Prius imports

[DoktorDyper]

Hello new member here.

I currently own a Verso which my wife mainly uses and I’ve been very impressed with the reliability of it and the dealer service.

As my VW Diesel is getting to the point where I’m starting to worry about expensive repair bills, and also I’m not driving the high miles that I was, I’m thinking about getting rid of it.

Top of my list to replace it is a Prius. They seem to be very highly thought of and would suit my driving habits.

Searching Autotrader I’m finding a lot of the Priuses on there are imports. Is this anything to worry about? Presumably I wouldn’t get the balance of the Toyota warranty if it’s under 5 years old. Are there any other possible pitfalls?

Thanks

[FROSTYBALLS]

Japanese domestic market (JDM) imports won't have any official Toyota warranty. The five year/100,000 mile new car warranty only comes on new cars imported by and sold by Toyota GB.

The multi media units on JDM cars will be in Japanese, and probably won't be able to be converted into English. 

May be advisable to have the underside coated with additional rust protection

[DoktorDyper]

Thanks for the reply.

I probably won’t consider one in that case.

Why so many? Is there so much demand for them here, and why don’t Toyota import more themselves?

[FROSTYBALLS]

Sales of new Prius are on the decline.

Grey imports from Japan are attractive to some as they're generally cheaper on the used market. Additionally some grey imports are for models which are no longer sold or have never been sold in Europe (eg the Estima which was last officially imported into Europe in 2006 as the Previa). Not so attractive for most other European countries as JDM vehicles, like the UK, are RHD as standard.

[QuantumFireball]

15 hours ago, FROSTYBALLS said:

The multi media units on JDM cars will be in Japanese, and probably won't be able to be converted into English. 

Importers often replace the head units anyway, either way it's not too hard buy a fascia adaptor and fit a double-DIN unit yourself. The instrument cluster can be converted to English, again this is something the importer may have already done. But consider the costs of both if they haven't been done.

I don't think the underseal is any different on JDM models these days.

You can get up to 15 years extended warranty on the hybrid Battery on a UK car with annual checks, but this won't be available on imports from outside Europe.

You can now also get history reports on Japanese imports: https://carvx.jp

[Catlover]

Personally I wouldn’t touch a Prius Japanese import. No Toyota uk warranty would be a big thing for me. Presumably the Imports are cheaper then Uk dealer supplied, but that benefit could easily go with one problem.

Having said that, the Prius is an amazing car. Mine is5 years old at end of this month. I had the Gen4 for just over 3 years, bought from Toyota dealer with just over 20k miles, now done 37k. No problems for me, except the common problem with 12v Battery suffering in the last 18 months due to COVID lack of use and cold winter. I got that problem covered now.              
I just love driving it, it’s the Excel which has leather seats, lots of useful safety aids, JBL 10 speaker system (sounds good) but with optional 15”+wheels (17” standard). I find the 17” low profile too harsh over sleeping policemen and potholes.  And it’s the colour I wanted, Hypersonic Red, as displayed on the car in the adverts.  Over the 37k miles it has done 70.4 mpg, on holiday to Norfolk in June (over 700 miles) it averaged 80.4 mpg. The best I have achieved is over a single 50 mile journey at 96.6 mpg.  Just a so relaxing drive. You cannot feel the changeover from engine to Battery driven, and back to engine, nothing, so smooth.   It’s comfy, seats 5, plenty foot space in the back

I certainly recommend the Prius, but stick to a UK model, it’s made in Japan anyway, but specifically for the Uk market. Buy a used one registered before July 1st 2021 and you get 5 year warranty, then covered by the Relax annual warranty scheme up to 10years/100000k miles by having car service annually at Toyota dealer. The hybrid Battery warranty is extended annually up to 15 years if you have the Hybrid Health Check, free with a Toyota service, otherwise £45 currently.

If you need any other info just come back to me.

[TonyHSD]

Biggest problem with JDM Priuses is the mileage and general history of the car., previous accidents and maintenance. Most of the Priuses are used as taxi all around the world including Japan. , ironically most of the jdm Priuses are low miles when sold in UK, something to think about it, plus accidents happen over there too, make sure you inspect the car thoroughly before purchase. Infotainment screen is also in Japanese only, add the cost for replacement with eu spec plus the slightly increased insurance cost and you might be better with official uk import instead of jdm. 👍 Other than that nothing wrong with Japanese Priuses. 

[ToyotaAurisHybrid]

I plan on importing a Gen3 prius next year. I've imported 4 cars from Japan previously and it's very straight forwards.

As with any car purchase, do your research properly and you reduce the risks of buying a dud. I always use an agent in Japan to act on my behalf, who can translate auction sheets for you and arrange for extra on the day pictures of the car for you - eg underneath. A prius with say 60k miles on can be had for thousands less on the road than the equivalent UK car, plus it won't have had the same exposure to salt on roads if bought from the right part of Japan. CarVX reports are well worth the £26 they cost. Japanese MOT standards (they call it 'shaken') are also far higher than the UK MOT.

A £30 GPS speedo solves the speed in KM/H issue and the headunit can be upgraded relatively easily, or an FM band expander fitted, or a DAB after market unit that uses an FM frequency to transmit on added.

Finally, buy a 10 year old + car - anything under that age requires an IVA test in addition to a simple MOT.

Happy to help in any way (and the same goes for anybody else) if you do go for it. Just PM me