Passat R36 (Jap Import)

R36_

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131
Location
North Coast
Drives
R36 Passat
Hi all,

Been a while since I posted on here, think my last post was back in 2015 with my FN2 Civic! I sold my FN2 and changed to the later, 2015 FK2, brilliant machine which brought me 18 months, and many miles of great driving. Since selling the FK2 2 years ago, my car history admittedly hasn’t been great.

Around December 2019, I started following BHP Imports on Facebook, always keen to import an FD2 or something similar. Around that same time, I saw a White R36, I didn’t even know these things existed. I’d heard of the R32 Golf etc, but had no idea what an R36 was. Done some research and it turns out there’s around 150ish on the UK’s roads.

Fast forward a few months to May 2020, I struck a deal with BHP Imports for my 2008 R36 which was situated in Kobe, Japan.
Dealing with BHP was super easy, laid back, no pressure to buy. Below are a few of the very first photos I got of the car. This was before I paid a single penny to BHP.

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After corresponding back and forth with BHP, they then got their man in Japan to check the car out, take it out for a test drive, make sure everything was hunky dory, parked up, and took 70+ Hi-Res HD Photos from every single angle of the car. Showing every mark (thankfully very few 😄), all 4 alloys and tyres, interior shots, everything you could want before slapping a deposit down on a car you’ve never laid eyes or hands on! Here are a few of the HD Photos they sent me.
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Upon viewing the pics, countless phonecalls with Andy & Baz at BHP, a deal was struck, a deposit was sent to secure the car and so the long wait began. Obviously Covid-19 didn’t help things and delayed the process a fair bit. From the day I left a deposit on the car, to the day I picked the car up in Parker Car Transports yard in Ballycastle, the whole process took 5 months to the very day.

Collection day at the Port of Tyne in Newcastle! (Aug 2020)
Andy and Baz at BHP kept me updated through every step of the process. From giving me the details of the boat that the R36 was on, to alerting me on when it was coming into port.
Below, you’ll see the huge Hoegh Jacksonville Autoliner ship in the background, a huge vehicles carrier. And below you’ll see the very first photo of my R36 on UK soil.
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Obviously being an import, the car needs to go through the first registration process. This process took nearly as long as it did to get the car to the bloody UK from Japan!

Service & Detailing
Upon landing in the UK, the car received a full service, all important oils & fluids changed, a full detail from DCM Auto Detailing in North Shields, Newcastle, and a full 12 months MOT & 6 months tax. This was all included in the price and this is standard service of BHP Imports.

Transport to NI (Oct 2020)
Fast forward another short while and all relevant paperwork and registration came through and the car was ready for collection. Originally, I had planned on flying over to Newcastle to collect the car myself and drive it back as I could at least see the car for myself, see any imperfections and bring them up with Andy & Baz. I decided against this as it was at the height of the pandemic and to be honest, both Andy & Baz had been truthful and straight with me, so I trusted them that the car was what I wanted and expected.
I then arranged for Parker Car Transport, Ballycastle, to collect my car in North Shields, Newcastle, and bring it back to NI. Not a bad word to say about these folks. From placing the phone call to collecting my car in their yard in Ballycastle was about 3 days if I remember right, it certainly wasn’t long!
Here she is loaded onto Parker’s lorry.
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First pic on NI tarmac


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Collected the car in Parker’s yard and it was everything I’d expected and more. The lads at BHP Imports & DCM Auto detailing had totally blown it out of the water. Hard to actually believe it’s a 12 year old car! BHP carried out a full Jap>UK clock conversation prior to collection.
I’ve had the car around 3 months now, loving every minute I’m in the drivers seat. I’ve made a few modifications since taking ownership of the car which I’ll probably write up at a later date as this post has went on longer than I’d expected lol, I won’t bore you all any longer, just enjoy a few more pictures of it and feel free to ask me any questions about the whole process and I’ll try my best to answer.
Thanks for reading!

Spec List:
3.6L V6
DSG, 4WD.

