Ive never been a big fan of jap imports, after hearing stories over the years about speedos being wound back and other problems. But maybe things have changed now! Are they checked more thoroughly these days! I might be about to buy my first one soon. What should i be looking out for!
jmma,
Feb 18, 9:25am
Yes, we are in the 21st century now (o:
morrisman1,
Feb 18, 9:27am
ever since about 2000 jmma.
rbrassey,
Feb 18, 9:34am
No they haven't, other than the ones that come in are generally better quality.It's only illegal to tamper with odometers in NZ, not prior to the vehicle being imported (which is where it always happened).Last year I looked at a vehicle listed on TM.Turned out to have been wound back 160,000 km, but they'd left the service stickers on it.Reported it & it was investigated, but the dealer was able to show that their branch in Japan had done it so no offence was committed
eagles9999,
Feb 18, 7:46pm
[quote=rbrasseyLast year I looked at a vehicle listed on TM.Turned out to have been wound back 160,000 km, but they'd left the service stickers on it.Reported it & it was investigated, but the dealer was able to show that their branch in Japan had done it so no offence was committed[/quote]
Forgive me if I find this very hard to believe. Surely the NZ importer would be guilty of misleadingand to wind back 160,000k! Cant believe it.
mm12345,
Feb 18, 7:59pm
Plenty of "NZ new" vehicles are clocked, particularly diesels. I'm curious about the car which was "wound back 160,000km". I guess if it had done 480,000km and wound back to 320,000 it might be hard to tell.Otherwise.
kazbanz,
Feb 18, 10:12pm
Craig-I could type a "war and peace " on this subject but the short version is YES they are a lot better.
therafter1,
Feb 18, 10:42pm
So is that an admission that they were clocking the beejeezuz out of them in the earlier days then Kaz !
How ever, I agree, but I still have a vague suspicion that a little odometer adjustment is being made here and there, regardless of Westwyn??
thejazzpianoma,
Feb 18, 10:45pm
From my experience. better but still not great. The assurances are there but they are a bit hollow. like those "verified" odometer stickers. I serviced a car that had supposedly done 30'000km, yet the brake rotors were well worn, timing belt was about to snap, tensioners were worn etc etc.
It looked more like an Auckland city car that had done closer to 200'000km.
I am also disgusted with how the whole radioactive hot particles in the air filter drama was not even given a second thought. No investigation, no requirement to change filters before shipping. nothing.
Now we have mechanics blowing out these air filters and spreading the particles all around their workshops and people blissfully vacuuming their cars only to use the same vacuum inside their house where they spread the particles around again.
Its pathetic.
mazzyz,
Feb 18, 11:16pm
From the 90's onwards they're good imo. Re: odo windback - Look for signs of wear on foot pedal pads, steering wheel, gear knob(if manual), etc;. Although these items are easily replaceable, if they're still original the wear should match the km of vehicle. If they're well worn but the clock says 50k I'd be wary. Also get your local trusted mechanic to give it a good check over. I'm sure other posters can add some good pointers of what to be watchful for, good luck.
msigg,
Feb 19, 4:28am
Just goes to show how good they are if you can't tell how many km on them. And yes plenty of NZ cars can be clocked too. The jap import cars often have alot more extra's than NZ new.
austingtir,
Feb 19, 4:58am
Crikey jazz your a glutton for punishment i'll give you that.
All of your response has been covered in other threads and as for this thread i can see all the idiots are out in force today.
Westwyn covered the odo tampering in a thread a couple of weeks back.Actual odo tampering is highly unlikely on the majority of vehicles the more likely thing is complete cluster swaps which are pretty easy to catch.I have the knowledge to wind back a modern electronic cluster trust me guys its not even remotely worth the hassle. Anybody doing this would not make the money back from the time spent unless they had nothing better to do.
