How to import car privately from Japan

How to import car privately from Japan

Buying a used vehicle comes with risks. And when you need to import it from thousands of miles away, it may seem daunting. At the same time don’t you wonder why millions of people around the world prefer to buy Japanese used cars from auction houses based all the way in Japan? The answer is simple; there is a right way to do it. If you follow the process then the only thing need to worry about is how good you will look driving your new car!

Here is a guide that will help you understand the steps to follow when purchasing from a Japanese auction house.

Registration process
The first step it to register or sign up on the vehicle dealer’s website or portal. There are few basic questions they ask and to confirm the registration an email is sent to the customer. There is no cost for registration and it allows the buyer to use the functions of the website.

Security deposit
Just like in any other auction, buyers need to bid on the vehicles. In order to participate in the bidding a refundable security deposit must be kept. If the buyer is unsuccessful, the deposit will be refunded. If the customer manages to win the bid then the security deposit will be added to the final invoice.

How to bid
The process of bidding is simple. Customer needs to set a bidding range on the website. The car dealer’s agents will do the bidding in the auction within the range set by the customer. If the bidding is unsuccessful the customer doesn’t need to spend a cent.

Results
Once the bidding process is complete, the results are published on the website. The customer will also receive an email with mentioning the results. If the customer’s bid is successful they also get details of the cost of insurance and freight along with how the payment can be made.

Making the payment
If you manage to complete your bidding process successfully, the payment needs to be made on the invoice given by the car dealer. There are various modes of payments.

Shipment process
Once the payments are processed and they usually done through a Letter of Credit, the dealer will ship the vehicle on the earliest vessel. The bill of landing is usually couriered to the customer within one from the departure of the vessel. Along with the bill of landing the following documents are also sent,

• Invoice
• Certificate of export
• Marine insurance
• Inspection certificate (JAAI, JEVIC)
• Certificate of deregistration

Vehicle clearance
The customer is notified of the schedule in which the vessel arrives at the port. It is important to carry all the documents that were sent by the vehicle dealer to clear everything smoothly.

Before you start looking at the import process, make sure to check the regulations that the country you live in has for importing vehicles. Some countries have extra taxes or prohibit certain vehicle models. SO do your own groundwork too.

Japan Motor has partners and brokers in different part of the world, where we can recommend to our individual clients to make import process easy. For export side Japan Motor has a full responsibility for the whole process till the cars reaches destination port as well as dispatch original documents via post.