Japanese Cars

Why should you import cars from Japan to Australia? Well, why not? There are actually a lot of advantages when you consider such a move. In fact, these advantages are the primary reasons why there are so many people importing cars all the way from Japan to Australia. And, get this, they are doing this in spite of the fact that Japanese cars can be easily bought on Australian soil! So, there really should be a lot of benefits in this endeavor!

Just what are these benefits then? For instance, you have the opportunity to get a car that is rare on Australian soil. Japanese cars are indeed being sold in Australia, but not all Japanese car models are being sold here. thus, if you import cars from Japan to Australia, you just might get rare finds for yourself. And you can easily become very noticeable when you cruise the streets of Japan in your very own unique ride.

Another huge advantage that you can enjoy pertains to savings. When you buy a Japanese car through a dealer, you will have to pay more for the services rendered to you by your dealer. But if you import your own car from Japan to Australia yourself, you can do away with these fees altogether. Imagine the savings you can make if you do decide to import cars from Japan to Australia!

Because you have more choices when you decide to get your car from the Japanese market yourself, you can then specify as much as you want your own preferences for the car you intend to buy. What’s more, you can lay all of these specifications down at your own price or budget as well! Of course, there might come a time when you would have to wait for your agent to find that particular model or make you are looking for. but the wait will certainly be worth your while, especially when you are rewarded with a car that can turn just about any head towards its direction.

The car has been conceptualized, developed, and maintained on Japanese soil. Thus, you are sure that the car would receive everything trained Japanese specialists can offer. you are then sure to receive the utmost in quality in just about every aspect of your Japanese car. Plus, we all know how high the standards of Japanese cars are pegged at. With such quality that these cars can boast of, it would completely make sense for any person to want to import cars from Japan to Australia.

If the first of the Japanese cars were humans in high school, they would belong to the group known by their peculiarity, or as modern day language would call as geeks. And the German cars would be considered the popular jocks.
Japanese cars were known by their size, that it wasn’t as big as the rest were. But it’s undeniable that they are of functional worth, and you can indeed say that they’re made out of good stuff.
Years came and went when Toyotas and Datsuns were already everywhere. Since then, the quality of cars in Japan had been better recognized, and later given them the opportunity to build plants in other countries, such as Australia, Britain and other parts of Europe. Other countries must’ve heard of the Japanese amazing skill that they could transform cork into dexterous vehicles (figuratively), so then more factories followed. The once laughed at cars in Japan became the jocks the cheerleaders are now crying for. Next thing you know, even your kids are already asking for a gorgeous Nissan 350Z for Christmas.

New cars are very expensive here in Peru, due to customs and taxes. The average Peruvian can’t afford a car and even having a driver’s license is not common. Of those that can afford cars, most buy used cars that have been imported from Japan. After the cars arrive here, they are converted from right hand drive to left hand drive. If it is an experienced converter, they do a really good job, and at first look you would never know that it had been converted. There is a big business in these cars in Tacna, a city in Southern Peru near the border with Chile, where there is an ocean port.

I bought my first car here in Arequipa, over three years ago, and it was not a good experience. Due to improper import documents, it took six months before I could get it licensed and was able to drive it. It was a 4×4 Nissan station wagon, but was not made for the rough off highway driving that we need to do here in Cotahuasi. After endless repairs, I finally decided to get different vehicle, as I needed something better for my adventure travel business. I talked to Lucho, whose family has become my family here, and he gave me lots of advice.

First of all, in spite of how important tourism is to Peru, taking advantage of gringos is kind of a national pastime here. Lucho protects me like a kid brother, even though I think I am older than he is. He also used to be a policeman, so has lots of experiential wisdom to draw on. He gave me detailed instructions on what to do and not do in Tacna. Most of the cars are sold in a special area called Ceticos, which is a reduced duty import zone. It looks like a low budget used car mall, with probably 40 or 50 dealers selling cars.

Knowing that I would pay more for the same car than a Peruvian would, I had wanted a Peruvian friend to go with me to do the negotiating. However, no one was able to go with me last week, when I needed to go. I had sold my old car in Arequipa on Monday afternoon, and left on the bus that night for the six-hour ride to Tacna. One of my friends, Hector, said he could help me but only for one day. I said I would spend Tuesday and Wednesday looking, and if I found something suitable, I would call him and he would take the Wednesday night bus, to help me on Thursday. It wasn’t an ideal situation but Lucho told me that mid-week was the best and safest time to buy a car there, it is too crowded and not safe on weekends. Checks are not commonly use here so that meant I would be paying cash.

