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So You Want to Buy a JDM Car?
So You Want to Buy a JDM Car?
Everything You Need to Know Before Buying a JDM Car
by unknown posted 2008/-0/7-
Rolling down the street in your busted up Civic, you've probably seen some hot shot "kids" scream by in a supped up, right hand drive import tuner. JDM cars have been all the craze since early 90's cars have been legal to import and with the help of films like Tokyo Drift the cars have been in high demand. But what do you need to know about the market and the cars before you invest $6 000 to $40 000 on a hot new ride? How do you find reliable vehicles? What should you be looking for? What do you need to know once you have bought the car?
Why the Price Difference?
It's extremely important to understand that a car is a car. Whether it is coming from your neighborhood garage or 10 000 km from Japan. Chances are, if a car is being sold at $6 000, it is worth $6 000. In fact, in the case of JDM cars, you have to figure that the car is worth less than the sales price because you have to take into account shipping (a good chunk of change).
A lot of people have it in their heads that the used car market is different in Japan. It is to a certain point. The Japanese have very strict rules about vehicle maintenance, Japan has much milder weather than here in Canada, and people in Japan tend to drive much less. I'm not sure about the last point about the Japanese driving less (I could not find any statistics to confirm this: if anyone can, please let me know), however, cars in California have very strict vehicle maintenance standards and California obviously has milder weather. My point is that there is no magic to the car market in Japan, it is relatively the same as what we find here in North America. The cars do generally come over with much less rust but that is about it. This is important to keep in mind when buying a JDM car: know that it is still a car priced appropriately for our market.
So the reason for the price difference is not that the cars are any different from what's available here in the same range. So why are some of the cars so cheap and some other ones so expensive? What's the difference between a $8 000 Skyline and a $14 000 Skyline? Well let me ask you this: What's the difference between a guy selling a 2001 Jetta for $6 000 and everyone else selling their 2001 Jettas for $10 000? Chances are, there is something really sketchy about the first Jetta. Like any other car you see for sale, you have to do your homework and check the car for the same problems as any other car which seems like it is too good to be true.
What To Look For
Most of the cars coming in from overseas are in pretty good condition body-wise due to the mild Japanese weather. It is rare to find a vehicle with major signs of rust coming in from Japan. Most companies won't spend the money to import a beater (the only exception I have seen so far has been a turbo diesel 4x4 work horse imported by one of the JDM importers to move engines around and I have to say the Land Cruiser they brought it looked beat up but awesome). Even if the vehicle is damaged or scratched during the importation process most importers will have contacts to have the car repainted quickly and cheaply. You cannot tell anything about these cars from the way they look on the outside.
What you have to look at is the interior and the mechanics. The interior is pretty straight forward. I have seen some imported cars that have panels missing, all the electronics pulled out, and dirt everywhere. The outside looked fantastic but the interior was a major red flag. Keep in mind that it's not cheap to have an interior re-done so most import companies will not bother. You can also tell a lot about the previous driver based on the interior and get a sense of how they took care of the car. If there is only one racing seat for the driver and the stock seat for the passenger look under the hood because you will usually find other cheap mods that could prove costly later on. Check to see the quality of the after market parts. See if all the electronics still work (usually the first thing to go and as insignificant as they are problems get annoying to live with down the road).
If you're lucky enough to deal with an actual dealership with an dealership plate, take the car out for a test drive. Look to see that the car revs at a steady rate. Check to see that the car shifts properly. Check to see that the car doesn't make any noise when turning. Try to turn the wheel all the way (do a U turn if possible) in both directions. Check for even tire wear to make sure that there are no alignment problems. Check to see if the car has all it's flashers and that the exhaust is legal (police have been targeting JDM cars).
If the car revs weird this could be serious trouble with the engine. Diagnosing revving issues can be costly and time consuming. Noise while turning is a major problem because replacing parts related to steering are expensive (especially for a 15+ year old car which is imported). Alignment is not a major issue but should be taken care of right away before you eat up your tires on a 300+ HP car.
I Just Bought a JDM Car ... Now What?
Congratulations. You have probably just spent $10 000 or more on a 15+ year old car. A few important issues to keep in mind. You will, sooner or later, need parts and your average local garage is going to take one look at the car and ask "dude, where did you get this car?". This is usually a pretty sure sign that they have no idea where to get parts for it either. While some JDM cars will use the same parts as cars that were available here (like many of the Hondas) some other cars will use completely different JDM parts even though they were available here (like the 300zx). If you bought the car from a reputable dealership, they will most likely be able to either supply you with parts should you need them, or at least recommend someone else in the industry that can help you. Be sure you know where you can get parts from way before something happens to your car.
Once you have your parts supplier, bring your car to different garages around town and see what they know about it. Try to ask the local tuning community about reliable garages with experience in the JDM market. The last thing you want to do is break down somewhere only to pay to have your car towed somewhere that has no idea how to help you. Try to help the garage out by looking up service manuals for your car online and looking up common problems with your JDM car. Basically, be prepared. It's a shiny new looking toy, but when you get down to it, it is still a 15+ year old car. Have you ever driven a 93 civic?
