Hello, currently an assistant language teacher living in rural Japan. I have a dilemma to do with my car that I’m hoping those with more experience would be able to help me out with.
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For context, I arrived in September last year and purchased a 20 year old Honda Life from my predecessor for very cheap. The car seemed to be running fine until about a month ago when engine issues began to appear and have since persisted. Managed to get the car looked at at a local garage but even since then, the car has occasionally just completely stopped while idle at traffic lights, with the battery warning indicator appearing. I’m normally able to get the car started in those situations but I honestly feel the car is nearing the end of its lifespan. According to my colleague, my predecessor had similar issues with the engine when they had it too.
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Anyway, the shaken is due in a couple of months for the car and I’m reluctant to pay such a hefty sum of money for an old car that I know firsthand has issues. The thing is, I plan on staying at my placement for another 18 months from now and it would be very difficult to get by without a car where I live. Based on this situation, does anyone have any suggestions? Considering I don’t plan on living here in 18 months, I’m also reluctant to buy another car outright but I guess I could recoup the money when I leave. What are my options? What about leasing a car in Japan? Thanks in advance!!
by willkunn
10 comments
>car has occasionally just completely stopped while idle at traffic lights, with the battery warning indicator appearing.
this sounds like a typical battery health problem. your battery is probably at end of it’s lifespan.
I suggest first getting your battery health checked. if it’s failing you can simply replace it with a new battery for 4000-5000¥.
kei cars like honda life doesn’t need any fancy batteries. simply buy a battery from a nearby komeri power and change it yourself if possible.
leasing a car in Japan without having a long visa is a hassle.
Maybe just go to a used car dealership in your town. Give them your budget and they’ll find a suitable car (even if they don’t have a match currently on the lot).
They might take your old car off your hands for free (which would be good since there is usually a disposal fee).
As someone else said, check the battery. If the battery’s good your alternator is probably bad.
Edit: the battery could also be bad because the alternator’s busted. My best guess based on what you said is it’s the alternator.
Guys, look, if he is able to restart his car then his stalling problem might not be an issue with the charging system. I would try to get a code scan done. It could be an issue with a fuel delivery problem or a spark problem.
A 20 yr old kei. how many kms on the odo?
I’m curious what the garage said. It should be fuel, ignition or air. None of them are potentially that expensive. But what has been done so far? Can you ask the previous ALT if they ever had maintenance done? Might steer you in the right direction.
in the mean time
I suspect it’s an automatic car so what does slipping it into N when you are idling do? It should lighten the load on the engine and maybe that will help. Some of the ALTs here in rural Aomori rent bangers off local car shops for 15,000~20,000 a month depending on condition. They don’t pay anything extra except gas. Ask around.
That’s not the battery if he can start. The battery light goes off because the engine stopped with ignition on. As the alternator stops turning and generating voltage, the battery light goes off. Same as when turning the ignition without starting the engine. I suppose no maintenance was done on this car, so it can be a lot of things, but I’ll start by checking the air filter and plugs.
It could be an issue with the alternator which is a simple repair and shouldn’t cost much. It could be other things that aren’t also that expensive either. Nobody here can diagnose the issue over a text post so you should first take it to a shop to have them diagnose and get a quote. You can also ask if they notice any other glaring issues that need to be fixed when it comes time to get shaken.
Personally, I’d keep the car. Even including repairs, the kei shaken is pretty cheap. It’ll be cheaper than buying a used car. When you buy a used car you’re usually paying for the cost of the car + shaken anyway.
Leasing can be a costly option depending on the price. A used car lease might run about 30,000 a month and for 18 months that’s over 500,000 yen.
I also wouldn’t count on recouping any car-related expenses when you leave. Dealers will offer you pocket change and the demand for private party sales isn’t that high. A lot of people just junk their cars when they leave because nobody wants to buy them.
Had the same problem with mine and I junk and got 5000¥ from a junkyard and bought another for 100,000 with 2 yr shaken
The shaken cost itself isn’t the problem. Keeping it running is and you’ll have to pay for that regardless of shaken. You have to decide if shaken plus repairs is going to cost you less than a replacement (plus maybe a shaken and repairs depending on what you buy).
Just buy a second hand kei car.. bought mine a daihatsu mira custom 70000 km on it for 220000 yen with 2 years shaken.. for it’s age 2008 model i paid around 12000 yen for yearly tax… good car that will bring you to point a to point b.