Legal
Import terms of business
What we commit to when we source a vehicle for you, what you commit to, and how the money works at each stage.
These terms apply when we source and import a vehicle to your order. They sit alongside the written quotation for your specific vehicle. Where the two differ, the written quotation takes priority.
1. What we do
We act as your buying agent. We search the Japanese auctions and dealer stock for the vehicle you have specified, translate and assess the auction inspection sheet, bid on your behalf up to an agreed maximum, and arrange export, shipping, customs clearance, testing and UK registration.
We do not own the vehicle at auction. We buy it as your agent, on your instruction and at your risk as to condition and market price.
2. Your brief and our quotation
You tell us the vehicle, the specification, the minimum acceptable grade and your total budget. We give you a written landed quotation covering the vehicle, our fee, export costs, freight, marine insurance, customs duty and VAT, UK testing, registration and delivery.
The quotation states which figures are fixed and which are estimates. Duty and VAT are charged by HMRC on the vehicle, the agent's fee and the freight combined, and are set by HMRC, not by us.
3. Deposit and authority to bid
We require a deposit before bidding. The deposit confirms your instruction and secures your place in the auction.
Before each auction we agree a maximum bid with you in writing. We will not exceed it. If we win at or below it, you are committed to the purchase, because the auction sale is binding on us the moment the hammer falls and cannot be reversed.
This is the most important point in these terms. Once we bid with your authority and win, the car is bought. Please be certain before you give us a maximum.
4. If we are not successful
Japanese auctions are competitive and not every bid wins. If we do not win, we simply bid on the next suitable vehicle at no extra charge.
If you decide to stop looking before we have won a vehicle, we will refund your deposit less any costs we have already incurred on your behalf, which we will itemise.
5. Condition of the vehicle
We assess every vehicle from its independent auction inspection sheet and send you our translation and assessment before you commit. We will tell you plainly what the sheet says, including anything we do not like.
The auction sheet is prepared by an independent inspector, not by us. It is reliable but it is not a mechanical warranty, and it cannot record every fault. Used vehicles are sold as used vehicles. We do not warrant that a vehicle will be free of wear, minor faults or cosmetic imperfection consistent with its age, mileage and grade.
If a vehicle arrives materially different from its auction sheet, tell us immediately and we will take it up with the auction house and our agent in Japan on your behalf.
6. Costs, currency and duty
Vehicles are bought in Japanese yen and shipping is priced in yen or dollars. Exchange rates move between the auction and settlement. Our quotations are worked at deliberately conservative exchange rates so that the final figure normally lands at or below the quote, but a significant currency movement can change the final cost, and the actual rate applied will be shown on your invoice.
Import duty, VAT and any other charge levied by HMRC are payable at the rate and classification HMRC applies to the vehicle at the time of clearance. Where a preferential duty rate or a relief applies, we will claim it, but we cannot guarantee that HMRC will grant it.
Port storage charges caused by delays outside our control, such as customs inspections, are passed on at cost with evidence.
7. Payment and title
The balance is payable at the stages set out in your quotation. Ownership of the vehicle passes to you when we have received payment in full. Risk passes on delivery or collection.
We may hold a vehicle until it is paid for in full.
8. Timescales
A typical import takes eight to twelve weeks from a successful auction to a UK-registered vehicle. Sailing schedules, port congestion, customs inspections and DVLA processing times are outside our control, and timescales we give are estimates rather than guarantees.
9. Registration and roadworthiness
Where your quotation includes UK registration, we arrange the customs entry, any required modifications, the MOT or IVA, and the DVLA application.
A vehicle supplied landed only, without registration, cannot legally be driven or insured on UK roads until testing and registration are complete.
10. Cancellation
You may cancel at any time before we bid, on the deposit terms in section 4.
After a successful auction bid the purchase cannot be cancelled, because the vehicle has been bought on your instruction and cannot be returned to the auction.
Where you deal with us as a consumer, this does not affect any legal rights you have that cannot be excluded.
11. Complaints
If something goes wrong, contact us first and we will try to sort it out. We would always rather fix a problem than argue about it.
12. Governing law
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.
Contact us
Area 9 JDM Imports Ltd
Registered in England & Wales, company no. 17111403
Registered office: 5 The Glen, Rayleigh, Essex SS6 7QZ
Email: info@area9jdm.co.uk
Phone: 07903 232142