Import a Toyota Chaser JZX100 from Japan to Ireland: what it really costs
The 1JZ-GTE saloon, September 1996 to June 2001, and its Mark II and Cresta twins; Tourer V is the 280 ps turbo, Tourer S and Avante the naturally aspirated cars.
The JZX100 is the drift saloon that crosses the 30-year line while you read this. The first Chasers, Mark IIs and Crestas were registered in September 1996, so a 1996 car registered in Ireland from the autumn of 2026 pays €200 of VRT; a 1998 Tourer V registered the same week pays 41% of a valuation around €36,000, about €14,760, plus the €600 NOx default. Same car, same auction, two years of birthday apart.
Irish asking prices in September 2026 sat between €32,890 and €38,500 for JZX100s, so a 1998 car imported and registered now lands at roughly the forecourt price and saves nothing; the same car registered after its 30th birthday in 2028 lands about €13,000 under it. That is the arithmetic the model page is for.
- Customs duty
- 0%
- With a Statement on Origin; 10% without one.
- VRT in the scenarios
- 0% to 41%
- of Revenue’s valuation, by CO2 band
- Landed, incl. fee
- €22,223 to €44,489
- across the scenarios and CO2 assumptions
- Exchange rate
- 180.94 ¥/€
- ECB, 18 Sept 2026, with the 2% buffer
Worked scenarios
Computed with the same engine as the calculator when this page was built. Prices and Irish values are assumptions. CO2 evidence would not change the band for this car: tested at 220, 250, 280 g/km it is 41% every time, so evidence only moves the NOx line. Open any row and replace the assumptions with a real car.
| Car | Price in Japan | Irish value | CO2 → band | Landed incl. fee | Open in calculator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 Tourer V automatic, 150,000 km, registered December 2026Petrol · registered 15 Dec 2026 | ¥2,600,000 | €30,000 | 30 years old → vintage rate, €200 | €22,223 | Open |
| 1998 Tourer V five-speed, 120,000 km, registered nowPetrol | ¥3,600,000 | €36,000 | 250 NEDC → 265 → band 20, 41% | €44,489 | Open |
| 1998 Tourer V five-speed, 120,000 km, registered after its 30th birthdayPetrol · registered 1 Jun 2028 | ¥3,600,000 | €36,000 | 30 years old → vintage rate, €200 | €29,229 | Open |
- 1996 Tourer V automatic, 150,000 km, registered December 2026: A first-year car that turns 30 in November 2026: €200 VRT, no NOx, no CO2 question. Price from the 2026 automatic range; value against the Irish listings.
- 1998 Tourer V five-speed, 120,000 km, registered now: A factory manual with history, priced from the 2026 manual range. A disclosure is assumed to return about 250 g/km NEDC, band 20 either way; NOx at the €600 default.
- 1998 Tourer V five-speed, 120,000 km, registered after its 30th birthday: The same car registered in June 2028 when it turns 30: €200 VRT and no levy. It would have to stay in Japan until then (V21, V25).
VRT and the OMSP
The line runs through the JZX100 production run. Cars first registered from September 1996 to whichever month is 30 years before the day you register pay €200; every later car is 41% of the valuation with no CO2 evidence that helps, because the 1JZ certifies far above 190 g/km. The month on the export certificate decides it.
Irish valuations are anchored by three or four listings in the mid-€30,000s. Revenue will use them; a modified or automatic car will be argued down or up from there, and the range on the estimate is the honest answer.
NOx levy
A petrol car with no NOx evidence pays the €600 default. A disclosure for these engines typically returns 40 to 80 mg/km, a levy of €200 to €800, so the evidence is worth having but it does not change the band: the CO2 figure is above 190 g/km either way. At 30 years or more the levy does not apply on our reading (being confirmed, V20).
Without evidence Revenue charges €600 for petrol and hybrid cars, €4,850 for diesels.
Customs duty and origin
Japanese-built, so 0% customs duty applies with a Statement on Origin from the exporter; without it 10% of the customs value is charged and VAT is charged on the duty too. Heading 9705 adds nothing to a Japanese-built car over 30: the duty is already nil and Revenue keeps the VAT at 23% for a car that will be driven (V19). A modified car is still the same car for duty: origin follows the shell, not the engine in it.
Built in: Japan (Toyota, Motomachi plant, Toyota City). Japanese-built, so the EU–Japan 0% duty rate applies with a Statement on Origin.
Insurance
A turbocharged rear-drive saloon with a drift reputation: specialist or agreed-value cover with modifications declared, a driver in their late twenties or older, and a premium to match. Over 30 the classic policies open up, with limited mileage and agreed value, and motor tax falls to the €56 vintage rate.
