Imported cars
Samantha Booth
car on Auto Trader but it says its an import. What is the downside or upside
to purchasing an import. Its a Toyota Lucinda if that helps. Any help would
be great thanks
Sam
Paul Giverin
<ma...@cheekyNOSPAMchurres.com> writes
A quick google shows that the Toyota Estima Lucida was produced for the
Japanese market. It was smaller than the standard Estima to fit into a
lower tax bracket in Japan.
The downside to imports is the availability and cost of spares. Should
something go wrong, the car could be off the road for a while parts are
shipped in from Japan. There may be specialists here in the UK who cater
for this vehicle but unless you really have a strong desire to own this
vehicle, it could be a bit of a hassle.
--
Paul Giverin
British Jet Engine Website:- www.britjet.co.uk
My photos:- www.pbase.com/vendee
Samantha Booth
"Paul Giverin" <pa...@giverin.co.uk> wrote in message
news:isfDCbA7...@10.0.0.3...
Ahh thanks Paul. No, no strong desire to wait for parts thanks lol. I will
have another look round. Thanks again for the advice much obliged to you sir
Nick Finnigan
> In message <gnnm58$ha8$1...@news.motzarella.org>, Samantha Booth
> <ma...@cheekyNOSPAMchurres.com> writes
>> I know next to nothing about cars but mine has packed in. Now, I have
>> seen a car on Auto Trader but it says its an import. What is the
>> downside or upside to purchasing an import. Its a Toyota Lucinda if
>> that helps. Any help would be great thanks
>>
>> Sam
>
> A quick google shows that the Toyota Estima Lucida was produced for the
> Japanese market. It was smaller than the standard Estima to fit into a
> lower tax bracket in Japan.
>
> The downside to imports is the availability and cost of spares. Should
> something go wrong, the car could be off the road for a while parts are
> shipped in from Japan.
That is the downside for even standard Japanese cars, especially rare
models. Estima / Bongo / Delica seem to be almost as common as imports.
Conor
Insurance is less of a problem than it used to be and shouldn't cost
you a fortune although the best deals are likely to be found from
performance specialists like Adrian Flux rather than mainstream.
Parts for imports are readily available BUT you have to get them from
the right places or you can end up paying through the nose. An owners
club is always a good place to start. For example, for my wifes' FTO,
Mitsubishi wanted £300 for a rear wheelbearing (comes as a complete
rear hub) whereas the owners club source them for £75.
Having an import that wasn't released in the UK market works in your
favour for MOTs as they come under the old emmissions standards rather
than the tighter ones for the year your car was made.
You may find that it needs some modifications to make it UK legal but
these are mainly confined to fitting a rear foglight. Also the speedo
may be in KMH and not MPH so if it is in KPH remember that the mileage
it shows as having done is 2/3 in miles so 160,000km is 100,000 miles
for example.
The only downsides to imports is that there's no guarantee of service
history.
--
Conor
I only please one person per day. Today is not your day. Tomorrow isn't
looking good either. - Scott Adams
Conor
>
> The downside to imports is the availability and cost of spares.
WRONG.
Dr Zoidberg
news:70a588F...@mid.individual.net...
> In article <isfDCbA7...@10.0.0.3>, Paul Giverin says...
>>
>
>> The downside to imports is the availability and cost of spares.
>
> WRONG.
>
No it isn't.
Some imports are virtually the same as uk cars and spares are dead easy to
get hold of - Eunos Roadsters or plenty of 4x4s for example.
The middle ground is things that are very popular imports that haven't been
sold here officially - things like the people carrier being discussed here -
and specialist garages will have decent availablity of service parts.
Others have only come here in tiny numbers and you will really struggle to
find spares.
I've had a grey import bike and while it's not exactly the same situation as
a car , you do pay more for spares than for a uk model.
--
Alex
"I laugh in the face of danger , then I hide until it goes away"
Conor
>
> "Conor" <conor_...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:70a588F...@mid.individual.net...
> > In article <isfDCbA7...@10.0.0.3>, Paul Giverin says...
> >>
> >
> >> The downside to imports is the availability and cost of spares.
> >
> > WRONG.
> >
>
> No it isn't.
> Some imports are virtually the same as uk cars and spares are dead easy to
> get hold of - Eunos Roadsters or plenty of 4x4s for example.