Because of this, many large transactions are done at banks. Lucho told me to take the seller to my bank, give them the money there, and sign the papers there, so that I wouldn’t be walking around with over $10,000 in my pocket. He also told me to ignore anyone who tried to talk to me, help me, or asked me to help them. He warned me to be careful that no one bumped into me or touched me in the bank, because they do that “accidentally” and then put a mark on your back. When you go out of the bank, an accomplice sees the mark and knows that you are carrying a lot of cash. They will then follow you until they get the opportunity to rob you.

I arrived in Tacna at about 4:30 am; fortunately, we were allowed to sleep in the bus until a more reasonable hour in the morning. I finally gave up trying to sleep at about 6:00 and went and found a nearby hostel. They said they would hold my bag until I returned in the evening to check in, so I didn’t have to pay an extra day’s room charge. There were no restaurants around, so I went back to the bus terminal and had breakfast, before I went to Ceticos.

There have been some changes in the import laws so there are less vehicles being brought into Peru than there used to be, but there were still hundreds of cars, pickups and vans surrounding the large warehouse like buildings in Ceticos. The conversions are done there as well, which only is feasible because they are able to buy the cars so cheaply, and labor is also very cheap here in Peru. One factor made it easier for me; I knew exactly what vehicle I was looking for – a Toyota Hi-Ace van, 4-wheel drive and manual transmission. Most of the combis (small van bus service) are Hi-Aces and they are all manual shift; all I needed to do was find a 4×4 like one I had seen here in Cotahuasi.

When we left Japan, 20 years ago, almost all vehicles sold there were still stick shift, very few automatics. However in the last 10 years, automatics have become much more popular there as well, probably due to the almost universal use of cell phones. I found a number of beautiful Hi-Ace vans, with nice seats for 8 people, but most were automatics and none were four-wheel drive. The Town-Ace is a little bit smaller but I looked for them as well, same problem. I found one 4×4 van but it was a Mitsubishi and automatic, and it was too expensive. I finally started looking at small SUVs like the 4Runner and Pathfinder, but they too were only automatics. They also had a few Land Cruisers, but they were close to $20,000. One salesman said a friend of his, who was a notary public, had a manual 4Runner for sale, but it was back in the city, about 10 minutes away.

Remembering Lucho’s advice, I declined his offer to take me to see it. I did ride with him and his co-worker all over Ceticos while he tried to find me one, as well as the phone number of his friend’s office, so we could call him. During this time we picked up another friend of his, who said he knew of one for sale in the city as well, and they wanted to take me there to see that one. Finally after not finding anything in Ceticos, I nervously agreed to go look at the ones in the city, as they seemed like nice guys and were trying so hard to find a vehicle for me.

I had second (make that fifth or sixth) thoughts when we picked up a fourth young man (he was related to one of the owners) in Tacna, and I still hadn’t seen any vehicles there. After driving all over, away from the center of town, I was really getting nervous, and was thinking about jumping out of the car if I saw a policeman, we finally arrived to where one of the trucks was supposed to be. Another five minutes later, someone brought out a very trashed 4Runner that they wanted $10,000 for, and it had an automatic! Next we went to the notary public’s office. He had sold the one they wanted to show me, but had a newer one for sale for $19,000. I said it was nice but too expensive, and also it was an automatic. Then they wanted to show me another one somewhere and I said no, “Take me back to Ceticos!” After wasting a couple of hours, and 10 soles for gasoline that they asked me to pay for, I was glad to be safely back in Ceticos, where I looked at the remaining places I had not been to before.

There was not a 4×4 manual van to be found at any of the sellers, and I was about ready to give up and go back to the city. First I decided to look at the Mitsubishi again and see if they might have anything cheaper. It turned out that I had misunderstood the price and it was within my budget. Using my best negotiating tactics, I managed to get the price down a thousand dollars, but it was probably still more than a Peruvian would have had to pay. I really needed to get a vehicle so decided to buy it, even though it was an automatic. The whole next day was spent doing the paperwork, getting my money from the U.S., transferring the money, and getting some minor repairs done on the van. The paperwork had to be done by a notary public, the one the seller used was the same on that I had been to the day before! Fortunately Hector made it to Tacna in the morning to help with all that, and make sure everything was correct.

