How to buy a Japanese car, Hiace Super GL, from overseas cheaply?

The Japanese car, Hiace Super GL, is mainly used for transporting goods in Japan, but is often used overseas for tourism and transit buses and is a popular car with an increase in demand.

However, isn’t it often too expensive to buy Hiace Super GL as a brand-new car? So, this time, we will introduce how to buy a Japanese car, Hiace Super GL, from overseas at a low price.

How to Buy a Japanese car, Hiace Super GL, overseas?

There are various ways to buy Hiace. Here are three ways to buy Hiace Super GL.

1. To rent

One of the methods to rent Toyota Hiace Super GL that Japan boasts to the world by renting it through a car-sharing or a lease contract. In the case of car-sharing, make a reservation in advance when you want to use Hiace, rent at the determined place after receiving an explanation, and make sure to return the car where you rented.

As a disadvantage, having to go through these steps can be a hassle for those who want to drive Hiace Super GL daily.Lease contracts have the advantage of being able to choose a new Hiace model, on the other hand, there are disadvantages such as high lease expense and insurance fees.

2. To buy a new car

If you buy Hiace Super GL as a new car, it depends on the grade, for example, the market price is about 3 to 3.6 million yen in Japan, so it will be quite expensive. However, purchasing a new car has the advantage that it doesn’t break down easily, and you can continue driving for a long time.

3. To buy a used car

By going to a store that sells used Hiace, you can purchase used Hiace Super GL cheaper than buying a new car.In particular, if you buy a used Hiace on an overseas e-commerce site, etc., you can purchase it cheaper because you don’t have to pay an intermediate margin unlike when purchasing it at a used car dealer.

Used Hiace has a wide range of prices depending on grade, model year, and model, and you can purchase used Hiace relatively cheap for your purpose and preference, so if you are going to drive Hiace Super GL, on a daily basis, this is a particularly recommended method.

Precautions when buying a used Japanese car, Hiace cars

Since 2013, the depreciation of the Japanese yen has continued, so if you buy a used Hiace, it is cheaper to buy it from Japan which has been exported to overseas.

Hiace has three major types such as vans, wagons, and commuters, and the most popular type in overseas is the van type Hiace Super GL. This is because Hiace has a strong tendency to be used as a commercial vehicle and is often exported, and in particular, the most popular type is van followed by a commuter type.

However, there are various risks involved in buying used Hiace.

Here are three risks when buying used Hiace. 

1. Hiace with the similar condition as a scrapped car doesn’t last long

Japanese cars are durable and long-lasting. Among them, Hiace is a car with excellent durability because it is used for carrying goods in Japan. However, Hiace, which has a problem with the engine system, will deteriorate if it is not properly maintained and may not last long.

2. It is often expensive to buy a used Hiace Super GL

Japanese people demand the same safety from used cars as new cars, so in the used car auction, cars with short mileage and relatively well-kept interior and exterior are sold to be used nationwide.

Many consumers are more concerned about a price than safety in overseas, so used cars with high mileage and scratches have been sold cheaply for export.However, in the case of Hiace, the overseas demand is growing year by year, and even Hiace with high mileage and scratches can be sold without the falling prices. Therefore, even if you buy a used Hiace, it is often not so cheap if you buy it at a used car dealer.

3. C to C trading has many troubles

Used Hiace, just before to be scrapped, can’t be used for a long time. It is expensive to buy even a used car. Many people thought that why not buy and sell used Hiace between individuals?However, since this transaction between individuals (C to C transaction) has many troubles, it is not recommended for used car sales because it requires expensive fees and as a result, it becomes more expensive.

Here are some examples of C to C Trading Troubles:

# 1: The amount offered was higher than the market price

# 2: The car condition was much worse than stated

# 3: The car did not arrive after the purchase, etc.

Since such troubles are likely to occur, it is better to avoid C-to-C transactions when purchasing used cars.

