Campervans are actually quite simple to find in our online Japanese car auction system using the text search. The key is to make sure you don’t set any manufacturer name or any model name. Just set the grade, year and KM range of vehicles that you would be interested in, then go to the “Text Search” and do searches on the word “camping”, then "camper" and then "camp". Click “Search” and they you go -- a list of all the campervans that are available in upcoming auctions in Japan.
The auction inspection report will often include details of the camping equipment - shower, sink, stove, bunk beds, and even things like solar panels or external power hook ups. You can see an example in the image below.
There may also be information about scratches, grime etc in the rear camper. But remember that the inspector focuses on the vehicle itself, rather than the camping equipment, so it may not be clear whether the camping equipment is actually working or not.
We ship cars to customers on RoRo ships or in container, but when it comes to camper vans, we can only ship using the RoRo ship for all but the smallest of them.
Now, remember that the RoRo shipping price is based on the size of the vehicle. Obviously, a typical campervan is quite a bit larger than a regular car, so the cubic metre size will be much higher. More cubic meters equals more cost. However, the other thing you have to bear in mind is that camper vans are taller than regular cars. With many destinations, this will mean that you trip a height limit (or a volume limit), resulting in a higher per cubic metre tariff for shipping. It's always a good idea to get this figured out before you buy anything, so contact us if you would like a quote.
The advantage of buying campervans from Japan is similar to the advantage of buying cars from Japan - they tend to be relatively well looked after with better mileage than you are probably used to in your country.
You may even be quite surprised at the low mileage you may see, but don’t get overly suspicious. The auctions are good at policing for clocked vehicles, and remember that Japan isn’t a huge continent-sized country where people have lots of leisure time to tour large distances anyway.
Finally, it may surprise you, but many of the campervans in the Japanese car auctions are actually LHD models from the US or Europe. There are also campervans with 4WD, which can be quite attractive for exploring off-road. There are quite a variety of vehicles, so it pays to login to our online auction system regularly to see what is available on any given day.
We find that the most successful importers really understand how it all works - from the auction to the ship and beyond. Don't get left behind!
