I would say the overwhelming majority of people that move to Japan don't buy cars. Statistically this is because just about everyone ends up in moving to a major city such as Tokyo or Osaka where you sunnily don't need one due to the amazing public transport and the sheer inconvenience of owning a car due to the costs, traffic and having somewhere to park it. In many urban areas you basically need a permit to verify you have somewhere off-street to park your car before you can even buy one.
Kumamoto prefecture on the other hand, you absolutely do need a car outside of the city, and even within the city, it's relatively small size (population under 1 million) and layout means life would get quite restricted without some form of independent transport.
So here we are, in need of a car.
Up until this point we have been borrowing my wife's parent's car. But using it almost daily, and often multiple times daily too must be inconvenient for them, as it is for us on the days we don't have access to the car.
I love car shopping. I love pouring over the specs, doing online quotes, watching video reviews and kicking tyres on forecourts. The fact I've bought over 30 cars in 20 years is telling (everyone needs a hobby right?). Most of those were used cars (all Japanese of course), but since 2019 when we purchased our first brand new car we haven't looked back - 6 new cars followed since then and my hobby just got more expensive...
Because of my penchant for changing cars as fast as my underwear, Tomomi is now the one who purchases our main family car so as to prevent me from selling it just because I woke up one day and decided I wanted something else. I realise I have a problem so I go along with this.
Tomomi hates car shopping though which combined with my overt enthusiasm for it makes for an interesting time!
 |
| Distribution of car sizes in Japan |
Car types
Over the last 2 years during our planning for moving to Japan, one of the key pillars was to minimise our footprint financially and have minimum liabilities. This stretches to things such as car costs - maximum value from buying, running, insuring and maintaining.
The below table shows some of the fixed costs from my research and how they differ between sizes of vehicle. The cost difference per year will likely widen further once you factor in fuel, and things like tyres when measuring over a number of years. At the time I did not see the need to check for anything larger than a medium sized car.
 |
| Costs are in JPY with the summary cost being in NZD |
My rough plan around this was to purchase a MPV styled Kei Car. If you've read some of my posts you'll know I absolutely love Kei cars and think they are the bee's knees. The design choices are fascinating because they are confined to maximising space and usability inside certain dimensions. The MPV ones are incredibly practical and spacious, and they do this by sacrificing boot space for rear seat space or vice versa. Most people that don't have kids will not use both their boot and back seats simultanously very often if at all, so it makes sense for a lot people.
The other part is that Japanese roads are very slow. Unless you are using the toll road motorways (an expensive way to travel I might add), I haven't seen a road with a signposted speed limit over 60kph, so you don't need power and speed very often either. Another tick for Kei Cars.
Tomomi hates Kei cars though, she prefers big cars. This is ironic as here I am, at 6'2'' and loving these tiny cars and my wife is not much over 5' and loves the big cars.
 |
| Toyota Roomy was top of my shortlist |
The '10 year rule'
I'd say it's reasonably well known in a number of countries that the Japanese don't keep their vehicles very long based on the imports that flood into other countries. Used vehicles here are perhaps more likely to be exported rather than purchased domestically.
One of the main drivers for this is tax. I don't think people consciously think about the taxation side of this anymore, it's just so ingrained in the culture that you replace your car before 10 years or 100,000kms.
In a nutshell, below is how older cars get penalised. The reason is to boost the domestic automotive industry, and keep the fleet newer for safety and emissions.
- At 10 years old, 'Shaken' inspections become annually rather than every 2 years.
- At 11 years old (for diesel) or 13 years old (for petrol) The Road and weight taxes increase by 10-15%, and then by 10-15% again at 18 years old.