How to get an ideal car at a used car auction in Japan

So, how to buy a used Hiace cheaply by yourself?
It is to participate in used car auctions in Japan and buy import used Hiace cheaply.

By participating in the used car auctions and importing Hiace, you can buy cheap because there is no intermediate margin that you are required to pay when purchasing it through used car dealers.

Can individuals from overseas participate in the Used Car Auctions in Japan?

Japanese cars are popular as being strong and reliable overseas. Among them, Toyota’s Hiace has gained popularity in recent years.

Hiace, which is used for carrying goods in Japan, is often used for commercial purposes such as tourism overseas, so van type and commuter type are particularly popular among Hiace, and the price of used cars does not go down and remains its high value.

If you want to buy a used Hiace, the recommended way to buy a Hiace is to go through participating in used car auctions in Japan.

Therefore, this time, we will introduce how to participate in used car auctions in Japan individually from overseas.

How to Participate in Used Car Auctions in Japan

If you buy a Japanese car, Hiace, at a used car dealership overseas, many people have an experience that it was much higher than expected.It is a price that includes fees such as the margin, so if you buy it at a used car dealer, the price will definitely increase.

We recommend that you participate in a used car auction on your own.

There are two ways to participate in Japanese used car auctions. First, to participate in Internet auctions such as Yahoo auction which is a C to C transaction, and next is to participate in an auction specializing in used cars trading in Japan.

C-to-C trading has the advantage of being able to participate in auctions by individuals from overseas without special qualifications, but as we introduced in How to Buy Hiace at a low price from Overseas?, we do not recommend this way because there is a high risk that it would cause some troubles.

Therefore, here is how to participate in the used car auctions in Japan.

Great points of the used car auctions in Japan

In general, used car auctions involve professionals who are used car dealers, so the cars that are exhibited in auctions have usually a good quality that has passed a certain inspection.

The used car auction in Japan is held almost every day in various parts of Japan, and the number of cars exhibited is 140,000 every week, so there is an advantage that you can always find the car you want.

You can also check the used car auctions held in various places on the Internet and satellite broadcasting.

What do you need to participate in a used car auction?

Participating in a used car auction has many advantages, and you will need the following items.

• Qualification of a secondhand dealer that has passed one year or more
• Deposit and enrollment fee
• Offices and stores for buying and selling cars
• Joint guarantor

# 1: Qualification of a secondhand dealer that has passed one year or more

# 2: Deposit and enrollment fee

# 3: Offices and stores for buying and selling cars

# 4: Joint guarantor

The above are the conditions for participating in a used car auction called USS, so what you need will depend on the auction that you are going to join.

The reason that it is difficult for an individual to participate in a used car auction is that if anyone can participate in a used car auction, a used car dealer shop will no longer be required.

Therefore, in general, only professionals who buy and sell used cars can participate.

It is possible for Individuals to participate in used car auctions in Japan

In order to participate in used car auctions in Japan, there are some things you need to prepare, but those are difficult for individuals to prepare.

So how do you personally participate in used car auctions?

In this case, you can easily get the car you want from many used cars by asking help from a professional who participates on your behalf overseas use e-commerce auctions such as overseas EC sites.

A case of participating in used car auctions in Japan from Poland

A person from Poland who have participated in used car auctions in Japan individually have purchased many classic cars through auction agents.

In Japan, there is a vehicle inspection system, and old vehicles are required to be maintained every year, so the condition of the engine system is often good, and the exterior is often well-maintained because of the habit of keeping it clean. So, it didn’t require a lot of repairs, and I could drive it without any problems.

A case of participating in used car auctions in Japan from Germany

A person from Germany who participated in used car auctions in Japan as an individual was a mechanic who drives a car without any problems while maintaining and repairing the cars that were purchased through used care auctions.

What process should be taken to participate used car auctions without being deceived?

If you want to participate in the Japanese used car auction by yourself from overseas, we recommend that you get help from an auction agency such as an overseas EC site.

