Importing from Japan

[seanmangan]

I was wondering if it is worth it to import a car from japan, i was looking at a mitsubishi lancer EVO 4 it cost 4K or there about and another 2K for charges so 6K for a 97 EVO4 is not bad, the only catch is VRT on this car is nearly 2500 and then additional cost like nct and tax, i was looking around on the net and i've see a dealer called sean byrne and he's has alot of GSR's and EVO's registered as 1.6 so he'd probably be only paying 5/600 euro on VRT, for arguments sake how would someone go about registering an evo as a 1.6 would customes not know since the model number would look like CK9A instead of CK2A for a normal 1.6 or does sean byrne know someone or paying someone off, it will be my first time importing a car so any advice would be great. p.s. i have seen the import guide on the front page.

[CJ]

i was looking around on the net and i've see a dealer called sean byrne and he's has alot of GSR's and EVO's registered as 1.6 so he'd probably be only paying 5/600 euro on VRT

SB Autos are chancers, we've discussed their various sales techniques on this forum in the past. How he can get away with registering EVOs as 1.6's is anybodies guess, personally, I wouldn't deal with them.

Do your research on the price of the car over here and work out the maths to see if any savings can be realised. You'll have to factor in shipping and insurance, duty, VAT and VRT, it may not be as cheap as you originally thought. I would also consider looking at the UK market - UK owners of performance cars like EVOs generally look after them well and can prove it with service history.

CJ

[seanmangan]

Does anyone know of any good Jap import sites at the moment i'm using http://www.ibcjapan.co.jp/ good selection and good price, i would just like a second opinion

[paulkenny]

I used those guys when importing mine, I found them very professional and had no nasty surprises.

[seanmangan]

yeah they seem to be the most professional, also they have the best looking site easy to navigate and everything is explained well