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When I was considering buying a Roadster, I was able to pay the Tesla Service Center near the owner $ 200 to do a "CPO" (Certified Pre Owned) inspection. Quite a bargain, as they they spent much more than the two hours of labor I was charged for(Labor charges posted were $ 100/hour). It was particularly useful as the car was in the San Francisco area, and the staff at the service center had serviced the Roaster in the past (and with the consent of the owner, revealed them to me) and had a lot of hands on experience with Roadsters. Your service center in Japan might not be as familiar with Roadsters, but if they'd be willing to do a comprehensive "CPO" inspection involving several hours for just $ 200 (≈ 2000 Yen), I think you could find that quite reassuring (or revealing if their are issues). Since the car has a lot of aftermarket upgrades, it might be somewhat limiting in that respect, but still worth it. On another I had looked to buy (directly from Tesla as a CPO) that I had ended up passing on, a pre-delivery inspection for the person who tried to buying it revealed damage to the frame.
Total speculation, but perhaps the reason why the prices might be cheap could that the local Japanese regulations or insurance market may make it difficult or very expense to legally drive your car on public roads. As you know, Japan is known for having meticulous regulations which have been sometimes been used to make it difficult to to have an imported car. If the car is left hand drive, that of course could hurt its value in a right hand drive market.
One last speculation, as the car was lowered, it might have been done so the owner could push its performance at the track, which could affect long term durability of some components.
Total speculation, but perhaps the reason why the prices might be cheap could that the local Japanese regulations or insurance market may make it difficult or very expense to legally drive your car on public roads. As you know, Japan is known for having meticulous regulations which have been sometimes been used to make it difficult to to have an imported car. If the car is left hand drive, that of course could hurt its value in a right hand drive market.
One last speculation, as the car was lowered, it might have been done so the owner could push its performance at the track, which could affect long term durability of some components.
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wiztecy
Active Member
Was the car lowered? I see it has taller tires which can give the illusion the car is lowered. At any rate, to note, cars when given alignment specifications, are typically given at a certain ride height. So that should be taking into account. Also you amp up the "bump steer" issue/factor when you lower a car, which Roadsters/Elises/Exiges are known to have as the height lowers.
@wiztecy and @dgh --> Yes, the car has been lowered. The suspension was changed along with calipers, wheels and tires. It is adjustable and is about as low as it will go now. To pass the required safety inspection (every two years) I'm pretty sure it would need to be raised a bit as I can't see it making it over the service pit (the last part of the inspection).
I am definitely going to ask about taking it to the service center since the only Tesla service center in Japan is very close to the dealer where this car is. I don't think the left hand drive is as much of an issue as the 'unknown' aspect. A person who knows Tesla and Roadsters and doesn't already have one (Roadster or S) would certainly be interested but those numbers may be quite few....or maybe there is an issue that others have discovered and the dealer isn't passing it on...? It seems to be a very reputable dealer though so I can't imagine they'd damage their reputation just to get rid of a problematic Tesla.
Oh, as for how many Tesla Roadsters there are in Japan, I have no idea but I suspect the number is very low. I've seen one on the road and a few at a track close to Mt. Fuji (where I live). Good point about the track. The reason it's at a Lotus dealer is because the owner is a customer so he may be into spicy cars and driving fast and aggressively (hard not to be with a Roadster)
I am definitely going to ask about taking it to the service center since the only Tesla service center in Japan is very close to the dealer where this car is. I don't think the left hand drive is as much of an issue as the 'unknown' aspect. A person who knows Tesla and Roadsters and doesn't already have one (Roadster or S) would certainly be interested but those numbers may be quite few....or maybe there is an issue that others have discovered and the dealer isn't passing it on...? It seems to be a very reputable dealer though so I can't imagine they'd damage their reputation just to get rid of a problematic Tesla.
Oh, as for how many Tesla Roadsters there are in Japan, I have no idea but I suspect the number is very low. I've seen one on the road and a few at a track close to Mt. Fuji (where I live). Good point about the track. The reason it's at a Lotus dealer is because the owner is a customer so he may be into spicy cars and driving fast and aggressively (hard not to be with a Roadster)
iwannam3
Active Member
This is from 93 and probably dated, but explains the required inspections that drive "old" cars off the road. Why the Cars In Japan Look Just Like New
Wikipedia : Motor-vehicle inspection (Japan) - Wikipedia
Wikipedia : Motor-vehicle inspection (Japan) - Wikipedia
Although this is old, it's fairly accurate even today. As stated, the actual inspection is relatively cheap (it's about $15 today). There is a system called "User Shaken", referred to at the bottom of the piece, that allows the car owner to take the vehicle through the inspection line him/herself. As a person who likes to tinker and is not afraid to get his hands dirty, I've been doing that for years.
