Strange as it might seem, I had never actually owned a vehicle in Japan until December. I’d never needed to, as I lived in the middle of Tokyo, where parking spaces can cost upwards of 60,000 yen a month. But a move to the wild east of Chiba and the arrival of my first child meant that I no longer had a choice; there are no buses near my home and the nearest train station is 4 km away. I live near the sea, so wasn’t planning to splash out on anything expensive, as everything metal rusts away very, very quickly here. I set out to find a five-year-old car with less than 50,000 km on the clock for less than 500,000 yen.

Even though Japanese people now tend to hold on to their new cars for longer — for an average of seven years, versus five in the past — there are still plenty of secondhand cars out there. Part of the reason is that people don’t usually want to buy a car that’s old: they would rather downgrade, and buy a less expensive new car.

But there is another factor here that determines what you’re buying in the secondhand car market: the notorious “shaken.” This consists of all the bits of bureaucracy you need to keep your car on the road — weight tax, vehicle inspection and compulsory insurance (car tax and more comprehensive insurance coverage are separate). If you buy a new car, you have three years until you need to jump through the hoops and start forking over cash. After that, you have to do it every two years, and it can easily cost you over 100,000 yen each time.

The end result of this is that people tend to sell their cars when the “shaken” runs out. Dealers will usually arrange “shaken” so that potential buyers have two years to go — a big selling point in the secondhand market. The upshot of all this is that used cars will usually be available when they are 3, 5, 7, 9, or 11 years old. So the first thing you want to check is the length of “shaken” left.

At the same time, you want to check the paperwork of the vehicle you are looking at. Japanese car owners tend to be meticulous about maintenance, so most vehicles will come with a full service record that all but guarantees their history.

That’s not to say that cars come with guarantees. Owners might be selling a vehicle because they want a newer, bigger, better one — but they also might also be selling because of problems. The reliability of Japanese cars is legendary, but they are not infallible.

Foreign cars in Japan tend to lose their value much quicker than Japanese ones, and it’s often quite easy to pick up a bargain if you go down this road. And bargaining — not a standard practice in other arenas in Japan — is often an essential part of buying a secondhand car here, though it depends on where and how you’re buying.

Auctions, which tend to operate online nowadays, are like the modern equivalent of haggling. This is where you are likely to find the best bargains — and the biggest lemons. Most of the time you are buying on spec — the closest you’ll get to the car before you pay for it is a picture and a profile on your computer, but reputable auction houses scrutinize the cars well and grade them accurately. The auction houses will only sell to dealers, who will target certain vehicles for you and put in a bid on your behalf. The alternative is to use a web-based auction site such as Yahoo!

But Mick Lay of Tokyo’s Mick Lay Auto Leasing and Sales offers a warning: “Auctions are not perfect when it comes to grading cars, and if there is a problem, the supplier might not be willing or able to help you,” he says. “And beware of the fake auction scam where dealers charge a small fee but inflate the actual auction sale price.”

I was looking for a small station-wagon/hatchback and ended up chasing a number of Subaru Imprezas and Mazda Demios via a Nagano-based dealer (introduced by a friend), only to be thwarted by as little as 20,000 yen —the auctioneer will submit a top price via computer, so you can’t change your mind if you are outbid. In the end, I changed my specs and started looking at Nissan Marches and struck gold quickly, securing a 5.5-year-old, 1.4-liter March with 43,000 km on the clock for 485,000 yen.

Car Sensor and Goo are two massive publications (also check out their websites: www.carsensor.net and www.goo-net.com) that can give you an idea of prices, which vary quite a bit, and dealers in your area. Another easy way to find a car is privately. I have been offered old cars without a “shaken” for free, and in the countryside you can find good cars for sale by the side of the road for as little as 50,000 yen.

Buying a car is never without risk, but there are plenty of genuine bargains out there. And it’s a whole lot better than carrying your golf clubs on the train.