However, there are a lot of auction agents, and many people do not know which one to choose from.

How to avoid being deceived at a Japanese used car auction?

How to find a trusted agent

Toyota Hiace is considered as one of the toughest and most durable Japanese cars, so many overseas buyers buy second-hand Hiace for commercial use such as tourism.

There are ways to buy and sell Hiace among individuals and participate in car auctions in Japan, but there is a risk of being deceived when trying to buy Hiace individually from overseas.

This time, we will introduce how to avoid being deceived when participating in a used car auction in Japan from overseas.

Why are there possibilities to be deceived when participating in a used car auction by yourself?

The used car auction, as introduced in Can an individual participate in the used car auction from overseas?, there are two ways to participate; to buy a used car between individuals (C to C transaction) and to participate in an auction specializing in used cars in Japan.

Generally, only professionals can participate in auctions that specialize in used cars in Japan due to certain conditions.

On the other hand, interpersonal transactions have the advantage of being able to participate casually without the need for special qualifications or conditions, but there is a high risk of being deceived if an individual participates in an auction from overseas.

For example,

• The used car did not arrive at the port despite paying the deposit
• The conditions of the vehicle that was explained, especially the condition of the engine system, were different
• There was fraudulent or tampering with mileage rewinding, etc.

In particular, Hiace is highly demanded overseas, so there are used car dealers who misrepresent a Hiace as being in good condition, alters the mileage even if it exceeds 100,000 km, and sells it as if it had been driven only 50,000 km. So, you have to be very careful.

Some points not to be deceived by used car auction in Japan

Especially in the case of personal transactions, there is a risk of being deceived because you have to trust the seller’s information.

To buy a used car, for example, hiace van superGL, at a car auction, you need to have the ability to check the vehicle condition without trusting whatever the seller explains, but it is difficult for a person who does not have special experience or qualifications as being mechanics or so.

Especially in the used car auction, the maintenance of the car is entrusted to the exhibitor, so it is not a personal transaction to buy a used car from an amateur seller, but by participating in the auction specialty where a repaired used car is exhibited by a professional, you can reduce the risk of paying a high price and purchasing a car with a bad conditioned engine.

In the worst case, you may receive a hiace van superGL that is completely different from the exterior photos. You need to be careful.

However, it is difficult for individuals from overseas to participate in the auction specializing in used cars in Japan, because the conditions stated above must be met.

Therefore, here we recommend you to participate in the used car auction in Japan and to get help from an agent on your behalf who makes a successful bid for a used car, for example, hiace van superGL.

However, there are a lot of auction agents all over the country, so you might not know which one to ask.

So, what is a reliable auction agent?

How to choose a reliable agent

There are many companies that help individuals to participate in Japanese used car auctions from overseas such as overseas EC sites.

Among the agents, trusted agents are those that meet the following four conditions.

1. Deal with various languages
2. Explain the car conditions in detail in the language of your country
3. Participated in more than 150 car auctions throughout the nation
4. Carefully check the contents of the assessment and preview the situation before making a bid for a used car

The car auction agent, who deals with various languages, can provide detailed information on car conditions without limiting the customer’s country or region, and can answer questions smoothly. carused supports many languages such as Spanish, English, German, Portuguese, Chinese, Filipino, and English, so you can communicate smoothly with us.

In addition, only about 10 out of 50,000 Japanese car auction agents are participating in auctions at 150 locations across Japan, and carused is one of them.

Since we participate in all car auctions in Japan, you will be sure to find the car you want from 140,000 used cars sold every week.

In particular, Hiace, especially hiace van superGL, is a very popular model overseas, so let a trusted dealer participate in the auction on your behalf by picking up and comparing a few trusted auction agents like the ones introduced above.

How do you participate in the auction?

Participating in an auction specializing in the used cars in Japan requires a special qualification as a curio dealer or, as mentioned above, it is necessary to clear various conditions, so it is difficult to participate individually from overseas.

