Just thought that this might be of some interest to anyone looking to by an import. It's a programe about stolen Jap cars that are given false papers then enter the U.K to be sold.

 

Vijay

Don't forget ...

 

More info: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1456000/1456337.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/uk/newsid_1454000/1454384.stm

 

Did your import come through Southhampton ? Mine did !

 

this is funny, one of my friends in south africa ordered a 3000gt from these very people in dubai, model 96 i think and he paid under 3 grand for it shipped and landed to his house, it is ridiculous , those cars go for at least 30 grand in S.A.

That's not funny, that is seriously worrying! Will be watching that tonight with great interest. Doesn't surprise me though, there's a guy down the road from where I'm living(temporarily) who just specialises in import 4x4's. I took the Mrs. out in a Toyota Surf that she liked for a spin and it does make me wonder how they(car dealers) make any profit out of it? Example: the asking price was 5995 GBP, it had electronically switchable 4wd, nice alloys with serious rubber on, Turbo Timer(on a diesel turbo? WTF?), A/C, everything electric windows, mirrors(folding aswell), all those altimeter globes like you get in Shoguns. But get this, this was cool, for those of you that can't picture what I'm on about...

 

Surf is a Hi-Lux with a back seat, like a Nissan double cab or Mitsu. L200 and a body cab. So it's all in one, like an estate car, seriously chunky 4 wheeler. My little woman is trying to work out how to get the back hatch down??? No handles on the outside??? Guy comes over, puts the key in, turns it and the back window comes down(like on Freelanders) so that you can lean in and pull the handle from the inside...

 

Well that was it, she was in love with this thing! Anyway, the guy is telling me that it costs more than 2K to bring a vehicle over from Rand of Wising Sun nowadays coz the government have changed the import laws or something. So, car is 5995, it's cost him say 2500 to get it here which means 3500 outstanding(roughly). So he's paid about 2500 - 3000 for it in Japan. Which means he stands to make about 1000/500 squid on it??? I don't think so somehow, not worth all the effort of sending someone out there etc.

 

Something not quite right there eh?

 

Tim

;-)

 

I dont think this is going to paint a pretty picture of our import Zeds or other legit imports...

Quote from BBC Live Chat with Quentin Willson

 

Question from Simon Dicketts: How can you tell if a car is a grey import?

 

Quentin Willson: A grey import is very different from what we've been talking about on the television. Cars from Europe are known as parallel imports, but grey imports are secondhand cars imported from Japan. These can be big, big trouble and I don't advise anybody to buy one. You can spot Japanese grey imports by the fact that they'll all have air-conditioning, different-size mountings for the numberplates, and different names. For instance, a Mazda MX5 in Japan is called a Eunos Roadster. Please don't buy a Jap grey import.

 

I wonder if this is going to cause us import owners any problems i.e resale, insurance, police checks etc?

I've never really liked Quentin Willson anyway, even less now. I wonder if all those mafia people are making plans for a little visit to Mr Willson.

 

Note: the opinions above are those of the little men that live at the bottom of my garden and do not represent my views, wishes or drug induced hallucinations.

 

Excuse me but "Fu*k him" that man is on a mission, he is sooooo uuuuuglly and he definatly has a complex, he just says these things to get reaction cause hes not as popular as jermy clarckson, (whom left the show cause of old quinten pu*s face)

All this airing the week after Top gear ran a artical on buying a Japenese car !

 

Which featured the Slurpa too - just to piss me off that bit more !

 

A friend of a friend had a R33 which was siezed by the police for being stollen in Japan - so there is a serious side to this also as he Got Fuck all money back ! apparently it wasn't covered in his insurance and he could have got in shit with th police for buying stolen property - it cost him 30K and now he has FA to show for it (mind you he is Fucking Minted! )

 

Z ya

Nico 91TT

But cant the dealers who sold you the car get done? instead of the poor guy that buys it (I'm talking if you bought an import from a dealer and not self import).

Trev

There are some right dodgey dealers goings on! Me and the boy wonder went to look at some imports the day before he landed the Alpine!

 

We couldn't find the place, looked at the ad. in the Trader which only had a phone number, no address. I know, I know, but we were only window shopping that day! Anyway, we stopped at this garage to ask for directions, the guy starts telling us that the import guys move premisis every few months and not to touch anything that they've got for sale.

 

Anyway, we find it, it's in a farm shed, not a dinky little farm shed...one of those massive f**k off farm sheds. No dealer name signs outside, completely stealth mode'd up!

