justcurious Posted April 3 Posted April 3 Hi, new member on the forum, I'm interested in buying a new vehicle through Jap Auto Agent Ltd. I wanted to ask if anybody has used their services before? He said many of you are his customers. Please note, I'm looking for an FJ cruiser, not an Alphard I'm a bit concerned about up front costs, customs and duty fees on top of what I pay him, damage to the vehicle during transport and generally what to expect. I can find a vehicle in the UK but they usually have a higher mileage and arent kept very well, what Jap Auto Agent offers is very attractive. I'm concerned about paying £10-15k without ever seeing the vehicle in person, plus then paying an additional 10k once I receive it, and if I get a letter from customs that I owe them any additional fees. He has sent me images from the auctions and it all looks legitimate but I wanted to hear from you, if you have positive experience with this company.
Rojie Posted April 3 Posted April 3 37 minutes ago, justcurious said: Hi, new member on the forum, I'm interested in buying a new vehicle through Jap Auto Agent Ltd. I wanted to ask if anybody has used their services before? He said many of you are his customers. Please note, I'm looking for an FJ cruiser, not an Alphard I'm a bit concerned about up front costs, customs and duty fees on top of what I pay him, damage to the vehicle during transport and generally what to expect. I can find a vehicle in the UK but they usually have a higher mileage and arent kept very well, what Jap Auto Agent offers is very attractive. I'm concerned about paying £10-15k without ever seeing the vehicle in person, plus then paying an additional 10k once I receive it, and if I get a letter from customs that I owe them any additional fees. He has sent me images from the auctions and it all looks legitimate but I wanted to hear from you, if you have positive experience with this company. Hello, Welcome to the Forum.
Rojie Posted April 3 Posted April 3 Despite the impressive photo of hundreds of vehicles on the website, which I suspect is the auction lot in Japan, the trading address seems to be a private dwelling. I would conduct a very thorough research. Companies House, trading Standards, Trust Pilot, etc. If the vehicle is already in the UK, that is very different.
justcurious Posted April 3 Author Posted April 3 (edited) 1 hour ago, Rojie said: Despite the impressive photo of hundreds of vehicles on the website, which I suspect is the auction lot in Japan, the trading address seems to be a private dwelling. I would conduct a very thorough research. Companies House, trading Standards, Trust Pilot, etc. If the vehicle is already in the UK, that is very different. Yes I also noticed this, he says he is a trader of 30 years who is near retirement age now and he is acting as an agent only. He said many people on this forum are customers of his so just was curious to hear some non-biased testimonials. If the vehicle would be in the UK then I would just go ahead and pick it up 😁 Edited April 3 by justcurious Added reply
Rojie Posted April 3 Posted April 3 If he has many customers on this Forum I am sure many will come forward and recommend him. In the meantime have you read his Terms and Conditions or any Contract wording you will be required to sign. I am intrigued what the legal status is of an agent; the values you mention are not insignificant. Some members do import their 'own' vehicles with great success and significant savings.
Picasso Posted April 3 Posted April 3 Jap auto agent don't have stock to show you in uk all his stock is in Japan I did enquire about one of his vehicles before I bought the one I have now he is good at giving you all the gab ( talking ) proper car sales man I would not recommended him
justcurious Posted April 3 Author Posted April 3 2 hours ago, Picasso said: Jap auto agent don't have stock to show you in uk all his stock is in Japan I did enquire about one of his vehicles before I bought the one I have now he is good at giving you all the gab ( talking ) proper car sales man I would not recommended him Yes he just has pics of cars at auctions in Japan, he also has one vehicle ready to go with his partner in Japan. Personally, I think the deal fell through and now he has lots of high quality pictures and video. Car looks to be in good shape but it doesn't have the diff locks so he has offered to 'cherry pick' the 'creme de la creme' example from an auction. He does talk alot and doesn't allow you to say much, I just figured he is an old school salesman but the cars look good. Has anybody completed a sale with him?
sumogogg Posted April 13 Posted April 13 I have also been looking at this service, would also be interested to hear from anyone who has experiences with them or have used them lately?
sumogogg Posted May 5 Posted May 5 On 4/3/2024 at 11:34 AM, justcurious said: Hi, new member on the forum, I'm interested in buying a new vehicle through Jap Auto Agent Ltd. I wanted to ask if anybody has used their services before? He said many of you are his customers. Please note, I'm looking for an FJ cruiser, not an Alphard I'm a bit concerned about up front costs, customs and duty fees on top of what I pay him, damage to the vehicle during transport and generally what to expect. I can find a vehicle in the UK but they usually have a higher mileage and arent kept very well, what Jap Auto Agent offers is very attractive. I'm concerned about paying £10-15k without ever seeing the vehicle in person, plus then paying an additional 10k once I receive it, and if I get a letter from customs that I owe them any additional fees. He has sent me images from the auctions and it all looks legitimate but I wanted to hear from you, if you have positive experience with this company. Hi - just wondering if you went ahead with this and how was your experience? Thanks
justcurious Posted May 5 Author Posted May 5 Hello! No I didn't go through with it, he wanted me to buy more expensive versions than he initially advertised and part of his story didn't check out. I wanted to buy an FJ cruiser and the salesman sold these along with Alphards and some other Toyota models. Part of his salesman speech was that he is well respected among the UK Alphard club community so I decided to come here and check. For the most part it seems nobody knows him here! I was fortunate enough to see one of the vehicles he imported, I had a thorough look of the interior, underbody and even a short test drive and I must say for a 10 year old vehicle it was very clean. However the boot was smaller than I hoped and the seats didn't have the modern conveniences my wife wanted, so then I looked at a Jeep Wrangler which turned out to be equally small and has many engine flaws. Now I have turned away from hardcore off-roaders and went to see a few Porsche Cayennes found on autotrader. Lovely vehicles with ample space, leather seats, lots of off-road and suspension controls.
pjzeer Posted July 22 Posted July 22 I used him years ago. He was good. but for some unknown reason I messaged him a few months ago and he didnt reply, i would be careful !
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