Ebay ISF import, third times a charm

[rd350ypvs]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/lexus-IS-F-sport-5-0-420-bhp-v8-artic-pearl-white-stunning-car-fresh-import-px/273757649071?hash=item3fbd3a38af:g:vuMAAOSwH6ZcfXMz

 

so, first time it was on for £16950, then reduced to £15950, took off, then bidding on new listing it got to £12200.

Now on again for £14950 ???

Does no-one like imports or does it seem dodgy?

 

The car itself looks to be in very good condition throughout

 

thoughts?

 

 

 

 

 

[FTBBCVoodoo]

It looks decent to me at that price.

I have had a few Japanese imports and in theory they shouldn't pass an MOT without headlight washers when equipped with HID headlights.  My imports (an S2000 and a DC5 Type R) never failed an MOT on that point though 🙂

Assume the SatNav just needs a UK DvD.

Not sure if the radio would need a wave expander to work in UK.

Grade 4 is fairly standard for an old car.  I think the highest a used car can be is 4.5 (out of 5 for new).  I would be interested to see the auction sheet and see what the interior is rated as (A being highest).

My DC5 was a 4.5B and it was immaculate (but was sourced through Honda UK).

As long as service history maps out and also a BIMTA certificate would be handy to certify the mileage then should be a steal.

[Texas]

How do insurance companies view imports? ( any excuse to up the premium I guess, but on what grounds?)

any other 'down sides' to buying/owning/running/selling a import as such?

paul m.

[Britprius]

Is the car speed limited "to 112 mph" as most seem to be from Japan? I doubt the satnav will work by just replacing the map DVD as the on screen display will still be in Japanese.

John.

[Martin F]

10 hours ago, Texas said:

How do insurance companies view imports? ( any excuse to up the premium I guess, but on what grounds?)

 

As long as you go to a specialist it will be a non-issue and your premium should be the same as the equivalent UK spec version.

[Defratos]

Not sure about an import from Japan, but mine is an import from the middle east and I haven't faced too many problems. 

It did go to a specialist who made sure it was up to MOT (Uk) standards. The main thing they did was to make sure the rear fog lights work and to rewire the light to show up on my dash when the fogs were on. 

Other than that everything was left as it is, I did however install a new speedometer to get it to convert to MPH as mine was in KPH and didn't want to keep calculating in my head. 

As for insurance mine is pretty reasonable, doesn't seem to be any premiums on it at the moment. 

[gb1600e]

I spotted this keep reappearing and although looks great in the photo's wondered if it wasn't all it seemed. For sure I would want to be paying a significant chunk less £££ to cater for all the differences even if they can all be reasonably overcome. For only a modest saving on a good UK car I wouldn't bother but it might represent a good bargain for somebody. The good thing is its declared for what it is so hopefully no surprises for the new owner.

[Womble72]

I’ve a Japanese mate, he’s said your looking at atleast £2k to get the limiter removed and then there’s the dash/speedo to deal with.......my son was interested BUT has now obviously been put off it.

[Linas.P]

On 3/15/2019 at 7:45 AM, Martin F said:

As long as you go to a specialist it will be a non-issue and your premium should be the same as the equivalent UK spec version.

Which is probably twice the normal insurance anyway... 

[PhoeNicks]

Looks an honest enough car, far better than most of the recent UK car ads if I'm honest. I wish normal car buyers understood these cars better, they'd understand what great value they represent. 

I am slightly questioning the thinking behind importing this car though, he must have got it cheap. Back in the days when we used to buy imported Evos and Subarus, it was because they were models you couldn't get here. 

[OldTrout]

Or just buy this one? Lovely car with known owners, etc.

 

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

Hi.

I would imagine most insurers who are prepared to insurer a UK spec vehicle wouldn't have too many issues with a Japanese import.

Regards,

Dan.

[Linas.P]

Nobody said - insurers would have "problem" insuring Japanese import... but the price would not be the same.

Edit: Obviously, insurance price for me is mental either way, but I reckon the difference would be the same. But I honestly though there would be much higher difference, but ~10% is not that bad, as well considering imported car is cheaper to tax. Both identical policies for imported vs. UK car. One other thing I noticed - UK car automatically gets valued at £13500, whereas import was £7669. So I guess ... good luck agreeing value on import.

 _______________________

[Martin F]

9 hours ago, Linas.P said:

One other thing I noticed - UK car automatically gets valued at £13500, whereas import was £7669. So I guess ... good luck agreeing value on import.

 _______________________

 

 

Neither of those particular companies will pay you what you quote as the value anyway. In the event of an accident they will play the game of undervaluing and hoping you accept the payout, AMHIK !

