What Happens to Cool Abandoned Cars in Japan?

"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy) 01/06/2016 at 06:46 • Filed to: None

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There is one thing you should know about Japan. If it’s old, if it’s defective, that means it goes in the trash. For cars, the trash is called a graveyard. Maybe that it used to be nice? Maybe it still is? No one cares. Garbage! Rubbish!

Japan is known to be a country of new things, new technologies, gadgets and so on. It’s also fairly famous for being the country that has the cleanest, newest rust free cars on the road that you can see anywhere in the world. If I’m not mistaking, the average lifespan for a car in Japan is around 6 years, which is insanely low compared to any western country. When a car is deemed too old, it’s sold for nearly nothing (sometimes the seller even has to pay to get rid of his car) and it’s shipped to Africa, India, England or America. Some of those cars don’t get sold because they have a problem. Then, they get crushed or graveyards part them out.

Have you ever seen an Autozam AZ-1 on top of an Austin Mini, in a graveyard, rotting away? In Japan, you can. Enjoy (or not) seeing what Japanese do with cars they don’t want!

And we’re gonna say that this Porsche 356 next to those two is just a replica. Right? It is has to be a replica........

Beaten Rotten Beat!!!

So even if it’s impossible to guess on this picture, this is a massive collection of engine. Truly massive.

Right next to the graveyard is a shop, closed when I went, with “project cars” that have been laying around for WAAAAAAY too long. According to my friend, the owner is a weird guy and he refuses to sell at any price. I guess he’d rather see them rot forever in front of him. Go figure...

Only a third gen Isuzu 117, designed by Giugiaro, one of my personal favorite design, along with the Fiat Dino.

Like the Mazdda Carol? Well, you can be certain no spare parts can be salvaged off of those!

Oh, something that seems to be in good shape! Toyota Corona! And a couple of Benz next to it..

Well, at least this one is for sale...3000$ seems a bit high though... He may have put the sign 10 years ago when it was still good looking though? no? Yeah probably not...

On the other hand, this 2CV Charleston looks salvageable and completely restorable. I’d buy it myself for a good price, but as I said, this guy doesn’t sell anything unfortunately.

Keep in mind, that, with the very first gen 2CV, the Charleston is one of the most desirable version you can buy. This guy doesn’t seem to care. Funny is that the french license plates, showing that the car comes from Paris, don’t even seem that old. The car might have been imported fairly recently...

This one is not going anywhere though. Won’t let it rust either... I just wanted to hug her after witnessing such a massacre.

So, who wants to organize a fundraiser for abandoned and beaten cool cars in Japan? Time for me to go to bed, roll into my wife’s arms and cry now.

Good night guys.

EDIT: if you guys enjoy broken and destroyed japanese cars, I recommend you check out Wasabi Cars, a youtube channel done by an Australian expat living in Nagasaki area. Really cool and tons of old rusty japanese cars to look at.

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Berang > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 06:56

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Abandoned Japanese bicycles get shipped to the Philippines by the boat load. I’ve read that recovering a confiscated bicycle in Japan is very tough to do, and then they are sold off and shipped out of the country pretty quickly. Seems just a little shady to me. But bicycles in Japan are supposed to be very cheap so few people care too much.

It is a little sad to see that Japan suffers from greedy hoarders too. It’s a disease. These people either think everything is worth a fortune - or they’re just more interested in owning the stuff than doing business, even if they don’t give a damn about everything rusting away until nobody can do anything with it anyway. Greed is an awful thing.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 07:00

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that’s not a 1600GT, too many doors :)

pip bip - choose Corrour > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 07:01

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Lancer.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 07:02

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appliance!

pip bip - choose Corrour > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 07:03

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GIB!

Flavien Vidal > beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard 01/06/2016 at 07:06

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Oh really?? What is it then?

Cé hé sin > pip bip - choose Corrour 01/06/2016 at 07:06

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I recall a time when half the taxis here were Japanese Corollas just like that.

