You are being asked to send a large sum to a company you have not met, for a car on another continent. The reasonable response to that is scepticism. So here is our fee, the agreement you would sign, and exactly where your money sits at every stage — published before you ask, rather than produced when you do.
We charge a coordination fee. It is a single, disclosed figure — published in the schedule below, and stated as its own line in the agreement you sign, separately from what the exporter charges for the vehicle. It covers sourcing, verification, eligibility checking, pricing, contracting, and coordination through to delivery.
We are paid by you, not by the seller. We take no commission, kickback or referral payment from the exporter, the freight company or the customs broker. If we ever earn anything from a partner — a financing or warranty introduction, say — we tell you before you use them.
Most listings in this trade quote FOB Japan — the price at the port of departure — and leave you to discover ocean freight, duty, federal fees, brokerage and delivery afterwards. That is roughly $4,700 of fixed cost plus duty, arriving late in a transaction you cannot easily exit.
We lead with one inclusive all-in number, and we show you what is inside it: the exporter's actual price, each cost line, and our fee stated separately. We could hide our margin inside the vehicle price. We do not, for two reasons — it is the wrong way to treat someone whose buying agent you are, and a fee that is properly disclosed is treated differently by customs than a concealed spread.
See the cost structure yourselfA refundable deposit, on a card, to us. It holds the specification and is credited against our fee. Refundable in full until you sign — not until we have "started work", not less an admin charge. Until you sign, it is your money.
We verify who you are, then send the agreement. Nothing binds before signature, and no balance is requested before that point. Identity first, documents second, money third — in that order, every time.
Paid by bank transfer. The portion destined for the exporter, freight company and customs broker is handled so that it reaches them rather than resting in our operating account — either paid direct under a tri-party arrangement, or held in a segregated client account. Our fee is the only part that becomes ours.
You watch it move: reserved, verifying, documents, awaiting export, in transit, customs, inland, delivered. Vessel, voyage and position where the carrier provides them, and every document filed to your account as it is issued.
You are the importer of record. Your name is on the customs entry and the federal declarations, and you carry the legal responsibility for their accuracy. That is how a broker-structured import works, and it is not a detail to discover when the paperwork arrives.
What it means in practice: we verify the build month against the export certificate and compliance plate before anything is committed, the licensed customs broker takes their authority directly from you, and you see every document. Federal admissibility is also not the same as your state agreeing to register the car — that is separate, it varies, and we will tell you what we know about your state before you commit.
Our sourcing and coordination agreement sets out scope, who holds title at each stage, the fee, what happens if a vehicle becomes unavailable, and how either side can stop. We would rather you read it cold than have it produced at signing.
Request the agreementFee ranges are indicative and confirmed per vehicle before any engagement. Not included in any all-in price: state sales tax, title and registration, which you pay at your own state DMV. McMillan Imports is a vehicle sourcing and import coordination service; it does not own, sell or hold title to vehicles.