> The middle ground is things that are very popular imports that haven't been
> sold here officially - things like the people carrier being discussed here -
> and specialist garages will have decent availablity of service parts.
> Others have only come here in tiny numbers and you will really struggle to
> find spares.
>
Again, wrong. I speak from current first hand experience.
SteveH
> > No it isn't.
> > Some imports are virtually the same as uk cars and spares are dead easy to
> > get hold of - Eunos Roadsters or plenty of 4x4s for example.
> > The middle ground is things that are very popular imports that haven't been
> > sold here officially - things like the people carrier being discussed here -
> > and specialist garages will have decent availablity of service parts.
> > Others have only come here in tiny numbers and you will really struggle to
> > find spares.
> >
>
> Again, wrong. I speak from current first hand experience.
Of an FTO, which sold, as an import, in huge numbers, so spares aren't a
big issue.
Which is what he said.
--
SteveH 'You're not a real petrolhead unless you've owned an Alfa Romeo'
Alfa 156 TSpark Sportwagon Veloce Selespeed - Alfa 75 TSpark Lusso
Ducati 750SS - BMW R100RT - Company Hack Focus TDCI
Conor
says...
>
> Conor <conor_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > No it isn't.
> > > Some imports are virtually the same as uk cars and spares are dead easy to
> > > get hold of - Eunos Roadsters or plenty of 4x4s for example.
> > > The middle ground is things that are very popular imports that haven't been
> > > sold here officially - things like the people carrier being discussed here -
> > > and specialist garages will have decent availablity of service parts.
> > > Others have only come here in tiny numbers and you will really struggle to
> > > find spares.
> > >
> >
> > Again, wrong. I speak from current first hand experience.
>
> Of an FTO, which sold, as an import, in huge numbers, so spares aren't a
> big issue.
>
> Which is what he said.
If you actually know how to use the interweb, you can find lots and
lots of jap specialists selling stuff for all sorts of wierd shit.
SteveH
> If you actually know how to use the interweb, you can find lots and
> lots of jap specialists selling stuff for all sorts of wierd shit.
And I'm sure they all deliver the next day for the same price as an
equivalent part for an official UK model, too.
Elder
st...@italiancar.co.uk says...
> And I'm sure they all deliver the next day for the same price as an
> equivalent part for an official UK model, too.
>
for a UK part that Toyota had to wait for because it was an older model.
Toyota dealer 3 weeks wait if, and only if it went onto the next
container of special orders.
Independant, 72 hours, couriered direct from Japan to him and 24 more by
signed for post to me.
Price £20 cheaper than a dealer.
--
Carl Robson
Get cashback on your purchases
Topcashback http://www.TopCashBack.co.uk/skraggy_uk/ref/index.htm
Greasypalm http://www.greasypalm.co.uk/r/?l=1006553
Mike P
> In article <gnnm58$ha8$1...@news.motzarella.org>, Samantha Booth says...
>>
>> I know next to nothing about cars but mine has packed in. Now, I have
>> seen a
>> car on Auto Trader but it says its an import. What is the downside or
>> upside
>> to purchasing an import. Its a Toyota Lucinda if that helps. Any help
>> would
>> be great thanks
>>
> OK..
>
> Insurance is less of a problem than it used to be and shouldn't cost
> you a fortune although the best deals are likely to be found from
> performance specialists like Adrian Flux rather than mainstream.
Flux charge me the same for my UK MX-5 as they did for the Eunos import I
threw into a ditch. Oddly, they insist on an immobiliser for the UK ca,
whereas they didn't for the import.
--
Mike P
92 Mazda MX-5
99 Ford Puma 1.7 VCT
Conor
says...
>
> Conor <conor_...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> > If you actually know how to use the interweb, you can find lots and
> > lots of jap specialists selling stuff for all sorts of wierd shit.
>
> And I'm sure they all deliver the next day for the same price as an
> equivalent part for an official UK model, too.
Cheaper IME.
Miike G
"Samantha Booth" <ma...@cheekyNOSPAMchurres.com> wrote in message
news:gnodkv$99h$1...@news.motzarella.org...
Don't be too put off buying an imported japanese car. Many are virtually
identical to UK models. For their year they're often in a better condition
than a similsr age UK car, and usually being cheaper, can be good buys.
IME much of the percievd problem with spares from UK dealers is down to the
VIN No which identifies the car as an import. That can make it difficult for
them to supply specific parts for a particular car, as they will not have a
record of it.