Flavien Vidal > pip bip - choose Corrour 01/06/2016 at 07:07

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Meh, no thanks :)

Flavien Vidal > Berang 01/06/2016 at 07:11

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Hoarders are the worst, especially when they hoard and don’t maintain at all nor really care. Hate these people :)

pip bip - choose Corrour > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 07:13

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:(

pip bip - choose Corrour > Cé hé sin 01/06/2016 at 07:13

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*shudder*

Illegitimus Prime > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 07:15

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Well, my day is ruined. Thanks Flavien.

KnowsAboutCars > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 07:16

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I’ve known about this sad fact for a while. Do these junkyards have websites or Yahoo Auctions profiles? Only things I’ve come across have been businesses specializing in exporting parts (I think the Yahoo Auctions users selling used parts I’ve seen have been private persons not full blown junkyards.).

Flavien Vidal > KnowsAboutCars 01/06/2016 at 07:22

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That is the main problem with this country when it comes to people. They have a business that runs the way it is, no need for them to go look further and try exporting. Keep in mind, people have to PAY to get rid of cars like these. Then those graveyard sell the metal for recycling. They don’t care about the cars and its potential value. They only see the 500$ they’ll get out of the metal they collect from them.

Sad, really, sad...

Speed > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 07:23

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Here’s one to counteract the lead photo. I visited my family down in Kentucky this past week and saw this super clean Z on a used lot. Just like the lots full of junked Beetles in Mexico, it’s a shame these aren’t being parted out or shipped to countries like the US where top dollar is paid for imported cars like these.

I understand a car or two isn’t worth it, but if part of a greater parts importing business it very well could be.

jariten1781 > Berang 01/06/2016 at 07:24

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I’ve read that recovering a confiscated bicycle in Japan is very tough to do

Not too tough, at least it wasn’t a decade ago...just find the local bike jail (a patrolman can point you there) and pay your fee (2500-5000 yen). Thing is, Japanese people (in my anecdotal experience) are

1. Super embarrassed when stuff like that happens...just the act of having to go to the bike jail is plain unconscionable to a lot of them so they’ll leave, even expensive bikes there just to not have to go through it;

2. They have a ‘shoganai’ culture. Drove all the foreigners over there nuts...Shoganai is, roughly, a concept of ‘Oh well, it cannot be helped, nothing to do about it now’. Good for not driving yourself insane ruminating on something that you cannot change; rage inducing when it’s something easily solvable. Stuck in traffic, don’t get mad, shoganai (good). Restaurant forgets to serve you a side item, don't ask for it, pay for it anyway, shoganai (bad). Bike to bike jail...oh well, it can't be helped, guess I'll buy another one...aaaggghhh

Flavien Vidal > Speed 01/06/2016 at 07:27

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I was actually thinking of buying a Z31 at one point... or even a Z32 as they are ridiculously cheap here. Then I managed to get a bigger budget so I went for the turbo SA22c :)

KnowsAboutCars > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 07:30

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It really is, there are enthusiasts who would pay considerable amounts of money for a lot of the stuff that gets scrapped.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 07:30

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We need to save that Porsche... It, it can’t go out like that... It’s not right.

Flavien Vidal > Illegitimus Prime 01/06/2016 at 07:30

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Here is a nice one to get you back in good mood :)

Sanjay Madhav > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 07:43

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Wow holy damn I have no words for this.

Flavien Vidal > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. 01/06/2016 at 07:56

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According to another commenter here, it’s just a replica, so I’m cool with it dying then :)

daender > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:10

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An AZ-1? NOOOOOOOO!

jjhats > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:16

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why wouldn’t an American step in scoop them up for pennies and flip them then? this story is very sad

Flavien Vidal > jjhats 01/06/2016 at 08:20

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Because they won’t sell them to him. Unless you’re a registered garage in Japan looking for cars to restore, you can forget about getting these graveyards to sell you cars. They won’t, and at any price at that. You’ll get an aswer that will sound like this: “huuuummm... chioooootto...”

Which translates pretty much by “I’m going to pretend I care about helping you, but in fact I don’t and no I won’t sell you a car.”

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:31

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I want.