Difference between UK & Jap Cars:
There are a few differences between the UK R36 and the Jap R36. One of the biggest differences in spec is that the Jap models come with DCC (Dynamic Chassis Control) as standard. A great addition to the car and totally changes the handling and dynamics of the car once put into the sports setting. Obviously the R36 is a heavy big bus. Once put into sports, it feels like a rocket sled on rails and can hold her own through the tight twistys when given the opportunity.

Tax
UK models are £565 for 12 months tax. As this is an import, tax is reduced to £270 for the 12 months even though it’s the exact same car. Makes sense, right?😅

Any cons?
Of course! It wouldn’t be a car thread without cons! Thankfully, only a few. Firstly, the interior headlining sagged. This is due to high heat in Japland. I was given 2 options to sort this. Get it fully replaced and pay for a brand new headliner or try get it pinned in place as a temporary measure. Me being the tight bugger that I am opted for the 2nd offering and just got it pinned in place. I may replace it in due course, but in the mean time it’s a minor issue.
Secondly, the radio only has 2 radio stations. This is due to the happy Jappy chappies running their frequency differently than we do. It’s either BBC Radio 2 or some other station. And the nav doesn’t work as it’s programmed for Japan, not NI. Personally speaking, none of this has bothered me and I don’t think it will. The car has an AUX/USB port which I use to stream my music, and if I need NAV, I just use apple/google maps on my phone. I may replace the headunit at a later date to a newer model, but for now, I’m happy with what I’ve got.
Third and final con (that I can think of), roof bars/chrome has tarnished quite badly. I think this is the only thing that upsets the cars look, I’ve spoke to a few detailers and all have said that it can be brought back a bit, but not fully. It doesn’t bother me too much, and honestly, I haven’t had time to leave the car in with someone over here to work their magic, it might happen soon though. I can include some images of my roof bars and chrome if any detailer would like to have a look and advise!

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Last edited:

Apis

RMS Regular
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4,073
Location
NW
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various
I remember fitting a Japanese to UK radio FM expander to an import I had years ago. Was just a small, cheap thing that wired in line with the aerial cable I think.
Worth having a look, for cheap fix to get usual radio stations.
 

R36_

RMS Regular
OP
R36_
Messages
131
Location
North Coast
Drives
R36 Passat
Great reading & class car, looks a lovely example! Have you fitted spacers already?
Thank you very much! Had been meaning to do a write up as while and took a head stagger last night and just got on with it. And yes I have indeed, 11mm on the front and 15mm on the back.
Love the sound of these when they’ve stainless steel pipes. Cool big bus
Funny you say that, I’ve just had my last remaining silencer taken out yesterday 😅 had a bit of exhaust work done last month, sounded good but still wasn’t happy. Back in yesterday for a bit more work, think I’m happy with it now 😂 shout out to AM Custom Autos, Ballymoney, he does all my exhaust work.
 

ossy2004

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9,060
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Newtownabbey
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R33 / V70
Was tempted to buy one of these myself a while back when I wanted a fast estate but the tax slightly put me off being uk model

sort the exhaust and enjoy 👍
 

NickR

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Messages
11,042
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A6/E39 530i
Brilliant buy. Nice to see something so rare on UK roads too.
 

R36_

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OP
R36_
Messages
131
Location
North Coast
Drives
R36 Passat
Thank you all for your lovely comments, refreshing to read a bit of positivity especially with all that’s going on.

As far as I’m aware, I know of 2, maybe 3 more R36’s in the whole of Ireland. While I was waiting on mine, my friends spotted a Silver UK spec estate in Belfast and there’s a fella has a black Jap import down in Limerick, he also imported through BHP imports. If anyone knows of any more, please let me know!

