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Thread: Imported Cars (Jap)

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
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    44

    Default Imported Cars (Jap)

    I'm looking at trademe to try and choose our car in NZ, so we can grab one quickly once we're there.

    I've seen a lot of imported cars from Japan and Singapore, what are peoples experiences and opinions on these overall?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Hamilton-ex Brisbane,Australia
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    144

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    You will find about 90% of used cars will be Japanese imports. The one thing you have to watch out for is the odometer being wound back, the NZ government tries to stop it I think, but I still think it is a common thing to happen - unlike Australia where since they made it illegal to do years ago, you don't even hear about it anymore.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    Canterbury, NZ
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    1,793

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    Best to inspect cars thorough before you buy it...my OH got mechanic background and couldn't believe how many cars are in bad state at showrooms. He viewed so many cars before brought good ones for us.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Auckland, from Edinburgh
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    300

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    If you see one you like, grab the rego and punch it into www.carjam.co.nz
    You can get quite a bit of information for free - like how often it's been warranted. There's a few sites like this and if you pay $20 or $30 you can get a full report.

    The vast bulk of the cars in NZ are imports from Japan and the government is starting to clamp down on the old ones to try and eliminate the number of real wrecks on the road.


    Dougie

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2008
    Posts
    44

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    Thanks for the tips.

    Unfortunately, I don't have much mechanical knowledge (other than the basics) and we'll need a car fairly quickly, so can't wait ages to have one inspected.

    Does anyone know of any reputable car dealers in Auckland that I can trust?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Auckland
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    1,088

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    The dealer we bought from has all his cars odometers verified by an independant 3rd party organisation. I got an older car (8 year-old Nissan) but with very low mileage (32,000 kilometers). The mileage seemed to tally with the state of the engine, exhaust etc., so I'm happy it is genuine. So from that point of view I got a good deal.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Wellington
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    19

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    both our cars are jap imports and not had any problems with them.

    dont be fooled by the low mileage/kilometereeremeterage.

    Cars dont get to move very far in Singapore/Japan - most of the cars running time is spent sat in traffic jams. So the wear and tear is slightly different to what you might be used to.

    A bit of advice given to me from a Brit mechanic over here.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Auckland; Milwaukee, Surabaya
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    859

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    What is your budget? many of the recent years made cars are already digital on the speedo, and I think it's quite hard to roll it back...
    but again I maybe mistaken...
    I had 2 imported cars and so far so good...one was really low and I am a bit skeptical about it at first, but then I just got the car and have no problem ever since.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
    Location
    North Canterbury, New Zealand
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    865

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    Quote Originally Posted by CJ22 View Post
    The dealer we bought from has all his cars odometers verified by an independant 3rd party organisation. I got an older car (8 year-old Nissan) but with very low mileage (32,000 kilometers). The mileage seemed to tally with the state of the engine, exhaust etc., so I'm happy it is genuine. So from that point of view I got a good deal.
    How many eight year old cars have averaged 2500 miles per year for their whole life? Seems pretty unbelievable. Without dismantling and inspection I really don't see how you can judge the mileage by condition except within very wide margins.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    Auckland
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    Quote Originally Posted by mylesdw View Post
    How many eight year old cars have averaged 2500 miles per year for their whole life? Seems pretty unbelievable. Without dismantling and inspection I really don't see how you can judge the mileage by condition except within very wide margins.
    I can't. Like I said, I paid for an eight-year-old car. Any truth to the low-mileage figure is a free bonus.

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