japanese reimports

whats the crack with these discos brought back from japan?I know that they have a strict MOT there and dont use salt.........
....did the cars go over with underseal on them?I know some far east exports dont....and does the length of time they have been back in the UK mitigate the supposed benefits?

i have a reimport 300tdi and i would buy them again as they are low miles and usually rust free.i wouldn't take much notice of the service history as it could be a sushi take away menu for all i know just make sure it has a mot or it may need some conversions done like speedo and headlights and insurance companies dont class them as imports if they were built for uk market

dont the japs drive on the same side as us so the lights would only need adjusting or have they got to be changed?

not sure but anything that has been used over seas i wouldn't buy unless there was an mot with it.

the one Im looking at has been re anglicised already

and its got a new mot,and lots of features you wouldnt see on the model type in the uk

I have a Jap re-import TDi300 1997 and can vouch for the lack of rust

I've pretty much been right through the vehicle during normal maintenance and tinkering. All the usual suspect areas such as rear underfloor etc are like new. Absolutely no rust indide, underneath, under the bonnet, wings etc.

yes it has the usual underseal underneath.

Generaly they are low mileage, but to be honest best to ignore the mileage on the speedo reading as it's so easy to clock and go on condition of the vehicle.

Mine shows 44k, came back to UK in 2004 and previous owner hardly used it. However looking at the condition it does seem plausiable mileage.

Pretty much same as the UK model, with exception of no alarm, but they do all have the imobilliser fitted.

One anoyance is there is no reader coil on ignition barrel to auto detect when key in ignition and disable teh imobiliser, so you have to use the unlock on the key fob if not started within 15 secs as passive imobiliser cuts in automaticaly. Has two rear side window areals rather than the UK single one, otherwise to look at and drive the same as UK car.

Best regards

I had a LWB 2.5TD Pajero import 1991,when auctioned in Japan they are classed by condition, i think it is A,B,C Etc, mine was an A and it really was as new underneath minty mint,it had 15 litres of waxoyl chucked at it to keep it like that, mind you i did not have it long as the fuel consumption and performance were shocking !

i just looked at car equality - fook me - they is expensive int they - N reg for £4500.

my 200tdi has been back in blighty for 4 years and still no signs of rust apart from a little in the boot floor ,put a 300tdi front end on it today,i can now go out at night lol

I imported a 4.6 HSE range rover from japan a few years back. Battery died and a few seals perished on the journey back so had to change an ABS pump and a few other odds n ends. BUT... it was a bleedin' fantastic car, honestly like it had just rolled out of the factory, you could have eaten dinner off the underside! Sold it on a whim and I still regret it.

Some of the dealers selling them are taking the **** with the prices though, import yourself.

Some dodgy imports end up over here as well, try for an auction grade of 3.5+. Mine was a 4.0.

got me a 300 tdi for 2 and a half,been back a couple of years but lovely floor and sills,bit dodge cosmetically but the ES was too flash for a yob like me anyway:brick:

MOST Japanese cars that are fitted with turbo diesels stay running for so long once the key has been turned off, this must be disabled for the UK market or you will not get through the re-registration process.

regards

Dave

andrew j said:

dont the japs drive on the same side as us so the lights would only need adjusting or have they got to be changed?

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Japs drive on the left. That's why they're RHD.

Had an mx5 import never had any problems with parts insurance or rust

Only thing to watch is no accident damage

know a couple of people who went to buy jap imports that turned out to have had bodywork repairs

One anoyance is there is no reader coil on ignition barrel to auto detect when key in ignition and disable the imobiliser, so you have to use the unlock on the key fob if not started within 15 secs as passive imobiliser cuts in automaticaly

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Mine is a uk 300 TDI and the same thing happens with mine.

Im greedy, got two ex jap imports, my 3.9 1994 and hers 300 tdi 1997, both totally rust free. Waxoiled them so should last for years. Take no notice of the mileage but both mine are in really good condition. £4000 for a good as new disco 1, seems cheap to me.