JGrabowMSt > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:34

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GIB ME NAOOOO

damnthisburnershitsux > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:38

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I believe that sports car is making sedans with that minivan

Berang > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:38

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70-ish Corona.

StalePhish > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:39

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Poor Mini!! Some day I’ll be able to import a good one... stupid 25 year law

damnthisburnershitsux > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:40

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so cute how the chrome around the headlight flows into the lines, very adorable

55_mercury > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:41

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Abandonned? C’mon guys...

Hey Julie > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:41

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Anyone know the name of those 4 lug mesh wheels with the silver lip on the yellow Isuzu? I have them on my 280zx and would like to know the brand and model name.

Flavien Vidal > StalePhish 01/06/2016 at 08:41

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Consdering that the best ones are from the 70’s, you can import one now :)

nerd_racing > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:42

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This pains me.

nerd_racing > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:43

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Cue the Sarah McGloughlin song from the kids in Africa videos...

thomas498 > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:43

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A normal RT40 corona, 1600 GT should be in RT55 Coupe body style.

damnthisburnershitsux > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:43

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love the spoiler on this kei van

Mike Fresh, Toomp and Hop > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:44

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A friend had a turbo two-tone anniversary addition one like this in the early 90’s....with 16” ARE’s like these wheels....thought it was soo cool then.

Flavien Vidal > 55_mercury 01/06/2016 at 08:44

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Well, technically they are not abandonned... it’s worse. They are either rotting away rthanks to a hoader of an owner who refuses to sell or they are waiting to be destroyed....

Flavien Vidal > thomas498 01/06/2016 at 08:46

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Oh ok thank you. Never really paid too much attention to thse, I thought they all were 1600GT :)

moetop > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:46

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Now Kato.. Warm up the Silver Hornet.

Drakkon- Most Glorious and Upright Person of Genius > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:46

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Periscope scoops are best scoops

HideyoshiJP > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:46

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Give it to me. I want that white one.

ShibbyUTman > daender 01/06/2016 at 08:46

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55_mercury > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:46

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Sorry, I was giving you a hard time. “Abandoned”has one n, not 2. You might want to fix the post title. Otherwise I enjoyed the article and thanks!

James May is my spirit animal > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:49

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Flavien Vidal > moetop 01/06/2016 at 08:49

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haha thanks for the laugh :)

bmwloco > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:49

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When I first went to NZ in 1992, nothing but old British.

Fast forward a couple years, plastic fantastic Japanese Autos everywhere. Some interprizing folks figured it out: low miles, easy to import. It’s like eBay. You look at the cars as they are coming from Japan to NZ...put in a bid, when it arrives on the dock, you look it over and drive it home.

NZ used to have the largest concentration of motorcylist in the world. No more. Not when you can buy a low mile WRX for half what you can buy a new Honda motorcycle.

pjhusa > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:50

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That France plate is either fake or in a German style.

Flavien Vidal > 55_mercury 01/06/2016 at 08:50

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woups, fixed, thank you :)

MrCarGoesVroom > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:52

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Damn that son of a B for letting them rot! That’s a GD sin!

Rickster3rd ¯\_()_/¯ > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:52

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For the good of all things automotive we need to invade the Land of the Rising Sun only to release these cars from their incarceration. Get Ben Affleck on the phone, we got another Argo situation in the works.

Flavien Vidal > James May is my spirit animal 01/06/2016 at 08:52

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Good question, not much news from her... I know she is trying to change nationality and become fulltime japanese, so I guess it takes her quite a bit of time :)

paic > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:55

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These French plates look fake.
Source: also French.

npc58501 > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:55

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step 1: form shell corporation with Japanese joint venture

step 2 open miniscule false front registered garage in suburban Osaka

Step 3 Garage door opens into car carrier

Step 4 place cars on car carrier onto boat heading to Long Beach or Seattle (get paperwork ready since these look 25+ yrs )

Step 5 Advertise to jalops and Doug DeMuro that cool abandoned cars from the land of Gundams and Fugu have arrived!

PROFIT!!!!!!!!

