We asked one of our Ireland-based clients, Aoife, to walk us through what the process actually looked like from her side — financing, paperwork, and the months between placing a deposit and seeing the car in her own driveway. Here's her account, lightly edited for length.
Why Japan, and why now
"I'd been watching listings in Ireland for the model I wanted for almost a year, and everything was either the wrong spec or priced for a car with three previous owners and a questionable history. A friend who'd imported before pointed me toward buying directly from a Japanese auction instead of through a local dealer's import stock — the selection was just a different scale."
Getting comfortable with financing
"I was using bank financing, which added a layer I hadn't dealt with before — the bank wanted documentation the auction house obviously wasn't going to hand over directly to me. My manager at Carvector put together the paperwork the bank asked for and answered questions directly when the bank's underwriter had them, which took a lot of the back-and-forth off my plate."
The deposit
"Before you can see full, unblurred photos or bid on anything, you pay a deposit — mine came out to 20% of the car's rough value, held in my account until it either went toward the final invoice or I decided not to proceed. Knowing it was refundable, and understanding it was my money rather than a fee, made that part easier to accept than I expected."
The waiting part
"Once the deposit was in and I'd started looking at real lots, the hardest part was just not knowing what 'in progress' actually meant week to week. What helped was getting an update at each real milestone — bid confirmed, won, cleared export, on the vessel — rather than radio silence until it showed up. Shipping to Ireland took close to three months once the car was won, which my manager told me upfront, so it never felt like an unexplained delay."
Landing day
"The car arrived with less drama than I expected, honestly. The export documents — bill of lading, invoice, packing list — were all in hand before the car was, which meant the local customs and registration side wasn't the bottleneck I'd been warned about with other import stories I'd read online."
What she'd tell someone starting the process
"Ask for the real timeline up front, in writing, so you know what 'normal' looks like versus a delay worth asking about — for me that meant knowing three months was typical, not something going wrong. And don't skip reading the auction sheet translation yourself, even if you trust your manager completely — it's your car."
Have your own Carvector story worth sharing? Reply to any update from your manager, or reach out through the site — we're always looking for real accounts to feature here.