Brotherly love Trading As a Japanese resident, I don’t like JCI inspection. It is a pain in a butt that cost you big chunk of money all car owners have to face every other year. (3 years for new cars and every year for commercial vehicles.) Lots of people here feel the same way. However, purchasing cars with JCI period left may bring some good for foreign buyers.
1.What is JCI inspection
JCI (Japanese compulsory insurance) Inspection is also referred to as Shaken (SHAH-KEN) here. It is a mandatory car inspection cars need to have basically every 2 years at the local government authorized service place. Once the car passes, you will get a sticker with an expiration date on it. This sticker is the only thing you are allowed to put on the windshield of the car.
2. What do they check
Which areas of the car will be inspected ? Here it is. Interior will be visually checked by inspector. They will look for R view mirror, seatbelts, headrests, horn mark, warning lamps, lightings, windshield and glass cracks, tint darkness, andtires. They will also check the chassis number, windshield washers and wipers, side slip, brakes, speedometer, exhaust gas, undercarriage conditions including boots and rust corrosion.
3. Cost
It varies from 60,000 yen to 300,000 yen or more (around $500 to $3,000) depending on the work you need to pass and the service level. It tends to cost more on high end import cars. There are road tax that are due at the same time so we will need to pay at the same time.
4. Merit for buying cars with JCI
Is there a merit?: It is a definite yes. It gives you peace of mind buying a car with JCI period left. It simply means it got checked by a third party not too long ago. It means you’re not buying a car that had been sitting at the lot for 12 months. I can say if the car has a JCI period left, it is in a regular drivable condition.
– All of the cars purchased and exported by Brotherly love Trading come with an official ownership record W/ English Translation. This is a government issued document that lists all of the previous owners and time period, so you will be able to see how many had been owned the car previously.