Moving onto mods, I’ve had my exhaust sorted, it was very high up on my list of things to get sorted ASAP as the standard note is quite muted. I’ve had all my silencers taken out, back boxes are straight piped inside, so I’m more or less straight from the engine. Only thing I have left are the 2 cats, which are staying, for now.. 😅
I bought and fitted spacers myself, 11mm on front and 15mm on the back, although I might change to 11mm on the back as it can rub when going over harsh bumps.
Good old set of TeamHEKO wind deflectors, always like wind deflectors on my motors and this was no exception.
The car came out of Japan with 4 pristine Pirelli P Zeros on her, plenty of meat left on all 4 which was a great addition and saved me putting tyres on it when it landed in the UK. Credit to the previous owner for putting decent tires on it. I was able to buy 4x Michelin PS4’s off BlackCircles for really cheap on one of their Black Friday sales, so they are in the garage for when the time comes to replace the P Zeros.

Looking towards the future with this car, I think the only thing I really have in my mind that I want to do will be a DSG remap and possibly an engine remap. The R36 Owners page on Facebook has a wealth of information on these cars and the general consensus from past and present owners seems to be that the DSG remap makes the biggest difference to these cars over an engine remap. Both may have to be done in due course, but certainly the DSG will be mapped first.
That’s all for now! 😄
 

Gambit

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13,603
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where the sun always rises
Nice big bus! there is another member with an R36 on here from what i remember

EDIT: yep @JasonM
 

BobSpounge

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Messages
6,150
That's just lovely. Get it treated underneath. I found the protection on my jap import golf was no different than a UK spec car but at nearly 12 years old it was like new so I wanted to help keep it that way.
 

R36_

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OP
R36_
Messages
131
Location
North Coast
Drives
R36 Passat
Nice big bus! there is another member with an R36 on here from what i remember

EDIT: yep @JasonM
I’ve saw his post! As far as I’m aware, I think he’s since sold up. Really lovely example too. Love the blue.

That's just lovely. Get it treated underneath. I found the protection on my jap import golf was no different than a UK spec car but at nearly 12 years old it was like new so I wanted to help keep it that way.
Thank you! That’s another thing that’s on to-do my list, and to be fair, it should’ve been done by now 😬 maybe spur me on a bit to get it done now lol.
Lovely big bus, looks really fresh in silver.
Thanks mate. Near had a panic attack a few weeks before I collected it as I’d thought I’d bought the wrong colour. Couldn’t be happier now though.
 

R36_

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R36_
Messages
131
Location
North Coast
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R36 Passat
Lovely car that, the seats are beautiful. Good to see something a bit uncommon!
Thanks Gaz! The seats are probably my most favourite thing about the car. Apart from the V6 under the bonnet of course 😂
 

Apis

RMS Regular
Messages
4,073
Location
NW
Drives
various
Thank you all for your lovely comments, refreshing to read a bit of positivity especially with all that’s going on.

As far as I’m aware, I know of 2, maybe 3 more R36’s in the whole of Ireland. While I was waiting on mine, my friends spotted a Silver UK spec estate in Belfast and there’s a fella has a black Jap import down in Limerick, he also imported through BHP imports. If anyone knows of any more, please let me know!
I'm pretty sure I've seen one of these up NW; a really nice looking blue estate.
It parks near Halfords Crescent link. Seen it same place at least twice. I'll take a photo next time I see it.

Red face if it turns out to be a Halfords special TDI, lol.
 

Eager

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fields
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broooooom
Cool. I talked to the guys at bhp for sourcing a car recently. But prices are just mental so can’t see it happening. But, they seem to run a good show.
 

R36_

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OP
R36_
Messages
131
Location
North Coast
Drives
R36 Passat
D
I'm pretty sure I've seen one of these up NW; a really nice looking blue estate.
It parks near Halfords Crescent link. Seen it same place at least twice. I'll take a photo next time I see it.

Red face if it turns out to be a Halfords special TDI, lol
Definitely have a look next time you’re up there. Hard to beat a Halfords TDI special all the same 😂
Cool. I talked to the guys at bhp for sourcing a car recently. But prices are just mental so can’t see it happening. But, they seem to run a good show.
They definitely do know their stuff. I bought my R36 in May of last year, to buy something same year, similar miles, you’re looking at least an extra £3k-£4k now. Prices have rocketed. Not just for my car, but all across the board.
 
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