Thank you for the business James H. This wa a extremely fast purchase as James took the time to come down to the auctions with us. Second visit he had, he managed to purchase this car for half of what he wanted to spend on it. 12,000 km the car looked brand new inside with only a few scratches on the exterior. New tires, new battery not much could go wrong with a buy like this. James informed me that he recently got shaken put on it at a total cost of 56,000 yen. Pays to do things yourself in some cases.
This is my second purchase through Chris and Milano Japan. The first puchase was a Harley Davidson motorcycle which has been nothing but reliable since the day I first rode it.
ReplyDeleteAs Chris points out, this was a quick purchase. I have learned that if you want a great deal on an auction car (or bike) and you dont want to wait too long it is important to be a little flexible. I knew I wanted a BMW 3 series with a "5 number" license plate (the parking I have will only hold kei cars and "5 number" cars) This limited me to cars from the 1990s. I wanted to get the newest possible car.
On the first day out we went to Bayside auction and I saw a car which I thought would be good. It had all the fixins including heated leather seats, quality stereo, low down suspension etc. It was black and looked like it hadnt been washed in months (years?) The inside was a mess too but nothing that couldnt be cleaned. Engine was sound. I aksed Chris for his thoughts and while he was giving the car the once over noticed a sound in the steering column. He said the rack and pinion would need to be replaced. I really liked the car and decided that if I could get it for a pittance I could pay to get the new rack n pinion put in. I told Chris the max I would pay (42000yen) and the car sold for a few thousand more to someone else.
The following week we went to USS auction in Yokohama. Chris met me at the station and we took a free shuttle bus to the site. Talk about a kid in a candy store. The place is awesome. So I just walked up and doen the aisles looking at cars. We found this BMW. An absolute gem. I discussed bidding strategy with Chris and he gave me his thoughts. We went into the auction area and waited for the car to come up. When all was said and done I got the car for half what i was prepared to pay for it. In total the car cost 80000yen plus Milano Japan's agent fee. It is exactly (well, just about anyway) what I was hoping for. I drove the car off the lot that day. I had the paperwork for the car within 3 days of the auction - all organized and sent to me by Milano Japan. Chris guided me through the process of having the ownership papers transferred into my name. It all went very smooth.
My advice to first time buyers with Milano Japan is to go down with Chris and see the cars and make your decision there rather than to designate Chris to make the decision for you without seeing it for yourself. I realize this may not be do-able with some people but if you can you will save yourself even more money.
Chris is very useful to have there with you as he has years of experience fixing cars. In addition to this he has seen a lot of cars in his years in Japan. He really does know his stuff.
Both of my experiences with Chris and Milano Japan have been positive. I would not hesitate to buy a car or motobike from him again.
James