Taking car to Japan

We're considering shipping our 2001 Porsche Boxster to Japan for the two years we plan on being there and we already have quotes on shipping costs. If he want to sell it there when time to leave, could we? Like anywhere else, Japan obviously has many Porsche enthusiasts who wouldn't mind buying this type of sports car that's well-maintained by a middle-aged couple. Please share your input. Thanks.

LOL 1992 Porsche? Popular? Maybe so many years ago... Toyota & Nissan builds much more desirable sports car than Porsche,...

Imagine how much more $$$$ you will have to invest just to pass the vehicle inspection in Japan, and having the steering changed from the right side to left side..... BAD IDEA.

The steering wheel won't have to be changed, but an inspection will be required that may cost a $1,000 or more.

Most Porsches on the streets in Tokyo are pretty new, except for the classic old ones. I don't know what happens to those in between those 2. Maybe I just don't notice them.

LOL 1992 Porsche? Popular? Maybe so many years ago... Toyota & Nissan builds much more desirable sports car than Porsche,...

Definitely a matter of opinion, but Porsche is a luxury brand and will always have a following in Japan. Actually, I've seen more Porsche dealerships, and Porsches on the road in Japan than I ever did in the SF bay area. And while the Boxter is probably the least sporty of Porche's line it will always have the brand cachet to add to its value.

Imagine how much more $$$$ you will have to invest just to pass the vehicle inspection in Japan

You will have to have the vehicle tax and inspection paid which depends on the car. I'd estimate the inspection fees will be around 200,000 yen every two years and the car tax 40000-50000 a year, but thats a really rough estimate. To compare I pay about 120000 in inspection fees and 35000 in tax for my small Honda.


and having the steering changed from the right side to left side..... BAD IDEA.

Not required. Left hand drive cars are legal in Japan.

Actually, while you will want to contact someone in the know to find out what the total fees to import your car are (shipping, import tariffs, inspection fees, taxes, etc.) I did a quick search on Yahoo Auctions and found cars in your model year going for between 1500000-2000000 yen. This is very comparible to the roughly 15000 dollars that kelly blue book values your car at in the US, so don't expect a huge increase in your car's value by bringing it to Japan. More that it will maintain its value and may be worth bringing over.

Here is the most complete info I've found about bringing a car:
http://www.japan.alloexpat.com/japan_information/bringing_your_car_to_...

the ominous first line about bringing a car as long as it is subsequently exported would make me worry...it's difficult to find out anything about selling your car once you bring it.

you're probably just better off buying IN Japan to be honest..

Having a car with left hand steering is very inconvenient in Japan when entering parking lots and going through highway toll gates. So you might not be able to sell it for as much as you hope.

Thanks for all the useful replies. Re Stanfordgal's ''bad idea'' response...not a big deal but the model year is actually 2002 (I wrote 2001), not an ''antique'' 1992; and we drove a lefthand drive VW Scirocco in Japan in the 1980s, it was perfectly legal then, and a friend there now has an obviously legal 2006 Maserati sedan that's lefthand drive, so was his BMW before than, and none had to be ''changed'' from one side to the other. So we'll now have to work out the particulars. All in all, the responses have been overwhelming and informative. Spendthrift, thanks for the link.Yllwsmrf, many many thanks; you're as good as, if not better than, many paid consultants. Huge thanks to all.

Have you asked local embassay/consulate about this yet? I think they could find out all small detail for if they aren't too busy.

Having a car with left hand steering is very inconvenient in Japan when entering parking lots and going through highway toll gates. So you might not be able to sell it for as much as you hope.

Many, but not all, toll gates have a booth or machine for left hand drive cars. Also, some parking lots do too but they are more scarce. there really are a ton of lefthand drive vehicles in Japan so its not like you will have the only one, and the infrastructure is somewhat set up to handle it.

When I imported my left hand driven car into the UK, I didn't have to change the position of the steering wheel, however, I did have to make some modifications:
+ replaced headlights so I wouldn't be blinding cars coming towards me
+ swapped position of the fog light from left side of the car to the right side
+ replaced speedometer and odometer to show miles
For the import process there were several documents I had to produce which I only could get via Audi/VW for a considerable fee.

Just to show that there are a lot of expenses in bringing cars into another country that might not be obvious from the start.