How to Buy a Car Directly from Japan

Despite the convenience of the Internet, buying a car directly from Japan can be a complex process taking up to two and a half months. With Japanese online car export companies requiring an advance payment of the lump sum, it's important to make sure the company is reliable and the car meets your expectations before proceeding with the transaction. Additionally, it's important to be prepared for Japan's different business methods and the language barrier.

Instructions

Purchase Process

1

Find a reputable, legitimate Japanese car exporter. Check out the company's status, which should be Houjin Limited (Ltd.), known as yuungen gaisya, or Houjin Incorporated (Inc.), known as kabushiki gaisya. The company should ideally have a Foreign Trade Chamber registration number, which indicates a history in exports or trading and adequate staff for such purposes. According to Japan-Partner.com, Japanese banking laws required that registered limited and incorporated businesses have their exact registered names on their bank account, so be wary of companies that have bank accounts under a different name.

2

Find the car you want online and examine its details, such as make, model, production year, gas mileage and transmission. Most Japanese exporters list the registration year, as opposed to the production year, so check for this using the chassis number.

3

Check with U.S. import laws to make sure that the car you'd like to purchase doesn't break these regulations and that you have the proper paperwork. The restrictions usually have to do with gas emissions and the year of the vehicle. The paperwork is a bill of lading, which is issued by the shipping agent, as well as an original deregistration certificate in Japanese, its translation into English and an invoice.

4

Pay for the vehicle. Most often 100 percent of the payment is due up front by Japanese exporters. The most common way of paying when buying a car online from Japan is CIF, which includes the car cost, insurance and freight costs.

5

When your payment is accepted, it can take two to three weeks before your car is shipped, or up to six weeks. When the car has been shipped, a package with your vehicle's documentation is express-mailed. Shipping can take three to four weeks.

6

Pick up the car by checking with your closest shipping agent, showing your car paperwork that was mailed to you, and arranging for off-loading of the car, which will require a small fee. Custom related paperwork may also be necessary, which the shipping agent will handle.