Should I import my own car or buy it here?
A good question. Some people are prepared to take some risk by importing their own car from Japan and save money by doing so. Others prefer going to their local import dealer and buying a car that is clean, licensed, and with everything working and with a warranty. The reason you will save money importing a car yourself compared to buying from a dealer is because you are using your own money to pay for the vehicle in Japan, paying the duty/GST and freight on arrival, then the compliancing and licensing costs. This means that there is virtually no difference in costs between a private importer and a dealer unless the dealer is also a Registered Automotive Workshop (RAW) and obviously pays less for the compliance costs. It will also take a minimum of 2 months from the time you start looking to the time you are on the road in Australia.
However, like most money saving ventures, there are some risks involved. I find it amusing that people want to save money by importing their own car but don't want to take any risks. You have to remember that most of the cars that are being imported to Australia are an average of 10 years old and sometimes 15 years or older and at that age will start developing some sort of problems. When we receive a car it has to have minor panel and done, serviced, complied, detailed and fix any problems that may exist.
When we help people import their own car, we provide a 100% money back guarantee as far as the overall condition of the vehicle is concerned, however we can't guarantee any mechanical or electrical items as it is not possible to check everything as the vehicles cannot be driven at the auctions. As far as cost saving goes, the more expensive the car you buy the more you save. This is because of 2 reasons. The first reason is that the more money a dealer has tied up in a vehicle, the more return on he must get on his investment so the profit margin is greater. The second reason is that the compliance cost doesn't vary much between a Nissan 180SX and a Nissan Skyline R34 so you will save more money on a car that retails for $30,000 than one that retails for $15,000.
So you must ask yourself.. do I want to just go down to my local importer and check the car in person, test drive it, organise finance through the dealer and drive away with a warranty NOW, or do I have the money ready to send to Japan and prepared to wait a couple of months and save some money?
However, like most money saving ventures, there are some risks involved. I find it amusing that people want to save money by importing their own car but don't want to take any risks. You have to remember that most of the cars that are being imported to Australia are an average of 10 years old and sometimes 15 years or older and at that age will start developing some sort of problems. When we receive a car it has to have minor panel and done, serviced, complied, detailed and fix any problems that may exist.
When we help people import their own car, we provide a 100% money back guarantee as far as the overall condition of the vehicle is concerned, however we can't guarantee any mechanical or electrical items as it is not possible to check everything as the vehicles cannot be driven at the auctions. As far as cost saving goes, the more expensive the car you buy the more you save. This is because of 2 reasons. The first reason is that the more money a dealer has tied up in a vehicle, the more return on he must get on his investment so the profit margin is greater. The second reason is that the compliance cost doesn't vary much between a Nissan 180SX and a Nissan Skyline R34 so you will save more money on a car that retails for $30,000 than one that retails for $15,000.
So you must ask yourself.. do I want to just go down to my local importer and check the car in person, test drive it, organise finance through the dealer and drive away with a warranty NOW, or do I have the money ready to send to Japan and prepared to wait a couple of months and save some money?
posted by Paul at 10:23 AM
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