Needing to share my experience as a first timer importing a vehicle from Japan to NZ, the purchase of a... read moreNeeding to share my experience as a first timer importing a vehicle from Japan to NZ, the purchase of a 95' S13 180SX (Repaired) with JCD late last year 2021 with hopes my message will help future first time buyers. Firstly, I shared good dialogue with the agent throughout the process, the rating does not reflect the service, but my personal experience. However, upon receipt of the "video inspection report" that was carried out prior to the auction and shipment of the vehicle to NZ and shared with me, I had the funds to remediate the vehicle issues that were communicated in the report, namely the main go To's : 'surface rust in engine bay, underbody, tyre house'. Weather stripping, tyres needing to be replaced and couple fixes here and there, however these communicated issues, only tallied to approx 20% of the work that the vehicle actually needed. What I was not prepared for, was the severity and quantity of the issues, especially the huge chassis rails and floor replacement work that it needed. I had completed assessments from multiple reputable NZ repair cert engineers after a $25k expenditure on the vehicle, transporting it across multiple NZTA repair certifiers for them all to collectively conclude that it is uneconomic to repair due to the list of issues the vehicle had, is just painful. Having raised the issues on the vehicle after hearing back from my local mechanics with the agent from JCD, the response was "Unfortunately, there is no recourse we can take with inspectors. However, the inspection service is not performed at a shop, and there is no lift or test drive for example." which really prompts the question, what good is the quality of the inspection report? There was no communication to me at all about issues regarding the basic inspection criteria that one would expect for someone purchasing a vehicle. (Basic items that are much less of priority than the chassis work)- Driver seat belt stalk missing, headlight broken, intercooler is damaged, coolant overflow bottle is damaged, etc. You don't need a hoist/lift or a test drive for a mechanic to report these items... After submitting all the photos of the damage to the vehicle once stripped, (attached) there has been no commentary, radio silence to the fact that I had been hard done by. I would appreciate if the JCD team put yourselves into the clients shoes, especially those that are first timers trying out the process, perhaps then you would then understand the impacts. FYI to future first time buyers planning to import a vehicle, I recommend you have it professionally inspected via a reputable third party, test driven thoroughly and a FULL REPORT on what it actually needs, not a fraction of the work required. Regards, JM read less
Josh Middlecote
7 months ago
