Importing exotica from Japan

[Esceptico]

There seem to be a lot of cars imported from Japan and I’ve googled and found companies that can help. However most seem to be focused on importing cheap cars. Any recommendations for firms that deal with specialist or JDM models?

[dobly]

I used Proslink 5 years ago when I bought my NSX from Route KS Suzuka - Kennes (Kenneth) was so easy to deal with by email - his English is impeccable. My car was containerized - I'm sure that this added to the cost, and was delivered to my local port in the South Island.
proslink.jp - make sure that your browser is set to translate Japanese to English.

Edited by dobly on Wednesday 6th May 00:03

[Esceptico]

dobly said:

I used Proslink 5 years ago when I bought my NSX from Route KS Suzuka - Kennes (Kenneth) was so easy to deal with by email - his English is impeccable. My car was containerized - I'm sure that this added to the cost, and was delivered to my local port in the South Island.
proslink.jp - make sure that your browser is set to translate Japanese to English.

Edited by dobly on Wednesday 6th May 00:03

Thanks. Ironically it is an NSX I’m thinking about! Do you remember how much (roughly) did it cost to ship and register the car for use in NZ?

[dobly]

The shipping (in a container) was on my invoice in JPY, as Proslink arranged that.
Basically I negotiated a price for the car including door to door transport and was more than happy to do it that way.
- the big cost is GST which is applied to almost all costs associated with the import.
I employed a local company to be the import/customs contact - the shippers (Maersk) wouldn't deal with an individual even though they allowed the export paperwork set up in Japan to be addressed to me as a private individual - this was no bother as I was made aware of the change whilst the car was on the sea, not at the last minute when it was at an NZ port, and wasn't a material additional cost. (I can point you in their direction if required).
The other thing is SIV - https://www.nzta.govt.nz/vehicles/importing-a-vehi... - you need to read up on this and have all this sorted before you can register the car for the road in NZ.

[dobly]

I should add that I am not sure if Proslink still have direct links with Route KS these days - back when i was looking the English link on the Route KS website forwarded my enquiry to Proslink.

[Captain Obvious]

Hi, I have a mate in Auckland who sourced and brought in my Evo for me. A grade 4.5 / A car. He managed the whole process of bidding on the car at auction, getting it inspected beforehand, giving me detailed photos, he was patient and made sure the car made it here safe and got it registered and on the road for me.

I'd recommend him any day. Please PM me if you are committed to a purchase, I don't send people his way if they're unsure whether they even want a car.