Which one is the best choice for a car under $1000?

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Which one is the best choice for a car under $1000?

Hello guys,

I have plan to purchase a used car, I'm looking for used cars for sale under $1000 (http://carfromjapan.com/cheap-used-cars-for-sale-under-usd1000) , I would like to get some advances to choose which one. My purposes are driving inside small city, fuel efficient & safety.

Hi,
Your info says you are in France, which has left hand drive cars. Japan has right hand drive cars. Apart from any import restrictions, changing headlights and DREAL single vehicle approval inspection, the practical everyday difficulties of driving a wrong sided car, visibility at junctions, taking tickets at car parks or toll booths for example, normally outweigh any cost savings. Unless the model you really want is just not available, buy a local car. Any car under €1000 is likely to have issues so unless you can service and repair it yourself be prepared to scrap it at any time. The cost of modern servicing has relegated "bangernomics" to those who can do work themselves.

Looks like it's even harder than I thought, see:
https://smartexpat.com/france/nouve...driving/registering-a-japanese-import-1581594



Robert G8RPI.
 
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Although the car itself might be $1000, have you looked at getting a quote to see what the total cost of importing the car would be.

A cheap little run about, once imported and gotten through all the red tape Robert lists above, your $1000 car might end up costing more like $3000-4000

The reason that we import Japanese cars to the uk is that they are one of only a few countries that are right hand drive like us, and you can buy high performance Japanese cars and import them cheaper than you’d buy the equivalent uk car for.

We don’t buy $500 Nissan micras and import them, it’s just not worth it. If you want something a bit special, an RX7 a GTR skyline, lancer evo etc, then it’s worth the import costs.
 
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Although the car itself might be $1000, have you looked at getting a quote to see what the total cost of importing the car would be.

A cheap little run about, once imported and gotten through all the red tape Robert lists above, your $1000 car might end up costing more like $3000-4000

The reason that we import Japanese cars to the uk is that they are one of only a few countries that are right hand drive like us, and you can buy high performance Japanese cars and import them cheaper than you’d buy the equivalent uk car for.

We don’t buy $500 Nissan micras and import them, it’s just not worth it. If you want something a bit special, an RX7 a GTR skyline, lancer evo etc, then it’s worth the import costs.

Thank you for information. I'm a newbie about importing car so that why I need these advances. Actually, the reason why I choose used car for sale under 1000 because my budget is very limited and like you said, right hand cars in UK are more expensive than Japanese used car. RX7 or GTR skyline is not cheap to me, can you recommend another model that is deserved to import but the price is better?
 
Hi,
Your info says you are in France, which has left hand drive cars. Japan has right hand drive cars. Apart from any import restrictions, changing headlights and DREAL single vehicle approval inspection, the practical everyday difficulties of driving a wrong sided car, visibility at junctions, taking tickets at car parks or toll booths for example, normally outweigh any cost savings. Unless the model you really want is just not available, buy a local car. Any car under €1000 is likely to have issues so unless you can service and repair it yourself be prepared to scrap it at any time. The cost of modern servicing has relegated "bangernomics" to those who can do work themselves.

Looks like it's even harder than I thought, see:
https://smartexpat.com/france/nouve...driving/registering-a-japanese-import-1581594

Robert G8RPI.


Actually, I ask for a friend who is in UK and I'm a newbie about this problem so I would like to learn more :p, thanks for information.
 
Looking at that website suggests to me it's aimed at importers rather than the general public. You don't normally associate the phrase 3 for 2 with a private car buyer!

Prices also suggest that the cost is for cars on a dock in Japan and you do the rest.

Something like www.alljapanesemotors.co.uk would be a more realistic look in that their prices are for mot and registered cars in the UK.

There's plenty other companies do it as well but the chances of it being that cheap once it's here are 0. The shipping would cost more.
 
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Thank you for information. I'm a newbie about importing car so that why I need these advances. Actually, the reason why I choose used car for sale under 1000 because my budget is very limited and like you said, right hand cars in UK are more expensive than Japanese used car. RX7 or GTR skyline is not cheap to me, can you recommend another model that is deserved to import but the price is better?

Actually, I ask for a friend who is in UK and I'm a newbie about this problem so I would like to learn more :p, thanks for information.

I’m confused now, are you buying for yourself or for a friend?

The simple fact here is that the cost of the car needs to be worth the cost of importing the car, there will be very few $1000 cars (~£725) that would be worth the cost of importing, the import charges would cost much more than the car is worth. And there are plenty of uk cars under £725 on eBay without importing something from japan.

The reason I bought up the likes of the skyline or the RX7 is that there are few of these cars in the uk, what cars are in the uk have a very hefty price tag, so when you’re talking £20,000 for a uk based R34 skyline versus an import from the site you listed where I found one for £12,400 it makes it worth the £2000-3000 to import it and make any modifications for uk roads.

It’s not worth importing a $1000 Nissan micra and importing it at a cost of £2000-3000 with modifications for uk roads, when you can buy a similar uk based far for £600 in uk spec.
 
Fiat Pandas (169) are cheap these days and cheap to maintain but £1000 will buy a bag of bolts with all sorts of hidden problems. If you (or your friend) cannot do the repair work yourself or actually needs a car that works reliably, then you need to at least double the budget.
 
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