 

He's got FTO's, GTO's, MR2 Turbo's, 300ZX's, RX7 TT's, Scoobies, Mitsi's...you get the idea! This guy was about 6'6", skinhead and built like a brick shite house! He had some nice cars, but we had a look round, kicked some tyres and f**ked off sharpish! Scarey!

 

Tim

;-)

 

The bloody scarry thing about this is that it could end up being us that suffers, in the same way as indentification of a stolen UK car can lead to confiscation of car and no monetary reimbersment!

 

What about resale values and insurance costs?

 

Ouch...

 

... I await with the progs, conclusions with interest.

 

Tim

Shit - still working - dam fucked up job

 

Dont suppose someone fancys Recording it and shooting me or Craig the AVI ?

 

Cheers

 

Z ya

 

Nico91TT

 

Yeah I'm at work as well so I'm stuffed...

Check this out from Scoobynet:

Extract from BIMTA (British Import Motor Traders Association) Bulletin: 20.7.01

You will all be aware that Quentin Willson has been working on a story concerning the number of stolen greys in the UK. We now know the BBC TV Watchdog 50 minute special will go out at 7;30 p.m. next Wednesday (July 25th).

It is titled 'The Biggest Car Fraud in The World' , suggests there are 'tens of thousands' of stolen vehicles in the UK worth a billion pounds and that Japanese insurance companies are poised to repossess the lot - leaving dealers and motorists to bear the brunt.

We have been in almost constant contact with both the BBC and Scotland Yard over the past few weeks in an effort to put the problem into prospective and ensure that the programme reflects the fact that there is am established, legitimate trade in Japanese imports- that we do not want prejudiced!

BIMTA believes there are perhaps 1,000 stolen greys entering the UK each year - tops 2,000. There is absolutely no evidence to support higher figures.

The BBC have suggested to us that around 80,000 stolen vehicles have arrived in the UK over the last three years. Even if we accepted this figure - which we most certainly do not - it still does not constitute 'the biggest car fraud in the world.'

In the UK alone last year there were something like 400,000 vehicles stolen. Of these 150,000 were never recovered. Put against these numbers the trade from Japan is almost insignificant.

We have also stressed to the BBC that the problem of stolen cars, which was first highlighted by BIMTA to the police two years ago, involves for the most part vehicles shipped through the Middle East and in some cases then through Rotterdam

There is no evidence at all to support any theory that any appreciable number of stolen cars are being shipped direct from Japan to the UK.

Legal action to stop the programme is not an option. The potential cost to BIMTA Members would be prohibitive.

We suspect Quentin Willson will also run a story on the issue in The Mirror next week. We have written a strongly worded letter to the Editor expressing our concerns.

We hope to have further talks with the police, DVLA and Customs to resolve the question of stolen imports in the longer term.

Each of you must decide how you wish to handle any fall out next week if you are approached by concerned customers. Some Members have already informed us they will tell customers that IF it eventually turns out the vehicle they purchased has been stolen they will offer a full, immediate refund.

Obviously that represents the most effective way to allay customer fears.

Our understanding of the current law is that police are, under certain circumstances, entitled to seize a vehicle they believe to be stolen. Alternatively they can issue a PACE notice leaving the vehicle with the 'owner'. The customer then has the right to return to the dealer who supplied the vehicle seeking a refund. That dealer, in turn, has the right to go to the original source of the vehicle and attempt to recover his/her costs.

There are going to be a lot of worried motorists out there over the coming weeks. If you are approached we suggest you:

1) Tell them your own trade association (BIMTA) in fact first alerted the police to the problem two years ago.

2) Tell them the situation has been grossly exaggerated and there is absolutely no evidence to support the claim that 'tens of thousands' of cars are involved.

Tell them that they have no cause for concern unless, and until, someone comes along and proves their particular vehicle has been stolen. Those of you who buy cars shipped direct from Japan should stress that the overwhelming majority of stolen cars came through the Middle East. If they are still not satisfied then it's at this point you must decide whether you are going to offer them a full, immediate refund if there is clear evidence the vehicle has been stolen. Should any of you be approached by sections of the media we are quite happy for those queries to be referred direct to us at Head Office at least for initial comment.

If any of you believe you have been caught up in the BBC investigation we need to be informed immediately.

The BIMTA Code of Conduct, to which you all signed up, clearly sets out the rules by which we operate. Action will be taken against anyone shown to have broken those rules.

