How to get Screwed by Shady JDM Importers
When preparing to invest a small fortune in a vehicle almost as old as yourself – getting screwed by shady JDM importers is something best avoided.
What are Shady JDM Importers?
As the demand for self-imported JDM cars continues to grow in The United States – so does the opportunity to exploit that demand.
The industry comes with everything needed to attract the shadiest among us; high-ticket items, purchased sight-unseen, often by sending cash overseas.
It was only a matter of time before “I Got Screwed by Shady JDM Importers” became an all-too-common admission.
“You kid fit some poor kid’s Bar Mitzvah money into this piece of crap.”
It also became a 40,000 member Facebook group with the same name.
A niche market with mainstream opportunities – for shadiness
When I was in high school, there was a kid who used to steal Yu-Gi-Oh cards.
He would steal from display cases at stores, off of tables at tournaments, and even from the homes of his friends. I know all of this because my best friend – eventually got his own Yu-Gi-Oh cards stolen by the same kid.
After hearing how he’d fallen victim to this card-snatching criminal, I was at a loss for words. I remember thinking, “what kind of monster steals from people with such an innocent and childlike hobby?”
You would think that in such a niche (and honestly kind of silly) community – there would exist some kind of mutual trust among its members. To infiltrate that community, and exploit the naivety of those inside, felt so much more evil than petty theft.
As it turns out, Yu-Gi-Oh cards aren’t all that different from 90’s JDM cars.
How do Shady JDM Importers screw you?
Thankfully, the typical JDM screw-job does not usually involve outright theft.
The most common horror stories can often be placed into one of three categories:
- The Bait and Switch
- The Markup
- The Nasty Surprise
The Bait and Switch
The Bait and Switch is perhaps the most commonly reported shady JDM screwing of them all. This simply means being promised one thing – and delivered another.
In the case of 25-year-old Japanese cars headed for The United States, this generally means a gross understatement of the bad stuff.
For example:
- “a light smudging of oil” describing a leak so severe the car can’t be shipped
- “a bit of surface rust” describing a completely corroded frame
- “a few replaced panels” describing a car that flipped over twice
These understatements can be attributed to the seller, the auction house, the exporter, the importer – or all four at once.
What happens is essentially a very long game of “telephone.”
- A seller provides an auction house with some very basic details about his car.
- An auction sheet is filled out hastily, by hand, by a part-time worker who may not always know exactly what they are looking at.
- An exporter translates the auction sheet to English – as best as their Japanese ability and industry knowledge allows them to.
- An importer decides whether certain details are better to be “lost in translation” than disclosed.
In this way, a Shady JDM Importer is someone who will do as much understating as possible – when it’s their turn on the telephone.
If the car is still in Japan, and you suspect an importer is preparing The Bait and Switch, ask them to expand upon what they’ve already told you.
If caution points or cons were discussed, ask them to qualify the severity of them:
- Where is the leak located exactly?
- How bad is the leak?
- Is the leak just a smudge or is it dripping?
- Is the underside rust age-appropriate?
- Is there rust inside the engine bay?
- Are there any rust holes forming?
Struggling or refusing to answer these kinds of questions can be taken as a sign that your importer may not have your best interests in mind.
The Markup
The Markup occurs when you’ve received exactly what you’ve been promised – but you’ve overpaid dearly for it.
“You want to be the only kid at your school with a Skyline, right?”
Victims of the markup tend to be customers of shady JDM importers who’ve already gone through the hassle of getting the car into The United States.
By the time a JDM vehicle has been sourced, shipped, made it through customs, titled, and registered – it makes sense that some amount of markup can be expected after all that work has gone into it.
However, unless you’ve got a solid foundation of market price knowledge – what might seem like a great deal, could easily turn out to be a fleecing.
Keeping a close eye on prices, both in Japan and at home, can help you spot when an overconfident seller is attempting the “I know what I have” tactic on you.
If you suspect an importer is preparing The Markup – the best strategy to avoid overpaying may be to simply cut the importer out of the deal altogether.
There are plenty of guys like me on the Japan side, who are ready to help you just import a JDM car yourself.
The Nasty Surprise
Unlike the Bait and Switch, which occurs after being given misleading or false information – The Nasty Surprise comes as a result of failing to ask questions in the first place.
“In an investigation, assumptions kill.”
– Jack Reacher
Assuming that everything is simply going to work out in the end, is not a strategy for success.
Some buyers will place entirely too much trust in Shady JDM importers.
They assume that simply because someone calls themself a JDM importer – they must have the knowledge, the skills, and the experience to get the job done. When in reality – the industry is full of people who either don’t really know what they’re doing, or just learned the bare minimum needed to rip you off.
The latter often appears in the form of a middleman’s middleman – someone who’s only real function is to insert themselves in a transaction between yourself and an actual importer / exporter.
Depending at what point in the import process your JDM dream machine is in – your options for quality control may be limited.
But if you suspect an importer is preparing The Nasty Surprise, it’s crucial to start extracting as much information as possible.
If the car is still in Japan, ask lots of questions – and ask them early on.
- Can you provide more photos of the vehicle?
- Better yet, how about videos?
- Can we see the undercarriage more closely?
- How about a video of the engine running?
- What can you tell me about the vehicle’s sales / auction history?
If the car is already in The US and you’re able to visit it in person – do so.
Expectations Vs. Reality
Among the screwed JDM buyers who come forward to share their stories – are a large number of folks who find the blame placed back on themselves.
By far the most common critique of JDM screw-job stories posted to forums and social media – is that the screwed individual simply failed to “know what they’re getting themselves into.”
While insensitive and unhelpful, there is a kernel of truth to the criticism.
A more polite way to say it, might be something like, “performing as much due diligence as possible can greatly reduce your risk of being screwed.”
And the best way to perform that due diligence, is to start asking questions – and you can start by asking yourself a few.
- What are the known issues of my desired year, make, and model?
- What is the real market price for this car?
- How much quality control is my importer able and/or willing to provide?
At the end of the day, buying a 25-year-old car from Japan does not come without serious risks. There is a non-negligible chance of something going wrong.
However, by taking your time and asking the right questions – you can greatly minimize the chance of being screwed by a shady JDM importer.