Milage Check

[bear]

Hello. Just had a milage check done on my surf from bimta,
At the time of auction in japan 8th october 2003, it read 171000 kilometres, Approx, 106224 miles.
I bought it from dealer and acording to the log book he acquired it on the 15th January 2004 and it had 109783 kilometres, Approx, 68197 miles on it so somwhere down the line it has lost around 38000 miles, I am sure the dealer bought it from auction, I have not told him about it yet.
Should I approach the dealer with this info, not sure what to do really.
Anyone any thoughts about this.
Cheers Kevin.

[That Ruddy Squirrel]

I would be asking him some serious questions if I was you - UNLESS when the car was brought it was covered in the stickers that disclaim mileage.

If he sold it to you with 68,000 miles declared he is on sticky ground.


Trev

[bear]

I would be asking him some serious questions if I was you - UNLESS when the car was brought it was covered in the stickers that disclaim mileage.

If he sold it to you with 68,000 miles declared he is on sticky ground.


Trev

Thanks mate, The car had no stickers on, and when I asked about the milage he worked it out at around 60 to 70 thousand miles.
My 3 month warranty ran out last week, have not spoken to him yet, not sure of my rights etc yet.
Has anyone else done a bimta check on their surf??
Cheers Kevin.

[Duncan]

I did a check on mine and it turns out that the car went through auction in Japan the day before I picked it up from dealer(UK).Hmmmm,they must have flew it over.
Dont know yet whether the Bimta people got it wrong or the car is an actual 'clone'.As for mileage,my key is well worn and the brake pedal rubber is also quite worn,not bad for a car with less than 40k miles on it,yeah right?
Did yours come in from Southampton docks?
I would have a word with a legal eagle or trading standards on this one,just in case the dealer is dodge and dangerous.

[bear]

I did a check on mine and it turns out that the car went through auction in Japan the day before I picked it up from dealer(UK).Hmmmm,they must have flew it over.
Dont know yet whether the Bimta people got it wrong or the car is an actual 'clone'.As for mileage,my key is well worn and the brake pedal rubber is also quite worn,not bad for a car with less than 40k miles on it,yeah right?
Did yours come in from Southampton docks?
I would have a word with a legal eagle or trading standards on this one,just in case the dealer is dodge and dangerous.

I think mine came through Liverpool docks, not sure but will find out, it is obvious that somwhere down the line some cars are getting clocked, but who is doing it the dealers or someone else.
I might ring the dealer tomorow to see what his reaction is.
Cheers Kevin

[Fish]

Hello. Just had a milage check done on my surf from bimta,
At the time of auction in japan 8th october 2003, it read 171000 kilometres, Approx, 106224 miles.
I bought it from dealer and acording to the log book he acquired it on the 15th January 2004 and it had 109783 kilometres, Approx, 68197 miles on it so somwhere down the line it has lost around 38000 miles, I am sure the dealer bought it from auction, I have not told him about it yet.
Should I approach the dealer with this info, not sure what to do really.
Anyone any thoughts about this.
Cheers Kevin.

Can you put a bit of info down m8 on BIMTA so that others may seak out a little history on our own pride an joys. I for one, am no longer quite so sure that the milage is true, as was stated my own purchase.


Cheers Kevin


Fish

[silvtr1000]

I may be wrong, but aren't any goods for sale legally meant to be "as described"? If you got an invoice with the mileage stated on it, get a solicitor straight away and hang the dealer out to dry.

An uncle of mine is a mechanic in a Toyota main dealer in Dublin. They got a fax in error recently, from an exporter in Japan, reading, "mileage can be tailored to your customer's needs"...

Whatever, it sounds to me from quite a few sources that high mileages are not necessarily to be feared on either the 2.4 or the 3.0.

Mark

[bear]

I may be wrong, but aren't any goods for sale legally meant to be "as described"? If you got an invoice with the mileage stated on it, get a solicitor straight away and hang the dealer out to dry.

An uncle of mine is a mechanic in a Toyota main dealer in Dublin. They got a fax in error recently, from an exporter in Japan, reading, "mileage can be tailored to your customer's needs"...

Whatever, it sounds to me from quite a few sources that high mileages are not necessarily to be feared on either the 2.4 or the 3.0.

Mark

I have an invoice, but it does not state the milage, but I as said before he told me it only had 60 5 ish miles on when I was viewing it.
It also has them on the MOT.
Makes you wonder who is doing the clocking the Japanese or the dealers in the UK.
Have not spoken to the deler yet, still not sure who to talk to first.

