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Six essential tips for becoming a smarter parallel import car buyer https://www.sgcarmart.com/news/writeup.php?AID=312

Hi all , sorry if this is a repeated topic as I tried searching the forum but cannot find. M looking at Toyota ChR and will meet this PI cartimes next wkend . Anyone deal with them or can advise me on other reliable PI? Thanks

Can the bros with experience tell me the difference between buying a car from an authorised dealer versus parallel importer? Aside from the price difference is there anything to be aware of? Thanks.

The latest news from straits time. Exodus global has been filed police reports with several buyers who paid the first or balance payment not able to get their new car. Some owners even had paid as much as $100,000 with no car been delivered. https://soulblogger.net/random/parallel-importers-in-business-risk/

Am looking at the odyssey PI from carbiz pte. ltd. at commonwealth. Anyone heard of them? Any reviews? Tks!!

Hi all, Does anyone know of a local parallel importer that brings in continental cars? Thanks

Another PI run road... ============================= CAR buyer Lee Chian Heng was attracted to Toyota's new Wish seven-seater last June, but it was not yet available at authorised agent Borneo Motors. Then he came across parallel importer SQ Carz, which advertised the Wish at a little over $70,000, and was hooked. 'They took out half-page ads regularly, and when I went down, the showroom was fairly big and the salesman behaved quite professionally,' Mr Lee, a 55-year-old engineer, recalled. Ads placed by SQ Carz, whose Woodlands showroom has been taken over by another car company. -- ST PHOTO: STEPHANIE YEOW http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_528998.html

Anyone know "Kruise Auto"? Are they reliable? Any good/bad experience from this PI?

A Parallel importer has invested $2 million to specialise in higher-end Japanese models - especially petrol-electric hybrid vehicles - and opened for business at the former Opel showroom in the Ubi motor belt. Hybrid Motors at 5 Ubi Close has taken up half of the Auto Eurokars showroom, as well as workshop space at the back for its after-sales and PDI (pre-delivery inspection) services. Also significant is the fact that this is the first time a parallel importer has moved into a stretch of road which has been the sole domain of authorised distributors. 'We will be concentrating on hybrid cars, and luxury MPV and SUV models,' says Eddie Lo, CEO of Hybrid Motors. He adds that the reason for his focus on hybrid technology is that he expects this to be the future trend. 'I believe hybrid cars will be a trend soon because of high oil prices,' says Mr Lo. He explains that many people are still not familiar with hybrids but that can be changed by educating them about the technology and giving them some experience with the cars. 'After that, I am sure we can turn them into potential customers. So this is a market we want to tap,' he says. Another reason for targeting hybrid vehicles is the anticipated arrival of more such models next year. 'In 2009, a lot of the big manufacturers will be entering the hybrid segment, like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche,' he says. 'There will also be additional models from Lexus and Toyota, such as the new Prius.' For now, Hybrid Motors is offering two hybrid models from Toyota - the Estima MPV and the Harrier SUV. Other conventional models include the Alphard Vellfire, Estima and Voxy MPVs from Toyota, as well as the Land Cruiser 200 and the RAV4 SUVs. The Honda Stream compact MPV is also available at Hybrid Motors. Authorised Toyota and Lexus distributor Borneo Motors Singapore already offers several hybrid models, such as the Toyota Prius, Lexus RX400h and Lexus LS600h. Another hybrid Lexus, the GS450h saloon, will also be launched by Borneo Motors by the end of this year. Mr Lo says those who are concerned with fuel economy and green motoring should consider a hybrid over cars that have been retrofitted to run on CNG or compressed natural gas. 'CNG may not be so practical because of the gas tank at the back,' he says. 'What happens if a big truck hits the car from behind? Think of the physical impact of this heavy metal object on the occupants.' Mr Lo first entered the parallel import business when he began working for Richburg Motors in Hong Kong in 1999. In 2004, the Hong Kong citizen was posted to Richburg's Singapore office as sales manager. He says that by the time he left in early 2008, he had doubled Richburg's sales of Toyota and Honda parallel imports to an average of 50 units a month. After leaving Richburg, Mr Lo returned to Hong Kong. But he was lured back by the 'many opportunities' in Singapore and decided to start Hybrid Motors earlier this month. He says he aims to sell about 15 hybrids a month, plus another 30 conventional petrol-engined models. 'With the government pushing for green cars and the integrated resorts opening next year, it will be a very good opportunity to sell more hybrid vehicles,' Mr Lo says. Any Road Tax Rebate ?