The kicker is that auto taxes have to be paid at the same time the inspection is conducted, which constitutes the majority of the cost, and the entire process is such a pain in the neck that many just opt to take their car to a shop where often times things that really don't need to be changed are changed, and at dealer prices to boot.
Over ten years ago I took a Subary Legacy in for the inspection. I had done all the prerequisites (measured brake pad thickness, checked fluids, cleaned CV boots (not kidding)). Went through the first part of the test which consists of:
1. A 'slip test' that checks for play in axle joints, suspension etc.
2. Speedometer check (drive on rollers at a dictated speed)
3. Brake check (parking and regular) performed while on the rollers
4. Headlight aim (shine headlights into a robot that rolls out in front of the car while on the rollers)
5. Exhaust check (put a sensor in the exhaust and wait for results).
6. Then the pit
I rolled over the pit and the guy below bangs and pulls on things (steering joints, checks for loose bolts, exhaust leaks, etc.) and then pulls, with a metal hook, on the CV boots. I hear the guy from below the pit say "please get out of your car and come down" (in Japanese of course)
. I go down into the pit and he shows me a torn boot. I know it wasn't torn before I got there because I was under the car checking and cleaning them. They were admittedly old and brittle but it was clear that he pulled the boot with his metal hook and separated it in one of the deep crevices of the boot.With no recourse, I drove the thing home flinging grease everywhere under the chassis, got a new boot, took the assembly apart (quite a job), replaced the boot and went back the next Monday (the original inspection was on Friday so it consumed a good part of my weekend). No problem after installing the new boot.
Anyway, the whole system is very demonstrative of Japanese culture in that there is a strong sense of specialization and willingness to let others, specialists, perform tasks that are in their realm. More people today do "User Shaken" but the majority still go to a shop or dealer and pay dearly to keep their cars in virtually new condition.
Having said all that though, there are serious car fans who do it all themselves...probably not as many as in the States though.
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Perhaps things are changing, but apparently the net of all this inspection, taxes, etc. is that perfectly good cars (by our standards) are scrapped well before their time because it's just too expensive to get them registered. The junk yards pick out the good parts, put them on a pallet for storage, and the rest goes to be recycled or scrapped. Over here, we "benefit" from this, in a way. About 5 years ago, my 1994 Acura Integra GS-R developed a hole in the cylinder head. After failing to find a more surgical fix (couldn't get the parts), I ended up with a used engine from Japan that had been sitting in a warehouse in New Jersey for the better part of 16 years just waiting for me. My car had 230k miles on it, and was otherwise in great shape. The replacement engine reportedly came from a car that had under 50k. Drove it another 40k before selling it privately last year. As far as I know, it's still going strong, and probably will do so for many years. If you happen to run into the prior owner, please thank him/her for me.
Good luck with your Roadster purchase, and don't let them poke their hook in places it doesn't belong!
Good luck with your Roadster purchase, and don't let them poke their hook in places it doesn't belong!
I think Tesla had announced that those first 12 Roadsters to Japan were to be RHD, but then they sent LHD instead.
My guess is that they couldn't get the RHD models produced yet, so started with an initial delivery of US spec cars rather than waiting.
Later they sent some Euro-Spec RHD roadsters to Japan, but my guess is that the total number was not very large.
Looking for online pictures, and used car listings, it doesn't seem like there are very many Roadsters in Japan.
My guess is that they couldn't get the RHD models produced yet, so started with an initial delivery of US spec cars rather than waiting.
Later they sent some Euro-Spec RHD roadsters to Japan, but my guess is that the total number was not very large.
Looking for online pictures, and used car listings, it doesn't seem like there are very many Roadsters in Japan.
The plate is from 'Shinagawa' (品川) which is part of Tokyo so, unless it's been reregistered elsewhere since then it should be somewhere around that area. Isn't the number on that one in the snow 4-36? (品川３０１ る・４・３６）I think...
P.S. I'm pretty sure that snow shot is Photoshop superimposed...no?
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Update on my search for information:
1. I went to the dealer today with USB in hand to download the log files. I had prepared a small USB stick (256 MB) with the directory required, formatting (or so I thought), etc. However, I found out, after fiddling for almost 30 minutes, that my USB was formatted with FAT16 instead of FAT32 because of its size (something my Mac was doing automatically apparently). Luckily I had a spare USB stick that was already formatted with FAT32 so I deleted its contents and used it without any problems.
