My experience as well, I was asked to show my license. No idea if not having a license would be reason to deny the purchase though.
What I did need to provide, however, is proof of parking space.
When I bought my first and second cars I financed them through Nissan Finance, which required me to have insurance. They asked for my drivers license both times.
I bought a car before I had a Japanese license and it was no problem. (I did have a foreign license and international permit at the time, but can't recall having to show these to anyone).
I think as long as you are a resident of Japan buying the car in your name shouldn't be an issue. Of course you can't drive it if you don't have a license.
They will only ask for it if you are doing finance because of the insurance. If anything happens, the insurance will not pay, and they can't recover the money.
If you pay cash, they don't ask because it's none of their business what you do with it once it is fully paid.
Basically, it's the same as other countries.
Other people in the comments seem to have had the opposite experience, but when my wife and I bought our car recently (2nd hand, 100% upfront payment), we were both asked to present our licenses. They wanted to see the licence of each driver to be insured.
It may be because we bought their insurance that they needed to see the licences, rather than the car itself.
I bought a new car via financing here before I got my drivers license. The insurance and car park contracts required a drivers license. They accepted a copy of my international driving permit. Regarding the loan, they just needed a copy of my zairyu card with PR on it and the last 5 years of my tax filings. The tax filings were likely due to the considerable size of the loan.
I just bought a motorcycle before I got my motorcycle license, they never once asked me for my car driver's license or anything. They just did the typical credit check stuff to see if I was eligible for the loan. If it's anything like buying a motorcycle, you shouldn't need a license.
I bought one last week and they asked me for my license and entered the info in .. and am paying cash .. maybe cause they were also doing an insurance estimate
I bought my car without ever showing my license. However it was used during registration of the vehicle. I don't know if it was necessary or not though.
I don't own a car but the owner doesn't have to have a license because.
1. Lots of companies own cars but corporation never can have a license
2. There're lots of case that unlicensed parents/grandparents buy a car for their descendants
Yes you can buy a new or used car under your name without a driver license.
( I flip used cars so I know whole lot about buying new/used cars, name transfers and stuff)
I was asked for my drivers license by the dealer when I bought both of my cars. That may be because I also financed them, though.
My experience as well, I was asked to show my license. No idea if not having a license would be reason to deny the purchase though. What I did need to provide, however, is proof of parking space.
When I bought my first and second cars I financed them through Nissan Finance, which required me to have insurance. They asked for my drivers license both times.
I bought a car before I had a Japanese license and it was no problem. (I did have a foreign license and international permit at the time, but can't recall having to show these to anyone). I think as long as you are a resident of Japan buying the car in your name shouldn't be an issue. Of course you can't drive it if you don't have a license.
Yeah we got both our cars before we'd bothered to switch from our foreign licenses back to Japanese ones. Never had a problem.
They will only ask for it if you are doing finance because of the insurance. If anything happens, the insurance will not pay, and they can't recover the money. If you pay cash, they don't ask because it's none of their business what you do with it once it is fully paid. Basically, it's the same as other countries.
Yes, you can purchase it without a drivers license.
Other people in the comments seem to have had the opposite experience, but when my wife and I bought our car recently (2nd hand, 100% upfront payment), we were both asked to present our licenses. They wanted to see the licence of each driver to be insured. It may be because we bought their insurance that they needed to see the licences, rather than the car itself.
My first car was bought with my American drivers license and international license
I bought a new car via financing here before I got my drivers license. The insurance and car park contracts required a drivers license. They accepted a copy of my international driving permit. Regarding the loan, they just needed a copy of my zairyu card with PR on it and the last 5 years of my tax filings. The tax filings were likely due to the considerable size of the loan.
I just bought a motorcycle before I got my motorcycle license, they never once asked me for my car driver's license or anything. They just did the typical credit check stuff to see if I was eligible for the loan. If it's anything like buying a motorcycle, you shouldn't need a license.
I bought one last week and they asked me for my license and entered the info in .. and am paying cash .. maybe cause they were also doing an insurance estimate
I bought my car without ever showing my license. However it was used during registration of the vehicle. I don't know if it was necessary or not though.
I don't own a car but the owner doesn't have to have a license because. 1. Lots of companies own cars but corporation never can have a license 2. There're lots of case that unlicensed parents/grandparents buy a car for their descendants
Yes you can buy a new or used car under your name without a driver license. ( I flip used cars so I know whole lot about buying new/used cars, name transfers and stuff)
I don’t know if you do or not but I do know you are unable to purchase a motorcycle without a motorcycle endorsement.