LHD Japanese imports

[Hitch78]

I'm a little confused by the supply of LHD Jap spec motors in Dubai - surely the Japs drive on the right? Hence the ready supply of cheap performance ricers for the yoofs of the UK. Can anyone shed any light on why they exist?

Also, I had a run in a mates C43 AMG the other night and thought it was a wonderfully bonkers machine. He's had it for three years with no weather/dust related issues due to it not being GCC specs - anyone else have any experience/advice on the spec thing?

[Harris_I]

I find the term "GCC spec" is misleading because manufacturers tend to test their cars in all environments before releasing them to world markets. So this usually means the wing mirror has Arabic writing and the speed limiter chimes in at 120.

I have known US spec high performance cars to run perfectly well out here.

Salesmen in dealerships will try and convince you otherwise, usually by reference to upgraded AC and cooling systems, but over here they tend to talk even more bullst than back home. Your resale value might be affected because the ill informed public still believe GCC spec actually means something important.

Besides, even if the engine bay is different (probably true on older cars before world specs became the norm), it doesn't cost the earth to change a rad or an a/c compressor, given the discount on an "inferior" non-GCC car.

[Hitch78]

Yeah, it stinks of the old prejudice against driving a euro import in the UK even though the specs must be the same. Amazing how everyone got over that when news of 20-30% savings over treasure island prices could be had...

I've heard to steer clear of US spec cars as they are very often insurance write offs pieced back together in a shed in Al Qusais industrial. I would have to question what the benefit of shipping a car from the US of all places to here would be as they're not known to be ridiculously cheap there. Unless there was once a currency benefit of course.

The mystery of the LHD Japs was solved for me by the Piston Heads wider massive and apparently it is all to do with the immense cost of importing a foreign car to Japan. The image concious little critters love to show just how much they've paid by driving LHD - proving they've more money than sense. Must be a bit like the bizarre practise of keeping your import sheet and bar codes on the windows of brand new cars here.

All that considered I'm now sorely tempted to invest in a rubber plantation and seek out a nice low km ricer AMG for point and squirt giggles!

[dictys]

My Porsche 928 is orginally a LHD car from Japan imported into Dubai in the late 90's.

It is a Euro spec model, so has none of that american smog, large bumper rubbish!