What's the pros & cons of parallel import car?

[Zoomm]

Hi MCF bros,

 

May I know what are the good and bad of parallel import cars?

 

How come the price is cheaper as what I see in SGCARMART?

 

Is there a catch or need to pay extra after you collect the car?

 

What you see the price stated is what you pay?

 

Please advice.

 

Thank you.

[Jrage]

Others.. correct me if i am wrong :P

 

First of all, PI get their cars directly from dealer oversea. Instead of frm the car company. So their OMV tend to be higher.

 

1.For models that you can find @ authorised dealer here, their pricing is not generally not that great because their import expense is higher... One siao siao fellow quote me honda fit 2k more that what BM's jazz is selling.

 

2.They also carried models that are not brought in by authorised dealer such as Toyota wish.

 

3.Prices are normally similar. Those super low prices is taking into consideration that you get cash rebate. the way they count is *b-u-l-ls-h-i-t*

 

4. While are there are some PI that are reliable. There are alot that simply just trying to make money out of you. *get you into s-h-i-t*

 

There are alot of horror stories with bad PIs.

Edited February 7, 2007 by Jrage

[Mzrmazda3]

Good about PI rides are some models are unique and you wouldn't get it through the AD here.

 

However, warranty & parts might be an issue if that particular PI whom you have gone to shut down their business after you have got your ride. This is suay suay lah

 

The pricing which you see in the newapaper normally are after all the case rebates ... etc

 

To get from PIs, IMHO it is better to approach those more established and reputable ones

[Ahbengdriver]

My car is not from PI but I know people buy from PI for few reasons:

 

- model not available at AD. Eg some merc models from PI had full panaromic sky roof or double sky roof type of design. C&C dont have .

- price. In some high end cars, esp conti cars, the price of PI cars is much cheaper than AD. I was told(told only) BMW M5 sold at a PI was almost $50 to 60k cheaper (still about $400k) than AD, so are cars like Porsche Cayman , Merc SLKs etc

 

Also PI cars are usally domestic specification, JDM or EDM. Waiting tme for new car usually longer for PI.

 

Sometime back I saw a thread started to discuss self importing cars. I agree if some ah beng n ah seng of my kind can do it, it cant be that difficult. Hoiya, what happen?

[Jrage]

Yesterday went to meet my SE at lengkeng carmart. I was told one guy was conned by a PI. He was told that his mthly inst is only $530. So for the 1st mth , he paid $530. The next mth , he got a bill from the bank to pay $560.. Guess what, his loan is actually higher because the PI charged administration fee etc into the car. So he is cheated on the price of the car. Anyway, i also dun know how come that guy will sign the agreement in the first place.

[Wayhow]

The OMV depends on the rate of the Yen at the time the vehicle reaches our shores. Even the same vehicle from an AD might have differing OMVs.

 

1. Generally comparing the same specs, the PI version will be more expensive than an AD. It's unavoidable. AD are required to bring in bulk, so definitely will get better price. You get the good price. The AD bears the risk of non-moving stock =)

 

2. Most PI can get any model from the JDM.

 

3. Some may genuinely offer better prices, but if they slash their profit margins, how long can they last? Who do you turn to 2 years later if you need to claim warranty but the company closed down cos they didn't earn enough to cover their overheads?

 

PIs can promise you anything on the phone, and some even lie through their teeth when you're face to face. Always remember to make them write down what comes with the car in the contract you sign. It is not foolproof, but it's some insurance.

 

I feel most importantly is to listen to the complaints and comments from the members here. Many just think "it won't happen to me" and continously go to those small, unreliable PI. That's why they continue to plague our parallel import scene.

Edited February 7, 2007 by Wayhow

[Rliewky]

Zoomm,

 

as what you heard so far, the main advantage of buying from PI is normally because of the wider range to choose from and sometime the price, depend on the model. It seems like more worthwhile if you are going for highend/luxury brands and model. Due to the fat fat margin that the AD for such highend/luxury brands wanted. You can save even more if you self import, as you are doing the work yourself. coordinating and doing the necessary paperwork. the steps to do that can be found on onemotoring (if i recall correctly). i think some of the MCF bros here have self import before. maybe can get them to share their experience.

[Meow2361]

Am driving a JDM toyota from Ricardo, Ricardo has their own workshop to service/repair, the car comes with 3yrs warranty, and inhouse motor insurance...everything so far so good, and my car is abt 1yr 4mths old....though ppl think Ricardo's price is alittle higher than other PIs, while their workshop charge alittle higher than other workshops out there, but overall, still worth the price, and servicing is consider cheap as compare to Agent servicing.

[Tanjkp]

For models that run on the road that can get cheaper from PI, it's a good deal.

But for those rare models, wait till the day when parts (specially non-common type) are required than the owner will realised the pain of buying -- car need to wait in workshop for months for part arrival. This is especially so when damaged after accident !