Is it possible to check the vehicle history report of Japanese version vehicle?

lisagauss

Bronze
Feb 16, 2011
721
0
0
I was looking through lapulga and found a vehicle for a good price, its a 2002 Montero Diesel. I asked the seller for the VIN, he gave it to me but informed me that it is the Japanese version. I went to carfax but it says VIN not found. Is it possible to check the history of this type of vehicle? Any thoughts from previous owners of Monteros on if this car is no good? THanks.
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
20,574
341
83
dr1.com
I was looking through lapulga and found a vehicle for a good price, its a 2002 Montero Diesel. I asked the seller for the VIN, he gave it to me but informed me that it is the Japanese version. I went to carfax but it says VIN not found. Is it possible to check the history of this type of vehicle? Any thoughts from previous owners of Monteros on if this car is no good? THanks.

No, it's not possible.
 

johnny

Bronze
Feb 8, 2003
907
74
0
hausenland.com
Its a 2002 they are asking $375,000.



Never considered this, your right, this could present problems. Any previous owners out there?

I had several monteros. Montero (cara de gato), Nativa (diesel) and Montero Sport Limited (gas). from all those, Montero sport is my favorite. never had any big problem in any of those.
Montero is a very popular SUV in DR. you wont have any problem getting any parts. Go with the american version (Sport).
 

Deyvi

*** I love DR1 ***
Dec 23, 2009
579
2
0
Mitzusus are CRAP!! Its a low class "jeepta"; with problems. Save up your money and buy an older Toyota or Honda. Mitz. are garbage. That said; you are right in checking Car Fax. When buying a used vehicle anywhere it is best to look for several things: 1) bring some large potatoes with you. 2) examine the undercarraige of the vehicle. if there is any sign of rust--run, even in the US. There are many vehicles that have been in floods and their titles not marked "SALVAGE". 3) When the unit is warmed up, go through reverse, forward etc with your foot on the brake; make each hold under power with no sound.4) Pull the dip stick for the Trans Fluid. If it is black and smells burt--run. Same with the motor oil.5) test drive; notice any pulling right or left. Have someone you trust behind you to make sure the vehicle runs straight!! i.e. many vehicles that have been in an accident will "dog track". Only noticeable from behind. This is more prevalent now, with unibodies. If you have a "tracker", you will go thru tires quickly, your motor and trans. will do the same. If all checks out at this point, stuff the potato in the tail pipe. If in 30 seconds the motor quits you have a good vehicle. If it doesn't, look for where the leaks are. The closer to the motor, the more expensive. Get the dealer to fix it or --run. I have 12 yrs. experience of going to and buying at auto auctions in Newburgh,NY, Northway (Albany) NY, and South Windsor CT.
 

lisagauss

Bronze
Feb 16, 2011
721
0
0
Mitzusus are CRAP!! Its a low class "jeepta"; with problems. Save up your money and buy an older Toyota or Honda. Mitz. are garbage. That said; you are right in checking Car Fax. When buying a used vehicle anywhere it is best to look for several things: 1) bring some large potatoes with you. 2) examine the undercarraige of the vehicle. if there is any sign of rust--run, even in the US. There are many vehicles that have been in floods and their titles not marked "SALVAGE". 3) When the unit is warmed up, go through reverse, forward etc with your foot on the brake; make each hold under power with no sound.4) Pull the dip stick for the Trans Fluid. If it is black and smells burt--run. Same with the motor oil.5) test drive; notice any pulling right or left. Have someone you trust behind you to make sure the vehicle runs straight!! i.e. many vehicles that have been in an accident will "dog track". Only noticeable from behind. This is more prevalent now, with unibodies. If you have a "tracker", you will go thru tires quickly, your motor and trans. will do the same. If all checks out at this point, stuff the potato in the tail pipe. If in 30 seconds the motor quits you have a good vehicle. If it doesn't, look for where the leaks are. The closer to the motor, the more expensive. Get the dealer to fix it or --run. I have 12 yrs. experience of going to and buying at auto auctions in Newburgh,NY, Northway (Albany) NY, and South Windsor CT.

Ajaja, at first when I read "bring some potatoes" I thought you were gonna say to hit the seller over the head. Great post though, really nice info.
 

zoomzx11

Gold
Jan 21, 2006
8,367
842
113
I would not buy a Mitsubishi. Toyota gets my vote. Runs forever, every shade tree mechanic can fix them and plenty of cheap used parts lying around. Car Fax is only US. The majority of cars sold on the used lots are bought at US auctions, shipped down, cleaned up and miles set back. The used dealers are very good at cleaning up these cars like new. They look great. To find a used low miles car you will need to do a lot of looking.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,329
113
The turning back of the speedo is usually a round number - like 100,000.

They just click back one tumbler.

To see a nice "cleanup" job- look at Robert's post when he was seeling his car.
They took out the seats - eveything - to clean that car.

