Japanese, UK & NI imports

Check an imported car's service history in Ireland

Japan is now Ireland's biggest source of used imports, ahead of the UK and Northern Ireland. Either way, a car's main-dealer service history lives in the manufacturer's system, not the Irish logbook. Enter the registration or VIN above and we retrieve it in minutes. €12.99, with no charge if we find nothing.

Check Service History

We'll find your VIN from your registration automatically.

Official dealer records, delivered in minutes

incl. VAT

No charge unless we find records

Can I check an imported car's service history in Ireland?

Yes, by registration or VIN, for UK and Northern Irish imports and for European makes imported from Japan — the manufacturer keeps the dealer record against the VIN wherever the car was serviced. Japanese-brand cars built for Japan, like a Honda Fit or Toyota Prius, carry a Japanese chassis number instead of a VIN and can't be checked.

Why an imported car needs a service history check

Ireland's used-car market runs on imports, and Japan is now the biggest source. In the first nine months of 2025, 26,942 used cars were imported from Japan, almost three times the 9,790 from the UK (Cartell analysis of SIMI registration figures). When a car is imported and re-registered, its Irish paperwork starts fresh — but its maintenance history doesn't come with it. The service record stays in the manufacturer's system, logged against the vehicle by the franchised dealers that serviced it.

That means an import can look spotless in the logbook while its actual service history — the dates, the mileages, the work carried out — is invisible to you at the point of sale. Retrieving that record before you buy is the only way to confirm the car was genuinely maintained and that the mileage lines up.

Japanese imports: the dealer record often comes too

Three of the five most-imported used cars from Japan in 2025 were European: the Volkswagen Golf (3,858 in the first nine months), the Volkswagen Polo (2,588) and the Audi A3 (2,043), ahead of the Honda Fit (1,612) and Toyota Prius (1,268). A Golf or an Audi sold new in Japan carries the same 17-character VIN as one sold here, and Japanese main dealers log its services in the manufacturer's own system — the system we search.

We have returned service records from Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Porsche dealers in Japan, from Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Kyoto to Sendai, Kumamoto and Hokkaido. Some cars come back with their whole Japanese life on file: a 2017 Porsche Macan we checked returned 23 visits, every one logged in Japan.

For each visit logged in Japan, the report shows:

  • The date of the visit
  • The odometer reading in km — Japanese records are kept in kilometres, like an Irish car's, so nothing needs converting
  • The work carried out, in English — “Inspection with oil change”, “Brake fluid service”, “Spark plugs”
  • Where the visit happened, as a name and an address in Japan. The name is matched from map data, so now and then it shows a neighbouring business rather than the dealer itself, and a few appear in Japanese script.

A car serviced in both countries shows both, in one timeline. Not every Japanese import will have a record: work done by independent garages in Japan never reaches the manufacturer's system, and we can't promise a result for every make. As with any check, your card is only charged if records are found.

Japanese-brand imports: what we can't check

Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Daihatsu cars built for the Japanese market don't have a 17-character VIN. They carry a Japanese chassis number — a model code, a dash and a serial, such as ZVW30-1234567 — and their dealer records in Japan are not available to us. That rules out popular imports like the Honda Fit, Toyota Prius and Toyota Aqua, and we would rather tell you now than after you've searched.

For one of these cars, ask the seller for:

  • The Japanese record book. Japanese rules require the maintenance record book to be kept in the car, so ask whether it came over with it. Dealer stamps and odometer readings are inside.
  • The auction sheet, if the car was bought at a Japanese auction. It records the grade, the odometer reading at sale and notes on damage and repairs — get it translated.
  • The export papers. Compare any odometer reading on them, and on the auction sheet, with what the dash shows now.
  • A pre-purchase inspection by a mechanic who knows the model.

What we retrieve for an import

We query the official manufacturer system and return every electronically logged service entry we can find — the service date, the mileage at that service, the work performed, and the dealership that carried it out. For UK and NI imports that's the UK main-dealer history; for European makes imported from Japan, the visits logged by Japanese main dealers; for Irish-registered vehicles, the European manufacturer records where they exist.

