Seeking Advice for New 350z Owner – Import from Japan

[Engin]

Hello everyone,

This is my first post here and I’m excited to join the community. I’ve always dreamed of owning a 350z since it first came out, and I’ve finally taken the plunge and bought one from a Japanese auction. My previous cars were economy models like the Hyundai i20 and Skoda Fabia, so this is a significant step up for me.

Here are the details of my new pride and joy:

• 35,000 km on the clock
• Blue
• Looks clean
• Automatic
• Spec T (I believe this is similar to the GT without cruise control)

However, I have almost no experience with maintaining a car myself, no experience with sports cars, and none with importing a car. I’m wondering if this might be a midlife crisis decision, but here I am, and I’m eager to learn. I’d appreciate any advice or opinions on the following matters:

1. Initial Maintenance: I’ve read that it’s wise to change all rubbers and liquids before driving an older car with low mileage. I plan to service the car afterwards, but should I get the MOT done before or after these changes, considering it’s an import?

2. Fog Lights: Some friends mentioned that the car might pass as advisory if it doesn’t have rear fog lights from the factory. Is this true? If so, why do so many people install those square fog lights?

3. Maintenance Resources: Can you recommend any good resources for learning more about maintaining a 350z? I plan to keep an eye on the oil and change it every 3,000 miles or sooner, but my knowledge is quite limited, and I want to learn more.

4. Rust Proofing: I’m considering getting an underbody coating for rust proofing. However, I’ve read and seen that arches tend to rust easily on UK cars due to how the sheets are smashed together. Is there any way to prevent this?

5. Import Costs: I’ve covered the Japan-side costs and am in touch with freight forwarders for the UK side, but it feels like I might be missing something. Here are the costs I’m aware of:

   • Customs clearance (including terminal handling, documentation, and import clearance levy)
   • VAT and duty
   • Servicing, changing oils, MOT
   • Insurance

6. Additional Advice: Are there any other areas I need to be aware of? Any specific topics I should look into? There’s so much information out there, and I feel a bit lost on where to start.

 

To provide more context, I am attaching auction sheet of my car.

 

Thank you all in advance for your help. I’m looking forward to becoming a part of this community and learning from those who know these cars best.

Edited June 24 by Engin
forgot to add image

[marzman]

Welcome to the forum... at least you live in an ideal place if you're getting an import!

 

Who are you importing via? A reputable company?

 

I've never imported a car myself, but the two zeds i owned were imports.  From memory you'll have to get an SVA completed before it can be registered with the DVLA, and as part of this SVA there are a couple of mods required...

 

1. You'll need to get a rear fog light fitted.  The 'standard' way to do this is to remove the drivers side tail light and hack in a generic fog light unit from Halfords or similar, and wire it to a new switch that needs to be installed in the dash... sounds a mess but is simple.

 

2. The headlights will be HID bulbs but the JDM cars dont have headlight washers, which is a pre-req to pass an SVA in the UK. Again the 'standard' way to overcome this is to bypass the HID ballasts under the headlights, and add wiring in for standard halogen bulbs instead.  This can be reversed after SVA though and reinstate your HID bulbs.

 

Lastly, whilst i dont think this was an SVA pre-req, it used to be the norm to convert the clocks to MPH by installing an HKS Speed Limit Defencer, and also opening the clocks up and putting a tiny square of electrical tape over the 'K' on the display so that it displays 'M/H' rather than 'KM/H'. The HKS unit will also bypass the 112mph speed limit on the JDM cars.

 

Maintenance-wise... just take a look at it when it lands and decide what needs doing and in what order. If the rubbers are fine, leave them. If the underside is in good shape, leave it, etc etc.  I cant remember service intervals but i think they were 12k miles from memory.

 

When's it due to land?

Edited June 24 by marzman

[Engin]

I am using a foreign company, Japonic Trade. I thought we didn’t need special approval for cars over 10 years old. I checked again and it looks like I missed the part about “importing” a vehicle on  gov.uk 

Thank you very much for the valuable information. I bought the car today, and I believe it will take at least 2-3 months for it to arrive. 

[ShortPaul]

Hi and welcome 😁 hope everything goes well 

[Engin]

Hi ShortPaul, thank you very much. It is like gambling when you buy a car from an auction, let’s hope for the best 🥲

[Payco]

Imported my Datsun SSS 51O from South Africa to the UK. It’s not complicated to UK register the car but you will pay import duty/tax on bringing it in that isn’t cheap. I guess you know that already. Hope it works out for you. Is it coming into London Gateway ?. FYI it will arrive with NO fluids whatsoever so don’t drive it until all the fluids are in the car. Best to get it flat bed delivered. 

