Cut n Shuts/written off Supras from Japan

How do ya know if a car has been written off in Japan?

I was told that a lot of Written off cars in Japan were getting imported and it was easy to hide its history once it arrived here!

I remember looking at a dodgy Supra some years ago...that has so obviously been involved in a serious accident, it was a stock colour, the panels didn't fit, they didn't even match properly colour wise...also the airbag steering wheel was replaced with a Momo one....and serious condensation in headlamps...bloke said it shared a container with some sheep.

This bloke lived in Buckinghamshire behind big wooden gates with no doorbell, and only a mobile number...he had one very offensive 'wife' and two nasty looking Rockweilers...

Guess What?

I didn't buy it...

I know one way is to check the auction grade (i guess thats essential where possible)...what else should we look out for..?

If both halves are the same colour thats a good start .

Dude

If both halves are the same colour thats a good start .

 

Dude

pmsl

But there must be loads coming in still...good way of making a quick buck I guess....is there any scams that we should all be made aware of?

Just that I know theres a lot of people looking for Supras at the mo...and I was thinking of getting a manual or tiptronic at the end of the year....or an Import Corvette C6 if work goes well...

Spill the beanz...you must know some trade secrets Dude?

First of all buy off someone you trust, there are a lot of damaged cars in Japan and they are dogs, How ever you can still buy a perfectly good car in japan thats had a wing replaced due to a small parking dent and at auction it would be given a accident grade, so the best bet is to have a good agent who can be really honest with u and get you decent cars. So to answer the question you can pay the same price for a grade 4 as you would for an accident grade one but this is were the agent come's to tell you that it a good car and should not be an accident grade car, so there is no bargain there, The only bargain is if you buy shite!!!! and someone buy's that off you but that not an option i would take or the traders here would do.

p.s You can also buy corvette in Japan,

Hope this help's a bit .

Exactly jurgen... the ones that seem to go very cheap are the ones that are complete dogs..and you find the importers that are retailer cars at dirt cheap money tend to be buying these....

We always look to buy cars that are mint... even if we dont have as much money in them..we want offer our customers genuine cars that are mint and they can be very happy with, in yrs to come etc etc... i find its alway worth paying that bit extra for something that is clean and you knw shouldnt go wrong etc

all the best

Matt

pmsl

 

But there must be loads coming in still...good way of making a quick buck I guess....is there any scams that we should all be made aware of?

 

Just that I know theres a lot of people looking for Supras at the mo...and I was thinking of getting a manual or tiptronic at the end of the year....or an Import Corvette C6 if work goes well...

 

Spill the beanz...you must know some trade secrets Dude?

WHEN the cars here there will be give away signs if its a cut and shut or had a heavy front or rear , like you said Si its panel gap and fit , mis matched paint isnt a good guide because its the sort of car that will have any paint it needs to keep it looking nice , like Jurgen says this is why you need an agent in Japan to check out cars for you before you part with your wedge

Dude

WHEN the cars here there will be give away signs if its a cut and shut or had a heavy front or rear , like you said Si its panel gap and fit , mis matched paint isnt a good guide because its the sort of car that will have any paint it needs to keep it looking nice , like Jurgen says this is why you need an agent in Japan to check out cars for you before you part with your wedge

 

Dude

Thanks Jurgan, Jap Scene and Dude...its just that i have never seen this topic being discussed before, and I was talking to someone in the trade the other day...(not someone on the BBS thank god..) who openly admitted to me that he used to be involved with buying Insurance write offs at auction in Japan and then importing them over here and the 'write off' part of the history would not be recorded over here...

I found that quite worrying...and was just interested how decent car dealers like yourselves reasure customers and what should we look for..?

I know a lot of Dealers never used to pass on information about Auction grading etc...as you say good dealers like you have that info available to the customer...which does give peace of mind I spose....

Bet theres a few dodgy companies around still though...judging by some of the examples that have cropped up in Autotrader or on Ebay.

Also how important is it do ya think to get the Logbook/service history translated (apart from the fact its in Japanese lol)

On the Corvette, I was thinking of buying one Stateside secondhand, if I can afford it later in the year!

Cheers

Si

...he had one very offensive 'wife' and two nasty looking Rockweilers...

That must be a funny lookin kind of dog is it mate ?

When you buy an import you should get the deregistration certificate from Japan - that shows it's not been stolen. Would this not show if it was a write off over there too?

When you buy an import you should get the deregistration certificate from Japan - that shows it's not been stolen. Would this not show if it was a write off over there too?

Good point Simon...anyone know the answer?????

Thanks for everyones help and input btw..this is where the BBS comes into its own....

That must be a funny lookin kind of dog is it mate ?

PMSL...well I reckon just setting her on me would of been bad enough...and i bet he didn't have a licence for her!

Ive seen quite a few won't mention dealers...but you soon realise who's up to it

Worst one I ever saw had the vertical seam weld in the door aperture by the lock plate under the trim bodged up and rusty.This was literally 2 cars. Was on the market at £22000...

Paul

Good point Simon...anyone know the answer?????

 

Thanks for everyones help and input btw..this is where the BBS comes into its own....

this is were your agent comes in he should know the history of the car and he can tell u about it, but if u get a dodgy agent he is just going to sell u anything.

as for the de reg docs thats a good indicator the car is ok, ie dont buy it if it has not got any.

and your agent will tell u its history, if u buy good cars u will always sell them no problem so its worth paying that little bit extra

Ive seen quite a few won't mention dealers...but you soon realise who's up to it

 

Worst one I ever saw had the vertical seam weld in the door aperture by the lock plate under the trim bodged up and rusty.This was literally 2 cars. Was on the market at £22000...

 

 

Paul

Just imagine how gutted you would feel if any of us ended up with it...wonder how many of us dont know the history of the cars we own?

I bought mine from Pinewood Toyota even though it was an Import and I got absolutely every conceivable document I possibly could.

Would just love to know how widespread it is! but some very useful tips from everyone!

I'm sure its been asked before, but is there any way to check the history of a car after its been imported?

Completely in agreement with Green Peace here.....there are a lot of cowboys out there making a quick buck...

Toyota do a service where you pay them £25 and they can check the Identity of the car.

I believe the DVLA also have a service through VOSA where they can check the identify of the vehicle nationally and on the international database.