Generations
- JZX100 Chaser (September 1996 to June 2001): Tourer V with the single-turbo VVT-i 1JZ-GTE, 280 ps, five-speed manual (R154) or four-speed automatic; Tourer S with the 1JZ-GE; Avante grades with the 1G-FE and 1JZ-GE. Minor change in August 1998 brought the later lights and interior.
- JZX100 Mark II (September 1996 to October 2000) and Cresta (to 2001): the same floor and drivetrain in different suits; the Mark II Tourer V is the cheapest way into the 1JZ-GTE and the Cresta the rarest.
- JZX90 (October 1992 to September 1996): the twin-turbo 1JZ-GTE, every one of them 30 years old by September 2026. JZX110 Mark II iR-V (October 2000 to 2004): the last 1JZ-GTE saloon, none of them 30 before October 2030.
Before you bid
- Automatic-to-manual conversions are common and rarely declared; the chassis number, the auction sheet and the pedal box tell the story.
- Welded or two-way differentials, hydraulic handbrakes, cut springs and knock-off coil-overs all appear on cars that read as standard in the photographs; ask for the auction sheet and underside pictures before you bid.
- Grade R and RA are repaired cars, common in this trade. Look at the chassis rails, the strut towers and the rear quarters in the pictures, and price a repaired shell as one.
- A Japanese bolt-in cage is not a competition cage here: Drift Masters has prohibited them since 2016 and Irish series run to FIA-style weld-in specifications. Budget for a cage if you intend to compete.
- A caged, lowered or non-running car cannot go on RoRo. Price the container in from the start, alone or shared.
- Under-bonnet rust around the strut towers and the boot floor on cars from the snow prefectures; ask for underside photographs.
Where the numbers come from
- Japanese prices in 2026: manual Tourer V cars from about ¥3,000,000 to ¥5,000,000 with clean examples at the top, automatics ¥2,000,000 to ¥3,200,000, naturally aspirated grades from ¥900,000 (exporter listings and auction results; directional). The manual premium is large and growing.
- Irish asking prices, September 2026: a 1998 Irish-registered JZX100 at €37,500 in Cavan, a 1998 Tourer V with 159,000 km at €38,500, a 1997 car with 200,000 km at €32,890 (DoneDeal, dated). The scenarios use €30,000 to €36,000 as Revenue’s likely view.
- Manual conversions are everywhere: a car sold as a five-speed Tourer V may have left the factory as an automatic, which the chassis number and the auction sheet show and the price should reflect.
Questions people ask
Which JZX100s are 30 years old now?
Any Chaser, Mark II or Cresta first registered in Japan 30 years or more before the day it is registered in Ireland: from the autumn of 2026 that means the September to December 1996 cars, and every month after that adds a month. All JZX90s already qualify. The export certificate carries the month.
Is a JZX100 cheaper to import than to buy in Ireland?
Registered under 30, not really: a 1998 Tourer V lands at about the Irish asking prices of €33,000 to €38,500. Registered at 30, the same car lands roughly €13,000 under them. The birthday is the saving.
Can I buy it now and register it when it turns 30?
Not by keeping it unregistered in Ireland. The lawful route is to leave the car in Japan, in storage at the exporter’s yard, until its 30th birthday and ship it then; we are pricing that storage (V25). The calculator shows the landed cost on both dates for any car under 30.
If it only ever goes to the track, do I still pay VRT?
Yes. A vehicle kept in the State must be registered within 30 days of arrival, and possession of an unregistered vehicle is an offence under the Finance Act 1992. Revenue’s competition exemption covers a car that comes in for an event and leaves again, not one that lives here. We are confirming this in writing (V21) and will not advise around it.
Does the Mark II count the same as the Chaser?
Yes. Mark II, Chaser and Cresta JZX100s share the floor, the drivetrain and the tax position; the Mark II is usually cheaper in Japan and worth slightly less here, which lowers the VRT on a car under 30.
How long does the import take?
Typically 8 to 14 weeks from auction to Irish plates: a week or two in Japan for deregistration and export paperwork, four to six at sea, then customs clearance, the NCTS appointment and registration.
Price a real Chaser JZX100
Put a real auction listing into the calculator: hammer price, mileage and the CO2 figure if you have it. You get every cost line and a range, and you can send it to us for sourcing from there.
Other models
Rules version 2026-09-17. Estimates only; VRT is assessed by Revenue at registration. Page computed at build time; the calculator uses the exchange rate of the day.