Canadian In Japan

[MapleLeafMark]

Hi All,

I just found these boards today and I have to say that it is great to see so many guys who are interested in the Kei trucks, and other Kei vehicles too. It's also great to see other Canadians on these boards who live in Japan too. We are a small club so that is pretty cool.

For me, I've lived in Japan for over 13 years and live now in the Shikoku region (big island south of Osaka). I've been a high school teacher and university teacher for over 12 years and am changing careers completely. My wife, who is from Shikoku and her family have been in the Japanese car business forever. They finally roped me into it. I never thought I would be doing this kind of work--exporting vehicles from Japan, but it has been a lot of fun so far figuring everything out. We're a new company (Medi8tors.com) but we have, what we think, is a very good system and group of car dealers that we are working with.

It's very true that the kei trucks can be purchased very inexpensively here in Japan, and that many times they have low mileage. What is often a problem though is finding guys who can help facilitate the sale, make sure your vehicle is where it is supposed to be, and be someone you can talk to if there is ever any trouble.

I really look forward to learning a lot from you guys on these boards, and many thanks to the administrators who put this thing together. Theirs is a thankless job!

If you guys don't mind I'll let you know when our website is finally assembled. We are getting our quotes in for vehicles now, complete with shipping and administration fees. It's a very exciting time for our new company, but we have some very experienced hands at the wheel so we are also very confident we'll be able to take care of the people we work with too.

Cheers for now!

Mark G.

[Acerguy]

Welcome, Mark. Glad to have you on board. I lived in Japan for a year myself. When you get your website up and running, drop me a line and I'll add you to the reference list! :)

[Colin]

Welcome, Mark!

[Japan_Car_Exports]

Welcome to the club Colin...another Canadian here!

[Colin]

Nice freudian slip. :D

[Japan_Car_Exports]

Opps! I mean Mark...!

[MapleLeafMark]

Hello again,

Ok, the site is up. I'm no super web designer but I think we might be on the right track here. Our little company is a bit different than I think what we have seen elsewhere. We really want to advocate on the part of the end-user. That is really the focus of how we want to do this business. I have noticed and checked out many of the other guys doing this kind of work and am really impressed. I look forward to learning more and more about this as we go along.

One thing about the kei trucks that we are finding through our dealers is that they would like to have a "set price". We are currently talking to them about that in terms of price. We haven't sent kei-trucks yet from Japan, only cars so far, but I think that we can get a better deal than what we have listed now as "approx cost".... but as you guys already know, so much of the expense of the process is in the FOB and Shipping. We'll hammer this one out. I think though, for us we are looking into the kei-sports vehicles. The kei trucks are pretty cool, even though they start out as vanilla-white, but they've got great potential and what I've seen so far on other sites is really inspirational stuff. Being an Albertan boy, the truck is part of the landscape I grew up in... I just never thought it might involve the kei truck! LOL!

Take a look if you would and feel free to send me email with your suggestions and advice. As I mentioned before, my wife and I are brand new to the biz of shipping vehicles from Japan, and we are on a bit of a learning curve here. But one thing that we really want to emphasize is that whatever we can land our vehicles at, in terms of price, is exactly what we want to pass along to the buyer at the other end.

http://medi8tors.googlepages.com/frontpage

Please contact me at medi8tors@gmail.com with your comments and feedback. That would be VERY helpful.

All the best,

Mark G.

[Acerguy]

I added your link to the Reference section. I like the quote you have for the Kei Trucks... "Granted, the Kei Truck is not a beautiful thing. It's a quirky thing." :D

[BLES]

"Granted, the Kei Truck is not a beautiful thing. It's a quirky thing." :D

Haha! When I first showed mine to a friend, he said "What... did the doctor squeeze too hard with the forceps or what??!!"

I guesss he thinks they're "quirky", too! Haha!:D

BLES

[Don-in-Japan]

"Granted, the Kei Truck is not a beautiful thing. It's a quirky thing. In Japan you see these Kei Trucks out around rice fields and little old guys who have lived most of their lives in the sun drive these trucks to and from home."

Not to mention 270lb hairy tattoo'd guys too. Welcome to the Forum.

[MapleLeafMark]

Thanks for the VERY warm welcome guys.

We are really at the beginning of something that we think is going to be a lot of fun. I have been spending a lot of time looking through these forums and I have to say that I am really impressed as to how it looks, feels, and is managed.

I've been a school teacher for a long time in Japan. I'm also a guy that likes karate too, so I've studied and taught that for a long time too. I wrote a book and run a forum as well, about karate.... so I know how hard it is to run a forum and to keep it going, keep it positive, keep it helpful... So kudos to the Keith and his crew here on these boards!

I have already received some very kind and welcoming emails and PMs from folks on these boards. Please let me know if there is something I can do for your guys. I initially joined these boards because I am running a new business, but it is a lot of fun so far, so it doesn't "seem" like "work" so far! :) I am also a HUGE fan of the kei vehicles too. I think that they really are the way of the future. Although, like most guys, I love to drive a full-sized truck and stomp on the gas, I know that with the way oil prices are going and the way in which people will need to get around, smaller and more efficient vehicles are going to be needed. We're really on the "cutting edge" here. Who would've thought it would start with the KEI truck???

[Acerguy]

Aw shucks....Kevin is the instigator....I'm just one of his minions! :D

[MapleLeafMark]

Holy... the time has just slipped away.... it's been about 6 months since I've checked on these boards. First off, a big "hats off" to the moderator crew here for really keeping this forum going. It looks great, and it is really encouraging to see so many more members. I've really enjoyed surfing through the forums and seeing what you guys are up to with your Kei-trucks.

The Missus and I have been a bit busy with work, and our side-biz as well dealing with Kei's. I am very happy to report that our very first container arrived in Edmonton. We are so thankful it arrived smoothly... It already sold out and we're sending another one within the next couple weeks. We're also firing off two containers of Kei trucks too. We've learned quite a bit about the loading and preparation on this end. It's been a real education!!

For those of you guys who have had some unfortunate experiences with the prepping for shipping, I'd really like to know what are some of the things we should watch out for. Our first load went well, but we had a couple issues with batteries not being disconnected and thus DOA in Canada. We also got word from a guy who had his Kei's SUSPENDED by cables inside the box. The cables snapped and well, everything got jossled around so bad he wound up with a container of scrap by the end.... Anyway, we know about that stuff and what not to have done. I would really appreciate hearing from you guys about what must and what MUST NOT be done so that we don't have unhappy people on the Canada-side of things.

Our boxes are to be loaded within the month so any quick feedback would be GREATLY appreciated.

Standing by,
Mark
Shikoku, Japan

[glenn]

Side note: Euro Cup.......Holland Rules!!!!!! eh dutchie?

glenn

[S.Hiro]

welcome Mark in the Mini Trucks Business, you can have a look at my web site to learn more that how this work is Done in a nice way, hard job but i really Enjoy my self in this Business,
have a great time,
http://www.japanese4x4minitruck.com

[TractorDre]

Hi Mark.

I'm also a Newbie and escape from the Great White North as a child.(Sherbrooke, Que.)

Welcome to the site..

Andre