Celsior deposit paid.

The-Acre · August 18, 2018

Rightly or wrongly I paid a deposit on the very dark blue, almost black Celsior today. Bodywork is what you'd expect on a 3 year old (I don't know how the Japanese manage it) and it drives well. Back windows are very dark tinted, as most Japanese imports are, which makes it look a bit like it should have a case in the boot which used to house a musical instrument. Thankfully it has the Pioneer system rather than the ML system with its cheap and nasty speakers which always go south. 61k on the clock and all history, albeit in Japanese, cam belt done as well. Oil nice and clear. So time will tell. Just getting my own reg plate put on so hopefully late next week.

noby76 · August 18, 2018

17 minutes ago, The-Acre said:

Rightly or wrongly I paid a deposit on the very dark blue, almost black Celsior today. Bodywork is what you'd expect on a 3 year old (I don't know how the Japanese manage it) and it drives well. Back windows are very dark tinted, as most Japanese imports are, which makes it look a bit like it should have a case in the boot which used to house a musical instrument. Thankfully it has the Pioneer system rather than the ML system with its cheap and nasty speakers which always go south. 61k on the clock and all history, albeit in Japanese, cam belt done as well. Oil nice and clear. So time will tell. Just getting my own reg plate put on so hopefully late next week.

Very Nice Celsior indeed. will you be doing a badge swap to Lexus one's? I prefer those seats to leather ones to be honest..

Malc · August 18, 2018

how did the insurance work out ?

Malc

39buss · August 18, 2018

Did you px your GS300?

The-Acre · August 18, 2018

1 hour ago, noby76 said:

Very Nice Celsior indeed. will you be doing a badge swap to Lexus one's? I prefer those seats to leather ones to be honest..

I'll keep the Toyota badge I think, it makes it an even rarer car that way! I've had leather in my 5 Lexus's and the wool makes a nice change, it's like an old aunties armchair.

1 hour ago, Malc said:

how did the insurance work out ?

Malc

Malc, I got it for £293, fully comp protected and only £250 excess and £50 windscreen. A little higher than my last LS but not by much so I'm happy with that.

58 minutes ago, 39buss said:

Did you px your GS300?

I did, and guess what, I lost a fair amount of money. I just can't be doing with selling privately, it's just so easy to PX it. I'll post some decent photos when I pick it up, but not before I dispose of that disgusting steering wheel cover!

messi · August 18, 2018

I liked your Gs300. I thought it looked really nice

The-Acre · August 19, 2018

9 hours ago, messi said:

I liked your Gs300. I thought it looked really nice

It is, it's an exceptional GS condition wise, but when you've had LS's, and many of us have, nothing else seems to do it!

steve2006 · August 19, 2018

Hooray...I’m not the only UK Celsior owner in the club anymore 🙂

Recently mine has been getting a lot of attention, yesterday I was struggling to find a parking space and a BMW driver came up to me, paid compliment to the car and asked if I would like his space as he was leaving.

Leave the badges on it makes the car unique,fun trying to read the Japanese service history....and take a look under the passenger footwell, there should be a flare tube mounted on the left side.

jpjsavage · August 19, 2018

It's always lovely to own an unusual car. I've been driving around in my new car and I haven't seen another one yet (including trips from Sandbach to Swansea, Sandbach to Chester and Sandbach to Stockport a couple of times). Always nice to keep things original so I'd be leaving it as it is too. Enjoy your new car!

steve2006 · August 19, 2018

I think all is good

runsgrateasanut · August 19, 2018

I had a Flare tube when I bought an MR2. Not sure its legal to have one in the Car in UK and certainly its not something I'd want to go off by accident? RNLI may take it if you want to rid yourself of it - possibly?

Mine is stil in the back yard in an ice cream tub. Though I could have put it on the Boat, I suppose.

The-Acre · August 19, 2018

1 hour ago, steve2006 said:

Hooray...I’m not the only UK Celsior owner in the club anymore 🙂

Recently mine has been getting a lot of attention, yesterday I was struggling to find a parking space and a BMW driver came up to me, paid compliment to the car and asked if I would like his space as he was leaving.

Leave the badges on it makes the car unique,fun trying to read the Japanese service history....and take a look under the passenger footwell, there should be a flare tube mounted on the left side.