 

[Martin F]

On 3/16/2019 at 8:03 PM, Womble72 said:

I’ve a Japanese mate, he’s said your looking at atleast £2k to get the limiter removed and then there’s the dash/speedo to deal with.......my son was interested BUT has now obviously been put off it.

Ouch, just looked this up and this is the correct HKS SLD for the ISF https://www.hks-power.co.jp/en/product_db/electronics/db/14161  and it is indeed quite expensive.

https://www.hendyeshop.co.uk/hks-vac-lexus-isf-45002-at010-17902-p.asp

[Linas.P]

12 hours ago, Martin F said:

Neither of those particular companies will pay you what you quote as the value anyway. In the event of an accident they will play the game of undervaluing and hoping you accept the payout, AMHIK !

That is obvious, but if they indicatively offer half of the price before starting... imagine what you get in case of accident. 

[Northern isf]

22 hours ago, Linas.P said:

Nobody said - insurers would have "problem" insuring Japanese import... but the price would not be the same.

Edit: Obviously, insurance price for me is mental either way, but I reckon the difference would be the same. But I honestly though there would be much higher difference, but ~10% is not that bad, as well considering imported car is cheaper to tax. Both identical policies for imported vs. UK car. One other thing I noticed - UK car automatically gets valued at £13500, whereas import was £7669. So I guess ... good luck agreeing value on import.

 _______________________

Wow that's ridiculous I pay less for a traders policy no way I'd even consider that, what have you been doing drifting round the streets of London?

[Alex1988UK]

Tried a quote on this car out of interest this morning as i used to have a hawkeye JDM impreza and always found that fine to insure.

 

Admiral came up cheapest £496 for a year and swapping between the car being UK and Jap import had no effect on the price it remained the same which i found odd.

The cheaper tax is a major bonus and the car certainly looks clean on the underside which is a big bonus but the price of the speed limit remover is simply scary!

 

Its only around 20 miles from me, i have thought about going and checking it out but with my wedding 30 days away it may cause a devorce before the ink is dry!

[FTBBCVoodoo]

Has anyone checked to see if the speed limiter hasnt already been removed?

Unless you are going to track it, 112 should be plenty 😉

[Linas.P]

On 3/18/2019 at 9:17 PM, Northern isf said:

Wow that's ridiculous I pay less for a traders policy no way I'd even consider that, what have you been doing drifting round the streets of London?

It is UK, the country of fraudulent ageist insurers. I now have clean UK license for 13 years, prices are still stupid...  As I said - don't look to the numbers, because they are ridiculous, but one could expect similar difference ~10% if my quotes are anything to go by.

When I was 17, I had BMW525i with M60B40 engine swap and paid 180EUR insurance for 6 month till I get 18. Back in the day I thought it was ridiculous amount to pay for insurance until I came to UK. My first quote as a 19 years old in UK was £36000 and I had clean UK license etc. etc.. I could not even get insurance for reasonable amount here until I turned ~25. Obviously, second thing is that I am in London (which should not matter, but in UK it does). Compared to where I came from now my insurance would be 70eur/year (for TPO) and maybe another 200 for Fully comprehensive (which we call "Kasko" and it is optional), if I change car to IS-F or Bugatti, TPO would still be 70eur, but Kasko would depend on the car itself.

[Twellsie]

On 3/18/2019 at 9:17 PM, Northern isf said:

Wow that's ridiculous I pay less for a traders policy no way I'd even consider that, what have you been doing drifting round the streets of London?

what am I doing wrong? I have protected no claims for god knows how many years, have 3 points on my license, I am 38 years old and my insurance is north of £1k a year!

[Linas.P]

Post code lottery, profession, 3 points obviously doesn't help... a lot of existing in UK just to justify boost insurance price. In other countries you enter 2 things - your Reg and Driving license number - that is it. In UK they want to know whole life story, just to find something for the sake of "risk" to make it more expensive.

[Womble72]

11 hours ago, Twellsie said:

what am I doing wrong? I have protected no claims for god knows how many years, have 3 points on my license, I am 38 years old and my insurance is north of £1k a year!

😳......I got the hump as mine was £350 this year, has slowly gone up year after year despite me stressing “I’ve hit no one, no one has hit me, no person injuries for or against me”.......insurance companies are a complete “zero loss and only profit companies”......if payouts are up so is EVERYONES premium to cover their losses to a tune of a profit!......absolute highway robbery AT ITS BEST 😡

[Texas]

Seller is now taking ‘Offers’ !!!

paul m.