PVVH, **Stone see below!!
Not much too it really. Make sure that the vehicle is 15 years to the month old. Otherwise, its not importable, period. You will need an agent in Japan to bid for you. The Auctions happen very fast (usually less than 20 sec per car) so give the maximum amount you are willing to pay for a unit as your bid. The agent should bid up to it. If it goes cheaper... thats what you pay (TIP... always bid in odd numbers, The Japanese only bid in evens, so don't bid 460,000, bid 463,000... more likely to get it if its close). If you can get in to see the cars BONUS. They might let in only dealers/agents... im not sure. Unless your Japanese is good (probably yours is), find an agent that will do translations of the auction sheets for you. Their sheets are good and thurough. They list every issue and detail with the vehicle condition, on the outside..every minor scratch and ding. The interior is a good overview... listing if there are cig burns, stains, rips/tears, dash etc.. Mechanical issues are listed only if obvious. Familiarize yourself with the Auction grades, including the lettering... ie. A, RA, R... etc.. Tokyo is the biggest USS auction, held Thursdays if memory serves. Nagoya is good Fridays for less expensive models. There are LOTS of auctions. You will be hard pressed to find the nicest vehicles at just one auction. If time is a limiting factor.... find an agent who lists all the auctions across Japan. Then you have access to a HUGE market... but it can still be tricky to find the right unit.
The HJ61VX is the cream of the crop. If you can find one fully loaded, bonus. They do not all come fully loaded. I presumed mine had lockers... not. Oh well, Im not a serious wheeler, but it would have been nice. The non turbo HJ60 can be had for quite a bit less.
Look to pay between 600,000 and 1,000,000 yen for a nice low milage unit. They are getting rarer. The higher milage ones in nice shape are cheaper. Look to pay between 250,000 and 450,000 yen for nice higher milage (175k+) units. I got mine for 345,000 yen... 200,000k. Flawless body(lies lies.... there is a palm sized dent in the roof). The HDJ81 (1990 new style) are now importable... they seem to be hard to find in nice condition for some reason. I opted for the HJ as i have heard that there are tranny issues with the first run 81's... and i like the body style. Shipping will run you between 80,000 yen to 150,000 yen depending on availability and lines. Ro/Ro (Roll on/ Roll off is the cheaper way to go, and is just fine).
Your agent should be able to arrange shipping for you. From this end... agent fees are ~100,000 yen, and they look after everything for you... from bidding, to transporting to deregistration and shipping. Picking it up at customs is easy. It must pass an Agriculture Canada inspection for bugs etc... and customs gives it the once over... pay your fees, and Bobs your uncle. I used a customs broker... the 100.00 it cost was well worth the headach free paperwork detail. You will either need to tow it from Customs to where ever you want it (it can sit forever un-registered, customs does not care), drive it with a dealer plate, or wait for your (form 1) from Customs. Then set up a temp license from your friendly neighborhood autoplan (ICBC) agent who will need that (form 1) and the original registration/deregistration ( + translation which your agent should provide), and they will give you a restricted permit to have the car inspected. They will allow you to drive it from point A (ie Customs lot, your house, etc) to Canadian Tire for your Federal/Provincial inspection , then straight to them for registration. I am just at this point now, so someone correct me if im wrong... but they will either unconditionally license it if it passes inspection, or conditionally license it if it does not pass, at which point you have 30 days to perform the repairs and have it re-inspected.
Sounds complicated but its not really. Just make sure your paperwork is in order. Regardless of which unit you buy, and how low the milage is, you should still budget several thousand dollars for maintenance , repairs, and upgrades. Parts are not inexpensive for these beasts, especially for a newbie (such as myself). Toyota has most of the parts you need, although they may not know it. Most FJ62 parts work for the body, suspension, and some electronics, and they should have some parts needed for the 6 cylinder diesels as well, which work on the turbo unit.
Good luck... hope you can get in to see the auctions. That would be really nice. Otherwise, e-mail me and I can give some further advice if you like.
**Stone,
I usually don't venture too far from home for the fish.... i let em come to me! Halibut can be had off the Victoria waterfront. There are several banks 5 to 10 miles out. You don't pull up the cows like in the charlottes, mostly 20-50 pounders. Good eating. You can get some bigget ones, every year a half dozen 100+ pound barn doors are pulled up. If your ever in the area.... happy to take you out! if the wife lets me... hehehe
Happy to take any of you out, and real happy to trade fishing for parts ;p !!!
Peace
Steve
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This site is GREAT... tonnes of info, i'm loving it!