One way round that problem is to use the VIN No from a similar UK car when
ordering most common spares from a main dealer. Less common spares like
ECU's could be more of a problem to match, as in japan higher octane fuel is
readily available so they might have ECU's to suit.
Mike.
mcmcolm
Be aware that although a Toyota Lucida looks like a Previa, it is
actually a smaller car designed for the Japanese market. Main concerns
would be parts availability for body panels, I've seen some written off
for very minor damage due to the high cost of these parts. On diesel
models pay particular attention to the cooling system.
There are also other issues around safety, the mid engined design isn't
particularly safe in a crash.
--
mcmcolm
Message Origin: TRAVEL.com
Mark W
"Samantha Booth" <ma...@cheekyNOSPAMchurres.com> wrote in message
>I know next to nothing about cars but mine has packed in.
how do you know?
Sir Arthur Streeb-Greebling
news:gnnm58$ha8$1...@news.motzarella.org...
Doki
"Samantha Booth" <ma...@cheekyNOSPAMchurres.com> wrote in message
news:gnnm58$ha8$1...@news.motzarella.org...
Imports tend to be valued at 10-20% less than the equivalent UK spec car
when you write them off by most insurers. Probably not a problem with a
Lucida but you'd be a bit miffed if you had an MR2 Turbo and it was valued
like an ordinary 16V UK car. However, insurance values are always arguable.
I know spares are very expensive for some of the imported sports stuff (ie
Skylines), but I expect you'd be paying a lot for spares on them even if
they were UK models.
As for spares availability, I would expect most parts to be freely available
for stuff like Lucidas, Pajeros etc. as there are plenty around. OTOH
Peugeot seem unable to supply spares for cars they sold in the UK only a
couple of years ago...
The only other issue with a Lucida is that it's mid engined, so servicing
and repairs are likely to be more expensive than a more normally arranged
car.
Peter Hill
Usually because the parts dept didn't have a clue or couldn't be
bothered to load the Japan CDroms on the parts system. (Though putting
them on Nissan FAST really does slow it down so it's best to have them
loaded but not mapped unless needed). I've had a JDM Nissan panel
delivered in 3 days, so Nissan clearly had part in stock at main
warehouse in Belgium. It was a unique JDM part never fitted to UK/Euro
models and only fitted for last 2 years of 10 year JDM production.
Other makers may not be so good.
>One way round that problem is to use the VIN No from a similar UK car when
>ordering most common spares from a main dealer. Less common spares like
>ECU's could be more of a problem to match, as in japan higher octane fuel is
>readily available so they might have ECU's to suit.
>Mike.
If you are looking at a 2.2TD or other diesel model it will run on UK
Diesel. The new Toyota Estima Lucida 2.4 runs on "regular" petrol.
It's a fair bet that they all do.
What they sell in Japan is 100ron Super and 90ron Regular but the JIS
standard is 96ron and 89ron so ECU's will be mapped for those fuels.
If it says "regular" then normal unleaded UK petrol is too good.
Most non performance JDM engines run on the low octane fuel and use of
higher octane fuel is a needless expense. A rough guide to "high"
performance is that the engine makes over 85-90bhp/L. 2.4 Toyota
2AZ-FE although it has 16valve DOHC VVTi that would suggest it's a
high performance engine, it's power is 118Kw = 157bhp, 157/2.36 =
66bhp/L (sad - blame it on 89RON "regular" petrol). Most high
performance models have 2 ECU maps (at least as far back as '89). If
knock is detected it switches to the low octane/performance map. Some
do it more gracefully than others.
Kei cars with 63bhp 600cc turbocharged engines will usually run on
higher octane "Super". To use one of JC's quips "It's SOooo cute".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VW_Bus_lookalike_2.JPG
--
Peter Hill
Spamtrap reply domain as per NNTP-Posting-Host in header
Can of worms - what every fisherman wants.
Can of worms - what every PC owner gets!
Elder
> The only other issue with a Lucida is that it's mid engined, so servicing
> and repairs are likely to be more expensive than a more normally arranged
> car.
>
toward the front and the fan for it is on an auxilliary shaft.
Fluids are checked/changed by lifting the seat, not the bonnet, although
I thing there is a small oil reserve "topup" bottle plumbed in up front.