We got the required permission to drive it back to Arequipa without registration, and at 7:30 pm we were finally ready to leave. We grabbed some roast chicken and fries, our first meal since breakfast, picked up my bag at the hotel and headed off for Arequipa. We still had to go through the customs checkpoint but Hector handled everything there, and within 30 minutes we were on our way again. As we went through one small town, I saw a policeman standing near the road and a sign that said, “Control”. I asked Hector if we needed to stop and he said no, so we drove by. About an hour and a half later as we were going through a tollbooth, a policeman waved us over to the side of the road. I showed him the permission papers and he said we needed to go back about 60 miles to the control point to get them stamped. It was getting late and I didn’t want to waste the fuel, so asked if there was any way we could avoid going back. He took me in the building, stamped the papers and said we could continue!

We arrived at Hector’s place, where I park my car when in Arequipa, at 2:00 am, tired but thankful for a successful trip. The next day, after spending a few hours waiting and standing in lines, the registration paperwork was all submitted and now I just have to wait 10 days to get the title, and then a couple days more to get the license plates. Then I can drive my car!

Are you in the market for a used car in excellent condition selling for a low price? You may want to consider buying your next car from a repo car auction.

Thousands of cars nationwide are repossessed every day and sold through government auctions. The opening bid for these cars is typically set to whatever is required to satisfy whatever liens may exist against them. So if you find a car that is worth $15,000 being sold at an auction with an opening bid of $5,000, that usually means that there exist $5,000 worth of loans and other fines or fees against the car.

Why buy a car from an auction instead from a dealer or a private seller? Both dealers and private sellers are looking to make some money off of their cars and may try to sell their cars at their respective blue book value.

A government-sponsored vehicle auction, on the other hand, operates irrespective of the blue book value and is typically a not-for-profit endeavor. The objective at an auction is to unload cars that are otherwise abandoned.

What good is a car if it has no driver?

One caveat, though: Just because a car is at an auction does not automatically make it a great bargain. What if the car is in need of serious repairs? The cost of these repairs could easily offset the bargain price you just paid for the car. Or what if the previous owner of the car was upside down on the loan? It is for this reason that you must do your “homework” before you bid for a vehicle at an auction, to make sure that you truly are getting a bargain for it, irrespective of whether you are buying it to keep or buying it to fix it up and resell it.

Cars often appear on people’s lists of wishes and must-haves, and perhaps it’s found on yours, too. But recently, they do not just go for the purpose of the cars to drive them to their selected destinations, but also for the vehicle to take them there with style. The owner’s preferred color is just the beginning. Talk about humans dealing with issues on their appearance. But evidently, everyone is concerned about being presentable, and they should be. But then, the owner also searches for chemistry that he could possibly find in the heart of the car – its engine. He looks for one of high quality to produce enough power for the automobile to drive him as far as where its heart can take him.
We know exactly where to find the sweet wheels you’ve always wanted, and we found them in Japan.
There is absolutely no other country in the world that makes more cars than in the Land of the Rising Sun. You have probably heard of the major car manufacturing companies, which are Honda, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Toyota, and indeed, they had us at konnichiwa. All of them belonging to the same country and the same home.
Considering the creators are Japanese, there’s already no doubt about the brilliant quality of these cars that have done good recognition and blessing to their country, making Japan the world’s leading exporter of cars.

Executive cars first arrived on British roads in the 1960′s, or at least the term used to describe them did.

Generally considered to be markers of status for aspirational individuals they were targeted at middle and senior management professionals who were looking for vehicles with high levels of performance and comfort.

Traditionally, executive cars tend to be 4 door saloons, however, many manufacturers such as Saab began to offer estate versions for increased load space and versatility in line with the growing needs of the modern family.

The executive car sector has generally been popular with fleet buyers and company car users. Today, many fleet managers choose to manage executive cars on lease as a cost effective and efficient way to manage their vehicles.

German Executive cars

The Germans know a thing or to about making executive cars. Offerings from BMW, Mercedes and Audi are some of the most popular available on both sides of the Atlantic. Obere Mittelklasse as it is known in Germany can be literally translated as ‘upper middle class’ and refers to models such as the Audi A6, and Mercedes Benz CL-Class.

