Well, I went through the joke that is Japanese driving school and after 2 months I have a license and am ready to get a car.

I have about 800,000 to spend so obviously I am going for a used car. But I figure with that much I can buy a pretty good one. I am looking for something compact and stylish. Any suggestions?

I have looked at stuff like Nissan March and Honda Life. Life is a "kei" car while March isn't. Anyone out there with a "kei" car? Sometimes I wonder whether 660ccs is really enough. Any good/bad experiences?

Also any suggestions/tips about how to deal with used car dealers here?

Thanks for the help

I'm sure at driving school they informed you of the myriad of expenses you will incure while driving in Japan. First of all there is the yearly car tax, which is based upon the size of the engine and the size of the car. Then there is the biannual "shaken" safety check which will also cost you a lot of money. Insurance, gas, tires winter and summer with seperate rims of course. So my advice to you is go with the K-car, the engine might be small but so will your expenses. That is unless you decide to drive to up here to Aomori-ken to visit me, then I'd recommend something a little bigger. The invitation stands though.

I can highly recomend a mate of mine who can advise you on anything you need to know about used cars in Japan. http://www.micklay.com

Thanks for all the info. I'll check through these sites and hopefully come to a decision!

The best deal is to go direct down to the auctions and buy one yourself from the 1000's they sell every weekend. You can get a pre-sale list of what's on offer and check out the ones your interested in.

They're all pre-inspected and graded so you never get a lemon unless you want one (crashed car). I bought an Audi 80, black, 6 years old, mint condition (but no shaken) for 4500 yen! No - I didn't miss a zero! Any dealer you buy from gets their cars from these places, anyway.

You need to go with somebody who has a licence to bid at the auctions and he'll do it for about 30-40,000 yen (I think). Try this guy (speaks English):
Sherif
sherif@sea.plala.or.jp
53991688 (his shop no.)