Have you purchased a vehicle from an importer - if so how was your experience?

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tlcruiserman said:
Ok, I must apologize to all the other owners of BJ74. I did not mean in anyway to say mine is better, that was really not my intent. So if anyone took it that way you have my most humble apologies.

Michael


Hey, no apology needed!...I think it's refreshing to think that I'm not the only one here who thinks their LC is the best! :)
 
tlcruiserman said:
Driving a BJ74 in San Diego? I never said I was driving a BJ74 in San Diego. You must have me confused with someone else. You see snow in the pictures right, there is no snow in San Diego as far as I know.

G'day,

Michael

WHY then do you say location San Diego?

FIBBER!



TB :censor:
 
HZJ60 Guy said:
WHY then do you say location San Diego?

FIBBER!



TB :censor:

One may have several places of residence.

Location is just a state of mind anyway :D

Dave
 
beanz2 said:
One may have several places of residence.

Location is just a state of mind anyway :D

Dave


Democrat gobledeegook!

SURE BUDDY!



TB
 
HZJ60 Guy said:
WHY then do you say location San Diego?

FIBBER!



TB :censor:

Haven't you read your latest Toyota Trails yet, TB? Maybe you'd like to buy a small piece of property in Alberta or BC? :wink wink:
 
Ok, so the guy registers it in BC and LIVES in San Diego. Hmm, I guess anyway is a good way.


TB :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh: :doh:
 
Nah, click on the link to Michael's West Coast Cruisers site and check out the Calgary run he did. You'll get to see a 60 with 52" tires!

B
 
I am just a collector, collecting Cruisers from all over the world. It really is Marv Spector's fault. Someone has to keep up with him :)


Cheers,

Michael
 
Marv is responsible for my addiction as well. Four oil-burners and counting!
 
Last edited:
Why don't you try to have the vehicle imported yourself, in general it seems that you can purchase one through a company in Japan and they will ship it on your behalf. My research tells me that you can obtain a 1989 BJ-74 with 100-150 Km for approx 500,000 Yen FOB. I am working with a guy from sales@besttrade.com out of Japan, and it seems alot cheaper this way. Why make profit from someone else, do it yourself, it doesn't seem all that difficult.
 
I'm probably say something Wayne (and possibly others) have said in the past about it...

I think doing the import thing yourself would save you some money, possibly a lot, but like with everything else in life there's risk to it. Unless you have dealt with the people/company in the past or you know someone that has dealt with them with positive feedback you would not knot what kind of business they operate and how accurate their description of vehicles is (including pics not doing justince one way or the other).

If you deal with importers they have already eliminated most of those risks for you. Most importers that have been mentioned here have excellent feedback(s) and you can trust them.

Sure it may cost you more, but to me that is a good peace of mind knowing that they would stand behind their products.

Now if you import a vehicle yourself with site unseen and the vehicle is not exactly the way you expected (or it looked in pics) would you send it back to the seller? Would the seller take it back anyway? What if you can't register it where you are for whatever reason.

Anyway, maybe you have already thought of all those things and more, but if you haven't that's something to consider.

I think Wayne has said that a good contact (in Japan or wherever you are importing vehicles from) is worth their weight in gold or something like that. I think that statement is pretty true.

Anyway... sorry if you had thought about it all and if I sound a little negative. I didn't mean to. I just hope you know what you are doing and that all the time and money you'll have invested would not have been in vain.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Mot
 
I had a bad experience with my BJ74, I bought it from a guy called Nigel in Calgary. I took it for a drive and everything seemed fine, I checked the underside and it looked like new, the body is great as well. I don't think it has been anywhere other than clean roads, no rust anywhere, 130,00 kms and new tyres and brakes all round. I did notice that the front ball joints had been leaking for a while, but assumed wrongly that it was just a matter of replacing the outer seal, as is the case with landrovers with which I am familiar.

I checked all the easily checkable fluid levels, and asked if the transmission and axles had been checked, I was assured that they had and that it was ready for a long trip. Half way through what should have been 11 hr drive home I noticed a burning oil smell, so I pulled over to take a look. There was oil all over the back axle, and I could not put my hand on the transmission and transfer as they were so hot. I did not have any tools with me and was in the middle of nowhere. I waited an hour for everything to cool down and drove slowly to the next small town garage. The guy there was just about to go home and did not want to put my LC on the lift to check it out, but I managed to borrow a couple of wrenches and discovered that there was no oil in the transmission and the transfer was way overfull. The transmission running dry had overheated the transfer and it had ejected oil from the breather. The guy who in the garage did not have any gear oil, so I walked a couple of miles to a service station and bought some there. I also bought a wrench and a flashlight so I could check out the oil levels in the dark on my way home. I eventually made it home in one piece, but covered in oil and pissed off.

The seal had gone between the transmission and the transfer box. The front inner axle seals needed renewing which was quite a job, and the preheat was not working, also it smoked like a good un when starting from cold.

I have sorted out all of the above and am now very happy with my BJ74, even the gearbox and transfer seem fine which surprises me after what happened.


With hindsight I should not have taken this dealers word for anything, I should have had it checked out independently.
 

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