Below this, Mittelklasse, or ‘middle class’ refers to cars, which here in Britain are known as ‘compact executives’ this category includes cars such as the BMW 3 Series, Volkswagen Passat and Audi A4.

Japanese Executive Cars

The Japanese have different attitudes to the Western world when it comes to displays of status and wealth. However, when it comes to motoring, Lexus have got it absolutely spot on with their range of executive cars. Consistently top of reliability and customer satisfaction surveys such as that of J.D Powers and Associates, Lexus is a marque with an established tradition of comfort, luxury and Japanese dependability.

French Executive Cars

In France, the category ‘Grande Routiere’ refers to class of vehicles which are comfortable on long journeys. Traditionally, French car makers are renowned for their technological innovation. One prominent example of this the Citroen DS, with its hydropneumatic self-leveling suspension system it took the motoring world by storm with its launch in the 1950′s.

Today’s offerings such as the Renault Vel Satis and the Citroen C6 continue this tradition of style and innovation and are the ideal choice for people who want to avoid the status quo.

Swedish Executive Cars

Swedish cars are very well thought of for their reliability and high levels of safety. They also offer exceptional levels of comfort and refinement, all of the qualities one would expect in an executive car. Saab’s 9-3 and Volvo’s S60 both sit comfortably in the compact executive category.

British Executive Cars

As one of the most well established marques in the executive car sector, Jaguar has for over 80 years been synonymous with Executive British motoring. Renowned for their craftsmanship and build quality, few manufacturers can challenge Jaguar for a truly luxurious driving experience. Their current range includes the excellent X-Type and S-Type models.

Select Vehicle Leasing have all of the best executive cars with a comprehensive range of executive car leasing solutions.

Cars are one of life’s most valuable possessions, if not for all then for most of us especially for those whose jobs require them to own and drive a car. Life can be pretty convenient when you have a car handy at your side. Car owners are lucky that they don’t have to go through the inconvenience of public transportation. But here’s something they have to keep in mind though, it is a must that they maintain their cars in good shape.

Modern cars have very complex drive trains, and the transmission being one of the most important elements of it, repairing it because of the in-proper use can be very costly. One thing you can do is to have your transmission checked on a regular basis and the recommended period to replace it is every 2 years or every 24,000 miles, which ever condition occurs first.

Maintain your car is worth it because it will not only offer you safety but you can also experience the performances it was designed for in the first place.

Japan started manufacturing the first Honda cars at around 1963. After 23 years, they were able to develop another model of Honda, the Acura, which is launched in 1986. And last 2006, Japan has launched another world class automobile, the Honda Civic Hybrid.

Honda completely redesigned the Civic giving it a more athletic, curvier look. All models (including the base model) come standard with ABS and side and curtain airbags. Additionally, the 2006 models acquired a ULEV-2 rating and boast a more powerful 1.8 liter engine than the 2005 counterparts, but still retain almost equal fuel economy.

Definitely, Honda cars keep getting better and better. I wouldn’t be surprised if a year or so from now, there will be another car, much improved and even better, only from one of Japan’s leading brand Honda.

It wasn’t always a good season for cars, even for the ones from Japan. They started all covered with rust, and people’s first impressions of the automobiles were sadly correct. Their engine’s power seemed like they were of no power at all, and that evidently displeased the people.
But as Japanese people with great personalities and with their constant aim for excellence, they strived for excellence! Japanese cars got better, and you can see it by how people today would look at it, would describe it and would want it. Since the efficiency, the quality and the power already had its progress, they built and paid attention to more features now. Focusing also on safety, on the driver’s entertainment through radio and even putting a television inside, for comfortable elegant-colored seats, and a catchy outside look.
The development is huge that people wont even remember that Japanese cars had an awful start. Next thing you know, even your kids are already asking for a gorgeous Nissan 350Z for Christmas.

Last September 2007, Mazda launched its first new generation Zoom-Zoom vehicle, the new five-door Mazda2 which was a big and immediate hit in Europe. In December 2007, it was awarded a 5-Star safety rating by Euro-NCAP and it has won more than 20 automotive awards. These include Car of the Year awards in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Greece and New Zealand, along with the Japan RJC Car of the Year.

And this year, Mazda has another surprise for us, on the 4th of March the new Mazda2 3-door hatchback will be launched at the 78th Salon International de l’Auto de Genève. The new model also has the attributes of the 5-door hatchback but this one’s better with an even sportier feel at a more affordable price.