2. I've been digging through the file with VMS Log Parser and am curious about a few things:
3. The data from the file is fascinating. I see a period of time (June 1st of this year) where there are charge indications (more than 50 probably...I didn't count them) where the charger was connected for very short intervals (20 seconds, 30 seconds, etc.) and the charge sate was 0% -> 0% or 1% -> 1%. The last one (on June 1st) finally keeps the charger connected for 39 and a half hours and the charge goes to 42%. It's then disconnected momentarily and then reconnected for another 4 and a half hours (jumps to 47%) then one last time (disconnect and reconnect) this time for 13 hours 20 minutes or so and the charge jumps to 83%. If I look at the CAC Day history, from June 1st to 3rd (when the 0% charge is observed), I see the CAC at 151.22. I thought the state of charge %age was percent full but maybe it is percentage of charge 'administered' into the car rather than current state in terms of how full the battery is...? e.g. 0% charge to 0% charge because the connector was only connected for 27 ~ 28 seconds each time? Does that make sense?
At any rate, I need to dig more but I can't find any record of the drive battery being changed so I'm now curious about the service record the dealer shows me that seems to indicate the battery was changed.
Perplexed but getting more interested. Maybe someone with more knowledge and experience analyzing these log files would like to take a peek at it?
Jason (Kokoro)
1. I went to the dealer today with USB in hand to download the log files. I had prepared a small USB stick (256 MB) with the directory required, formatting (or so I thought), etc. However, I found out, after fiddling for almost 30 minutes, that my USB was formatted with FAT16 instead of FAT32 because of its size (something my Mac was doing automatically apparently). Luckily I had a spare USB stick that was already formatted with FAT32 so I deleted its contents and used it without any problems.
2. I've been digging through the file with VMS Log Parser and am curious about a few things:
a. The CAC on 1/17/17 (today) is --> 148.71 That seems like a pretty good number but I noticed that the log only goes back to 5/11/2011. Maybe that is when it arrived in Japan? It has 4187 miles on it at that time though...? This article from June of 2010 says the cars won't arrive in Japan until May...of 2011...? That seems like an awfully long time in transit.
Tesla Announces Japan Will be First Destination in Asia
Tesla Announces Japan Will be First Destination in Asia
3. The data from the file is fascinating. I see a period of time (June 1st of this year) where there are charge indications (more than 50 probably...I didn't count them) where the charger was connected for very short intervals (20 seconds, 30 seconds, etc.) and the charge sate was 0% -> 0% or 1% -> 1%. The last one (on June 1st) finally keeps the charger connected for 39 and a half hours and the charge goes to 42%. It's then disconnected momentarily and then reconnected for another 4 and a half hours (jumps to 47%) then one last time (disconnect and reconnect) this time for 13 hours 20 minutes or so and the charge jumps to 83%. If I look at the CAC Day history, from June 1st to 3rd (when the 0% charge is observed), I see the CAC at 151.22. I thought the state of charge %age was percent full but maybe it is percentage of charge 'administered' into the car rather than current state in terms of how full the battery is...? e.g. 0% charge to 0% charge because the connector was only connected for 27 ~ 28 seconds each time? Does that make sense?
At any rate, I need to dig more but I can't find any record of the drive battery being changed so I'm now curious about the service record the dealer shows me that seems to indicate the battery was changed.
Perplexed but getting more interested. Maybe someone with more knowledge and experience analyzing these log files would like to take a peek at it?
Jason (Kokoro)
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Must be some sort of mistake if it says 2011 somewhere. I think those 12 Roadsters got to Japan in Mid 2010.
Also, maybe the log you are looking at is not from the beginning. Maybe someone "wiped" the memory when the car was first sold or something like that.
I expect some LogParser experts will chime into this thread soon and answer your other questions.
Red LHD US made Roadster in Tokyo May 2010:
TEDxTokyo 2010: Tesla in Odaiba
Tesla_TEDxTokyo2010_JF_DSK_1786
Nice seaside outdoor lunch at Odaiba #TEDxTokyo http://tedxtokyo.com (black/red interior)
Red LHD US made Roadster in Tokyo Nov 2010:
Tesla Motors Aoyama (Maybe this was #830 before it got the "Destino" body kit / wheels change?)
Tesla Test Rides (Maybe it was showroom demo car in 2010 ?)
TESLA@MEGAWEB
TESLAだ
Red again in a story about the Tokyo Showroom opening:
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...la-tokyo-japan-showroom-toyota/1#.WIBUPFMrKpo
LHD US made Roadsters at Car show July 2010:
テスラ ロードスター（その３） (red)
IMG_0024 (silver)
Electric Blue LHD US made Roadster in Tokyo Aug 2010:
Tokyo Tesla
Tesla In Tokyo
Tesla In Tokyo (can almost make out the VIN)
White LHD US made Roadster Sport in Tokyo showroom Dec 2010:
DSC_7751
DSC_7749
DSC_7784
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