Buy a left steering wheel car

Hi there. I moved to Japan several months ago and I wanna buy a left handed car before I get the Japanese driving license and change to a right handed steering wheel car later on. Anybody knows where I can buy such car, as I`ve seen several american and german cars here with the steering wheel on the left side.

Thanks for contributions!

It's not too difficult to find left hand drive vehicles in Japan. Try searching the used market for american imports which seem to almost always be left hand drive. German vehicles will be more hit or miss since there are domestic dealers that sell right hand drive versions here. Besides having a limited selection of vehicles, you may end up paying a premium over a more common car in the same class, and you can probably expect different shakken and insurance rates.

Anway, is there a particular reason you want a left hand vehicle? Besides being a potentially expensive plan, it probably won't have an effect on your driving, in fact it may even make driving more difficult.

For example, I've found that sitting on the right side of the vehicle gives very strong visual cues on which lane to drive in and which to turn into that help to overpower the unconscious driving habits and patterns that we do.

Also it may make taking the driving test more difficult as you won't have the experience in a right hand drive vehicle to drive smoothly and comfortably enough to pass the already stringent test. Turning on the windshield wipers when you intend to signal won't earn you points with an already over zealously strict instructor.

I would recommend just getting a right hand drive vehicle and getting comfortable with it while your IDP is still valid. Just go slow in the beginning until you are comfortable, which really doesn't take very long at all. In the long run you will be better off especially once it is time to take your driver's license test.