Finally, play responsibly. We are all out there to have fun and it takes a small percentage of idiots to ruin it by giving JDM drivers a bad name. Police are already giving JDM cars a bad rap and the Canadian government is taking a serious look at changing the law to push importation of right hand drive vehicles from having to be 15 years old to 25 years old. Drive safe, don't speed, be careful when turning left (you'll see what I mean :)
Everything You Need to Know Before Buying a JDM Car
by unknown posted 2008/-0/7-
Rolling down the street in your busted up Civic, you've probably seen some hot shot "kids" scream by in a supped up, right hand drive import tuner. JDM cars have been all the craze since early 90's cars have been legal to import and with the help of films like Tokyo Drift the cars have been in high demand. But what do you need to know about the market and the cars before you invest $6 000 to $40 000 on a hot new ride? How do you find reliable vehicles? What should you be looking for? What do you need to know once you have bought the car?
Why the Price Difference?
It's extremely important to understand that a car is a car. Whether it is coming from your neighborhood garage or 10 000 km from Japan. Chances are, if a car is being sold at $6 000, it is worth $6 000. In fact, in the case of JDM cars, you have to figure that the car is worth less than the sales price because you have to take into account shipping (a good chunk of change).
A lot of people have it in their heads that the used car market is different in Japan. It is to a certain point. The Japanese have very strict rules about vehicle maintenance, Japan has much milder weather than here in Canada, and people in Japan tend to drive much less. I'm not sure about the last point about the Japanese driving less (I could not find any statistics to confirm this: if anyone can, please let me know), however, cars in California have very strict vehicle maintenance standards and California obviously has milder weather. My point is that there is no magic to the car market in Japan, it is relatively the same as what we find here in North America. The cars do generally come over with much less rust but that is about it. This is important to keep in mind when buying a JDM car: know that it is still a car priced appropriately for our market.
So the reason for the price difference is not that the cars are any different from what's available here in the same range. So why are some of the cars so cheap and some other ones so expensive? What's the difference between a $8 000 Skyline and a $14 000 Skyline? Well let me ask you this: What's the difference between a guy selling a 2001 Jetta for $6 000 and everyone else selling their 2001 Jettas for $10 000? Chances are, there is something really sketchy about the first Jetta. Like any other car you see for sale, you have to do your homework and check the car for the same problems as any other car which seems like it is too good to be true.
What To Look For
Most of the cars coming in from overseas are in pretty good condition body-wise due to the mild Japanese weather. It is rare to find a vehicle with major signs of rust coming in from Japan. Most companies won't spend the money to import a beater (the only exception I have seen so far has been a turbo diesel 4x4 work horse imported by one of the JDM importers to move engines around and I have to say the Land Cruiser they brought it looked beat up but awesome). Even if the vehicle is damaged or scratched during the importation process most importers will have contacts to have the car repainted quickly and cheaply. You cannot tell anything about these cars from the way they look on the outside.
What you have to look at is the interior and the mechanics. The interior is pretty straight forward. I have seen some imported cars that have panels missing, all the electronics pulled out, and dirt everywhere. The outside looked fantastic but the interior was a major red flag. Keep in mind that it's not cheap to have an interior re-done so most import companies will not bother. You can also tell a lot about the previous driver based on the interior and get a sense of how they took care of the car. If there is only one racing seat for the driver and the stock seat for the passenger look under the hood because you will usually find other cheap mods that could prove costly later on. Check to see the quality of the after market parts. See if all the electronics still work (usually the first thing to go and as insignificant as they are problems get annoying to live with down the road).
If you're lucky enough to deal with an actual dealership with an dealership plate, take the car out for a test drive. Look to see that the car revs at a steady rate. Check to see that the car shifts properly. Check to see that the car doesn't make any noise when turning. Try to turn the wheel all the way (do a U turn if possible) in both directions. Check for even tire wear to make sure that there are no alignment problems. Check to see if the car has all it's flashers and that the exhaust is legal (police have been targeting JDM cars).
If the car revs weird this could be serious trouble with the engine. Diagnosing revving issues can be costly and time consuming. Noise while turning is a major problem because replacing parts related to steering are expensive (especially for a 15+ year old car which is imported). Alignment is not a major issue but should be taken care of right away before you eat up your tires on a 300+ HP car.
I Just Bought a JDM Car ... Now What?
Congratulations. You have probably just spent $10 000 or more on a 15+ year old car. A few important issues to keep in mind. You will, sooner or later, need parts and your average local garage is going to take one look at the car and ask "dude, where did you get this car?". This is usually a pretty sure sign that they have no idea where to get parts for it either. While some JDM cars will use the same parts as cars that were available here (like many of the Hondas) some other cars will use completely different JDM parts even though they were available here (like the 300zx). If you bought the car from a reputable dealership, they will most likely be able to either supply you with parts should you need them, or at least recommend someone else in the industry that can help you. Be sure you know where you can get parts from way before something happens to your car.
Once you have your parts supplier, bring your car to different garages around town and see what they know about it. Try to ask the local tuning community about reliable garages with experience in the JDM market. The last thing you want to do is break down somewhere only to pay to have your car towed somewhere that has no idea how to help you. Try to help the garage out by looking up service manuals for your car online and looking up common problems with your JDM car. Basically, be prepared. It's a shiny new looking toy, but when you get down to it, it is still a 15+ year old car. Have you ever driven a 93 civic?
Finally, play responsibly. We are all out there to have fun and it takes a small percentage of idiots to ruin it by giving JDM drivers a bad name. Police are already giving JDM cars a bad rap and the Canadian government is taking a serious look at changing the law to push importation of right hand drive vehicles from having to be 15 years old to 25 years old. Drive safe, don't speed, be careful when turning left (you'll see what I mean :)
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