Bimta website is www.bimta.co.uk, I think a few more people should be doing checks, then it might stop the clocking.
Cheers Kevin.

[bear]

Hello.
Rang the dealer today, the first one I spoke to could not seem to remember where they got the car from, funny that,,
I explained to them that before going any further I would speak to them first to come to some arrangment.
Obviously he said that they bought the car with the miles on, and stated that they are aware of clocking going on but cant do anything about it.
I asked why they did not do checks on their cars before they buy them and he says that BIMTA, is just starting and not many people know about it yet.

They rang back and said that they could not find the paper work that came with the car which proves that they bought it with the miles stated on the MOT. and would have to ring up on monday to sort it out then get back to me,
So hopefully we can sort it out between ourselves.
Will keep yous updated on the outcome.
Cheers Kevin.

[Mike66]

The dealer i got my surf from gave me the japanese log book from the previous owner. This gave all the surfs details and the mileage .
Again its only a bit of paper so i think i might just get mine checked.

[stara]

mines probably been clocked, but i paid for the surf, not the mileage, and at this age, mileage doesn't make much difference in price, it's been faultless, so what's the point of stressing about some japanese dude clocking my motor.

[whippet]

mines probably been clocked, but i paid for the surf, not the mileage, and at this age, mileage doesn't make much difference in price, it's been faultless, so what's the point of stressing about some japanese dude clocking my motor.

I did a lot of research before deciding to go down the route of importing my surf direct from Japan myself and the conclusion I came to was...

I think it's far more likely to be clocked in this country than in Japan.

I think you'll find that the search that BIMTA do is fairly limited... they only trace the chassis no. back to the auction house in Japan... which will give the date and location of the auction and the mileage... I think they also check to see if it has been stolen.

My advice to anyone thinking of buying from a delaer who claims to sell only "... the best, hand picked cars, imported directly by ourselves...", and all the ones I visited did -

Ask to see the Auction Sheet.

For those that don't know... this is a report filled in by the auction staff, when the car enters the auction house, it details the following -

• Chassis no.
• Mileage
• Age (Japanese calendar - easy to work out)
• Model
• Goodies (Air Con, Sun Roof, Alloy Wheels etc)
• Auto or Man
• Engine Size
• Colour
• Condition grade (Interior and Exterior)
• Any damage is indicated on a plan view of the vehicle.

I don't believe any dealer would buy a car without having seen a copy of this sheet along with a couple of photos.

If he doesn't know what you're talking about or comes up with lame excuses for not having the sheet - beware!!

When I picked up my surf I found the original of this sheet in the glovebox, presumably put there by the auction staff... perhaps others who have imported their own could confirm if this is normal practice?

[Sewerat]

Alan,
You are spot on with your reply, i haven't met a retailer yet who doesn't go to Japan & buy his imports ( Surf or whatever ) - mostly a load of *****

If they did then they would have the Japanese auction sheet, no what they do is buy thru auctions / importers here in the UK etc, after all would you tie up the cost of say 10 cars for 6 or 8 weeks while they are transported from Japan, when you can buy on a Tuesday & have them on your forcourt by the Saturday - leave it to you to decide.

If they are clocked = which often they are = its in the UK, in transit or by agents ( sometimes acting for you, in japan ).

It may only be my opinion but some forum members who also import can confirm if not all of the above, at least some of it.

My advise to anyone buying a Surf is simple yet... hard .
Don't buy without seeing either :
1- Japanese Auction Sheet ( mileage is in roman numerials - english to us )
2- Japanese service record / history, same mileage is given in roman numerials

Should say Kms , not mileage

Sewerat Bob

[mat1]

i saw j plate on a forecourt today that looked ropey as hell. all the seats were worn and frayed and the pedals smooth, it sagged at the back and i was gobsmacked to see that the clock had only 70,000 kms on....yeh right! mine came with 106,000kms on and drivers seat has not got much if any wear on from getting in and out. i sold my last car with that mileage and the seats were good.

[marky]

i saw j plate on a forecourt today that looked ropey as hell. all the seats were worn and frayed and the pedals smooth, it sagged at the back and i was gobsmacked to see that the clock had only 70,000 kms on....yeh right! mine came with 106,000kms on and drivers seat has not got much if any wear on from getting in and out. i sold my last car with that mileage and the seats were good.

it must have been a SUMO wrestlers car LOL