Latest 15 of 28 Total Comments Show All

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  Sarge at 02:36 PM JST - 2nd June

  "unlike Japanese car dealers who hide under their desk when you walk into the room"

  Ha ha ha! One day I walked into a BMW showroom to take a closer look ( and look was all I was planning to do ) and the salesman jumped up and ran out of the room!

  "The reliability of Japanese cars is legendary bit not infallible."

  No, not infallible, just less infallible than the other makers.

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  BPoint at 02:54 PM JST - 2nd June

  "Ha ha ha! One day I walked into a BMW showroom to take a closer look ( and look was all I was planning to do ) and the salesman jumped up and ran out of the room!"

  Interesting Sarge. I must admit that I do always get that initial moment of apprehension in the sales person as they aren't sure of my Japanese ability. But, after a few minutes it's business as usual. Also, how you are dressed plays a big part. If I'm in "kick the tires" mode it's shorts and tee shirt...lol.

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  Fair dinkum! at 04:54 PM JST - 2nd June

  Owning cars in Japan is very different to the west. It's actually difficult to find secondhand cars in bad condition due to the abundance of newer cars. If a secondhand car is deemed to be a shocker it is either scrapped or shipped OS. Buying a new car in Japan is a con. If you pay 4,000,000yen for a new car, by the time you have driven it around the block a few times it has devalued by at least 25%. Keep it for five years and it is worth around 15% of its original value. Buying secondhand cars is dangerous unless you are sure what you are doing. For example, you could buy a nice economical 9 year diesel van with low klm's for around 250,000yen only to find out you can't get shaken for it in the area you live. There is also a fairly large proportion of 'cut and shut' secondhand cars for sale. This used to be popular in Oz during the 70's, but it was banned, although it is still done in Japan by less scrupulous dealers. Then there is parking, which can be a killer! Before you even consider buying a car check into parking in your area. Not only for the price, but also for the availability. My friend had to park his car one station from his house and pay an extremely large monthly rate for his trouble.

  In my opinion, unless you really need to own a car in Japan don't. It's not worth it. Renting cars is a much more economical way to go. Leasing can be good also, although, you are virtually paying the car off for the time you have it and unless you are self employed there are no real tax breaks to gain, so your money just goes down the drain.

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  borscht at 09:14 PM JST - 2nd June

  If you squirrel up in Tokyo or Osaka or any other really major city in Japan, owning a car is tatamount to renting two apartments: one for you and one for the car. If you feel the need to get out of the city for a road trip, rent a car for a week or less.

  However, if you live outside the major cities, where subways don't exist and buses only go one way: into town and then out of town, you need a car to go around town. But, if you live outside the major cities, parking is much, much cheaper. I pay 0 for my spot because it's in front of my house. The most expensive I've heard of here is about 10,000 yen a month but if you live in an apartment building, chances are it comes with a spot for a nominal fee of 2,000 or 3,000.

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  Bogi at 09:52 PM JST - 2nd June

  And it’s a whole lot better than carrying your golf clubs on the train.

  Ha, that's funny. In all my time here, I've never met someone who is a regular golfer that is out to find a "bargain" on a car.

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  electric2004 at 10:57 PM JST - 2nd June

  Borscht, you are right. Actually I have 2 cars, one station wagon for the whole family and one K-car for wife and the kids during the week. If asking Japanese colleagues, there is a good chance to get shaken or repair for a reasonable price. At least this is my impression. And paperwork etc. - is done by the car dealers. Might cost 10000 Yen or so, but it is worth, if you have a decent job. The only thing, which starts annoying me is the rise of the gasoline prices. But even in this respect, Japan is more reasonable than Western Europe, e.g. D / NL / B.

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  usaexpat at 11:30 PM JST - 2nd June

  Foreign cars depreciate more because their purchase price is usaully double what it would be in other markets (i.e. the US) The real rub in purchasing a foreign car is the absurd amount of money for maintainence and parts. I have a Saab and not that they are cheap to keep back home either but in Japan just double the cost of everything. I also laugh at his 100,000 yen shaken, for a kei car maybe but you better double that figure as well.