Richard Moore

General Secretary

and this from the Lancer Register:

A reliable source in the motor trade told me to watch this programme, but also told me that QW is silent partner in a high profile "grey importers" in the South east so don`t know what his agenda is apparently also he writes for the mirror and the e mail system there has been log jammed by "grey" owners complaining about him, so if you don`t agree with what you hear Write or e mail the BBC.

Trev

 

 

[This message has been edited by Trey (edited 25-07-2001).]

All in all that was a good programme and he dident say anything bad anyway just wow, look ut over there now you know why som of these zeds and otheres are going for 4-5 grand

Hi,

I wouldn't worry about 10 year old Zeds too much....after all we are virtually saving them from the scrapyard, over in Japan!

Over there, their values are rock bottom, and they're not worth stealing to order.

Expensive 4x4's, Skylines, Mitsu's etc. are a different matter!Perhaps if you are buying, or have bought a £20K 1999 300ZX import, it might be worth double checking it's provenance. ...particularly if it has a lot of sand under the bonnet!

JEZ

As an overall lover of all cars Japanese I am concerned about this. Why has this only come to light now then if it's been known about for four years? I'll tell you why, coz the Jap. insurance companies have not been bothered by this until now as they've seen a way of making a shed loada money back out of it! Gives the police in this country something to do which makes them look good on paper. Piece of piss to pull Skylark's all day! Also easy to spot an import over a UK car so again, coppers without brains e.g. traffic, get to drive around all day pulling people over and f**king up their entire lives in about 5 mins!

 

Also I think that this has all come about recently because the Japanese Insurance companies have obviously opened the floodgates on their databases. Passing all the VIN numbers to the Rozzers so that they can check for stolen cars as easily as calling up a PNC!

 

Don't we take enough shite in this country as it is without something else to upset the motoring masses??? I do like Quentin, but when he gets on beef about something he doesn't let it stay down for long before ressurecting it again and again! Look at the campaign for cheaper car prices in the UK as opposed to EU? Fair play to the guy and most people are benefitting in the long run, but that's a classic example of his determination. He started the ball rolling on that subject about 5 years ago on Top Gear and the ball has increased rapidly in momentum ever since!

 

When people are losing 30K Landcruisers overnight and 30K Skylarks I would be deeply cacking it if I was driving an import around at the moment, of any sort!

 

Tim

;-)

 

If anyone missed the prog. I taped it so if you want a VHS copy drop me a line.

 

Tim

man this does make you worry, now whenever you drive, 90 percent of the nation is goiung to be looking at you like your a thieve lol

i already feel guilty about owning a jap car and i havent even driven it for a week.

So glad I have a UK TT......

 

...I may have not slept at night and shat myself everytime I saw the police....

 

..Man, what a way to lose your car.

 

Veilside.....We are watching...you scum sucking import pigs...

 

 

Matty.

The guy who i bought my 300 from has just put up assurances on his site that all his cars are cosha - I hope he's right.

 

In effect he's buying through IBC so looking at their site they seem to be on the level.

 

If you're interested the address is:

http://www.northwestimports.co.uk/stolen_vehicles.htm

 

They do a nice line in 300s as well, you cant have the red one it's mine ;-)

http://www.northwestimports.co.uk/300.htm

 

Buying a car through these guys was painless, I'd recommend them.

 

Tim

Nico missed it I think, he claims to have been working or something...whatever work means?!?!?!? LOL!

 

Might be worth you dropping him a mail to cheer him up over the thought of him agreeing to let me help him put his car back together! He said it he did! "Oi, Nick, pass me that sledgehammer will ya...can't seem to get this air filter thingy back on properly...Aggghhhhhh!!!"

 

Nico: wakes up suddenly, sweating profusely with scarey look on his face "Nooooooooo, not the Turboooooooo....loooossseeeee on my pride and joy! Thank f**k it was just a dream!"

 

OR WAS IT?

 

Exit with Phsyco "Knife in the shower" scene music playing...

 

Tim

 

;-)

 

 

[This message has been edited by Timmy_Turbo (edited 26-07-2001).]

Matty,

I got a VERRRYYYY BADDD feeling from talking to Veilside (.co.uk), I was gonna take a look at a JapTT they had at 5 grand.

I am glad I didnt bother.

The best piece of advice anyone could have is not to scrutinize the car but the VENDOR!

Funny that, the first thing I thought about when watching the Watchdog program was a certain company called Veilside

Hmmmm

Glen