New to Westfields

[Mighty Mart]

I bought my Impreza whilst still in Japan if that counts!!!!!

50% payment upfront and the balance before the boat sailed - payment into a Latvian Bank Account too.....

Sound unbelievably stupid / naive, but I did my research and it all checked out, so took the gamble and never regretted it.

Older now and PROBABLY wouldn't do it again...!

Mart.

[Callum 7]

8 hours ago, Mighty Mart said:

I bought my Impreza whilst still in Japan if that counts!!!!!

50% payment upfront and the balance before the boat sailed - payment into a Latvian Bank Account too.....

Sound unbelievably stupid / naive, but I did my research and it all checked out, so took the gamble and never regretted it.

Older now and PROBABLY wouldn't do it again...!

Mart.

I bought my Honda Beat from Japan. Its quite nerve wracking buying a car from half way around the world based on a couple of pictures 😂

 

Paying that much money into a Latvian bank account would give me the fear! 

 

I went to an import company called Japanese Performance and Nostalgia. They used to be BHP imports. They had a really good reputation. They were owned by a couple of guys called Baz and Adz.

 

To begin with they were great. But just before my car arrived in the UK Adz left the business. He started his own import company called originjapan. I would certainly recommend him if you're ever in the market for an import. 

 

Unfortunately that left me with Baz. He was unbelievably bad. He left my 30 year old japanese car for 40 days in a dockyard in the middle of winter. It was then all downhill from there. I had to threaten him with trading standards multiple times. He refused to speak to me and it eventually it took him 7 months from the car being delivered, to him eventually sorting out the import paperwork. I can't describe how frustrating that was. 

 

 

[Steve G.]

On 09/07/2025 at 00:19, Steve G. said:

Hi Callum.

Read and find out as much as you can before buying anything. Not just about specific models but also kit cars in general. 

I was wondering about the car you looked at. It might have appeared to be  50 years old due to the registration letter but would have been built far more recently. Kit cars can be registered in a variety of ways so you need to be  careful and make sure it's been done properly.  There are probably some around still described as Cortinas and escorts on the logbook.

I read something elsewhere and it reminded me there is such a thing as an age related plate if enough parts were used from a single donor. I think the make and model should be the make of the kit car not the donor though. 

[MattV]

@Callum 7 Just a thought, but are there any club members that are closer to your intended purchase that might be able to go and check it over before you part with any money?