The vendor, who has expertly cornered a niche market for importing high-quality, prestige RHD cars from Japan, knows more about buying and selling cars from the Land of the Rising Sun than anyone else we know and he has a very good eye for quality and value.

Now, while we don’t know as much as he does about the Japanese market, we do know this: Japanese people are fastidious in the care and curation of their cars – especially top-end, European, luxury models.

What’s more, they live in a country where salt is for Sumo wrestlers to throw over their shoulders, not for the Osaka Municipal Roadworks Department to shovel all over the roads.

Ergo , Japanese imports are almost always rust-free and in very good condition.

Which brings us to this 1997 BMW 750iL which, although not perfect, is fundamentally very sound and offers a great deal of prestigious, high-quality, pedigree car for the money.

The car’s elegant, understated bodywork is in very decent condition except for the nearside si...