The cars in Okinawa (at least when we lived there) were older, but far cheaper. The Lemon Lot on Kadena, as you know, was a pretty good size. Here, not so much.

It is a bit of a pain to switch the plates, but it can be accomplished in a day. There is also a fee involved, but I can't remember how much.

I will be working on the layout AFTER THE EVENT March 19th, and will be doing a complete new structure and design for the classifieds and the vehicles section.

If people were smart, they would post their VEHICLES FOR SALE on here. That way, people can just easily select your base, and see all the available vehicles for sale online. It has helped several people already. I know someone that has already sold over 10 cars from posting them online.

YOU CAN HAVE 2 CARS posted FOR FREE! It doesnt cost you anything. Once you sell those 2, you can post 2 more. ALL FOR FREE! GL

You can also check out the classified ads for cars in Sasebo (the Commander, Fleet Activities Sasebo Facebook page has the ads). Our best experience with cars in Sasebo was using a local used car dealership (VG Motors). They spoke English, did ALL the paperwork for us, and gave a 90 day guarantee. I bought a Toyota Vitz for $3k, drove it for a year, and sold it for $3k!

Thanks Carolie - would you know the easiest way to find VG Motors?

From Main Base, take the expressway towards Hario. When you exit the expressway, continue straight, passing Huis Ten Bosch on your right (don't make that right turn towards Hario). You'll pass Hotel Lorelai on your left, and the Huis Ten Bosch train station on your right. Continue another couple of kilometers, passing a Family Mart on your right.

You'll see two gas stations in a row coming up on your right (Eneos and another one). VG Motors is on the left, directly across from the first gas station. There's a relatively small blue and white sign, and a little road right beside VG Motors. The daughter speaks good English, and is usually there. Her name is Yuriko, and her phone number is 090-9076-3169. You can mention my name -- we bought two cars from her.

Oh -- the prices on the cars are in yen, but she'll let you pay that amount in dollars (i.e. -- 300,000 yen means a $3,000 car) which means you're getting a deal, since the yen rate is low. Also, you can sometimes get her to knock off $100 or $200, but not more than that. Do ask to make sure the tires are new (or newish) and that you have a full two years of JCI. You should get a 90-day warranty, also.

We had a problem with the paint on the roof bubbling on one car, about two and a half months after we bought it. When I told her, she IMMEDIATELY offered to repaint the roof at no charge, and they did a fantastic job.

Also, if you buy a car from her, she will meet you at the CFAS VRO to sign the bill of sale and collect your money...then it will take her three days or so do to all your paperwork for you, which will save you time and money. Before you meet her to sign the bill of sale, make sure she's given you a copy of the title, so you can get your liability insurance arranged BEFORE you do the bill of sale.

Although I dealt with VG Motors twice, had numerous friends buy cars there, and highly recommend them, in the interest of fairness, I have also heard excellent things about Fukuda Motors (the FFSC will have their contact info, I think!)

ALSO -- for anyone who buys a car from a private individual, and who does not want to do the running around for the paperwork (JCI, parking sticker, etc.), there is a woman who will, for a relatively low fee, do all your paperwork and running around for you. I think it's around $80 for her to do it for you, and a big chunk of that is the fees you'd pay anyway. I'm totally blanking on her name, but you can ask Jimmy (or whoever is working the desk that day) at the VRO and he will know who you are talking about and can give you her number.

Will do, and thanks again.  I think I'll take the shuttle down there Saturday and mosey on over.

Take the shuttle to Hario? You can certainly do that, but it would be a couple of miles walk to VG Motors. BUT, if you call Yuriko-san, I bet she'd pick you up at Hario and take you to the dealership!

Yep - that's exactly what's happening. And no less than 3 other people recommended them to me today.

And in my own interest of fairness, another person recommended Tamies today, and they have a website.

They took a request via website and in just a few hours they had a match for what I was looking for, and in the price range.

Posted Edited by Admin:  Link Removed - Was a form of advertisement.. Sorry

Very cool, thank you! I will add Tamies to my list of recommendations. Let me know what you end up with!

Both were incredibly polite. VG Motors picked me up at Hario but then dropped me back off at main base and Tamies brought me to his place 30 minutes away and back.

I ended up buying from Tamies as he had something in the price range I was looking at, but when it's time to upgrade I wouldn't hesitate to buy from VG Motors.

Oh - and another recommendation I heard today was for I Heart Motors (?). They are the ones who have the business cards on the wall next to housing.

Thanks for the update, and glad you got a car! I'm glad to know of another place to recommend.

is it better to leave/sell your car here than shipped it to japan?

You are better off storing you car in the states if you are going to be moving to Japan. The Navy will pay to store one car in a storage facility.
Once you get over here, you can find a pretty good car for a few thousand dollars. Many of our American cars are waaay to big for the Japanese roads and parking spaces, plus you have to have your car modified for the Japanese emmision(sp) laws which will cost a LOT of money.

For those who bought cars from used dealerships in Sasebo, how long did it take you get your car once you decided on a car? Like, if I go on Wednesday and say, I want this car, when will I actually get to leave with my car?

Brnady,

About five days for me. But he then took care of the JCI, cleaned the car, paid the April road tax, put new tires and a battery in it, got the parking sticker, and dealt with pretty much the whole shebang.

All I had to do was get him a power of attorney at the start, and then get insurance and a base decal at the end of it.

The time varies -- and it's shorter if you are still living in the lodge or living on base (if you live off-base, they have to get you a parking sticker, which means they have to measure your parking space at your house).

One car took five days from my payment until I got the car, one took three days.

If the military is paying to store a car for you back in the states, they will not pay to ship your car if you PCS within Japan. They did pay us mileage when we drove ourselves though.

Do the Navy have their own storage facility for the cars? or we can just store it anywhere and claim it?