Not only was it likely a good car, it had been totally sttripped and spit polished !!!
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
83
0
Deyvi informs

There are many vehicles that have been in floods and their titles not marked "SALVAGE".

they will not have the titles branded if they were self insured. as an aside, fresh water floods are not that much of a problem. it is the salt water type that you should avoid, at all costs.
 

PICHARDO

One Dominican at a time, please!
May 15, 2003
13,280
893
113
Santiago de Los 30 Caballeros
I was looking through lapulga and found a vehicle for a good price, its a 2002 Montero Diesel. I asked the seller for the VIN, he gave it to me but informed me that it is the Japanese version. I went to carfax but it says VIN not found. Is it possible to check the history of this type of vehicle? Any thoughts from previous owners of Monteros on if this car is no good? THanks.


We import Japanese vehicles from time to time and we use this service to check for potential problems on those cars, mainly we have the cars inspected prior to export but you can also order the history alone:

Japanese stolen car, History of my car from japan, Online Japanese car registry, Japan service history for cars, Japanese used car exporters, Car service history for Japanese cars

For questions regarding your order you can email them at:

info@japanesevehicleinspections.com

If you think making sure a car has not been tampered with in the DR is a problem, you have no idea how bad this is in Japan...

Let's just say Japanese DON'T buy used cars as we're used to unless they're certified from the same car maker dealers.

But if you think it's like the lemons in the US and UK, think again, the roads in Japan are a dream to drive on... Most of the damages are from theft and crashes (fender benders). The rest is from kids doing crazy stuff to emulate the movies and racers.


The best deals are the SUV's and sport vehicles. They seldom if ever are driven away from smooth roadways in Japan. You can get 3 times as much life from an used SUV imported from Japan, than one that looks like new from the USA or UK (where people don't drive regular SUVs in the cities, save for the high end types)
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
20,574
341
83
dr1.com
We import Japanese vehicles from time to time and we use this service to check for potential problems on those cars, mainly we have the cars inspected prior to export but you can also order the history alone:

Japanese stolen car, History of my car from japan, Online Japanese car registry, Japan service history for cars, Japanese used car exporters, Car service history for Japanese cars

For questions regarding your order you can email them at:

info@japanesevehicleinspections.com

If you think making sure a car has not been tampered with in the DR is a problem, you have no idea how bad this is in Japan...

Let's just say Japanese DON'T buy used cars as we're used to unless they're certified from the same car maker dealers.

But if you think it's like the lemons in the US and UK, think again, the roads in Japan are a dream to drive on... Most of the damages are from theft and crashes (fender benders). The rest is from kids doing crazy stuff to emulate the movies and racers.


The best deals are the SUV's and sport vehicles. They seldom if ever are driven away from smooth roadways in Japan. You can get 3 times as much life from an used SUV imported from Japan, than one that looks like new from the USA or UK (where people don't drive regular SUVs in the cities, save for the high end types)

Nice post. You learn something everyday on DR1 :)
 

windeguy

Platinum
Jul 10, 2004
42,211
5,966
113
Digital Odometers are easily turned back by reprogramming

I've always been told that digital odometers cannot be turned back, or substituted.

Illegal to do, but they can be either turned back or substituted. Here is one explanation from an automotive forum:


Yes its a very simple procedure done by guys who repair meters. Have seen it being done in my presence and no one can make out unless and until the pcb is opened. The difference will be there in the soldering.

What they do is replace the chip that stores the odo reading by another one with the reading desired. This is done by writing a blank chip hooked up to a chip burner and a laptop. They charge about 1500 in Mumbai and takes approx 25-30 mins.


Even if they had not figured out already how to do this elsewhere in the world, they would have found a way to turn them back here.
 

the gorgon

Platinum
Sep 16, 2010
33,997
83
0
Illegal to do, but they can be either turned back or substituted. Here is one explanation from an automotive forum:


Yes its a very simple procedure done by guys who repair meters. Have seen it being done in my presence and no one can make out unless and until the pcb is opened. The difference will be there in the soldering.

What they do is replace the chip that stores the odo reading by another one with the reading desired. This is done by writing a blank chip hooked up to a chip burner and a laptop. They charge about 1500 in Mumbai and takes approx 25-30 mins.


Even if they had not figured out already how to do this elsewhere in the world, they would have found a way to turn them back here.

there is a guy on Long Island called Charlie Clocks, who has been using a laptop to reprogram odometers for years.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
we've had montero sport and i really liked the car. felt very safe and run smoothly, no problems. i now have an ex-japanese car (after conversion). no problems here either save for not so cold air con (i do not want to fix it as later on it stinks badly for months). lights/wipers arrangements can be confusing thou :)
 

karlheinz

New member
Oct 2, 2006
451
4
0
great info - one thing possibly you could clear up. The right to left hand drive issues....i've seen numerous posts about avoid car that have had this modification but why? I have a Toyota hilux Surf - SUV....the Japanese version of the 4Runner I believe but in diesel 3.0 TD. I love this car - been very very reliable with the exception I keep on having to add power steering fluid occasionally as i'm losing it somewhere along the line.