farquah 0 Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 My car is up for Shaken soon and I can`t get over what a complete and utter farce it is that ends up costing about as much as it would for me to simply buy a new one!!! All Japanese cars over three years old have to pass a saftey inspection every two years. The inspection is so tough that it generally costs over 1500 dollars, and often more, to get your automobile up to standard. First, there is the basic inspection fee of 35,000 yen. Then there is the weight tax of 25,200 yen (for cars under 1 ton). You also have to pay 28,450 yen for insurance and 8,000 yen for the shaken itself. Add to that the 5% sales consumption tax, several other tests, plus parts and labour for any actual repairs that need doing and you are looking at some very serious money for the safety inspection of a car that probably doesn't need it. Is the government really that worried about the safety of Japanese drivers? Does the Shaken system save lives? No. The reasons for this wasteful, unfair, and environmentally unfriendly policy are purely economic. According to the book Japan Swings: Politics, Culture and Sex in the New Japan, the entire system is a conspiracy between the government and Japan's car industry to sell more vehicles. The author, Richard McGregor quotes a Mainichi Shimbun article in which a senior MITI official states: "Many people buy new cars because of a pending inspection. By lengthening the time between inspections, it will be even harder to sell cars...and contrary to economic stimulus measures." Glad I got that off my chest! Link to post Share on other sites
window-cleaner 0 Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 I remember a similar discussion on here a while back. Search for shaken. Link to post Share on other sites
brit-gob 9 Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Some shaken related fun http://www.skijapanguide.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=002277 http://www.skijapanguide.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=8;t=002259 I'm in a helpful mood today. Link to post Share on other sites
indosnm 0 Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Mate, just go to one of those cheap shaken places and say that U won't pay more than 100,000. Long gone are the dayz of 150,000 unless you go to a dealer. I pay around 80-90 ( got one coming up) get 2 years rego & and oli change and service for that. Its a little bit more exy than Oz but you do get 2 years full rego included. The car tax is the stinger...ouch! Link to post Share on other sites
rachael 0 Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 The bulk of the 100k is unavoidable, it's what they do with their "fixes" that add to it. Interesting thing here. I had a friend who recently said NO NO NO to some of the recommendations from the garage - he wanted to save money and thought they were trying to screw him. Anyway, he had an accident last week when one of the things the garage recommended fixing broke. Luckily it wasnt anything major, but it wouldn't have happened if he'd had it seen to. (Something to do with the brakes or something). He now has to shell out about 150000+ yen if he wants his current car fixed up. If he had had it done beforehand at his shaken it would have been 20000 yen. Link to post Share on other sites
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