kazbanz,
Feb 19, 6:00am
Ok theres a longer version. As far as CARS are concerned a Jap is exactly the same as a kiwi. Some are in company cars that get serviced regularly because its what the company does. Yep they do 200km/h in reverse of course and handle better than a jeep on rough roads and corner like a ferarri. Some are fastidious about their cars-regularly clean and polish them and have them serviced by THE dealership -where they will trade the car in when it gets to 5/7/10 yrears old. Theres the boy racers.They buy fast cars and bolt on aftermarket bits-wear their hats backwards and talk gangsta stylezz.The cars are often genuinely fast but most oftenare only fast in the owners dreams. Theres the home mechanic type -he does his own oil n filter changes etc. Theres the dirty moles who NEVER service the car from day 1 and trade it in when it makes horrible noises. Yep the full gambit of kiwi owner types. Its the job of the kiwi dealers to sift through the literally thousands of these cars a day to work out which are worth bringing here. It isn't worth the effort for a jap owner to wind the speedo back.-the dealership knows istantly that the K's are wrong. I can only speak for two dealerships here when I tell you how things are done-Others may not do the same. First those dealerships buy from the Osaka region -meaning its warmer and theres little snow --so not the salt on the roads/underbody corrosion issue that norther region cars may have. Only high grade cars are purchased The odometer reading is checked by the AA It has a radiation check carried out It has whats called a "ramp check" done A ramp check is when the car is driven up a ramp onto like a car hoist. The uderside is examined for accident damage/rust and leaking fluids.-gravity means leaks are most often seen from underneath. The car is driven a short distance to ensure theres no mechanical issues. Those dealerships HAVE rejected cars at any of the stages leading to this point. The cars are given a really tough mechanical inspection (compliance) to be sure they are safe to be on the road in NZ So Yep the cars a re a lot better. YES there are still ratbags selling rubbish cars--But toi be honest They more and more have been "private" importersie unlicenced dealers bringing in damaged cars and fixing them up themselves. Its not hard to see the dodgy dealers and dodgy cars and avoid em. Not gonna saywound cars doesn't happen -but its just not clever buisiness to sell em unless you aint staying in the trade very long
oliver6,
Feb 19, 9:53am
I started buying cars in Japan in 1989, and went there once per month until about 2003. Now I mainly by by ph. There have always been signs up at all the dealer auctions in Japan that it is a criminal offence to change speedos, and in the time I was buying in Japan, several dealers were sentenced to prison for it. Of course it happens and plenty of cars were bought at auction, flicked and then onsold to NZ buyers. I have given heaps of ch nos and speedo readings to customs in the old days, but no real interest. In my experience most LMVD dealers until about 5 years ago were selling genuine cars, but now, with many cars imported by men wearing skirts and towels and selling on TM n behalf of their brother/sister etc. ithas been rife.
kazbanz,
Feb 19, 8:52pm
What really tears my shorts is that the very WORSTcompany selling wound speedo cars in NZ is NZ CUSTOMS. Hey guys Im all for them seizing cars they find have wound odo's But then sending them to an "unamed" auction house and selling them with the disclaimer on the window card "odometer reading MAY be incorrect" isn't taking wound back cars off the road.
rpvr,
Feb 20, 6:55pm
Agreed, such cars should denied registration and sold for dismantling only.
smac,
Feb 20, 7:18pm
Why there's nothing wrong with them.just the value that's in question. Must be a more economic solution.
kazbanz,
Feb 20, 10:01pm
Why!-The car has been seized from the importer so owes the gubbiment nothing. Rather than helping to stop wound cars being allowed on the roads they are actually making matters worse by ACTIVELY putting wound cars on the road. Its kinda like the police seizing all the dope from the coro plantations then selling the dope off themselves at auction.
tgray,
Feb 20, 11:00pm
Perhaps it's recognition that they still have an inherent value, and as long as the buyer is aware of this and pays less accordingly, I don't see a problem. The issue arises when THEY on sell it and I would like to know whether these vehicles are 'flagged for life' or not.
kazbanz,
Feb 20, 11:23pm
BINGO - NO THEY ARE NOT. So mrahab wheelerbuys the car. Registers it and the milage is entered. The milage click upwards from the milage on the MR2A regardless of if they are correct or dodgy at the border. And keep in mind the FIRST Nz buyer is only told that the odometer reading MAY be incorrect not that it definitely is incorrect. Then he sells it months or years later. Does he tell the person he sells to that the odo is fake! Bet he doesn't.
tgray,
Feb 20, 11:45pm
Considering many, if not most of the cars bought at auctions are bought by dealers to on-sell immediately, that is a worry. These cars should be flagged for life - no question about it. The fact they are not is ludicrous.
kazbanz,
Feb 21, 12:39am
Nope I don't agree. They should not be allowed to enter the fleet OR if they are then the true odo reading should be entered on record as the start milage
rbrassey,
Feb 24, 9:36am
Forgive me if I find this very hard to believe. Surely the NZ importer would be guilty of misleadingand to wind back 160,000k! Cant believe it.[/quote]
Imade the complaint to the 2 Govt Depts (can't recall which ones now) but the one that deals with odometer fraud visited the yard & took it quite seriously, but that's exactly what they told me - if it happened in Japan, no offence committed.The odometer was wound back to 40,000 km approx, from memory & the last service was in the high 100,000 kms
rbrassey,
Feb 24, 9:48am
This shows exactly how long it takes - 3 minutes: http://www.youtube.com/watch!v=11MtfMqg4ko and I can't see how any inspection will detect it You just buy the machine off the internet and away you go
incar.,
Feb 24, 7:40pm
Yes as I mentioned in the AA speedometer thread, just plugs into the obd port
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