I mean, I'd hardly call those costs unreasonable, but with older cars you are combining that with reduced safety, reduced reliability, reduced fuel economy and higher maintenance costs too, so the ownership costs can snowball and become unviable compared to the dwindling value of the vehicle.
 |
| The Honda N-Box Custom was the top Kei choice |
Shortlisting
We needed to start looking at cars pretty soonish so I made a shortlist based on what I thought would be best for us as a family Car and a good value proposition. This basically ended up being all MPV styled cars as the interior room, visibility and sliding doors are invaluable when you have a child. They are also incredibly practical as they can be turned into vans pretty easily to transport large items.
I built my shortlist around my 3 favoured brands, and then different size options within those brands to look at. The shortlist we started with is below:
- Toyota Roomy: Medium sized MPV. 1.0L - Top Grade model, total cost Y2,440,940 ($26,000 NZD)
- Toyota Sienta: Large MPV. 1.5L Hybrid - 5 Seater top grade, total cost Y3,279,530 ($35,000 NZD)
- Honda Freed: Large MPV. 1.5L Hybrid - 6 Seater, 1 below top model, total cost Y3,200,800 ($34,000 NZD)
- Honda N-Box Custom: Kei MPV, 660c Turbo Hybrid - Top model, total cost Y2,338,840 ($25,000 NZD)
- Suzuki Solio: Medium MPV. Hybrid 1.2L - Top model, total cost Y2,413,295 ($26,000 NZD)
- Suzuki Landy: Huge MPV, 1.8L Hybrid - 7 Seater model, total cost Y4,056,605 ($43,000 NZD)
I earmarked the Toyota Roomy and Suzuki Solio as the best options. They strike the best balance between being a great size without being too big nor small, economical and good value from a cost perspective. We ruled out the Kei models pretty quickly as they are a similar price and you basically have to choose between rear passengers and a boot. Also Tomomi hates Kei cars. Though funnily enough she would show interest at a car occasionally and then when I point out that it's Kei, the interest would quickly abate!
After looking at all these models and testing a few, Tomomi decided against my recommendations of an MPV type car because they don't look good. She wanted an SUV. Back to the drawing board.
Dealership Experiences
We visited a good number of dealerships across a few brands - some smaller branches in nearby towns as well as the larger and flashier main dealerships in Kumamoto City. The experience and quirks were the same. In summary, the service you receive is exemplary if not a bit over the top.
Firstly, as you come in to park, someone, often a woman, will come sprinting out towards you to not only guide you into your parking spot, but to greet you and escort you inside the building. All of the staff would bow and welcome you as you are guided into the building to a table to sit down and wait for a salesman (yes they are always men). Whilst you are waiting you would be offered drinks with most places even having a drinks menu. Going to a car dealership quickly became a running joke of ours of 'going out for coffee'. Most places had kids play areas too as well as good facilities for baby changing which was useful for the longer visits.
Once you've got your drinks in hand, the salesman will then discuss with you at length whatever cars you are interested in along with providing brochures. This is before actually going and looking at any cars which seems a little backwards, but it's just the way it is done. We followed up these discussions with a look around the vehicle(s) and test drives. Funnily enough not one dealership checked for a valid drivers license or made us sign any forms like we are accustomed too. After the test drive is done, it's back to the table for yet more discussions. Then the salesman would disappear for a while and come back with a printed quote. From memory, just about every single quote came with extras added that we did not ask for, with one guy in particular taking the liberty of adding a whole host of things that we didn't want. This is totally a scam tactic that some people either fall for outright or are too polite to push back on. Anyhoo, once we've received the quote, we would give our thanks and leave.
Honestly, this was the same at every place.
 |
| Typical layout inside a dealership |
Waiting Lists
What is quite extraordinary is that Japan makes the cars but doesn't seem to be able to make enough of them. Many models are on prohibitory long wait lists, with some out to the end of the year and some even longer. Some models, such as the Toyota RAV4 are simply closed to new orders. This means even if you wanted one at any cost and willing to wait, it is simply no. Toyota in general have the longest wait lists and it' very common to have big boards on display in the dealerships showing the month each model would arrive if ordered - examples in the next image below.
