Hi All
Newbie here…Thought I would share our experience so far of buying a 2017 VW Passat Estate (B8) R-Line 2.0 TSI (217bhp) / DSG, imported from Japan.
The car is in immaculate condition and the 2.0 TSI petrol combined with the DSG is so smooth and powerful. The level of tech is luxury, full digital cockpit, full leather, fully electric/heated front seats (driver seat with memory function and massage function), reverse camera, lane assist, park assist, cruise control down to 0mph + restart in traffic, electric tailgate, blind spot detection, apple/android connection.
We purchased from a company near Chester who specialise in parallel (unmodified) imports from Japan. All import paperwork and costs etc were taken care of by them. Including the UK IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) test to ensure all parts on the vehicle have EU part numbers, as well as MOT & DVLA registration etc.
We happened to buy the car almost as soon as it arrived in the UK, unfortunately at this stage the timescale of being able to drive the car away was a guess at best.
The IVA test availability was around a 4 week wait. Once the IVA was passed the dealership registered the car with the DVLA for the first time to get the V5 and registration plate which took around a week, and then once the DVLA issued the registration plate it took another week before insurance companies could find the registration plate on their systems (they would build insurance quotes manually from the chassis number, but wouldn't allow me to purchase the insurance until they could confirm the reg plate). We eventually insured through Churchills at a reasonable price.
It took around 6 weeks in total for us (I'd say this could be quicker/slower by +-2 weeks depending on IVA test cancellations and the DVLA delays). It also depends at which stage you buy the car of course, as soon as the dealership gets the car they will start the process regardless!
Vehicles imported from Japan are not required to pay UK road tax on emissions levels from what I understand, but on engine size/fuel type. Ours was £345.
A couple of things I wish I knew more about beforehand.
1. Importing a car from Japan will usually mean there is some form of ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) / DSRC (Dedicated Short-Range Communications) device installed for Japanese toll roads. The card reader was in the glovebox and was removed by the dealership, however there is a small scanner device at the top/inside of the windscreen with a flat ribbon cable connected to it (almost invisible due to it being behind the rear-view mirror when sat in the driver seat). I've asked the dealership if this can also be removed, to avoid any potential issue from AutoGlass etc refusing to touch it in the event I need a new windscreen.
2. Importing a car from Japan means no DAB radio (Japan don't have it, apparently it’s because DAB operates on the same frequency as the scanners/toll roads), and for some reason it has limited FM stations. The MIB2 unit in the glovebox (for the Discover Pro Navigation) does not have the DAB hardware, as well as the antenna being only AM/FM. I was unaware of this and never thought to ask/check with the car having so much tech! I feel that the dealership should really have mentioned it as a characteristic of a Japanese import. I am looking at DAB apps to use via the Apple/Android connection, no big deal but a bit disappointed.
If I'd have known this next point, I wouldn't have purchased the car. Advice welcome please!
I called VW in Wigan to ask about the possibility of a DAB upgrade, I was met with a pretty firm answer from an aftersales manager of +20 years that VW UK could not connect their diagnostic systems to a car that wasn't originally built for the UK market. The VIN number will apparently always be linked to Japan (ASIA Region) and ANY service or repair work that requires plugging in will NOT BE POSSIBLE by a VW main dealership. I have contacted numerous VW dealerships now as well as customer support, they either don't know or take some sort of a guess but can't say for certain either way. The guy at VW in Wigan was so sure this was correct, he wouldn't even entertain me bringing it down for them to plug it in.
It appears that the ‘ODIS’ software (Offboard Diagnostic Information System) that VW use may only be able to access VIN numbers that are registered internally by VW to the UK.
So many parts on a vehicle must be coded to the ECU/VIN of the vehicle, I don’t understand how private dealerships can import a VW to the UK that VW UK can’t support. The dealership I purchased from are only offering lip service about any future issues with coded parts on the car, and won't offer anything in writing from their conversations with VW who said they would 'happily work on our car'.
Does anyone know if there is some solution to swap the VIN Region from ASIA to UK to allow VW to support imported cars that meet all UK specifications?
Don’t get me wrong, I avoid main dealerships because of the extremely overpriced labour rate they charge, and I understand there are independent garages out there that do VW retrofits and coding, but if all else fails I want the option to take it to VW and let them open my wallet for a quick solution.
Cheers
Tom