Edited June 25 by Payco

[Engin]

Hi Payco,

There is a 10% duty and 20% tax, but it still comes out cheaper than one I would buy here. It will be coming directly to Southampton, which I consider very lucky. I live about 10 minutes from the docks.

Did you do the SVA/IVA for yours? I am really confused about that.

[Payco]

No but mine was 55 years old. I would call the DVLA and have a chat. They actually talked me through and helped me complete my forms over the phone . 

[Engin]

Okay, I have more information.

 

I visited a guy who deals with Japanese imports, and he said I don't need an IVA since the car is well over 10 years old. And I have more good news: he said there is a change in duty. If you are importing a Japanese-manufactured Japanese car, you only pay 3.5% duty instead of 10%. I confirmed this with the freight forwarder as well. It sounded like the forwarder said 2.5% instead of 3.5%, but I didn't bother to ask further. I will see when they send the bill.

 

I will also let the guy handle all the conversion and registration, but I need to buy an HKS Speed Limit Defencer myself; he will install it. Do you guys have any recommendations on where to buy one? I wonder if there are any knock-offs, as I don't want to connect something unreliable to my car.

 

He will collect the car from the port, prepare it for the MOT, do the odometer, MOT, DVLA registration, 6 months road tax, number plates, and install the HKS. He charges £825 for this service. How does that sound? It seems a little high to me, but considering it will be a hassle-free operation for me and I won't have to deal with anything, driving the car straight from the garage, I feel like I can live with that.

[Payco]

Sounds good. Won’t be able to MOT it until it’s in the country and UK registered. Just make sure he puts good and correct fluids in the car and high octane petrol not E10… you want to be the only one cutting corners when you drive it around the bends on our roads. 

[Ekona]

3 hours ago, Engin said:

Okay, I have more information.

 

I visited a guy who deals with Japanese imports, and he said I don't need an IVA since the car is well over 10 years old. And I have more good news: he said there is a change in duty. If you are importing a Japanese-manufactured Japanese car, you only pay 3.5% duty instead of 10%. I confirmed this with the freight forwarder as well. It sounded like the forwarder said 2.5% instead of 3.5%, but I didn't bother to ask further. I will see when they send the bill.

 

I will also let the guy handle all the conversion and registration, but I need to buy an HKS Speed Limit Defencer myself; he will install it. Do you guys have any recommendations on where to buy one? I wonder if there are any knock-offs, as I don't want to connect something unreliable to my car.

 

He will collect the car from the port, prepare it for the MOT, do the odometer, MOT, DVLA registration, 6 months road tax, number plates, and install the HKS. He charges £825 for this service. How does that sound? It seems a little high to me, but considering it will be a hassle-free operation for me and I won't have to deal with anything, driving the car straight from the garage, I feel like I can live with that.

I think that sounds like an utter bargain, personally. 

[Engin]

3 hours ago, Payco said:

Sounds good. Won’t be able to MOT it until it’s in the country and UK registered. Just make sure he puts good and correct fluids in the car and high octane petrol not E10… you want to be the only one cutting corners when you drive it around the bends on our roads. 

Thanks, Payco, amen to that. I’m not sure if fluids are included in the price; we haven’t discussed that yet. I was basically too excited to remember what to ask. I’ll clarify that in my next communication with him. I have some questions about E10, like whether it matters if it’s 97 or 99 octane, but I think there are enough posts about those already.

 

1 hour ago, Ekona said:

I think that sounds like an utter bargain, personally. 

Thanks, Ekona. Yes, on second thought, it’s not bad at all. It’s even lower than my initial calculations.

 

 

I'm also still looking for a reliable place to buy the HKS Speed Limit Defencer. If either of you or anyone else has recommendations or tips on avoiding knock-offs, I'd really appreciate it. Or should I go for the cheapest I found?

 

 

[Ekona]

Get the guy fitting to supply, that way if there’s any issues it’s his problem, not yours. 

[Payco]

1 hour ago, Engin said:

Thanks, Payco, amen to that. I’m not sure if fluids are included in the price; we haven’t discussed that yet. I was basically too excited to remember what to ask. I’ll clarify that in my next communication with him. I have some questions about E10, like whether it matters if it’s 97 or 99 octane, but I think there are enough posts about those already.

 

Thanks, Ekona. Yes, on second thought, it’s not bad at all. It’s even lower than my initial calculations.

 

 

I'm also still looking for a reliable place to buy the HKS Speed Limit Defencer. If either of you or anyone else has recommendations or tips on avoiding knock-offs, I'd really appreciate it. Or should I go for the cheapest I found?

 

 

High Octane not E10 whatever brand you use. 

