Another from NZ

[WingIt]

Hi,

Just joined up to mainly for maintenance based things as I have just bought a 2005 NCP91 Vitz in Japan, it should arrive early April, leaves Tokyo in a week or two.
It has done 104kms so will be giving it a good service when it arrives.

Car is being purchased by my partner to replace her Toyota Caldina as she only needs something small to run around town, we went for the 1500cc one as we will occasionally use it for trips out of town so wanted to have the extra grunt for hills/passing etc not expecting it to be a rocket ship by any means.

Though its a NCP91 it is not a RS model, just a Vitz U. We couldnt justify the extra price for the RS so went for this:
http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss109/WingIt/VitzF_zpsa4234c24.jpeg
http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss109/WingIt/VitzR_zpscdeb4b13.jpeg
As you can see it has the OEM aero kit, mods will be limited to new Speakers, some alloy wheels and maybe a Ultra Racing rear sway bar. But with my vehicle history we will see how long that lasts :laugh:

My current cars are a 1998 Honda CR-V lifted on A/T tyres and a 1999 Honda Integra Type R

[JudgeM]

Hello to a fellow New Zealander.

I have seen few of these with the body kit. Looks great, yea allow wheels will make it sweet.

Is this a 4 speed auto or CVT ?

[WingIt]

Having not seen the car in person I dont know.... I *think* its CVT but I will have to wait for it to show up at my door before I know for sure.
I was sent a bunch more pics last night as it had its Inspection on the wharf in Yokohama by my shipping agent

[IllusionX]

nice. I don't know how you guys do to buy a car without even seeing it (only pictures).
mind i ask how much you paid for? including shipping and duties.

My sis in law is in Australia and used cars seem to be way too expensive in that part of the world.

[WingIt]

Not a lot of people buy without seeing the car, most people dont know how/cant be bothered importing a car from Japan themselves. Just leave it to a car dealer then go buy it from them for $3000 more.
This will be the third car I have imported, you recieve an auction sheet detailing all cosmetic damages (very very few on this) and I had my agent in Japan get it inspected on my behalf before I bid.
I have also received more detailed pictures now that my shipping agent has it and is checking that it is what I paid for and has no hidden damage etc

So far I have only paid for the car and agent commision (320,000Yen), still have to pay shipping, GST (tax), Compliance, Registration etc so I cant give a total just yet, Im budgeting just under $7000NZ ($5800US) total though.

Price isnt comparable to Australia as they have very strict import laws meaning cheap japanese imports dont really exist for them, plus second hand cars over there tend to have done many more kms than ones in NZ due to Australia being much more spread out so needed to travel further to get between cities etc

[JudgeM]

My Brother in law is a car importer here. Some of the car's he buy's he gets dirt cheap. Its just the shipping and compliance that makes the bulk of the cost.

I remember he bought a Toyota Passo for $700 on the auctions. Spent about $3K to get it here and on the road.

[WingIt]

Yep thats right, in 2005 (I was 16) I bought a 1996 Nissan Wingroad for $800NZ in Japan, on the road it was $4400. Sold it two years and 20,000kms later for $6200

But my original contact in Japan now only works with registered car dealers so I had to find another.
If you get them to buy from Auctions there is a $900nz fee, but if they have the car in stock then you avoid this fee. The original place I used carried a stock of vehicles, the new one only sources them from auction so it ends up costing a little bit more, but you end up getting something closer to what you are wanting rather than just taking what you can get.

Also a lot of cheap cars are from Northern Japan (rust from snow!) or grade 3.5 or lower (probably cost $1000 to get them looking good) so its good to spend a little more and get a grade 4 (like this one).
Luckily I got this Vitz well under budget, it was just one of those days where nobody else was looking for a Vitz at that auction so I got it for a good price

[Ryze268]

Which site did you use to buy it?

[WingIt]

I found it on a website (was just browsing, getting an idea of price) but a contact in Japan bought it for me. So no website as such

Normally I dont find the car, the contact in Japan looks through all the auctions that day and emails me details of suitable cars, I then as him to bid on the ones I like.
This time I stumbled across it and the estimate seemed low and the condition good so I emailed its details to my contact and he found it at a auction in Tokyo rather than his normal places in Osaka.

It was just lucky that we happened to get the first car we bid on, my last one (1999 Integra Type R) took about 3 weeks and we bid on probably 12 cars in that time before I got one within my price range in good condition.

[WingIt]

The Vitz arrived yesterday, now comes the task of checking it over before sending it away for inspection so it can be registered. So no driving it for now :(

Needs a polish and wax but otherwise looks pretty good! Has a comprehensive service history and though I cant read Japanese the pictures and other info gives a good idea of what has been done.

http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss109/WingIt/P1030091_zps19fd11ab.jpg
http://i566.photobucket.com/albums/ss109/WingIt/P1030090_zps3daf836b.jpg

[Ryze268]

I found it on a website (was just browsing, getting an idea of price) but a contact in Japan bought it for me. So no website as such

Normally I dont find the car, the contact in Japan looks through all the auctions that day and emails me details of suitable cars, I then as him to bid on the ones I like.
This time I stumbled across it and the estimate seemed low and the condition good so I emailed its details to my contact and he found it at a auction in Tokyo rather than his normal places in Osaka.

It was just lucky that we happened to get the first car we bid on, my last one (1999 Integra Type R) took about 3 weeks and we bid on probably 12 cars in that time before I got one within my price range in good condition.

Very nice, seems like I need to get my own contact in Japan :)

[WingIt]

Yep its easy, then you just need to find a shipping agent to pick the car up in Japan and deliver it to you, they should also sort out any Tax you need to pay etc depends on your country

[aussie muzza]

Nice looking car, Wingit. When I was in NZ, a couple of years ago, I actually photographed a Vitz as I had never seen one before. It is a shame we can't personally import into Aus. People on Norfolk Island also buy cars direct from Japan like you. I saw some different cars over there that are not available in Aus. Interestingly I only saw one Commodore on Norfolk - an old ute.
regards Muz

[WingIt]

Yea we get lots of cars ex Japan, in fact I would go so far as to say that most cars on the road are second hand japanese cars.

For reference these are my current/previous cars:
1989 Honda Civic Shuttle with 1800cc DOHC VTEC B18c engine I installed
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8160/7230712902_667c80f75f.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/c1Xi2Q)
1999 Honda Integra Type R (I imported this 7 years ago)
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5518/11242511644_6ce305962e.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/i8sP2E)
And 1998 Honda CR-V
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3783/9233535243_6214d8620e.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/f4Whkv)

And this is the car the Vitz replaces, my Girlfriends 1997 Toyota Caldina
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7018/13501238694_c2439ddebe.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/mz4nTu)

[aussie muzza]

WingIt
Nice lot of cars, Mate. Some of them I don't recognize. Besides my Yaris I have just got myself into a new VF Commodore SV6 Sportwagon. Magic car - best Holden ever. Shame they are closing production in 2017. No more Aussie cars.....
regards from over the ditch
Muz