So….I
guess I need to do the JCI on my Honda Fit now. I can’t believe it has been two
years already, but yea, I guess I need to do the “dreaded” JCI haha. Well let me tell you it is not actually hard
to do, but it is going to cost you some coin to get it done, that is for sure. I will lay out what I had to do and any
pitfalls that can come up during this whole process. All this is current as of
August 2015 and with a 500 series Y plate car.
Basically,
you get this done at the JSVRO on Foster. It is right across the street from
the Commissary on that base, so it is easy to find. Basically, you go through the Foster gate
right off the Hwy 58. See below on the hours and a map.
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| JSVRO Map - Foster |
Here
is also some info on what to expect and the process on getting JCI done Foster…
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| JSVRO - GOJ FEES |
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| JSVRO - JCI Process - Foster |
Additionally,
you can find more official info here and some more unofficial info at Okinawa
Hai (it is dated though, but still correct)…
Ok,
here is what I did...
1. I started on a Tuesday morning and basically
followed the handout procedure up above. I started early in the morning and I am
glad I did, as you will read why later on.
2.
Ok, my first stop was at my insurance office in the Kadena USO building by gate
2. I renewed my insurance early since I was
doing this and you can buy the JCI policy there as well. It sucks that we, SOFA members, has to have
both insurance types, but it is what is out here. I will itemize my costs at the end of this
write-up. Oh, you have to pay YEN cash
for the JCI policy, however I can pay dollar/yen/CC for the insurance policy.
3.
My next stop was the JSVRO on Foster and
there was no lines/waiting at the time I went in the morning, which is great,
since I hate waiting! Inside you will have to pay weight tax in YEN only and
make sure you bring all your car paperwork in there with you. They will be stamping
papers, paper clipping, and stapling a bunch of stuff together too, so you end
up with a packet of paperwork. Once you take care of all that, you will have to
go to the Inspection office on the back side of the JSVRO building to pay the
inspection fee. I paid in cash, but they may or may not take credit card/YEN. See
image below on where it is…
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| JSVRO - Office #6 |
4. Now once you have that take care of, it is time
to get your car inspected. You pull into this lane…
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| JSVRO Lane #5 |
HOWEVER,
this is where things can go awry. As in,
this is the part that can get expensive! Let me break it down for you…I have a “newer”
Honda Fit, low miles, great condition, well maintained. It is not a beater basically or a lemon lot
special. So I figured I will throw the dice and just get it JCI’d, well guess
what, it didn’t work out for me! Arrghhh!!! Actually, I need to back up a
little bit. Remember that weight tax and what not you just paid? Take a look at
the little note they attach to the receipt…
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| GOJ Weight Tax - 2015 |
So
what that means is, if you fail your inspection and cannot get whatever fixed
by the time they close that day, you are out that money. Yup, you will have to
pay that tax AGAIN to JCI your car if you can’t get it to pass that DAY! A
little crazy if you ask me, since it isn’t chump change, but now you should start
seeing where things can get expensive if you try to wing it, like I did. So
back to my story…So yea, I winged it and they failed me on two items! Sorry for
being all dramatic about it, but they were really small things, but I was
annoyed never the less. I guess if you fail, they will ask you to pull up in
lane 3, the lane of shame, and that is where they will break down what failed. I
will detail that stuff in a minute, but here is some pictures of the process of
them inspecting your car and I will go over what they check…
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| JSVRO Inspection Bay Signs |
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| JSVRO Inspection Bay - Brake Test |
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| JSVRO Inspection - Headlight Test |
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| JSVRO Inspection Bay - Lift |
So
what did they ding me on? See below…
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| JCI Inspection Form |
It
was basically a cracked rubber boot and a headlight adjustment. However, use this form as a guide to make sure
you car is good to go, before you get there. A lot of stuff on there is simple
and easy to fix on your own. I would be
pretty pissed at myself if I failed because of a burned out bulb or something.
Well
luckily, or more like “conveniently”, there is a AAFES service station just
behind the inspection area, and they do first come, first served service. I am
sure that is out of necessity of being so close to the JSVRO and then having
frantic soccer moms freaking out that they failed their inspection, and they
will be damned if they can’t get their mini-van JCI’d…TODAY! How are they going
to get their 7 kids to plays/practice/ the BX?!?! Haha Anyways, I was lucky it
was simple stuff and cheap to fix, and they even got it done within an hour actually.
But here are my thoughts on this part so far…
I
know there are plenty of local car shops that offer JCI pre-inspections and
what not. I think those services prey on
people’s fear of the JCI, but that is just me. So do you need to use those
services? If you have a beater, you might want too. Shop around of course, but
if you have decent ride and well maintained, I imagine you will be alright;
basically don’t waste your money. Put it this way, if you wing your JCI
inspection and they find stuff, well just fix that stuff, and you should be
good. You will be out that same money (or more) doing a pre-inspection as well,
since they “should” identify that same stuff, and of course they will offer to
fix it; How convenient…But you open yourself to being sold stuff you don’t need,
just to be “sure” you will pass the JCI. It think that is a racket, but that is
just me again. So all this being said, I believe this part is what puts the “DREAD”
in the dreaded JCI. We all heard the stories, “It cost me $1000+ just to JCI my
car, what a nightmare!” I put money on that they did the JCI pre-inspection somewhere,
and got oversold on service/parts. Yea they passed their JCI, but did it need
to cost them $1000+ when it was all said and done!? Nope if you ask me! I can
only hope they didn’t waste that money on a shitty car to boot, because if it
was going to cost me that much to JCI any car I had, I will be looking for a
different car and junk the old one. Ok rant
done, moving on…
5.
OK round two…I went back to the inspection lane after they fixed my car at the
AAFES service station, however it was their lunch time! Yes, they have lunch time,
see the handout up above for the hours. Well, I just waited in the lane by the inspection
bay, so I would be first in line when they got back. When they did get back, they basically just
checked what was failed from before and moved me through. After the inspection,
I was told to pull into the lane of glory, actually lane 4, and they give you
your JCI sticker then. You are not done though! Once you pass you have to go
back in the JSVRO to update your paperwork/records. Bring everything in there
and you drivers license and IDs. I mean they check everything, so like if you
have an expired license, they will get you there. Just saying…my wife’s license
expired the very week I did this, and they were giving me crap about it. But that
is another write up for next time….
6.
In summary, I winged it, and made it through relatively painlessly. The key to all this
is good planning and giving yourself time to get this done. Fix the stuff you can
first on your car before going of course, but be prepared to fork out cash if
you car is “suspect”. Oh, don’t do this last minute! I am sure you can see why
now…Well here is my detail cost for all this, however you mileage may vary…
a. Insurance Renewal = ¥23,730 or about
$192
b.
JCI Policy = ¥13,230 or about $107
c. Weight Tax, etc. = ¥11,600 or about $94
d. Inspection Fee = $20
e. AAFES Service Station Cost (not everyone of course) = $51
GRAND TOTAL = $464 for a 500 series Y plate / Honda Fit
Not cheap in my opinion just to “drive” this car on the island, but it is
Japan, it is what it is. Hopefully you enjoyed this write-up and good luck on
your JCI adventures!
