How Japan's Second-Hand Cars Make Their Way to Third World

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ^ | Thursday, January 8, 2004 | TODD ZAUN and JASON SINGER

[presidio9]

Three years ago, Michiya Ogawa bought a new Toyota Corolla station wagon for $15,800 to commute to his office in Japan's mountainous Yamagata prefecture. A year later, the 47-year-old graphic designer got in an accident and sold the damaged car.

[prophetic]

I hear that in the Caribbean, esp Jamaica they are jokingly called Deportees :-)

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[_Jim]

Ha ha -- we've got places in town that sell the used engines and transmissions from these cars - in Dallas, Tx!

[Gal.5:1]

In Liberia, there were hundreds of old beat up yellow painted little Toyotas as taxi driving is (was?) one of the main services(and a staple of the economy) in the big towns. I can't describe the thrill (haha) of going form town to town in those, with no seat belts, no traffic laws, absolutely no stops or traffic lights, and dodging and cutting off the big rigs carrying Firestone rubber. Fun!

[dawn53]

My sister and brother-in-law live in Honduras, up in the mountains. They wanted a Toyota 4 Runner with 4 wheel drive, and the only one they could find to buy came from Japan.

[Gal.5:1]

Oh, I forgot 'no speed limit', also.

[Khurkris]

This is excellent capitalism!

Now follow the trail. All of these cars will need 4 things.

1. Fuel.

2. Tires.

3. Parts.

4. Service.

Now follow this trail, provide those items and reap the benefits!

[Cyber Liberty]

This must be stopped if we are to save American jobs!

;^)

[technochick99]

That's troubling for Detroit car makers, which have been eyeing new markets to spur sales as developed nations become saturated with cars.

Way to go Detroit! Day late and a dollar short.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Mr. Gathai wasn't told about the accident, but says he's happy about his purchase...

I'll tell you another story about Toyota. My neighbor had a Lexus SUV that was plagued with steering column lock-ups. If fact, she had two "Lexi" with the same problem. The dealer was able to fix the 1st one, but the second one sat in the repair shop long enough to qualify under the "lemon law." Finally my friends got Toyota to take the car back and refund their money, but the dealer forced my friend to sign a paper saying there was "nothing wrong with the car" in order to get cash back. (First they tried to make them take another Toyota product.)

When my friend asked why, she was told that it was so Toyota could put the car on the used car lot witihout disclosing the car's "lemon law" history. So, when you encounter an almost new, low mileage Lexus SUV on a car lot purchase a different car!

This TRUE story makes me view Toyota's "customer satisfaction" ratings with a whole canister of salt!

[38special]

"My sister and brother-in-law live in Honduras, up in the mountains. They wanted a Toyota 4 Runner with 4 wheel drive, and the only one they could find to buy came
from Japan."

Imagine that! A Toyota that came from Japan. WOW!

[Byron_the_Aussie]

Fascinating. It'll be difficult for Mr Gathai to find new parts for his Corolla, though. Where would you source a clutch plate in Sierra Leone, or whatever? You'd think this represents a huge opportunity for a car maker- to build an inexpensive, rugged car for the Middle East and Africa.

[Byron_the_Aussie]

..imagine that! A Toyota that came from Japan. WOW!...

I think the meaning was, there's no Toyota dealership in Honduras. Cheers, B

[Jumper]

I lived in Japan for three years in the early 90's. Japanese cars are not driven much when owned. At the three year anniversary of the vehicle a complete inspection is required which usually runs the owner about $2-3K per vehicle to put back on the road; at the five year mark it costs about $5K to be certified road worthy. In Japan, no vehicles are allowed to run in need or repairs or painting. Parts for each vehicle are sold by exact year only; the fact that the same spark plug is used year after year is not a Japanese concept as you are required by Law to purchase the sparkplug for your year and make of vehicle packaged as such. The same goes for mufflers, wipers, etc. Generic parts do not exist and are not allowed.

On another note, is it not gratifying to see in print that the US market is the largest in the world at 43M vehicles.... EUrope (where I am currently living) has 25% more people and less vehicles....

Oh, and those Japanese vehicles at three years typically only have about 20,000 miles on them:)

[sirshackleton]

Interesting article....made me remeber how I went from a used 1988 Toyota Corolla (those cars are utterly bullet proof) to a fancier Ford Focus (yeah, not much more glamorous, but I did buy it brand new and it has power windows!). Gotta think that at the very least, this definitely isn't a hindrance to some of these Third World economies finally getting going.

[Jumper]

My seminaments exactly too. I'm leaving EUrope to join the State Department. I want to go to China, Korea (Speak it), Spain, Poland, Thailand in that order if able. 11B3 must be Infantry:)? I went to Spain in November for the first time and fell in love with Malaga - bought a TimeShare at the Marriott there and will return every year, among other vactions spots!

[presidio9]

Very interesting. Thanks for this.

[Orange1998]

Add one more.

5. Money to purchase.

[GATOR NAVY]

In Japan, quirks of the market -- and the consumer -- have created a glut of saleable used cars. Strict and expensive vehicle inspections in Japan discourage people from holding on to cars as they age. Moreover, there is a strong cultural aversion among the Japanese to buying almost anything second-hand.

Makes it nice for us over here. Lots of cheap low milage cars in nice condition.