Flavien Vidal > pjhusa 01/06/2016 at 08:55

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huh?? No lol

It’s a very normal french plate from before the change to an english style unique plate for each car.

Source: I’m french.

ronmler3 > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:56

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Aren’t the Japanese required to replace their car’s engine after five or ten years, due to emissions regulations?

Wheelerguy > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:56

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Well, we’d make them. We’ll use the Force.

Wheelerguy > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:57

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*calls Magnus*

Flavien Vidal > bmwloco 01/06/2016 at 08:57

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Imagine that they are even cheaper in Japan when you know the right person who have access to dealer only car auctions :)

Speed > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 08:58

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I can’t wait to visit Japan at some point. Your car is the tits. There’s one down the street from my house for sale that I stare at every time I drive by.

Flavien Vidal > ronmler3 01/06/2016 at 08:58

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Never been the case. Urban legend.

AGBullit235 > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:00

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There is allot of awesome here. Amazon, Porka, mini and an AZ-1???

Flavien Vidal > paic 01/06/2016 at 09:01

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Nan c’est juste les anciennes plaques... Rien de bien special.

Aussi il n y a pas de “fausses plaques” en France, puisque les plaques sont normalement fabriquees chez des serruriers, n’importe ou. On peut meme choisir son style de plaque.

CondemnedtoaSlowrolla > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:02

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That’s a Mazdaspeed A-spec AZ-1. I’d pay a surprisingly high amount to have it shipped here.

Garth Hancock > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:03

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This is the most wasteful shit I have ever seen. It doesn’t make sense.

Flavien Vidal > CondemnedtoaSlowrolla 01/06/2016 at 09:04

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Getting one fairly soon for myself :)

Illegitimus Prime > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:04

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Thank you, I dream about these weekly. The Autozam AZ-1, Suzuki Cara and (different car, I know) Honda Beat are near the top position of my dream car list.

pjhusa > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:05

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The format looks fine. The font just looks German and the spacing looks a bit off.

Flavien Vidal > Speed 01/06/2016 at 09:06

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Add also that this is a 1985 Turbo version. Less than 2000 produced, in Japan only :)

I like to call it my unicorn as VERY few made it all the way to 2016 :)

(when reading this article you understand why...)

Flavien Vidal > Wheelerguy 01/06/2016 at 09:07

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Replica according to a couple of people here :)

Would like to know why and how they can figure it out though...

Flavien Vidal > Garth Hancock 01/06/2016 at 09:08

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Old shit —-> bye bye!

Welcome to Japan :)

Flavien Vidal > Illegitimus Prime 01/06/2016 at 09:09

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Keep in mind the Beat is a lot slower than the AZ-1 or than the Cappuccino though :)

fintail > pjhusa 01/06/2016 at 09:10

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I was thinking the same, I wasn’t familiar with France using the German font, and I’ve spent time in France.

Garth Hancock > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:11

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I know, I’m just from the old mantra of “if it ain’t broke, don’t junk it” this is like throwing away gasoline .

DicKy > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:13

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Can strike off India from the list of countries where Japan exports its old cars to.
Though would very much love to see the beauties be sold in here or at least available for import (except lack of diesel engines,they are best suited for Indian traffic), but sad fact is it’s nigh impossible to import given India’s notoriously strict import policies. (either manufacture the car in India or cough up 150% as import tax plus bribing et al. Also engine should not be smaller than 3500cc :( )

Flavien Vidal > pjhusa 01/06/2016 at 09:14

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It can’t really look off in France as license plates are not provided by the government (like in the US or Canada) but are made by any shop who does license plates for a living (usually lock-smith). They all look a bit different because of that...

AS you can see on the topright corner of the shop, they also make license plates... Typical french shop for that...

fintail > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:15

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I’d be interested to know the production numbers on that Mazdaspeed AZ-1 - has to be pretty low. Doesn’t Japan have a mafia of some sort who could “encourage” the seller into letting go of some of the hoard?

MC20 > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:16

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You mean like a mid 90’S Corolla?

