIONS. Most cars are bought from Japanese auction sites, sometimes the mileage or the history cannot be verified. On top of this, it was easy to strike a good deal when there were many cars of a given model for sale, now he prices tend to go up on the Japanese auctions, and interesting cars become more rare.
     
    bertrand328 likes this.
  6. Flavio_C

    Flavio_C Formula 3
    BANNED

    Sep 7, 2012
    2,445
    Insubria
    In summary, many LHD cars that were imported into Japan are now difficult to resell in the used market there and thus find their way back to Europe. Sought-after and low mileage LHD modern classics can be bought in Japan for peanuts and sold in Europe for a good profit.
     
  7. Pav

    Pav Formula 3
    Lifetime Rossa

    Jan 18, 2006
    2,159
    Warsaw, Poland
    Full Name:
    Michal
    Modern classics are the keyword. Looking at cars Made before 1995, it becomes harder to find good examples, however if we look at post 2000s vehicles, there is still a land of plenty there. Three of my friends from different parts of the world recently bought on auction cars such as a 997 targa, M5 E60 V10 and a CL55 AMG for next to nothing compared to what you would pay in Europe.
     

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