How to find a good car at the domestic Japanese market of used cars
In latest years lots of people of different nations move to Japan from abroad. They move for business, study, family and many other reasons. And, if you are one of them, in any case you need a car to drive, because otherwise in Japan it will be difficult to catch up with the pace of life. I advice you to buy the used one, they are superior in quality, and the price is like a quarter of the new one, so you feel no difference, I can swear to you. Japan is the paradise full of the used cars in this sense. However, without knowledge of the Japanese language it is not easy to understand how to find the car you need. The best way is to try websites. Japanese Internet is developed even more than in the US, and everybody can easily find the used car fitting his/her tastes. I recommend you Yahoo and Google – those are the best options for Internet search in Japan.
For the basic search I recommend you to try the phrase “tyukosya kensaku” – the “used car search”. From my experience it displays the best sites on the Japanese market providing English language in their interface. Any of them is OK to choose to search for the used car of your dream.
If you have some more concrete ideas on the car you are eager to get, especially if it the car of an exact brand, try to use a phrase like “BMW tyukosya” – “BMW used car” if you want to buy a nice used car from BMW. Here you can replace “BMW” with any car maker’s brand you would like to search for, and that will work!
At the same time, some must sell, not buy. It happens often: new models are released, cars are replaced, people leave Japan, some need money urgently, etc. And if you are in this group of people “to sell, not to buy”, as we will say, it is very easy to sell your used car via Internet too. Maybe, I guess, Japan is the easiest country in this world in this sense. Just type “kuruma kaitori” – “car buy-out”, and the displayed sites will let you input your information about the car you want to sell (however, some basic Japanese language ability might be required), and on the same day, or on the next day as latest, the representatives of dozens of car-dealers will approach you with their estimations of your car price. Believe me, they offer a good deal, from my experience.
And that it all you need to know in order to live a happy car-life in Japan. Enjoy your ride!