I’m living in Aomori prefecture for at least the next year under SOFA status, and I was looking into buying a Hilux since I’m more inclined to towards pickups back in the US as well, and I found a few online, but they’re pretty far off. Would buying one and having it shipped up to me be something dealerships would work with? I asked my coworkers, but all of them just say buy from an American at Misawa or something, but I’m kinda committed on the Hiluxes. Any advice on buying from Japanese dealers would also be very much so appreciated!
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Yeah, you can work with that. You just need to cover shipping costs. Nice choice on vehicle as well.
Why not buy the Hilux from a Toyota dealership in Japan? They’re a Japanese company after all.
Go to one of the off-base dealers.
They will be able arrange purchase and shipping. There are a few Hi-luxes for sale around Hachinohe.
It will take some time especially if you want to buy at near wholesale on auction. MVP been doing for years
https://www.mvpusedcars.com/inventory
https://www.goo-net.com/is your friend. Use chrome and the translate function. You’ll see 2 prices. One an as is, and one after JCI and garage add ons. Do not buy an American car in Japan unless you’re *really* into American cars. I know SOFA JCI is cheaper but you’ll still pay out the ass for road tax and gas.
https://toyota.jp/hilux/
You can buy them in Japan if this is useful.
Yeah man. I bought a Hilux Surf from Kobe and had it shipped for about 50000 Yen. It’s pretty straightforward.
I bought a car off goo-net with the help of a local dealer. They physically goto the auction and bid on it for you. It took some time (couple weeks ) and cost some extra cash for the shaken, but I still did OK (got a 09 STI hatchback with 70k km for cheap). You are taking a risk, as you don’t really know what you got until the auction gives the car to the dealer, but most of the condition sheets are pretty accurate.
I bought several vehicles in my 10+ years of SOFA status at Misawa, all from dealers right off base. Buying from other Americans leaves you at the mercy of what is available when you arrive.
My advice would be to ask the dealers to search for the vehicle you want, they have been pretty accommodating in my experience.
Be prepared to lose money when you sell if you pay more for your Hilux than your average American PCSing to Misawa is willing to pay for an old car.
Specifically answering your question, what you describe is exactly what I did through a broker that specializes in purchasing from auctions for foreigners (I’m in Tokyo, though). Transport fee to central Tokyo from broader Kanto region was ¥28,000.
Happy hunting
A friend of mine works for [japancardirect.com](https://japancardirect.com). Good bunch of guys who are just on the auction sites bidding on cars for people, and then arranging shipping. They mainly ship outside Japan but they can do domestic as well. You get in touch and let them know what you’re looking for and your budget and they do the buying and delivering.