Given that we want a car now, a waiting list was a little inconvenient and definitely played a part in looking at our options. For SUVs we narrowed our list down to:
- Toyota Harrier - 1 month
- Toyota BW4X (EV) - 5 months
- Subaru Forester - 6 months
The EV seemed the best option until Tomomi drove it and disliked it. The Harrier was a nice car, but not enough added practically and functionality for an SUV. The Forester, which I pushed hard to go look at, ended up being the front runner, until I recalled that Nissan makes a rather nice car called the X-Trail.
The Demo cars were always the top of the range models and often with additional options added too. The grades of each car we were considering were usually the model below the top grade. The way they setup car grades is disengenious, as they always leave out things or features that have you pining for a higher grade. This is what happened with the X-trail.
I instantly liked the X-Trail. It's a good looking car, lovely interior and is very well specced. It's also one of those hybrids that has a small gas engine that acts as a generator for electric motors which then drive the wheels, and in this case it is 4WD. Anyway, we proceeded with getting a quote just like with the previous models and went about our day.
 |
| Waiting list boards at Toyota dealerships |
Doing the deal
Once we narrowed down our list to 3 cars, Tomomi tested them all back-to-back. The Harrier was first and we ruled it out in favour of the others. Nissan was next, and discussions advanced to the point they offered a good discount if we purchased on that day. We told them we still have to go back to Subaru to test the Forester - Nissan then offered a further discount if we did not go back to Subaru! We went back to Subaru anyway.
We returned to Nissan with the X-trail as the front runner. The clincher vs the Forester is we could have the Nissan in the same month! (Forester was end of the year at best) We sat down and got them to further sharpen the deal and requote. I think we got a really good deal at ¥5,200,000 drive away, with a few extras and even a service plan.
Once we agreed the deal, both the Dealership Principle and Service Manager both came over to thank us. Things got really crazy when those two old fellows, along with the young salesman all escorted us outside to our car, all 3 helped guide us out of the parking spot, then they all sprinted alongside us acting as traffic management as we drove through the carpark, and even onto the main road to ensure we could pull out safely. Lot's of bowing too of course. The whole running through the carpark thing was just comical, I wish I had filmed it!
 |
| Subaru Forester |
Parking Permit (Shako Shoumei)
There's a few things to sort out before taking delivery of a car. You have to pay for it of course. If the car is on a waiting list you would pay a small deposit then rest upon delivery. For us with the car so close, it would just be a lump sum. We had some complications with moving the money from NZ, but that's a separate rant entirely.
The next one is proving you have a parking space for the car. In Japan you cannot purchase a car without somewhere to park it on your property, and you basically need to present a permit to the dealership for approval. My Father-in-law as the property owner of where we are staying just had to sign a form declaring there is available parking and we gave this to the dealer. Within a week, a lady from the City office showed up at the house to verify it. Seems like a lot of work when they could probably build a nationwide system whereby every property title has it's available parking noted, and then they track the number of vehicles registered to that property.
 |
| Toyota Harrier |
Insurance (Nin-i Hoken)
Insurance is complicated in Japan and there are different types covering different things. What is commonly known as 'optional insurance' (Nin-i Hoken) is essential when buying a new car as this is the one that covers you when you do damage to your own car. There are so many options that Tomomi was overwhelmed just looking into it, therefore I am certainly in no position at this point in time to write about the intricacies of it either. For simplicity, we just went with the dealer supplied one and selected all the options. This is likely more expensive than elsewhere but what it does provide is a single point of contact. If we need to make a claim we call Nissan. We don't have to deal with the insurance company for the claim and then coordinate with Nissan for repairs so it should in theory be less stressful in that event.
The other thing to note, is that despite many years of driving experience as well as an insurance history overseas, that means diddly squat in Japan. Therefore the insurance premiums are higher until some Japan driving and insurance history is built up - this is reflected in our 3 year insurance contract as the price drops every year. To give an idea of the cost on an ¥5m+ SUV, ours over the 3 years averages ¥227,000 per year which is rather expensive.
