tripler 0 Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Does shaken include insurance? Are the any other upfront costs to running a car in Japan? Link to post Share on other sites
muikabochi 208 Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 I'm no expert from what I believe the actually shaken is cheap around 10,000 yen. On top of that you have got to pay all the insurance/tax stuff. If you don't actually need anything doing to the car in terms of repairs, you probably won't see any change from 100,000 yen. Last time mine was 120,000 yen I think with just a few small things needed. I'm sure someone will help with more details. Link to post Share on other sites
snowdude 44 Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Shaken includes basic insurance, which basically allows you to legally drive your car on the road as road worthy. However you will need actual car body and crash insurance on top, which is the normal insurance policy seperate from the actual shaken. Shaken is MOT, but unlike some other countries, road tax and basic insurance is included in this and is a must, in order to get the shaken certificate each time. Every two years any car more than 2 years old have to have a major shaken and a minor one every other year. As Muikabochi said the actual shaken part (MOT) is cheap around 10,000 yen depending on size of car, engine etc, but it is all the other expenses, which include road tax, insurance to drive the car on the road, paper work costs, etc, etc that will bump the price of the shamken up. My Escudor costs around 100,000 for shaken including everything, but not insurnace , my wifes K-car I think is less than half! Link to post Share on other sites
tripler 0 Posted October 19, 2009 Author Share Posted October 19, 2009 So if you buy a 2nd hand car with a year's shaken left on it, it's good to go? Or do you *have* to get the actual car body and road tax basic insurance you mentioned? How much would that be for a cheap K-car? Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 My shakken was 77000 for a 1500cc. Road tax is seperate though I think, we pay it totally seperately anyway. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Originally Posted By: tripler So if you buy a 2nd hand car with a year's shaken left on it, it's good to go? Or do you *have* to get the actual car body and road tax basic insurance you mentioned? How much would that be for a cheap K-car? Tripler, if you buy a car with shaken it's good to go until it runs out. All you need to do is change the name and get new plates. Shaken is a really easy thing to do and if you put it in perspective it is pretty cheap. If you pay around 100,000 for 2 years with rego and CTP together. Do it yourself and you might save up to half. (that's what I used to do) Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Originally Posted By: bobby12 Road tax is seperate though I think, we pay it totally seperately anyway. Yep. If you are referring to the car tax (about 38,000+) that comes each year around the end of April that is seperate.. Link to post Share on other sites
KRUSTY 2 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Shaken is required every 2 years on a vehicle older than 3 years old(the first shaken lasts for 3 years on a new car). The shaken sticker is the small square one at the top center of the windscreen with the date of expiry. The round one on the left is the tenken (yearly check) which is not required by law but its not a bad idea to have it done for safety and it helps to keep the local mechanics employed. User Shaken is the term when you do the shaken yourself and its not that hard and you can save yourself a bit of money. For a small 660cc Kei car shaken will cost a bit over 30000yen with the weight tax, testing fee etc and then in May the tax of about 9000yen. For a 1300cc car about 47000yen for the Shaken, weight tax, hokken etc and about 33000yen for tax in May. The tax that you pay in May is based on the engine capacity. Definitly would be wise to get additional insurance which would cost you about 5000yen/month. Living in Nagano means you may need a set of snow tyres for winter so that can be an additional minor cost if the car doesnt have a set. Maybe a bit bigger than what your after but Ive got a 4wd Toyota Estima Van for sale in Nagano City if your interested. Link to post Share on other sites
snowdude 44 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Good to go legally, but you will need actual car body accident insurance, otherwise if you hit something you have big problems as the basic insurance only covers you to drive the car leagally on the road it doesn't offer you any protection against accidents! If it has shaken tax will already be included in it! Originally Posted By: tripler So if you buy a 2nd hand car with a year's shaken left on it, it's good to go? Or do you *have* to get the actual car body and road tax basic insurance you mentioned? How much would that be for a cheap K-car? Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Returning to original question, basically yes you need to buy what we know as 'car insurance' seperately, though I find it cheaper here than in the UK. I dont know if you legally Have to Have it here like in UK. Link to post Share on other sites
tripler 0 Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 Originally Posted By: bobby12 I dont know if you legally Have to Have it here like in UK. In the UK you have to insure it and that's separate from road tax and MOT. 3rd party's the cheapest, covering you for damage to other cars but not your own. So with just shaken if you cause an accident you've got to pay it out of your own pocket? Doesn't sound very good. I only want a car to do a few short day ski trips. Got to have 4wd, snow tires, cost 100,000-150,000 yen (and be able to fit a snowboard!). But it sounds like there'll be quite a lot of other expenses. Is new plates and change of ownership done at the car dealers or is a trip to some administrative department involved? Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Why dont you just rent? Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Originally Posted By: tripler Is new plates and change of ownership done at the car dealers or is a trip to some administrative department involved? You need a parking permit & then it can be done at the main car rego place in your city. Car dealers charge 4man approx to do it. If you have the time it is easy enough to do by yourself, if not just pay! Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 I think the shaken insurance is minimal personal accident insurance. It means that anyone hurt in an accident should get at least something for their injuries. There is no coverage for other vehicles or property. If someone with no optional insurance writes off your car, you'll have to sue them. I think the only time you'd actually use the shaken insurance is if you hit a bicycle and wanted to protect your no claims on your optional (nin'i hoken) insurance. You'd force the victim to claim on the shaken insurance (jibaiseki) for any medical fees and buy them a new bike out of pocket. I think that's the minimum you'd get away with in that situation. If that sounds nasty, you should see how some dullards ride their bikes. No matter what happens, the driver is always responsible. Link to post Share on other sites
NoFakie 45 Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Also, a lot of current model cars qualify as "eco cars" and get a massive discount off the weight tax, the major cost at shaken time for big cars. Its something to look into if you want a s/h car. A current model van like a Serena or Alphard could be 40,000 cheaper than the previous model at shaken time. There's normally a premium for current model s/h cars, but in this case, it could well be worth it. Link to post Share on other sites
klingon 10 Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 I was just looking at that. The Eco car money you can save is significant. Thinking of changing mine and looking at the options now. Link to post Share on other sites
bobby12 0 Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 A new Prius is about 200man now isn't it? If I was buying I would be thinking along those lines and hanging onto it for 6-8 years. Link to post Share on other sites
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