Your report arrives as a PDF within minutes. If we can't find any records for the vehicle, your card is not charged.

Buying an imported car in Ireland — a quick checklist

  • Confirm VRT has been paid and the car is properly registered in Ireland.
  • Match the VIN stamped on the car to the VIN on the documents.
  • If it came from Britain, read its UK test record and every UK mileage reading free by VIN with our UK Import MOT History Check — you don't need its old British plate.
  • If it came from Japan and is a Volkswagen, Audi, BMW or Porsche, run the VIN: its Japanese dealer visits are often on file.
  • If it is a Japanese-brand car with a short chassis number, ask for the Japanese record book and the auction sheet, and compare their odometer readings with the dash.
  • Check the mileage on the service record is consistent and rising over time — a drop is a red flag for clocking.
  • Look closely at the period around the import date, where records most often go quiet.
  • Get the full manufacturer service history before you pay a deposit.

How It Works

Three Simple Steps

1

Enter Your VIN

Type in your 17-character vehicle identification number (VIN) — it takes seconds.

2

We Check Official Records

We query manufacturer dealership databases — the same systems used by franchised dealers.

3

Receive Your Report In Minutes

Most reports land in your inbox within minutes of payment — full digital service history, ready to download or print.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I check a UK import's service history from Ireland?

Yes. Main-dealer service records are stored digitally in the manufacturer's system, so we can retrieve them by registration or VIN wherever the car is now — including a car imported from the UK or Northern Ireland and re-registered in Ireland.

Can you check the service history of a car imported from Japan?

Often, if it is a European make. A Golf, Polo, Audi, BMW or Porsche sold new in Japan has a normal 17-character VIN, and Japanese main dealers log its services in the same manufacturer system we search. We have returned records from Volkswagen, Audi, BMW and Porsche dealers across Japan. Enter the Irish registration or the VIN as you would for any car.

Can you check a Japanese-market Toyota, Honda or Nissan?

No. Toyota, Lexus, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Daihatsu cars built for the Japanese market carry a Japanese chassis number, such as ZVW30-1234567, instead of a 17-character VIN, and their dealer records in Japan are not available to us. That includes popular imports like the Honda Fit, Toyota Prius and Toyota Aqua. For those cars, ask the seller for the Japanese record book and the auction sheet instead.

Will a Japanese import's report be in Japanese?

No. The work carried out comes through in English — 'Inspection with oil change', 'Brake fluid service' — and odometer readings are in km, the same unit as an Irish car. Each visit shows where it happened in Japan, as a name and address. The name is matched from map data, so now and then it shows a neighbouring business rather than the dealer, and a few appear in Japanese script.

What is the 'statutory vehicle inspection' on a Japanese record?

That is the shaken, Japan's roadworthiness test. A private car is first due one three years after it is registered and every two years after that, and main dealers carry it out, so it often appears in the dealer record alongside a service.

Does the Irish logbook show a car's service history?

No. The Vehicle Registration Certificate (VRC) confirms ownership and registration only. Service history is a separate manufacturer record that isn't printed in the logbook — which is exactly why an import can look clean on paper but have unknown maintenance history.

The car is now on Irish plates — will it still work?

Yes. Manufacturer records follow the VIN, not the plate. For a recently imported car the main-dealer history from the UK or Japan is usually the fuller record and comes back by VIN. Where the manufacturer also holds European service records for an Irish-registered vehicle, we return those too.

Do you provide NCT history?

No. We provide official manufacturer and main-dealer service records — the maintenance history — not the NCT roadworthiness test history, which is a separate record held by the RSA.

What is VRT and does it affect the service history?

Vehicle Registration Tax is the Irish tax paid to register an imported car. Paying VRT registers the vehicle in Ireland but does not create or transfer service history — the maintenance record stays with the manufacturer, which is what we retrieve.

What does an import service history check cost?

€12.99. Your card is authorised at checkout but not charged unless we actually find service records for the vehicle.

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Ready to check a service history?

Enter the registration above to start. Reports arrive in minutes — your card is not charged if no manufacturer records are found.

Run a Service History Check — €12.99