[Engin]

Hey everyone, it’s me again with some updates!
    1.    Turns out the import duty for a Japanese car manufactured in Japan is actually just 2.5%. I wasn’t sure at first, it sounded too good to be true, but it checks out! Also definitely no IVA needed for cars over 10 years old. 
    2.    After a long wait, I’m collecting the car from the garage tomorrow. The DVLA took ages to process the registration.
    3.    Looks like I misunderstood the garage initially. The prep they did was for the MOT and didn’t include fluid changes. Still, the service was excellent!
    4.    According to gov.uk, the car is ULEZ compliant, so no charges in most of the UK. Only Bristol and Birmingham charge for their clean air zones. I’m getting a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) to exempt it everywhere else.
    5.    The CoC costs around £300. It’s specific to the chassis number, not a generic document. I struggled to find clear info on this, so I hope this helps anyone in the same boat.
    6.    The front finisher is cracked right above the B-pillar, battery was dead when car arrived so it’s probably happened at the ship. It’s frustrating, and I wasn’t expecting such a part to be pricey. I’ll try to get it repaired.
    7.    I’ve booked a used car inspection at Nissan on Tuesday for just £25, which is a good deal. It’s on their website, you should look at it if you need a general check. 
    8.    I’ve got new tyres, Michelin Pilot Sport 5, and they’re being fitted on Thursday. I struggled to find a clear answer for tyre sizes, looks like jdm is different than UK spec, and decided to go with the size on the car. 215/55/R17 for front and 225/55/R17 for rear. 
    9.    Insurance costed me £1,460. Considering it’s my first car, I’ve only had a UK license for a year, and have no NCD, I think that’s fair. Fingers crossed for a better rate next year!

Now I’m looking into oil recommendations and hoping to tackle the change myself.

Thanks, everyone for the advice and info so far!
 

Edited November 24 by Engin

[ZMANALEX]

I should be able to help you out with the cracked front finisher above the B-pillar.

 

Just to be clear DM me an image or post up here.

 

Alex.

[Engin]

13 minutes ago, ZMANALEX said:

I should be able to help you out with the cracked front finisher above the B-pillar.

 

Just to be clear DM me an image or post up here.

 

Alex.

You are a saint, attaching images here. I am also attaching images of bonnet, just in case someone can give a quote on that. 

[ZMANALEX]

Let me check in the shop for you.

[DAN@ADRIAN FLUX]

On 24/11/2024 at 17:52, Engin said:

Hey everyone, it’s me again with some updates!
    1.    Turns out the import duty for a Japanese car manufactured in Japan is actually just 2.5%. I wasn’t sure at first, it sounded too good to be true, but it checks out! Also definitely no IVA needed for cars over 10 years old. 
    2.    After a long wait, I’m collecting the car from the garage tomorrow. The DVLA took ages to process the registration.
    3.    Looks like I misunderstood the garage initially. The prep they did was for the MOT and didn’t include fluid changes. Still, the service was excellent!
    4.    According to gov.uk, the car is ULEZ compliant, so no charges in most of the UK. Only Bristol and Birmingham charge for their clean air zones. I’m getting a Certificate of Conformity (CoC) to exempt it everywhere else.
    5.    The CoC costs around £300. It’s specific to the chassis number, not a generic document. I struggled to find clear info on this, so I hope this helps anyone in the same boat.
    6.    The front finisher is cracked right above the B-pillar, battery was dead when car arrived so it’s probably happened at the ship. It’s frustrating, and I wasn’t expecting such a part to be pricey. I’ll try to get it repaired.
    7.    I’ve booked a used car inspection at Nissan on Tuesday for just £25, which is a good deal. It’s on their website, you should look at it if you need a general check. 
    8.    I’ve got new tyres, Michelin Pilot Sport 5, and they’re being fitted on Thursday. I struggled to find a clear answer for tyre sizes, looks like jdm is different than UK spec, and decided to go with the size on the car. 215/55/R17 for front and 225/55/R17 for rear. 
    9.    Insurance costed me £1,460. Considering it’s my first car, I’ve only had a UK license for a year, and have no NCD, I think that’s fair. Fingers crossed for a better rate next year!

Now I’m looking into oil recommendations and hoping to tackle the change myself.

Thanks, everyone for the advice and info so far!
 

Hi.

When your insurance comes up for renewal please feel free to give us a try.

Regards,

Dan.

[Engin]

Just now, DAN@ADRIAN FLUX said:

Hi.

When your insurance comes up for renewal please feel free to give us a try.

Regards,

Dan.

No way, you quoted me 5k which is more than 3 times the quotes I got from other providers. 

[Engin]

I will continue providing updates in this thread, because, why not?

Finally, she is ULEZ compliant! It took around two weeks to receive the Certificate of Conformity and just one day to be officially marked as compliant.