Vehicles made by Japanese manufacturers for the Japanese domestic market that are imported for the UK used car market are sometimes referred to as 'Grey Imports'.

Japanese vehicle owners typically own their cars for three years before buying a new model. There is an excess of 'second hand' cars in the Japanese market with negligable demand in their homeland. In comparison to other used cars in the UK the japanese imports usually have a lower than 'average' millage, and a higher standard specification over equivalent UK specification models intended by the manufacturers to be sold to the UK market via franchised dealers.

Customer demand in Japan also results in wider variety of models being made by manufacturers for their home market. Performance cars, people carriers and4x4 vehicles from the Japanese domestic market have alll proved popular with the British public.

How do they get here? Almost all used cars in Japan are sold ay auction. Unlike UK vehicle auctions Japanese ones are 'closed' to the public. Specialist companies in the UK have made it their business to bid for the car at auction and ship them to the UK. The cars are commonly auctioned and exported, largely to other right hand drive markets such as the UK, Ireland, Australia New Zealand, Malta and Cyprus.

How do you identify a japanese import?

All vehicles manufactured for the entire European market, regardless of where they are produced and what manufacturer made them, will, without exception, have a VIN that is 17 characters long. These include a World identifier at the beginning, usually three characters in length, that denotes the country where the vehicle was manufactured.

The VIN of a japanese import always has fewer then 17 characters. The World Identifier will always be omitted and they will often begin wih the model type.

Here we show examples of the VIN's of a Mitsibushi Shogun and its japanese import counterpart, the Pajero. In this example the Mitsibushi World Identifier of 'JMA' is not used on the Pajero and the VIN starts with the model type.

Shogun - JMAL049GWJJ000001 (UK)
Pajero - L049-000001 (Janpese import)

Even on models that share the same name the VIN is always the way to confirm whether the vehicle is a japanese import. These examples are from Toyota Celica models:

Celica (ST205) - JT164STL500000001 (UK)
Celica - ST205-000001 (Japanese import)

Japanese import VIN lengths can vary between ten and 14 characters. Both Celica examples are from ST205 model types; this is more apparent in the grey import VIN as it starts with ST205. The UK model will have ST205 in the model code. Toyota model codes are always needed in addition to the VIN to identify the correct components. The model code is situated underneath the VIN on the chassis plate and takes the following format:

ST205-PQRRS (the letters at the end vary depending on the exact model.)

Whilst the VIN will always confirm a model to be a japanese import, other visual clues include:

1. Rear fog light

Rear fog light clusters on japanese import models do not usually have a fog light incorporated in them, hence the need for either the right hand cluster to be modified or for an aftermarket fog light to be fitted.

2. Rear number plate

Models such as a Eunos Roadster, which looks the same as an MX-5 for the UK market, will have a rear panel number plate recess that is square shape. Occasionally rear panels on japanese imports are replaced with UK specification panels to take an oblong number plate. If this is not done a square 'motorcycle' type plate is used. The number plate shape should not be used as a visual clue on models such as Toyota Landcruiser, Mitsibushi Pajero and Isuzu Big Horn. These models have square shaped plates on both Japanese domestic market and their UK counterparts.

Important Information
Many models physically look the same as vehicles intended to be sold in the UK by the vehicle manufacturer but our research proves to many models have significant differences in the components used!

How do Autoparts fit in?

Autoparts have recently take on a new manufacturer - ADL Blue Print. Blue Print has been supplying parts for japanese imports since 1997. Our catalogue accuracy, using a Japanese domestic market database, coupled with a product offering of matching specification and quality to that used on the production line, means that we can supply Blue Print confidently for japanese import models. Blue Print products also come with the added peace of mind of a two year warranty against manufacturing defects.