I plan to order more vehicles in the near future! It had done 40,000 miles in 30 years when I received it. Canadians especially love the Mini Trucks that are available here in Japan. We pride ourselves in the high level of quality we supply in car and service. Mathew and the gang were great with helping me with the acquisition of my 1994 Subaru Sambar dump kei truck.

I can never understand why the Kei Car hasn’t made its self more of a market in Europe, it seem like the perfect answer to cutting running costs, and the ever more crowded roads A lot of Japanese vehicle export businesses have US brokers they work with and may suggest specific individuals/companies to you. If you were to write out the pronunciation of the Japanese words for these cars, you’d end up with something like kei jidosha. WIRED Media Group

Well dream on, because you’re not going to get it; at least, not if you shop for a new car. We Are An Industry Leader Of Importing Vehicles & Wheels Direct From Japan to the USA.

Mechanically ‘interesting’ with a crash 4 speed gearbox (I learnt to double declutch in a hurry), and an odd ignition system; the points fire for both cylinders every time. That hood scoop is functional and directs air to the tiny intercooler under the hood. Inventory. Back in the 1970’s I had a Honda Z600 (Google it), Air cooled 600cc twin.

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Those tiny cute cars you see in Japan that vaguely represent our smart cars or Fiats are known as "kei cars." Vehicle Search Engine: Over 150,000 vehicles at auction weekly, plus thousands more on dealer lots. Does this matter?

Ordered an Acty Van with these guys.

Mathew was super helpful if helping me get more info and bid on cars I was interested in. Many kei cars have this by the bucket load.

CALL SALES : 01347 878539 .

H.R.2628, the "Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act of 1988.

A few more minor fees later (brokers don’t work for free; the port facility that takes your vehicle from the ship doesn’t either), your vehicle will be ready for pick up. If we havent got what you are looking for in stock the chances are we CAN source your perfect vehicle. They account for about 30 % of the Japanese car market. While being successful in Japan, mini trucks, mini cars and microvans, these vehicles are too specialized and too small to be profitable in export markets and mostly they have been never imported abroud. I just can’t get excited about hybrid cars and I’d much rather try a kei car if reducing running costs was my number one priority.

My truck had been stolen and Matt was helping me bid on mini-trucks to replace it.

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At the start of this post I said kei cars were pretty much unique to Japan. As it is sitting at an international port, you can’t simply show up and demand your cargo; usually you have to make an appointment and be escorted. Thank you for being our customer! Established in 1999, and based in Purfleet, East London/Essex. What's more, it turns out the process isn't nearly as daunting as you might think—trust me, I've done it myself.

Known as the ‘25 Year Rule,' H.R.2628 essentially requires auto enthusiasts to wait 25 years to the month from when a vehicle was first manufactured before it can be legally imported if the vehicle wasn’t originally meant for sale in the US market. 2628. A couple folks recommended Mathew over at JCD and I very reluctantly reached out. Ars may earn compensation on sales from links on this site.

Pro tip: don't mess around; decide exactly what you want, then bid to win. This is why people in Japan tend to give up on their cars earlier than most people in the world, which probably gave rise to various incorrect rumors about older cars in Japan.

Been a pleasure dealing with him and was kept informed every step of the way and super fast communication kept the whole process stress free! They account for about 30 % of the Japanese car market. Kei cars cannot be more than 3.4 metres long, 1.48 metres wide or 2 metres tall. In our congested towns and cities, surely average speed is decreasing, so most of the crashes that do occur will be at low speed?

Japanese import cars dealer of 7 seater & 8 seater MPV's such as Alphard, Elgrand, Legacy, Odyssey, Stepwagon plus KEI cars including BB's & Cube's When you buy and keep a small, efficient second hand car, a car that’s worth keeping because it’s fun and practical and satisfies your needs, you spare the planet all the extra emissions that come from wastefully dismantling a car that still has many years of service life in it, and, what is more, you stop the emissions that are required to make a new car. What sorts of cars does Japan offer in order to make all these rules, all these costs, and the effort of transporting something across an ocean worth it? You must login or create an account to comment. All rights reserved. As we’ll see later, this doesn’t necessarily make them cheap to buy, especially on the second hand car market. As a result, Japan has a huge and sophisticated export industry with lots of businesses and entities that operate within it.

The company never offered it for sale in the US, which means Paul Walker’s famous R34 Skyline GT-R in 2 Fast 2 Furious isn’t legal for import. I also feel he got me the best deals, i have since the first purchase made two more and will continue to do business with Mat. How about an all-wheel drive hot hatch? If you are wholesale buyer shipment in containers may be even more profitable. Small cars like these are easier to park in small spaces! I’ve seen official fuel consumption figures of 60-70 mpg for modern kei cars. Are kei cars relevant to UK drivers? With his help I obtained a suzuki carry with 8k miles, 4wd hi/lo w/ diff lock, in excellent condition, for a total of 5k from auction to driveway--tremendous value in my estimation. Canada, for example, has reasonably relaxed rules when it comes to importing Kei cars into Canada. Mitsubishi Minica Dangan (Bullet) ZZ.

One way to identify a kei car is the use of yellow on the number plate. Toyota Noah – the thinking person’s minivan. After that, work transitions to a US-based broker in order to settle everything needed for importation. But each port does things differently. Japan’s Pocket-Size Supercars – The Turbo Keis. So to promote the growth of the car industry, the kei car category was introduced by the Government. I LOVE IT. 2628 at this time. Really pleased to hear from someone who has imported an N box. I look forward to doing more business with Mathew in the future and you should too! Whilst researching this post, I noticed that some of the kei cars fared remarkably well in the crash tests, receiving scores comparable with much larger vehicles.

Read more about importing used cars from Japan to USA: Importing into the USA FAQ. It retired off-road to a llama farm near Stratford, where I hope it’s enjoying its days transporting hay and llama nuts while teaching the farmer’s youngest to drive.

Basically speaking Japan is full of late-model quality Kei cars and trucks destined to be exported somewhere. REGISTER at our website and shipment will be calculated automatically for the port you choose.

Yes I would have one for town/small city/country living but not for motorway or fast roads such as UK motorways.

Parts & Collectibles. The R34 was first manufactured in 1999, placing the earliest year for importing under H.R.

My kids, and my wife, love to drive it:). That made them to be very popular on second hand markets, because of their rarity outside Japan. The UK business scene is slowly becoming aware of the potential of Kei cars. There was basically a baking tray between you and the car in front. Can not recommend these guys enough. The engine is highly tuned: turbo-charged and inter-cooled with multi-point fuel injection, dual overhead cam, and five valves per cylinder. Of course once we started bidding the truck was recovered, but Matt was upfront and very helpful both getting into and out of our auction based relationship. (The most recent regulation change allowing for bigger cars only took place in 1998, which means those vehicles won't be eligible for another five years.). Great story, thanks for sharing!

Of course, if you can get the chance to test drive your friend’s kei truck, jump at the chance. My favourite is the Honda N Box Custom in black. they are excellent little cars and most manufactures make them in Japan of various models, even tipper trucks and vans.

Flawless service, prompt response to communications, on delivery the car was better than expected, very close to new looking.

Not many were made, but most were preserved.

1995 Toyota Celsior Type …