Closing the Deal - Part 1

So after I personally inspected the car which was at another Lexus dealership, found it to be acceptable (but having drawn up a mental list of things that I will need to have taken care of), I immediately went back to my local Lexus dealership to finalize the paperwork.

Well hello again, Mr. RCF. Still not sold??

This wasn't a hassle, but the salesman told me to expect a wait, as the car was currently in Toyota Saitama's inventory and had to be transferred to Toyota Kanagawa's.  This would take a maximum of a couple of weeks, which was not a problem.  I signed some papers, put down a deposit, and now just had to sit back and wait.

The bigger problem for me was, clearing out my garage.  In Japan, a person cannot buy a car until he provides proof of an adequately sized parking space, for that car.  Proof means that a police officer from the local precinct comes by and actually physically measures the parking spot.  After that, he forwards the approval document ("shako shomei") to the car dealer who will need it to register the car.

Makes sense in a country where everything is crowded together and space is at a premium.  Luckily for me I live in a house with two garages, the only problem is that until now, I've kept my R33 GT-R in one bay, and used the other bay as my workshop/man cave (and on occasion rent the space out to deserving cars).

From a post on my GT-R Blog.  I know the ISF will fit -
and you can see the shelving that I had to move behind my friend's R34 GT-R

I don't have any photos of what I did, but basically I moved over shelving and sundry items (bicycles, etc.) to the other bay (where the GT-R is) because that bay is wider. And this wasn't as easy as it sounds - I had to operate mainly at night during the week (after I was given notice from the dealer that the police would arriving on a Tuesday), after the family and the neighborhood was asleep, and box things up, etc.

As if that wasn't enough, although initially I was NOT going to get a personalized license plate like I did for my GT-R (which has a "33" for obvious reasons), after finding this website on Japanese personalized license plates, I was inspired to get a fun one. (the way it works - numbers in Japanese can have the same pronunciation as other words/characters. A well known one is the number 4, which is pronounced "shi" - which is how the word for "death" is also pronounced. Hence a number to be avoided, usually.)

Because personalized number plates must be ordered ahead of registration, my delay in telling the dealer I wanted one, pushed things back a few days as they had to redo some paperwork. Any guesses as to what I decided on?

A few days later (Thursday after the police inspected the garage) I finally got the email from my local dealer that the car was due to arrive that day from Tokorozawa (Saitama) and that at earliest, the process to register would start the next day (Friday), and that likely I would get the final invoice on Saturday.  However, because payment isn't possible by wire transfer on weekends I would have to wait until the next week - Wednesday - to pay, and the could at earliest pick up the car on the following Thursday.

Next post - payment...but not delivery...