Had my california license for over 10 years prior to moving to japan.
-Do i need to go to a driving school to get a japanese license or can it be converted?
-any driving or tax laws i should be aware of that are unique to japan? (Im local to Tokorozawa if it helps)
-Whats the process of buying a car in japan like? Is the negotiating as bad as in America or is the price firm?
– How much is required as a down-payment? (my budget is 2,500,000 preferably less).
-When is the best time to buy a car? like end of the year sales to make space for next year’s models or something like that. Got a thrifty ass japanese wife so gotta get the best deal possible.
Never purchased a new car before but love camping and might have a bun in the oven soon so any and all information and advice would be really helpful. 🙂
3 comments
Convert your license, search for the threads about doing it, or any of the JET guides available online.
Much easier and cheaper than going for a license from zero.
You can negotiate car prices here, but in 2022, don’t expect much, since most new cars are coming with a 6-18 month waiting time, making used cars more desirable and expensive.
When I bought my car, it was on the lot already, so I was able to get about 300,000 off the asking price by playing hard ball (saying I went to Daihatsu and got a quote of xxxx really helped, despite not actually doing such a thing)
Converting your license: https://www.keishicho.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/multilingual/english/traffic_safety/drivers_licenses/index.html
You will have to get a Japanese drivers license if you want to keep driving in Japan but you will have to take both a written test and a driving test. The written test is easy. The driving test is a pain. I took it three times before I passed it.
I bought my first car in Japan the day after I got PR and financed it through Nissan Finance. I had to provide verification of my PR, which I got from my city office, and I needed a Japanese national to guarantee the car loan, so my husband co-signed.