New Car
Hello. I recently bought this 1999 G500 Japanese import which is now on the boat. Fingers crossed it will arrive without too much damage being done en route. Got ride of my Jag V8 a few years ago so looking forward to playing with this.
Cheers
Very nice. Are you importing it having bought it unseen?
It's a nice motor for sure...
Having said that... Most 500's tend to be!!!
Including transport, was the price competitive with UK prices? I've been looking for a RHD SWB V8 G for some time.
Lovely cars! Late nineties 500 are said to be the best ever G wagen built. Looks good on the picture. No doubt you will enjoy .
Looks great. Late 90's G's all the way.
Welcome to the exclusive G500 SWB club!!
I love my 1999 UK model - are there any significant spec differences with the Japanese version?
Welcome to the Wood, leather, carpet and power Brigade!
Nice colour, was it originally for the Japanise market? Or is it one of those ones that went from the UK to Japan and is now coming back?
So when do we expect to see you whizzing around in it?
Spider1V
Thanks for the comments. It is a Japanese spec car (so not one that was originally from the UK). Apart from the speedo and odometer being in kms everything else that I can see looks familiar. Reasonable set of options on it (thanks for the info Gav).
Ian - I would say yes competitive with the prices here once shipping and taxes are added. But just as rare there as here I'm afraid, particularly in RHD. Most G500s are LWB over there as far as I can tell, and of those most are LHD. Many Japanese prefer luxury foreign cars in LHD as to them it adds some exclusivity. Add to that the mileage on this car (81,000 miles) and many Japanese will not even consider it.
if you have seen "Black Rain" lhd Mercs are the Yakusa weapon of choice
Ian - I would say yes competitive with the prices here once shipping and taxes are added. But just as rare there as here I'm afraid, particularly in RHD. Most G500s are LWB over there as far as I can tell, and of those most are LHD. Many Japanese prefer luxury foreign cars in LHD as to them it adds some exclusivity. Add to that the mileage on this car (81,000 miles) and many Japanese will not even consider it.
Many thanks. So did you research/find it, or did you have someone on the ground doing the leg-work for you?
My '91 300GES has about 83,000 on it. Everybody comments on how low the mileage is
Ian - I have family in Japan who have been looking out for something interesting for me. Yes the mileage thing in Japan is crazy. When I lived there I picked up an 18 month old Jaguar XKR for very little just because it had 35,000 kms on the clock. It was parked up in a corner of the dealer's yard as no one wanted it.
Ian - I have family in Japan who have been looking out for something interesting for me. Yes the mileage thing in Japan is crazy. When I lived there I picked up an 18 month old Jaguar XKR for very little just because it had 35,000 kms on the clock. It was parked up in a corner of the dealer's yard as no one wanted it.
Lucky you. Well now that you've found out how much fun it is to source and import a nice V8, I suggest you sell yours to me and start all over again, I'm sure you'd enjoy it 
. After all did you really want one in that colour ?
Well if my wife does not like the colour then I might have to find another one..............wife or car? Ummmm
Devonjem, congratulations, it sounds a very attractive option and I'm looking forward to hearing more about it.
Do you know yet if there will be an issue with various lamp lenses, seat belts and that sort of stuff from a European/UK Construction and Use point of view? I don't know how these things work anymore......
I think the headlights and foglight are fine as these are already set up for driving on the left as we do here. The other thing is the speedo which is in kph. When I imported a Jag from Japan I had to change the speedo to mph. That was a requirement of the SVA test (required for cars under 10 years old) not the MOT. I am told by my local garage that nowadays the speedo is part of the MOT but only to check one exists and is complete and working, so it seems at least for MOT purposes the kph dial is not an issue. But I will change it anyway as I think there might be other rules that require it if the dash matrix display does not have the mph function (not sure yet if the matrix display on this car has the mph function).
I am not expecting any issues with seatbelts etc. but you never know. I know that importing newer cars requires more work in terms of certificates of conformity/SVA tests, but for ones over 10 years old then the process is a bit easier.
When's the big day?
Well I got this car here and registered. All in all a smooth process. No damage suffered on the marine transit. My customs agent was very good. He took care of the Revenue payment, NOVA registration and got the car released within 24 hours of landing. VAT is of course unavoidable, as is import duty although regarding the latter there is relief for EU manufactured items including cars that are coming back into the EU. Pick up from Bristol was straight forward - just show a few i.d. documents and proof of payment of the VAT. Car was parked just a few metres from the water's edge next to rows of new Range Rovers ready for shipment.
Got its road tax (£230), MOT and insurance on the VIN pending registration. Adrian Flux wanted a ridiculous £700 premium and they made a big deal about not many insurers being prepared to insure on the VIN. The first 2 insurers I approached after Flux were happy to do it - Admiral and Direct Line. Went with Admiral as I use them already and just paid a small adjustment to the existing premium.
The registration form has lots of boxes to complete regarding the car's specifications, most of which I left blank as they referred to specs from the certificate of conformity which this car, being over 10 years old, did not need. Neither did it need the SVA test for the same reason. DVLA were quick and sent a new V5C 8 days after submission of the form. The car was built in 1999 and first registered in April 2000. DVLA allocated a W plate.
So just need to bolt on the plates and that is it. Not as daunting a process as I had anticipated. The car colour is supposed to be emerald black metallic - most of the time it looks dark blue but in the right light it looks a bit bluey greeny.
Welcome to the Wood, Leather and Carpet Brigade (Power Division). Nice colour, nice car and great Engine! 
Spider1V
Well done...I'm sure it's been worth the wait....not that I'm jealous or anything 
Congratulations; it looks like a nice car.
You will have read all sorts of armchair exports denouncing imports for various reasons. Except you will now have a nice car that you can enjoy knowing it was bought at the right price.
My LWB G500 is LHD and came from Japan earlier this year. It is in fantastic condition, and last month I had my trusted specialist give it a going over, and it didnt need much. I have done 4k miles since buying it and have enjoyed every one.
Very nice.
Nice G, I hope you come to a meet sometime so I can see it in person. Does it have the multifunction steering wheel and computer dash? They started in mid '99
Thanks for the comments. Yes it has the multi function steering wheel and larger digital readout. As it is a RHD, no modifications were needed to get the MOT or registration. No questions were asked about the speedo, which is in kph, although the digital readout has a mph function.
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Yes I have not seen it. I am relying to some extent on my father-in-law who has seen it and knows a bit more than me about cars - or so he says!