Importing Cars from Japan
There is one important reason why importing cars from Japan is a popular topic. Japan has established a reputation for making the best cars for a world market.
Japan may well be the most popular source of cars worldwide. This is not a comment on the relative merits of American vs. Japanese cars, but more a recognition of the fact that the types of vehicles made by Japan have become popular globally for their economy and the wide range of models. While American cars might still carry more prestige, the Japanese cars are making sales. Importing cars from Japan is a booming business.
Although Japanese cars are available in most world markets, many people prefer going to the source. There is a booming market in Japanese used cars being sold and then exported world wide. Many shipping companies have been doing a good business handling these transactions. The United Kingdom and Europe are two popular destinations for many of these exports from Japan. Also, Asian and African countries have seen an increase in imports from Japan. The Middle East is another very common destination.
The Japanese, as would be expected, have streamlined the process and made use of technology to enable it. Transactions can be handled with the shipper/exporters totally by electronic means. The cars are viewed on websites and selections made. The buyer contacts the dealer and makes an offer. A form that serves as a bill of sale is transferred by fax. Usually, a small down payment gets the vehicle on the ship, and once it is at sea, an FOB (freight on board) invoice is sent and payment made by wire transfer.
The buyer generally arranges with a transport company to pick up the vehicle at the port and complete the transport to the customer. It is interesting to note that the additional costs of transport and customs, etc, still make the total cost competitive with local purchase of the same vehicle. The reason for this is the high tariffs charged for Japanese vehicles to make them more competitive with locally manufactured models. This gives you and idea of the success of the Japanese car manufacturing industry.
As always, insuring that the cars meet local safety and emission standards is important. It is one thing to get your car to you from Japan, a completely different matter getting it registered and inspected in the United States. This problem is not as serious when importing vehicles from Japan to other countries because Japanese standards tend to be very high. It is still important not to forget the rather stringent US standards. You need to insure this is not going to be a problem. Although modifications are possible, they tend to be expensive and usually deal killers in imports.