Job Discussion Forums

[cornishmuppet]

Ok, so today I went car shopping on a pretty tight budget. I finally found a car for just under 10 man, with shaken until next April. It ran well and was cheap because one of the front wings was dented and scratched, but nothing too bad.

Anyway, we got inside, and suddenly the 98,400 jumped to 158,000 with whatever `extras` needed to be added. I was with a friend who has passed 2kyu though she didn`t understand the kanji for the four or five extra costs. Needless to say, I backed out, needing a re-think.

This was a Mazda dealer, not some dodgy backstreet place. I`m pretty certain it was legit, and am going to check with a Japanese friend later this evening. I would have expected an extra man or even two for something or other, but for the price to go up by 60 percent? That`s crazy.

My question is, is this normal?

[moot point]

That is standard. I don't know all of the taxes off-hand but there are a number of fees involved such as;

-changing the name of the registration
-changing the number plates
-paying the yearly tax (although this usually happens in May of each year, perhaps the dealer is including that in the initial price?)

[theoldman]

Just went through the same experience. My car jumped from 328,000 to 480,000 with all the extra taxes. A few of the other taxes, on top off what Mootpoint said, that we had to pay were for driving in Tokyo, after we bought the car in Saitama and also the recycling tax. In other words even though my car which is 8 years old might be driven for a long time yet and may be sold on a few more occassions, every time it is bought the buyer pays a tax for when the car is eventually scrapped.

[moot point]

I think the difference in pricing (i.e. the price tag in the window) between North America and Japan is that in Japan it is more or less nonnegotiable. In the states or Canada most used car dealers will list a car price well above its value, but in Japan the price listed is NOT NEGOTIABLE. The extra 100,000yen or so could probably be reduced slightly to 75,000yen by dong all the paperwork yourself. But it is certainly a lot of work so it probably easier just to pay the dealer the extra 20,000yen or so to have them do it all for you.

[Glenski]

[moot point]

Glenski said;

[SEndrigo]

hey guys,

just a question here, what do you reckon a car like this might cost:

1995 Volkswagen Golf Wagon
60,000 km
1 year left on shaken
good condition, no body damage
2.0 Engine (4 cyl.)

any ideas?

cheers

[moot point]

VW, 10 years old...about 80,000 to 120,000yen. You will be paying for the shaken price only. The car actally has no value.

[cornishmuppet]

Be careful. A few people have warned me against buying foreign cars because the parts are more expensive/difficult to get.