How to import a car from Japan: the five stages, and where each one goes wrong

Wherever you live, buying a used car from Japan goes through the same five stages: choose where to buy, check the car, buy and pay, ship it, then clear your own country's import and registration steps. The first four happen in Japan, and they're the same whether the car is going to Leeds or Brisbane. Only the last one changes country by country.

The forms get most of the attention. In our view, the expensive surprises more often come from the second stage: what the car is really like. Once it's on a ship, it's yours. Photos show less than you think.

1. Choose where to buy

Overseas buyers usually find cars in one of three ways:

• Export companies that list cars, handle the purchase in Japan and arrange shipping. Some sell from their own stock, others list cars from many Japanese sellers.
• Japanese listing sites that show stock from dealers across Japan, some with an English version.
• Auctions, usually through an agent, since Japan's car auctions are generally open only to their member dealers.

Each works differently: who owns the car, who checks it, and who you deal with if something is wrong. We look at the main sites one by one: Goo-net Exchange, BE FORWARD, SBT Japan and Car From Japan. We describe how they work and what to ask. We don't rate them.

2. Check the car

This is the stage people rush. Two kinds of checking matter.

The papers. The chassis number identifies the car and is what your own authorities will usually match against the export certificate later. See what a Japanese chassis number check can and can't tell you.

The car itself. Listing photos show what the camera was pointed at. Our founder, who works in paintless dent repair and detailing, calls the body shell the box: rust on a bolted-on part can be fixed by replacing the part, but rust on the welded body is what decides whether a car is worth buying. More on that in rust on the body or a part, and in what dealer photos miss.

3. Buy and pay

• Know what the price includes. Some quotes cover the car only. Others include delivery to the port, shipping and insurance. Ask for it in writing.
• Know who you're paying. The company or person on the invoice should match the one you agreed the sale with.
• Ask about the export certificate. When a car leaves Japan, its Japanese registration is cancelled for export and an export certificate is issued. The UK, for example, asks for the original, so make sure it will travel with the car or reach you.

4. Ship the car

Your exporter or a shipping company quotes for transport to your nearest port. Two things to raise before the car is loaded:

• Cleaning. Some countries inspect the underside for soil and plant material on arrival, and the cleaning or inspection is at your cost. Asking for the underside to be washed before it ships avoids that problem at the border.
• Timing. Some countries count a car's age to the month. A few weeks at sea can matter if the car is close to a cut-off.

5. Your country's import and registration steps

This is where the rules differ, and we keep them on separate pages so each one can be checked against that government's own guidance:

• United Kingdom: cars over 10 years old don't need vehicle approval; duty, VAT, the 14-day HMRC notice, the MOT and DVLA registration. See importing a car from Japan to the UK.
• Australia: you need an import approval before the car ships, and many private imports, as we read the guidance, use the 25-year rule. See importing a car from Japan to Australia.
• United States: a Japanese-market car generally has to be 25 years old to meet the safety rule, and the separate 21-year emissions exemption only covers cars in their original, unmodified configuration. See importing a car from Japan to the USA.

For any other country, start with the government's own page on importing a vehicle, and check it before you pay for the car, not after.

What this page can't tell you

• Whether a particular car is a good buy. We don't say whether to buy, and we don't say whether a car has been in an accident.
• Which seller to use. We describe how sellers work; we don't rate them.
• Your country's exact rules and costs. They change, so read your government's guidance before you commit.
• What's under the car from a listing. We don't lift cars, so even in person we photograph what can be seen from ground level.

Of the five stages, the second is the only one that has to happen in Japan with the car in front of you. Send us the listing and tell us what you want looked at, and we'll tell you whether we can go and see it. See how a viewing works.

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A short checklist before you pay

• The chassis number, and confirmation it matches the papers
• Close photos of the body where rust matters: the strut towers, the sills, the rear wings (fenders) and the underside from ground level
• What the price includes, in writing
• Confirmation that the original export certificate will be sent with the car
• Your country's age limit and approval rules, checked against the car's dates

Written by Yoshiaki Sagara, a paintless dent repair and detailing technician in Japan. He looks at cars for overseas buyers through Ninja Desk Japan. About us

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