It might seem strange, importing a used bus from a foreign country, but there are many reasons why individuals and companies would prefer to buy a Japanese used bus than a new one in their own country. Buying a Japanese used bus should be looked at the same as buying a used car from Japan or any other country, and when it’s viewed in that context you will see it’s not that strange.

It’s not only schools that require buses to take people around, although they seem to be the main purchaser of these types of transport. Smaller schools and schools in rural areas all over the world are most often left without viable transport for their students because it is so far away from everything. A school in a semi-urban area will still have school bus transport and will most likely be near a public bus stop, but some schools have neither. Buying their own bus is the only thing that these schools can do, and most often these schools don’t have a lot of other options.

But again, it’s not just schools that require a vehicle that can transport a lot of people. Sporting clubs and not for profit organisations are also in desperate need for buses that can take their people from one place to the next, but buying a new bus on a limited budget is virtually impossible.

Buying a used bus from Japan and importing it to your own country is the answer to all of these problems. One may think that buying a bus from overseas would cost a lot more money, because of the freight costs and insurance, but it will actually cost you less. A simple comparison between two similar vehicles showed that it would cost around $28,000AUD to buy a used bus in Brisbane, Australia and importing one from Japan would only cost around $11,000AUD, including insurance and travel costs. It will take longer for the bus to get there, but that is a saving of over 100%. Charity groups will be able to afford the $11,000 from their own budget and fund raising, but it would be near impossible for them to raise $28,000.

Even purchasing a large bus will save you hundreds of thousands of dollars. A forty-eight seat bus in Brisbane comes in at $495,000AUD, importing a forty-three seat bus will set you back only $25,090AUD. It’s not only Australia where you will find these bargains, a 29 seat in Miami will cost you $28,500USD, importing will cost around $16,544USD.

Most of these purchases can be made online, but it’s always best to speak to someone in person, and then get what they have said in writing via an e-mail or a letter. Make sure to double check the kilometres and the engine number, as well as asking if the bus has been in any accidents or has had anything changed or fixed internally. These sites have been running for years, so it’s not likely that anything will go wrong, but it’s best to be cautious when buying anything from overseas.