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  USNinJapan2 at 11:46 PM JST - 2nd June

  Bogi

  Good catch! But taking the train does mean you get to enjoy the 19th hole more than if you drove... : )

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  Richard_the_First at 08:39 AM JST - 3rd June

  I am currently in the process of buying a car here. The parking isn't so bad at 13,000 a month it's just the red tape that is annoying. You have to draw and measure your parking space and that's a joke in this day and age. It will be worth it in the end though I am sure though shaken will pee me off in a couple of years no doubt. Shaken of course is just a tool for the auto industry and govt to shift more cars. Nothing more.

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  Fair dinkum! at 09:20 AM JST - 3rd June

  Shaken is cheap! It costs around $1,000 for two years. It costs around $6-700 per year to register a car in Oz although, there is no road tax on top of the registration. And, of course, no parking fees.

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  bongoboy at 06:49 PM JST - 3rd June

  I bought my car on Yahoo auction, that's where the best prices seem to be. Caveat emptor, as always. Did shaken myself at Samezu. Cost only 76,000 yen (2.4 liter motor), including paying them to fill out my forms, and took just 45 minutes from start to finish. Very simple procedure even if you speak little Japanese.

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  GW at 10:02 AM JST - 4th June

  why bother with all the hassles to save a few measily yen by doing the paperwork yrself, I have bought 3cars & I dont even know where the offices for doing the paperwork are, I let the dealer do it for me & at dealers great deals can easily be had.

  Screw new cars total waste of yen, there are tons of great vehicles that can be had in the Y400,000-Y700,000 range. The dealers I have dealt with have always been easy to work with, great after service & shaken(which I hate) has never cost me more than around Y140,000 & that time I had a couple tires which needed replacing so its really always around Y100,000, not unreasonable.

  And I always trade my cars in so no hassles with that either, my last trade in on a Rav4 which needed 4 new tires desprately I ended up getting Y150,000 on trade in so add Y100,000 for 4 tires & the Y100,000 I wud have paid for another shaken & I ended up Y350,000 to play with & then even got the car I ended up buying down some as the dealer knew I wud be buying soon somewhere else if not there(where I just bought the Mrs a car), all in all very sweet, hassle free & now 2 great cars sitting outside the house

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  Spidey at 01:33 PM JST - 4th June

  I'm on my 6th car in 7 years in Japan, the last one being a new vehicle. I have never had any serious problems with any of them. On the times that I did have some concerns, I simply went back to the dealership. They were more than willing to bend over backwards to take care of any problems.

  However...BUYER BEWARE! of some dealerships that will SHAKEN your car at one of their "own" garages. I bought an MR2 from one dealership and I decided to change the muffler a few months later. During the installation of the new muffler the mechanic proceeded to tell me that my car had no emissions control installed in the exhaust system.(Required by law) "WHAT?! But I just bought this car 6 months ago and they gave me a 2 year shaken to go with it!" To say the least the mechanic was as much dumbfounded as I was. I immediately went back to the dealership, told them that I just caught them with their pants down and...to make a not so long story even shorter...they installed a new emissions at no cost followed by a barrel full of "sumimasens" and boot lickings.

  I was not a happy camper.

  S

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  BPoint at 12:41 PM JST - 6th June

  However...BUYER BEWARE! of some dealerships that will SHAKEN your car at one of their "own" garages.

  Toyopet for example...I just bought a Land Cruiser with no shaken. I had some tires from another 4x4 that I knew wouldn't pass shaken but they said it was "no problem" to put them on BEFORE the shaken test. So, like anything else....due diligence.

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  sabinuki at 10:43 AM JST - 7th June

  What you need to keep in mind is that it's death on a stick out there mate. Narrow, poorly maintained roads crowded to the extreme with mindless pedestrians and drivers who can't remember which is the accelerator and which is the brake.

  Japan Inc. really stands for Japan Incompetent.

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