Diving into that a little more, Japan has a level system for insurance that is a discount multiplier for premiums. You start at level 6 if you have no history, and each year of no claims you increase your level by 1 until you reach the highest level of 20. Yes, that takes 14 years of no claims. A single at-fault accident claim will drop your level by 3 each time. No wonder everyone in Japan has their cars kitted out with dash cams AND most of the time just pays for repairs out of their own pocket. So really is the insurance then for total loss claims only if you aren't going to make relatively affordable claims? In addition, damage done to your car by natural disasters such as earthquakes are not covered either - if a building collapses onto your car, sorry no insurance. Seems like a bigger racket that I'm accustomed to, and I really don't want a car of my own anymore.
By comparison, In NZ, insurance companies will only penalise you on premium costs for claims in the last 3 or 5 years and you can also get policies with protected no claims bonuses, all at reasonable costs and have always been very easy to deal with for claims.
Perhaps my friend Rob in Chiba is the wise one - he buys cheap used cars and basically every few years when they run out of shaken, disposes of them and just buys another 'disposable' car until that one runs out of Shaken. Rinse and repeat.
 |
| Nissan X-Trail |
Insurance - Jibaiseki Hoken
The other insurance is Compulsory Insurance, and the clue is in the name in that it is Compulsory. The Japanese name for this is Jibaiseki Hoken. This insurance covers injuries to others in the event of a traffic incident. It does not provide coverage for your own injuries, nor any property damage.
The payouts for your potential victims have limits: ¥1.2m for Medical, Max ¥30m for death and max ¥40m for permanent disability.
Buying the insurance is pretty straightforward. For a new vehicle, it's part of the package and it will also be a couple of years worth. Otherwise you can take out a policy online or even at a Convenience store. For a standard passenger car, a 2 year policy costs ¥17,650.
You have to carry the paper certificate for this at all times in your vehicle. If you are caught without it, the fine is ¥300,000. If you don't have the insurance at all, then the fine is unto ¥500,000 plus potential prison time, so make sure you have it and keep it somewhere safe in your vehicle!
 |
| Our new car! |
We Finally have a Car
After all the messing about - including I think at least 3 trips back to the dealership to sort out some small thing or another that can't be done online, we finally picked up our new car. This was a non-event really - the salesman did a great job going over everything before we even did the deal so there really wasn't that much needed in terms of a handover, just checking that the car is as-ordered, which it was.
I was almost disappointed that only our salesman ran through the carpark to guide us out and back onto the main road as the time we signed the deal we had 3 guys including the Dealer Principle. I almost amusingly expected the entire staff to see us off - thankfully not though.
The car didn't come with a full tank of gas, only half a tank. Apparently this is the norm. Every single car I have ever bought from a dealer, no matter how cheap or expensive has always come with a full tank of fuel. It's just a courtesy. On a $50,000+ NZD car, a tank of gas is nothing.
From this car buying experience I've learned one thing, and that is that I'm not too keen on having my own car here in Japan. Everything around it (mainly insurance) seems like such a hassle as well as being extremely costly. I'm also not too keen to even drive our own car. I haven't driven on Japan's roads yet to get used to the various road layout nuances and rules, and especially I'm not overly keen on navigating these super narrow roads in a bloody massive SUV. Our first car here, in my eyes was supposed to be a Kei - something low cost and practical and then buy a big car later if and when we decide we need it, but it's Tomomi's Car and I think I'll stick to two wheels!
In Closing
I hope this has given you some insight into buying a Car in Japan, and if anything at least make you think twice if you actually need one, and if you do, to make sure you do your homework on all the costs particularly insurance. But when it comes to looking at cars, take your time and visit the dealerships and enjoy free coffee.
Post a Comment