What on earth is a flare tube for? I found a couple of things surprising, no parking sensors, just that strange wand that comes out of the front bumper (that still lights up) and as far as I'm aware no heated front seats, maybe the wool upholstery is warm enough. Also I notice the wheels are a cross between the facelift and pre-facelift.

steve2006 · August 19, 2018

It’s a holder for the flare, it is a requirement in Japan. The flare itself is normally removed from the holder before shipping on safety grounds but the black plastic tube it is stored in usually remains.

https://bj44.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/jdm-emergency-flare/

The-Acre · August 19, 2018

I'll be looking with interest for that! Maybe you can answer my other question, where's the coolant reservoir,?

RgrWynne · August 20, 2018

Good luck Phil, glad you found what you wanted....enjoy, Rgds, Roger

Steve · August 20, 2018

Is this a new import? If so do you have a copy of the auction sheet? top right hand corner of the sheet has a number, either 3, 3.5, 4 or 4.5 and then another underneath the same numbers. First one is condition of car and second is condition of interior.

Both are vital to see and inspect any forgeries. Usually best to crawl over this document to make sure it has not been in any accidents. If the number has an R after it then its classed as a repair.

The-Acre · August 20, 2018

45 minutes ago, Steve said:

Is this a new import? If so do you have a copy of the auction sheet? top right hand corner of the sheet has a number, either 3, 3.5, 4 or 4.5 and then another underneath the same numbers. First one is condition of car and second is condition of interior.

Both are vital to see and inspect any forgeries. Usually best to crawl over this document to make sure it has not been in any accidents. If the number has an R after it then its classed as a repair.

Thanks for the info. I'll be picking it up later this week so I'll go through that before I part with any money. The dealer has the best feedback I've ever seen and they import huge amounts of cars from Japan and seem very picky about what they buy. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. It was only registered in this country at the beginning of this month.

Steve · August 20, 2018

2 minutes ago, The-Acre said:

Thanks for the info. I'll be picking it up later this week so I'll go through that before I part with any money. The dealer has the best feedback I've ever seen and they import huge amounts of cars from Japan and seem very picky about what they buy. Forewarned is forearmed and all that. It was only registered in this country at the beginning of this month.

When you ask for auction sheet, keep an eye open for his reaction. I recently searched for an import and half the time the dealer avoided me, because this is quite an important document. It tells you the real condition of the car when it was sold. Things can be repaired here to hide anything.

I recently overlooked a friends car who claims it was an action 4 exterior, he had dents all over the car, no way can it be an grade 4 exterior. Grade 4 (most common grade) which means its got a few small marks and stone chips, normal for a car that age. 3.5 will mean its for a dent and some scratches etc. 3 it's pretty bad condition 4.5 will mean it's spotless.

Look for the R symbol.

What a lot of dealers do, (not saying your dealer has) but they photocopy them with different numbers. Very easy to do.

Get mileage verification, ask for a Bimta or Jevic mileage check certificate. Also vital.

Steve · August 20, 2018

Also, japanese dating system is different to ours, they are not in year 2018 LOL Japanase years are different, so expect to see comething like

2016	Heisei 28
2015	Heisei 27
2014	Heisei 26
2013	Heisei 25

so if you see 20 on service docs means 2008 which means the last 2 digits of our date system is 12 years behind.

http://www.ewc.co.jp/Pages/Information/CalendarEN.aspx

Steve · August 20, 2018

I need to correct myself, interior is based on ABCD

A being tops. B is the norm.

The-Acre · August 21, 2018

On 8/20/2018 at 3:41 PM, Steve said:

I need to correct myself, interior is based on ABCD

A being tops. B is the norm.

Just checked this info, the car is a 4&B. The dealer says they are members of BIMTA and will provide a certificate to verify the mileage. Also no "R" Thanks again for the heads up! The dealer has cleaned the interior and polished the body. I had a good look over it and all I could really see were some minor stone chips.

steve2006 · August 21, 2018

“Finally we have managed to get rid of that Toyota Celsior parked at the Fukushima nuclear power station”

Don’t forget your geiger counter Phil 🙂

steve2006 · August 21, 2018

On 8/19/2018 at 9:58 PM, The-Acre said:

I'll be looking with interest for that! Maybe you can answer my other question, where's the coolant reservoir,?

You need to convert to JDM now Phil it’s not a “Coolant Reservoir” but a “Reserve Tank” this is located behind the twin cooling fan bracket but may be hidden under a cover.

Red arrow.

The-Acre · August 22, 2018

8 hours ago, steve2006 said:

You need to convert to JDM now Phil it’s not a “Coolant Reservoir” but a “Reserve Tank” this is located behind the twin cooling fan bracket but may be hidden under a cover.

Red arrow.

Ah, thanks. I've got a feeling the US market LS had it there as well.