COSTS of OWNING a LUXURY CAR!

[berkaz6370]

I am in a confused state of mind about purchasing an expensive luxury car (2019 BMW X3 xdrive 20d at 6.000.000 Yen ) or should I buy something more decent.
I am living in the Japanese Coutryside (Shizuoka) and own my house with outdoor parking space. What are the true cost of owning a luxury car in Japan?
I heard about shaken, road tax, car insurance,...Is it worth driving a beautful car in Japan compared to other countries. What are the pros and cons? Thank you in advance for your advise.

[regular]

Japan is not Singapore. You do not incur any excessive taxes or fee to acquire licenses to be able to drive, so if you can afford it, buying an expensive luxury car which you always wanted to drive is very much recommended. My personal observation about mid-size Toyota SUVs like RAV4 or Harrier is that you can not find bargain for those cars in used car market now-a-days. I know nothing about non-Toyota cars though.

[TJKansai]

Japan is not Singapore. You do not incur any excessive taxes or fee to acquire licenses to be able to drive, so if you can afford it, buying an expensive luxury car which you always wanted to drive is very much recommended. My personal observation about mid-size Toyota SUVs like RAV4 or Harrier is that you can not find bargain for those cars in used car market now-a-days. I know nothing about non-Toyota cars though.

From what I have seen, the depreciation of foreign cars is faster than Japanese luxury cars.
You will pay more for parts and repairs. Taxes will be higher if you have a larger engine.

I agree that the current used car market is tight for Toyotas. A dealer told me the supply chain issue has slowed new car production, so used cars are being held onto longer and going at a premium.

Driving in the countryside can be fun and if you are spending a lot of time in your car it makes sense to have something you enjoy.

[captainspoke]

New cars get three years until their first shaken. So for a 2019 car, that will be due sometime this year. You may want to price how much that will be. Foreign cars have higher maintenance costs, and more expensive parts. Large vehicles need large tires, which are more expensive.

[berkaz6370]

Thank you all for the constructive feedback. I saw that the Shaken of the 2020 BMW X3 xDrive 20d xLine (Individual) on sale expires on February 4, 2023. The car has 7400 miles (11900KM). Warranty Program: Unlimed Mileage for 2 Years. It's a jewel of a car! On sale at Shonan BMW dealership in Yamato (Kanagawa-ken). It's a hard decision to make.

[pfdsa]

Cons:
Some garages (many?) won`t work on foreign cars, and the ones that do work charge a premium rate, so most owners just take their car to an official dealer.
Parts aren`t widely available, bigger tires are obviously more expensive and they charge an extra fee for bigger tires when you need to rotate, replace, balance the tires, etc.
The bigger the engine, the bigger are the taxes too. Car insurance is also more expensive.
As a general rule, unless you`re buying something exotic (Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc), foreign cars tend to depreciate faster than Japanese cars.

Pros:
You get to drive the car you like and be famous among the ladies?

All in all, unless you always wanted to drive that specific car and are ready to spend some serious money, I would stay away from it.
Toyota and Lexus have some luxury cars, so maybe its worth taking a look?

[berkaz6370]

Thanks. Another reason why I thought buying a foreign car is that to my knowledge the GPS (navigation system) in Japanese car is only in Japanese language!

[pfdsa]

Thanks. Another reason why I thought buying a foreign car is that to my knowledge the GPS (navigation system) in Japanese car is only in Japanese language!

No problem.
I guess that it depends on the car, but there are GPS where you can select between Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean.
Replacing the GPS with an aftermarket GPS is also a relatively inexpensive option (depending on the car).

[AreTheyTheLemmings?]

Thanks. Another reason why I thought buying a foreign car is that to my knowledge the GPS (navigation system) in Japanese car is only in Japanese language!

No problem.
I guess that it depends on the car, but there are GPS where you can select between Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean.
Replacing the GPS with an aftermarket GPS is also a relatively inexpensive option (depending on the car).

Now that's something I've never even considered: Navi in other languages. I've never used a navi except in Japanese. I'd probably get all flustered and cause a crash if it started talking at me in English.

[Jansen]

I got a used BMW in similar condition to yours. <2 years old, <5km. Before that I had a Honda Something. There honestly hasn't been much difference in costs. Fuel costs went up because of switching to hi-octane. Insurance is a couple man more expensive. That's about it maybe? Tax is the same whether domestic or foreign. I've obviously spent quite a bit on my car but none of them are necessities. They're 'I like cars' related.

Examples are
- a separate set of wheels to fit winter tyres into
- a Thule roof carrier instead of Inno or that other one because it looks nicer
- a hand wash and polish every 3 months or so because it looks nicer-er and shinier-er

I also do my own shaken because it's easier and faster. Only half a day instead of multiple days leaving it at the dealer. When the warranty and free maintenance period ran out, I found a local workshop to handle my maintenance instead. It's been 5 years and I've driven over 60km. There's a little bit more of a rattling noise than initially and there's more play in the gear level or the knobs and all but that's just standard wear and tear. I haven't had any breakdowns or gremlins. There're nicks and scratches around the ends because I'm careless and I often drive into crazily narrow mountain roads but whatever. Everytime I get a ride in someone else's JDM, I'm glad I bought my car and will probably keep it for as long as it works.