Converted Cars or Imported Cars

[staniel1211]

Hi ,

Is its ok to buy imported cars or models? What needs to be checked in buying those kinds of vehicles?

Thanks!

[myk384]

Hi ,

Is its ok to buy imported cars or models? What needs to be checked in buying those kinds of vehicles?

Thanks!

Converted vs. Imported? Kung converted, make sure maganda ang conversion and if possible, may equivalent model na pwede kashare ng parts dito.

Imported naman, kung orig LHD, dapat may parts na equivalent sa local models dito.

As usual, check the wear and tear, condition, and even the documentation.

[GTi]

As much as possible, try to avoid these unless you really, really like the car and are 101% sure of the quality of the conversion, the overall condition of the car, the reliability of the car despite its usually high mileage, and a very reliable and consistent source/sources of spare parts.

[dr. d]

i wouldn't buy a converted car if i can help it. in my experience , there are just too many things to consider and go wrong, especially if the buyer is not knowledgeable in these things..
imported? only if they drove on the same side we do, and you knew who owned and drove the car in the other country.
besides, it ain't good for the economy.
but if i were to get one, i'd:
get the car up in a lift and get a good look at the underchassis. no welds should be seen. everything should look original. everything should look like it belonged. in fact, everything should look like a local, if conversion was done as per factory specs.
evaluate the turning radius. is it the same as its local counterparts?
everything should work. the lights, switches, everything. remember, it's an import and you might have an impossible time getting replacement parts.
look at the driver's cockpit: the steering wheel, the switches and levers, the transmission lever. can you live with it?

question: why is the country of origin exporting it?
answer: probably because nobody in that country wants to buy it, even at the cheap price our importer is getting it.

hey, i'm not saying there's no gold in them imports. what i'm saying is, if you don't know how to differentiate the grain from the chaff, you'd probably be better off getting local.

[dvldoc]

Converted cars these days are done with kits and original LHD parts, My Elgrand is a example of that.

I visited Port Irene back in 2009 to see the conversion process myself. I inspected my vehicle there is not a cut or weld anywhere on my suspension. My vehicle also shares all the parts for suspension and transmission with the US Nissan Pathfinder and the Terrano so not hard to find those parts.

The reason why Japan gets rid of cars is because it's laws make it very expensive to own a car more than 10 years old, it does not matter if the car has 20000k on it or not. Vehicles from Japan are also some of the most well maintained vehicles in the world due to there strict inspections.

Ergonomic can be a issue on some vehicles due to the conversion as mentioned above, but many vehicles even with the wheel on the other side now everything is into reach. I got mine for 400000P and it's every bit as nice as a 1.2 million peso Fortuner on the inside, It's actually built better and rides better as well.

Lots of cool new vehicles coming to the Philippines these days.