Illegitimus Prime > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:17

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I know, but it gives me that fizzy feeling. I’ve never seen any of these in the metal though, much less sat in them. Doubt I ever will unfortunately. Closest I get is GT6 :(

Flavien Vidal > DicKy 01/06/2016 at 09:18

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Oh ok, interesting I would have thought that India was on the list of RHD cars being exported :)

Thanks for the precision!

Flavien Vidal > fintail 01/06/2016 at 09:19

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lol, yes but they won’t care about it either... :)

Flavien Vidal > Illegitimus Prime 01/06/2016 at 09:20

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You should start seing Beats, AZ-1 and Cappuccinos within the next 2 years, don’t despair :)

They will be rare, but importable in the US

ronmler3 > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:22

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It sure sounded like a crazy concept.

DanPadge > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:25

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That Mazdaspeed AZ-1 is truly a tragedy! Super hard to find and pretty rare. Same with the Figaro’s, a 1-yr only car that wasn’t super popular when sold new.

Brother Seamus A. Dickman > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:27

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Why?? Are they not in the business of making money..? Or is it just xenophobia?

axiomatik > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:28

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No one’s mentioned the Amazon yet?

Flavien Vidal > Brother Seamus A. Dickman 01/06/2016 at 09:30

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Well, Japan is probably the most xenophobic country in the world... Not so much “hate” toward foreigners, but lots of fear and lack of trust. So there is some of this indeed...

But they also won’t sell unlicensed cars to individuals. And while it is possible, they just won’t because they’ve never done it before.

Flavien Vidal > axiomatik 01/06/2016 at 09:32

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haha, I can see from your last post that it is a car you like :)

Not my type though... and yes someone mentioned it already :)

Guido Corvairi > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:34

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America has lots of people who would rather see a car rot away than to sell it. It’s that project that they are always going to get around to; the one that 10 years later hasn’t moved. My father had a neighbor in suburban Pittsburgh, who has a 38 Buick, 64 Ford, 64 Chevy, 56 Dodge, 55 Plymouth police car, a large RV, and the world’s largest boombox (like this except yellow and rusty) sitting in the same place they were 23 years ago, before my father died. They will be sitting their until the owner’s son gets them hauled away after his father dies.

Max Power > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:34

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The Autozam AZ-1 on top of the Austin Mini hurts to look at. The Mini looks too clean to be treated like some common Honda.

Illegitimus Prime > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:35

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I’ll probably be in despair for a while. I live in the Netherlands. From what I understand, I could probably import one now but it’s just not feasible at this point in life.

PatriceBoivin > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:35

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why, the Mitsubishi Delica of course. Not a race car by any means, though.

Sollus > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:35

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Someone get Jay Leno there stat. He needs to buy all of these things.

SolamenteDave > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:36

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I saw your article and thought it was one of Cat’s. Not hers, but still an excellent piece.

Also, are the 280s and 300s of the gen you’ve shown growing in popularity? I’ve always been a sucker for them, but a buddy of mine who’s a Datsun enthusiast has always been cold on the 280s and 300s. (I would drive the hell out of a Black Gold 280ZX.)

Flavien Vidal > Max Power 01/06/2016 at 09:37

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It does look very clean indeed... I might go back there and try to buy the seats for mine though...

SilverBRADo totaled his beigeslushboxmatrix > Flavien Vidal 01/06/2016 at 09:39

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There is one thing you should know about Japan. If it’s old, if it’s defective, that means it goes in the trash.

So you’re saying I should take my mother-in-law to Japan? And brother-in-law and sister-in-law?

Flavien Vidal > Guido Corvairi 01/06/2016 at 09:40

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haha I’d pissed if I had a neigbour with boombox like that rotting away in front of my house :)

TwinTurboTank > npc58501 01/06/2016 at 09:40

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Better yet, partner with a scrap metal shop or establish a fake one of your own so when people like this give you sought-after enthusiast cars for scrap you pay them scrap metal money, take the cars worth saving, and ship them to enthusiasts the world over! The heartless junkyard owners are happy because they think they’re doing business as usual and you’re happy because you’re getting rare JDM project cars for peanuts.