Shiotsu Autotrade Japan – President’s Blog

Surging oil prices and growing concerns about meeting targets to cut greenhouse gases produced by gasoline and diesel have revived efforts around the world to improve fuel efficiency perhaps nowhere is the interest greater than here in Japan.  As per the latest Japanese car news, Japanese government is planning to impose new rules on Japanese automakers that will require them make their vehicles around 20 percent more fuel efficient by fiscal year 2015.

These rules will apply to all Japanese automakers as well as car manufacturers such as DaimlerChrysler AG that compete in the country.  Although failure to meet Japanese government regulations only brings a nominal fine of 1 million yen ($8,600),  the government can release the names of car makers not meeting the regulations,  thus resulting in negative publicity.  Current regulations require Japanese car makers to have improved fuel efficiency for gasoline cars by 23 percent by 2010/11 compared with levels at the end of March 1995.  Most Japanese car models have now cleared that requirement.

‘Tighter fuel efficiency rules are a worldwide trend and Japan is no exception.  This will help promote the use of hybrid and diesel engine vehicles.  Gasoline vehicles by themselves are not going to be sufficient’, said Nomura Securities analyst Mr. Naruse.

Japanese auto makers including Toyota the world’s largest maker of hybrid vehicles,  have been at the forefront of green auto technology for gasoline cars.  Japanese government has also introduced a national campaign recently urging the Japanese to replace their older cars by hybrid vehicles,  all part of a patriotic effort to save energy and fight global warming.  And that’s another reason why Japanese car makers are jumping on the bandwagon,  counting on the moves to increase sales of their latest models.

This move will have a big impact on the used car industry in Japan.  As the older cars can not find buyers in Japan, many good used Japanese cars would be available for export.

Technorati Tags: Japan, Japanese, vehicles, Japanese car, auto, Toyota, used car

With the value of cars depreciating so quickly, buying a used car makes sense to get a good value for your money. Let’s share our experience about the Pros and Cons of buying used cars.

Advantages : Second-hand cars are not necessarily second-rate.  Used cars offer good value for money. This is especially so for relatively new models.  Nearly new cars are thousands of dollars cheaper than the same car available at a new car dealer.  Cars typically lose about 45 percent of their value in the first three years,  compared with 25 percent over the next three.

And ironically, used cars can be more reliable than new cars. As most cars will have teething problems in the first few years, used cars will have had these problems sorted out and still offer years of reliable motoring.  Today’s cars if properly maintained can easily go we beyond 120,000 km and many vehicles can even go past 240,000 km without having a major failure.

Also,  a used car’s value will not go down as rapidly as a new one’s. Those who buy new cars suffer the biggest hit in depreciation. Also used cars can make luxury affordable. For the price of a very small new car,  you can buy a much luxurious used vehicle with myriad of features.

Disadvantages: You must be however careful in buying a used car. There is always the risk that you’ll buy a worthless car.  To minimize this risk, you must check if the vehicle was  abused by its previous owner or had any serious damages which are not disclosed thorough inspection of the car by a qualified mechanic can usually detect most such problems.  Our team of qualified mechanics makes sure that the cars we sell are of very high quality.

There is another risk that the car may be a stolen or crash-damaged one, or has finance owing on it. There is also the risk of cloaking where the dealers wipe miles off from the car’s mileometer.  Legal protection is also very limited when buying a car privately from a member of the public. At Shiotsu Autotrade we check all the paperwork and we have a reliable network of dealers,   so you will not face these risks when buying a used car from us.

As used cars are not covered by warranty, owners will have take care of repair costs from their own pocket. Most expenses, however, will often be for replacing high wear parts such as brakes, tires, or a battery – that are normally not covered under a warranty. if you consider the overall savings from buying a second-hand car, the cost of replacing such items would still be relatively low.

Technorati Tags: used cars, Second-hand cars, used vehicle