Office +254 715 002 323 / Sean +254 722 513 143/ Josphat +254 722 301 494 / Simon +254 722 725 580
Lavington Nairobi, Kenya

Imports 12 Months Guarantee with Japanese Imports

HomeImports 12 Months Guarantee with Japanese Imports

Imports 12 Months Guarantee with Japanese Imports

 

We pride ourselves in being specialists in this complex field. Many people try to import vehicles on their own, thinking is far cheaper, but often end up on the wrong “side of the bed!” Either the car is not what they had hoped for or the duty is far higher than anticipated plus a multitude of other problems. Odometers have been fiddled, the car is a stolen vehicle or has been a write-off car & rebuilt. Far better, safer & cheaper to go to an honorable dealer.

60%  percent of our business comes from importing high quality vehicles from Japan, England, Thailand and Australia.

In Japan, we normally buy from the auctions “live”, where much information is forthcoming. Here we are able to see ahead of time which  cars are going to be offered.

The cars bought, are always in A1 condition with mileages that are genuine & generally lower than in the U.K. or other markets. This is because many people commute to the main cities by train and leave their cars at home. In fact in Japan, many people only insure their cars for weekends.

UK cars can to be less expensive than Japanese vehicles. However, they normally have higher mileages and sometimes suffer  from rust,so these we leave. This is because of the salt used on their roads in winter. Because of our duty structure, prices are lower for cars seven or eight years old and thus such UK cars are very hard to find in good condition. In Japan, those who live in snow regions are required by law to use snow tyres as salt is not used.

In Japan we are able to use an auction sheet that gives us 100% accurate information about a certain vehicle. We are able to know if a car had one previous owner, if the mileage is correct, the condition of the exterior and interior, if it had an owner that smoked, what accessories it has, if the car has had an accident or not and much more.

The confidence we have with our Japanese imports allows us to give a 12 month warranty. This is on the main drive train labour & parts. It should be noted that warranty is only carried out in a workshop authorized by us.

Our criteria are , must be Top condition, have genuine kms, be accident free, was a one owner car with service history & not been owned by a smoker – to get rid of cigarette smell is almost impossible.

When importing , cars are either duty paid or duty free ,depending on the client’s requirements.

We also try have a few “selected “cars for stock, which we hold in Japan & Kenya awaiting sale.

To start the process ,when sourcing for a car in, the make,model & budget are agreed upon  with the client. We then require a commitment fee of between 200,000/- to  500.000/- Ksh ( depending on the expected final cost) .

Once a car is found & the costs known & prior to shipment,unless in stock, the client must pay us or the overseas supplier,  direct, the “off shore” cost,

Prior to arrival the client must then pay us the “final” cost to cover duty , clearing etc. which we arrange with our clearing agent.

The one expectation is when a client wishes to finance the car. Here we take a 30% deposit of the final cost & an approval from Stanbic, our approved finance house.

With Duty free cars we required a 100% of the price paid to us, prior to shipment.

It takes between eight to ten weeks to find a suitable vehicle, ship it and clear through the port of Mombasa were we  transport all cars to Nairobi using car carriers.

If we are unable to find a suitable car within a reasonable space of time, the commitment fee is refunded in full.

Many unsuspecting buyers end up paying for vehicles that don’t exist because many websites in the internet are fraught with danger. The other day, I met some unsuspecting Kenyans who had sent $35,000 to Japan hoping to buy a vehicle and lost the lot! It was a fake company on the internet!

Once a car arrives with us, it’s given a full service & bumper to bumper check over . Anything found to be faulty is repaired or replaced prior to delivery. Any paint defects, if any, are also corrected prior to delivery too. At this time all duty and import papers are given in full to the owner.

Kenyan law does not allow us to import vehicles older than 8 years old unlike Tanzania, Sudan & Uganda where we also export to.

In England, as in Thailand & Australia, we have a very reliable and reputable company to help source our cars. Although prices can be lower than Japan, mileages seldom are. For instance, you would never find a seven or eight year old Prado with genuine 15,000km, which is not unusual in Japan. As mentioned,body and chassis rust can be a problem in the UK due to the usage of salt on the road during winter.

Sean Garstin Motors is in a position to finance cars duty paid of up to 9 years of age,(Periods of 12 > 48 months) for approved clients. See our Calculator for costs.

We also assist in selling cars on behalfof clients. This can be very useful for expats or diplomats leaving Kenya as they normally need to use their cars until they depart. We can either sell the car duty free (if already duty free) or duty paid. This alleviates people having to sell their car in a rush at give-away prices which is often the case. Once sold, we forward the money to them anywhere in the world.

Warning: if something is too cheap, walk away, it cannot be done!

Please visit us for an elaborate, detailed and interactive discussion on how we can assist you in sourcing a “proper” vehicle.

wolks

GET IN TOUCH/REVIEW US

Tel: +254 715 002323
Mobile: Sean +254 722 513143
Josphat +254 722 301494
Simon +254 722 725580
Email:
sean@seangarstinmotors.com or josphat@seangarstinmotors.com or simon@seangarstinmotors.com