Economy Japan's used car trade with Russia remains strong despite new regulations

"We still get a lot of orders from Russia, and I see the Russian market is stable," Hiroshi Sato, chairman of JUMVEA, told Nikkei Asia. In August, export volume rose 21.8% from the previous year to 15,153 vehicles. The sanctions against Russia do not appear to be having the desired effect. Last year, the Japanese government extended its export restrictions -- part of its economic sanctions against Russia -- by adding vehicles with engine displacements exceeding 1,900 cubic centimetres, hybrids and plug-in hybrid cars, and electric vehicles to the export ban, aligning itself with the European Union. [...] Sato said Toyota is one of the strongest brands in the Russian used car market due to the car's reputation for reliability in extremely cold weather and the ease of purchasing replacement parts. Larger cars like the Land Cruiser and Alphard have long been popular. While the import of these cars is banned due to the tighter restrictions, demand has quickly shifted to compact vehicles.

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Grandpa Frank said:

Love my Subaru Forester. It's a 2013 and just hit 36,000. With 4 heavy duty snow tires , it handles Maine winters great. I think it will long outlive me , LOL.

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johnnyG said:

My Honda Fit (which I bought new) just turned 100k km--it's 15th birthday was its shaken this past March. I've considered trading, so maybe with the russian market strong for smaller cars, now's the time?

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salyavin said:

Hey there could you give me idea of shaken costs for old cars like that? I seem to recall it gets more expensive requiring more repairs than would be required in the US which makes old cars more expensive. It cannot be that bad seeing as you had a fit for 15 years. I like to drive my cars into the ground, my wife was just saying a couple weeks ago lease is attractive in Japan so we don't have to deal with that. On a greatly reduced or fixed income when we move back I think leasing is a huge waste of money. I'd rather go to a ryokan or something.

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mdchachi said:

Will you need a car frequently? If not, the car rental services are pretty reasonable. You can even rent by the hour now. In Tokyo anyway.

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johnnyG said:

@salyavin Shaken this past time (March) was maybe ¥115k. There were several extra things they would like to have done--I declined some and accepted others. One item then was a new battery, the one in it had tested as weak, and that alone was maybe ¥12k. Brakes were okay, and tho they always ask, I declined having the brake fluid changed (one thing they like to overdo)--but I'd okay doing that if the pads were up for a change. Another thing declined was replacing some rubber grommets in the suspension, they said it could keep it from being noisy or making squeaking noises. In the past I've gotten by with as low as ¥80k for shaken, but I do realize it's a little older. No new wiper rubber this time.

That includes the mandatory insurance (自賠責保険, generally useless but required), and an oil change and new filter. I do that yearly anyway (used to have an oil change at six months but am driving less now). If there's a next time it may need brake pads, likely front only, so that and maybe a set of tires might add up to enough (plus another shaken) that I should put that towards something new.

Oh, and I've always used the honda dealer for these inspections and service. Some people say dealers charge more, but I tried independent shops a couple times with previous cars and was not impressed. Honda also throws in some freebies now and then, like when I have shaken or yearly service done in March, they swap my studless wheels off and the regular ones on for free. Once they spent an hour or more checking the a/c, recharged the coolant, and then didn't charge me anything.

I've shopped different comparable cars, but the new version of the Fit still looks good. It's small but I can fit a bike in back (crucial to get it to the shop and back home when something needs fixing--and this is referred to as seeing one's car as a bike accessory), also a very tight turning radius which makes parking easier. And a new Fit is cheaper than the bigger things I've been tempted by.

Edit: Shaken is usually an every other year deal. Except if you buy new, then it's three years till the first checkup (then every two after that). There's another category of vehicle that's more often (a 4-number plate often for a semi-commercial use), but I'll leave that out of this.

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