Report highlights risks of buying grey import vehicles

Many of the cars on the province’s roads are grey imports and fears are growing that some of these vehicles have been stolen in Japan.

The risks associated with buying such a vehicle were thought to be slight, until a BBC Watchdog documentary claimed that there were up to 65,000 stolen Japanese imported vehicles in the UK.

The AA warn: “Cars imported from outside the EU (grey imports) bring with them slight risks for the purchaser, even when the car is genuine and brand new.

“Until recently that risk was associated with the fact that grey imports have a different specification to equivalent UK models. Servicing and repair might be difficult or more costly to obtain, security features are non-existent, parts might be difficult to obtain and UK dealer diagnostic equipment might be incompatible.”

However, for used cars, one significant problem is the difficulty of determining the car's history before it arrives in the UK. The BBC Watchdog programme has highlighted the serious risk to buyers of grey imports - the car might have been stolen in Japan. There is believed to be between 10,000 and 65,000 stolen Japanese cars in the UK.

The AA say that if you already own a Japanese grey import then the UK dealer can check the VIN plate/chassis number against records held in Japan. You must produce the V5 registration document and the dealer may charge a small search fee. This check will confirm that the car's identity has not been changed and will provide the information necessary for your local police stolen vehicle squad to check the car against international stolen vehicle records.

The AA warn that the legal situation is complex and you should seek legal advice immediately if either a dealer or a police check reveals anything suspicious about the car's identity or its past history in Japan.

If the car has been stolen the police can impound it without any compensation being paid. So if you're buying a car check to see if it is a grey import and do a history check first.

(SP)