DON'T BUY FROM SBT JAPANI purchased a Toyota Rav4 from SBT Japan on 08 February 2012 with 100% payment upfront. At the time of purchase on the 8th, I was promised that the vehicle will be loaded on the 10th of Feb for delivery in early March.
A week later I was informed that the ship had no space so the delivery was postponed. The vehicle was delivered to Guyana in end April and cleared later. Before delivery of the vehicle, I also learnt that the true mileage reported at the time of purchase was significantly incorrect - even though I had insisted repeatedly on reporting of true mileage.
Upon receipt and within the first test drive, the car showed jerks, erratic shifting of gears and slow acceleration. The local mechanics first diagnosed a problem with the transmission and then with the ECU. I have been suggested to limit the use of the car as it may affect the transmission.
As a result, I have been unable to use the car and have incurred significant costs in car rentals. Even more frustrating is the fact that I sent the pictures of the ECU on May 18th and the spare parts department has been unable to locate a good quality used ECU. I understand that a new ECU is priced around $2000. Having imported cars from other car dealers in Japan, this is probably my worst experience.
I have been following up with SBT Japan almost thrice a week and for the last two months they have been promised to locate me a used ECU. They say the ECU is out of stock. I am not able to use the car for two months.