So, this time, we’ve introduced that you can reduce the risk of being deceived by having a trusted auction agent to help you.

So, what is the procedure for getting help from a Japanese car auction agent?

For details, please refer to the following article.

What are the four steps to participate in a used car auction in Japan?

In order to participate in the used car auction from Japan individually from overseas, special qualifications such as curio dealer are required. It is also necessary to clear the conditions set by the auction organizer, so basically, non-professionals cannot participate in the used car auction.

Therefore, asking help from a used car auction agent on your behalf to bit on a car that you are willing to purchase is one of the methods that you can participate in the used car auction in Japan from overseas.

This time, we will introduce the procedure to have help from a car auction agent such as an overseas EC site.

How to participate in a used car sale auction

Requirements of a reliable car auction agent are as follows:

• Can deal with many languages
• Explains the condition of the car in detail
• Participates in car auctions all over Japan
• Check the status of the car before they make a successful bid

Such a car auction agent will take part in the auction on your behalf from overseas EC sites, etc.

Here are four steps to participate in car auctions from overseas individually.

1. Find the car you want to bid
In Japan, car auctions are held almost every day across the country, and the number of cars exhibited each week is as high as 140,000. If a dealer is a member of car auction dealer throughout the nation, they can participate in as many auctions as they want and find the car that you are willing to buy, for example, hiace van superGL.At that time, please select the year, shift (AT, MT, etc.), color, mileage, etc. of the hiace van superGL from the auction agent’s site and also select options such as country, port, insurance, and inspection.

You can bid while checking the bidding price displayed after the free quote and the status of a salesperson in charge, etc., but make sure that the amount at this time can be a successful bid in one auction for hiace van superGL as much as possible. Make sure you bid at the highest price, not the lowest.

Once you finished bidding, you will receive a quote from your car auction agent.

2. Wait for auction results
The results of the auction will be notified during the auction day from the dealer on your behalf, so you will know the results immediately.
As you can see, there are some dealers who will be able to know immediately whether hiace van superGL has been purchased or not.

3. Pay the price
If you are able to successfully win the car hiace van superGL at the Japanese car auction, you need to pay the billing amount. Payments often have the due date and generally, it will be required to be completed within 48 hours (2 days). If you didn’t pay the amount by the due date, you need to pay a cancellation fee and the car that you purchased will be sold to a different customer.The billing amount listed at this time includes the shipping cost, the fare from Japan to the port of the country where the destination is located, in addition to the bid price of the car.

If you couldn’t bid the car at the auction, the deposit paid in 1 will be refunded unless you intend to continue participating in the auction.

However, if you want to take part in the next car auction again, you can carry forward the deposit, so if you decide to take part, contact the agent who participated in the auction on your behalf.

4. Go to the port to pick up your car
After paying the amount charged in 3, load the car on the ship as soon as possible, and the necessary documents will be sent to you.Before and after the car is loaded on the ship, you will be notified of the ship’s departure date and arrival date by email.

The car is transported by boat to the nearest port where you live.

It takes about two weeks to check the documents until you can actually drive the car. And depending on the route, it would take about 1 month to transport to destinations such as Africa and Europe, so it would most likely take about a month and a half to receive the car you purchased at the auction.

The documents that arrive at your address include the documents necessary for customs clearance, so please fill out the required fields and pick up your car.

If you cannot pick up your car at the port from your home, please use your local carrier.

If you don’t know which transport company will bring your car to your home, a car auction agent may be able to help you, so please ask if you need to.

Use the Japanese Used Car Auction to Get Your Ideal Car

Japanese cars are often in good quality and durable, so even used cars can last long. For this reason, many Japanese used cars are sold abroad, but most of them are expensive because of the additional fees such as intermediate margins.

Therefore, there is a method of participating in a used car auction in Japan and purchasing Japanese used cars from overseas individually, but the easiest and best way is to have a car auction agent help you who will make a successful bid for you.

