Motorized Macchiato

The more I have thought about importing a car from Japan, the more questions I come up with. And in conversations with friends, they come up with even more questions. While the previous post was more focused on questions about the purchasing and importing process, with this post I am going to develop more specific questions about the condition of the vehicle and a third party inspection. General: Can you provide translation and guidance on reviewing the auction condition sheet? What is included in the "third party" inspection? What items would an inspector flag? Would anything cause you to reject or not bid on a vehicle? Exterior: Can you identify shallow vs deep scratches? Can you identify damage that might need replacement vs repair? Can you identify rust locations? Specifically, the wheel wells and floorboards? Can you determine if the car has been re-painted? Are the wheels scratched or dented? Are the tires in good condition? Does the hardtop fit corr

UPDATE: I spoke with Mat Matusiak on 1/8/19 and have updated his responses in italics below While the internet can be a trove of information, sometimes it is best to go straight to the source. In this case, the good people at Japan Car Direct have offered to Skype call me to answer any questions I may have. Below I am going to post all the questions/concerns I would like clarification on. After our call, I will update this post with the answers. General: How much is your service fee, and what does it include? Service fee is 100,000 yen and includes everything to get the car to US port. What does the fee not include? 3rd party inspections, US customs filing and fees Do you offer any kind of warranty or guarantee? All cars sold as is, but will us their experience to help avoid getting lemons How much is the deposit, and is it refundable? 50,000 yen, fully refundable Vehicles: Where are the vehicles sourced from? The cars brought to auction are typically trade-ins from the g

Much has been written on reading Japanese Auction Sheets. Just check out the articles here , here and here . What I am going to do here is summarize the very basics, post an example sheet, and then explain what my criteria will be moving forward. Overall Grades: Each auction sheet will give an overall grade for the exterior and interior of the vehicle. Exterior 2-4, with 2 being poor and 4 being very good. 3 is about average for year and mileage R - This is a special case which can mean repaired or modified. Interior A-D, with A being mint and D avoid. Some auction houses may use the 2-4 scale. Vehicle Diagram Each auction sheet will also include a vehicle diagram, which will show specific types of damage, severity, and location. These can be on a different scale of 1-4, 1 being minor and 4 being major. These can include: A: Scratch U: Dent W: Wavy X: Panel Damage XX: Panel was replaced (sometimes can mean damage) Y: Head/Tail Light Damage C/S: Rust X/G: Windshie

As I have mention previously, I am embarking on this quest of importing a car from Japan as an adventure. With all adventures, there are highs and lows. While this isn't quite a low, it is a bit unexpected, but I am glad I did my due diligence and got it clarified up front. In my previous post I mentioned that I was going to attempt "informal entry" with my import, which is reserved for imports valued under $2,500. What I thought this meant was my budget for purchase price of the Cappuccino needed to be under $2,500. However, after getting in contact with Mathew Matusiak at Japan Car Direct I learned that the "value" of an import includes all service and exporter fees (but excludes shipping). In the grand scheme, this means a couple of things. First, my purchase will be valued over $2,500 so I will be required to do a "formal entry" for customs import. This requires the use of a customs broker to complete most of the paperwork and submit it a

When researching how to import a car from Japan, I have come across a couple really great articles summarizing the process. The first article, A beginner’s guide to the world of weird and wonderful Japanese import cars , posted on Ars Technica, i s a great summary and has some great resources on where to begin. The other article I have relied heavily on is Witty Melon's Importing Vehicles into the US . Japan Car Direct even links to this on their website.  Witty Melon spells out two separate customs procedures, Formal and Informal Entry. Formal Entry requires going through a customs broker, which can cost anywhere between $250-500. Informal entry can be used when the value of goods is less than $2,500 (shipping is excluded from this). I have decided to use Informal Entry for the basis of my budget, and do all the Entry paperwork by myself. As an engineer by trade, one of the most useful tools for project management is a Gantt Chart, which plans out a project using Tasks, dur