This 1995 Mercedes-Benz G320 Gelandewagen is a left-hand-drive that was imported to the US in December 2021. The truck is painted Mercedes 9199 — “Black Pearl Metallic” with black interior upholstery and is powered by the M104 engine which is a 3.2-liter inline-six mated to a four-speed automatic transmission, a dual-range transfer case, and locking front, center, and rear differentials.
For help on the acquisition side of the equation I partnered with Japan Cars Direct. They were nice to work with and very responsive, helping me navigate the very different buying market landscape and processes.
Whatsapp was the communication medium, Paypal to set up a retainer and then wire transfers for the purchase. With the time difference between countries, much of the communication and bidding activity happened from late evening till early morning.
For example, I’d search for a vehicle, when I selected a candidate, I’d order an inspection. If the report was favorable I’d determine a max value and submit a bid. Go to bed early, (with lots of truck excitement and little sleep) then wake up to learn the outcome in the morning. The sign up to sale process took about 2 months, and we finally won an auction. The process took longer than expected partially due to the lack of inventory meeting our criteria, as well as our casual approach to searching/bidding.
There is a ton of information available on importing vehicles from Japan. For importation I partnered with Sound Brokerage in Gig Harbor, Washington. They were nice to work with and very responsive, however importing two “Gwagons” at the same time, from different countries and different boats did cause confusion.
In my naivie thinking I figured I’d get both Gwagons to land at port around the same time then my wife and I would train up and drive them home on a great adventure! I was sadly mistaken in so many ways…