can go look for cheap new cars in the newspapers ====================================== HEATED competition among parallel importers has claimed its first casualty: Frankel Motor, one of the more active players in the field. The four-year-old company which sold about 1,000 mostly Japanese cars last year from its Frankel Avenue and MacPherson Road outlets, is in receivership after it fell behind on payments to financial institutions. Companies like Bank of East Asia, Kenso Leasing, OCBC Bank and GE Money have filed lawsuits to try and recover sums ranging from $82,000 to $4.4 million from Frankel. Similar writs have been filed against associate Frankel Leasing; and their director Mr Ho Yik Fuh. Salesmen at Frankel yesterday said they were unaware of its financial woes, even if the crisis has hit several customers. Some have made police reports to try and recover their deposits or get their cars delivered. A police spokesman said 'we're looking into the matter'. One buyer, information technology professional Jeremy Chan, 31, said: 'I booked my Toyota Axio in September, my certificate of entitlement was secured in October, but I got it only this Wednesday.' He added that he was 'forced' to pay $3,000 on top of the purchase price of $60,000 to get it. 'It was a nightmare,' he said. 'I am making a police report too.' Parallel importers emerged in the 1990s when car import rules were relaxed. From a slow start, they now make up 25 per cent of new car sales. But success spawned scores of players, who undercut each other. Observers said this could have been Frankel's problem. Two of its lenders - OCBC Bank and GE Money - have appointed receivers to try and recover some of the debts by selling off Frankel's assets, mainly cars. OCBC and GE Money have appointed receivers, Ferrier Hodgson and Stone Forest respectively, to the task. OCBC is believed to be owed about $4.4 million and GE Money around $2 million. Mr Timothy Reid of Ferrier Hodgson said yesterday his firm is advertising in today's Straits Times Classified section to dispose of a number of Frankel's cars, which are now in a warehouse.

saw this interesting arguement between a PI car owner and the workshop... Fierce man... http://twcsg.org/viewtopic.php?t=8662

which coy is d 'grey' importer of toyota in sg? (not pi)

June 26, 2007 US importer ordered to recall Chinese-made tyres NEWARK (New Jersey) - US safety officials have ordered a New Jersey tyre importer to recall as many as 450,000 tyres that it bought from a Chinese manufacturer and sold to US distributors. Foreign Tyre Sales Inc., of Union, New Jersey, said an unknown number of the light truck radials it imported since 2002 from Hangzhou Zhongce Rubber Co., of Hangzhou, China, could suffer tread separation, a problem that led to the largest tyre recall in the US in 2000. FTS said an unknown number of the tyres it sold were made without a safety feature, called a gum strip, which helps bind the belts of a tyre to each other, the company said in a filing to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Some of the tyres had a gum strip about half the 0.6 millimetre width that FTS expected, it said. Heather Hopkins, a spokeswoman for NHTSA, said its enforcement officials spoke to FTS on Monday to 'let them know we want a full tyre recall to take place.' 'It is FTS' responsibility to do this,' Ms Hopkins said. FTS failed to add a 'remedy' in its June 11 filing, which is essentially a description of how a company will notify customers and provide proper consumer compensation, Ms Hopkins said. FTS attorney Lawrence N. Lavigne said the tyres appear to meet federal standards but could still pose a risk to motorists. 'FTS, at great expense, investigated this,' Mr Lavigne said. The company, which has about a half-dozen employees, does not have the money to pay for a recall, he said. FTS does not have a warehouse. It has tyres shipped directly to distributors, who in turn send them to retail outlets, Mr Lavigne said. FTS said it believes other importers also sold such tyres made by Hangzhou Zhongce. The Chinese company has failed to provide information that would allow FTS to determine exactly how many tyres, and which batches, have the problem, Mr Lavigne said. According to the filing, the Hangzhou tyres at issue were sold under at least four brand names - Westlake, Compass, Telluride and YKS. -- AP

Hi All New to this site but find your threads interesting. Maybe you guys can help to advise. Intend to buy either a Toyota IST or the Honda Jazz, although my wife and I like the IST more but are afraid that parallel importer cannot meet expectations. Of course like my wife said "cannot expect too much if you want to pay so little" *sign* So thus anyone have any experiences with parallel importer either good or bad are welcome. Please advise. Thanks

As of topic? My relative is interested in getting one.. But I cannot really find details of commercial vehicles.. Hahaha..