japanese
information..
lack of rust.. one of the
main advantages of buying Japanese, conveniently forgotten by the doom mongers is the fact
that the Japanese don't use salt on their roads during winter months. They do have snow
and ice just as we do, but they tend to bolt on a set of winter tyres instead of relying
on the council gritter. The upshot is that most good quality Japanese vehicles, even 12
year old examples, are almost completely free of corrosion. The good thing for us UK
buyers is that it doesn't just apply to body panels and the bits you can see up top and
under the bonnet. The underside of the vehicle including suspension and steering systems,
brake discs and calipers, brake and fuel lines, exhaust systems, radiators and hoses tend
to be nipping clean - and good for many more years of reliable service. Here's an example:
compare for yourself.. the pictures above illustrate the vast differences in
condition between Japanese and UK versions of the same vehicle. The illustration on the
left is a fairly typical 1992 (J) Honda CRX as it arrived from Japan. The picture on the
right is an average 1994 (M) UK version which came in to our workshops for servicing. The
7 year old Japanese import was completely free of any under bonnet corrosion and could
accurately have been described as like new, whereas the UK car had evidence of corrosion
on the inner wings, radiator, hose clips and electrical connections. Paint was flaking off
the cam cover and the exhaust heat shield had rusted through. By the way, we still see the
Jap CRX for servicing and, all credit to our customer, it's still a little pip.
compare for
yourself part 2.. we have
many years experience of pre-sale preparation and MOT testing of both UK and Japanese
imports, and there are marked differences in requirements. Replacing brake pipes and
exhausts on Jap imports is almost unheard of. Similarly corroded radiators, seized brake
calipers and rusted fuel tanks are all par for the course on UK cars as young as 5 years
old, but once again are not an issue with Japanese imports.
If you still don't believe us, next time you're out just check out the J
registered Mazda Eunos Roadsters and Mitsubishi Pajeros that frequent our roads and
compare them with the UK MX 5's and Shoguns. You can't miss the Jap ones - they're the
ones with square rear number plates and a full set of intact wheel arches.
compare for
yourself part 3.. have
a look at these photos of the underside of a 1990 Eunos Roadster exactly as it
arrived from Japan. Please note we haven't selected this vehicle because it is
an especially clean example. It was chosen because it's the oldest we had in
stock - and we
haven't cleaned it or doctored the photos
compare for
yourself part 4.. if
you are still not convinced then take a look at these photos
of the rear brakes of a 1993 Toyota Surf.
The brake
drums were removed as part of our PDI prior to sale - nothing has been cleaned -
the pictures reflect the condition as it arrived from Japan. In this case,
'as-new' is definitely not an overstatement.
rustproofing..It is true that because of climate differences and
the fact that the Japanese do not use salt on their roads, some Japanese domestic market
vehicles may have less underbody protection than UK cars. In order to maintain the rust
free condition in which they enter the country, we think it makes sense to address this
shortcoming and we include the cost within the price of many of our newly imported
vehicles. See SMC Import Package.
An application of underseal, and more importantly, cavity wax injection will keep a Jap
import looking like new, despite the rigours of UK winters, for many more years to come.