This time, we will introduce how to participate in the used car auction in Japan from overseas EC sites.

Many car auction agent sites have a similar operation flow, so if you do not know how to participate in the auction, please refer to this.

Photo Credits to Fendizet(wikimedia)

A diagnosis of Hiace model according to each customer

In Japan, Hiace is used for transporting goods, but in other countries, it is often used not only for freight cars but also for vehicles accommodating many passengers, such as sightseeing buses and shared buses around sightseeing spots, so Hiace is especially a popular car model.

Hiace can be roughly divided into three types: vans, wagons, and commuters. Which Hiace is suitable for these purposes? Therefore, we will introduce the type and engine grade that you should consider buying as a diagnosis of Hiace model.

What type of Hiace should you buy?

Hiace has a simple and stylish design, making it suitable for transporting people and goods in its spacious interior. However, Hiace can be roughly divided into three types, van, wagons, and commuters. More specifically, there are as many as 20 types of Hiace, so you may not know which Hiace to choose from.

From here, we will introduce Hiace that you should buy based on the characteristics of Hiace’s representative van, wagon, and commuter.

Hiace van

There are two types of Hiace vans: Super Long Van and Long Van. More specifically, long vans can be divided into Super GL, DX, and DX GL package, and overall height, overall width, overall length, fuel consumption, and riding capacity vary according to the type. Hiace vans are a type of Hiace suitable for carrying goods, so those who want to use Hiace for freight should buy a Hiace van.

Hiace Wagon

Hiace Wagon has a simple and practical body component, and the full width is used for only a wide body.

The interior volume is sufficiently large, and the maximum riding capacity can be up to 10 people, so if you want to use it as a freight car to load more luggage, or if you want to use it as shuttle buses, sightseeing buses, and shared buses for small number of people, it is the one that you should buy among Hiace.

Hiace Commuter

It is a type of Hiace with a maximum riding capacity of 14 people among Hiace. Anyone who wants to use as sightseeing buses, pick-up buses, and shared buses around tourist spots, this is the suitable type since it can accommodate more than 10 people.

Which one should you choose, Gasoline or Diesel Engine?

The three Hiace; vans, wagons, and commuters we have introduced are available with a gasoline engine and a diesel engine. Many people might have an image that gasoline engines are smoother, but fuel efficiency is poor. Diesel engines have a peculiar way of driving but considered to have good fuel efficiency. However, in the recent Hiace, fuel efficiency has improved significantly due to technological advances, so there is not much difference in fuel efficiency.

Hiace is used for transporting many people and luggage in overseas, so high engine power is required. Therefore, it is better to choose a diesel engine with fuel efficiency and power.

The grade of each Hiace

While there are various types of Hiace, the current Hiace 200 series is available in only two grades, GL and DX which is very easy to understand. GL is the highest grade in Hiace and has a 4-number specification with a combination of a standard width body and a standard roof, which is a small cargo vehicle. In the wide-body, the middle roof is the most frequently used as an ordinary truck.

In addition, each door has double-row seats of five and features a wide variety of equipment that can be selected as standard equipment or manufacturer options. DX, on the other hand, has the largest number of vehicles among van-based grades and is characterized by a wide range of options. The combination of the standard width body and the standard roof is a 4-number specification for small trucks, and you can choose from standard width and wide width bodies. Also, the high roof has a number 1 specification that refers to general cargo trucks, and it is a grade that is suitable to carry a lot of goods because it has a flat bottom just-low.

How to get a variety of Hiace at a Japanese car auction?

The Japanese car auction lists 140,000 cars every week, so you can find the right Hiace for your purpose. Only professionals can participate in Japanese car auctions, so you can participate by requesting an agency that will participate in the auction on your behalf on an overseas EC site.

If you want to get Hiace at a Japanese car auction, let’s use Carused.jp.