Importing From Japan

[[spoon]]

Ive been lookin around and im seeing that cars are substancially cheaper directly from japan then their north american counterparts. (i dunno about new ones but for used it seems true)
im not serious about it now but this might be the way i get my next car. does anyone have past experience in this? or know of any good sites for it?

i found some but are unsure of their history and the quality of product they supply :/

 

[posol]

i seriously looked into a while back.
its easy to get it on a boat, and get it here.
its hard as fuck to get it off the boat in one piece. the docks are required to only allow certian paper work'ed cars in, otherwise, they must be in-drivable: body cut in half, motor not in car

after you get a full car here, it will sit in your drivveway until you can figure out how to legalize it to pass inspection, and then emissions, and then apply for a vin.

in other words, it will cost you 3 times as much- even if you can get the car for half price overseas.

 

[asmallsol]

b. it is hard to import a whole car but one of the local shops around here is in the process of buying a skyline, dissassembling it in Japan, shipping it over here on 2 diffrent boats then once everything comes here, he is going to registor it as a kit car. No vin, no emissions crap, ect.

 

[xj0hnx]

Check link in sig.

 

[Domeskilla]

Originally posted by asmallsol@May 24 2003, 05:22 PM
b. it is hard to import a whole car but one of the local shops around here is in the process of buying a skyline, dissassembling it in Japan, shipping it over here on 2 diffrent boats then once everything comes here, he is going to registor it as a kit car. No vin, no emissions crap, ect.

importing the car isnt hard collin.. tell them to rent a box, ship it to japan and tell the ppl in japan with the skyline to load it and ship it back.. now when it gets here.. is the bitch aprt.. the government takes it andm akes it legal.. costing thousands. That is why a skyline is 9K in japan and from 60-100K here.

 

[xj0hnx]

Originally posted by Domeskilla@May 25 2003, 01:13 AM
That is why a skyline is 9K in japan and from 60-100K here.

Yip,once the EPA and DOT have their piece of your ass,your left with a price tag that resembles buying an actual nice new car here.

 

[[spoon]]

is there any info for canadian imports?
or do i have to go find an import ocifer and talk to the big guys.

 

[asmallsol]

Originally posted by 92b16vx+May 24 2003, 08:15 PM-->

Domeskilla

@May 25 2003, 01:13 AM
That is why a skyline is 9K in japan and from 60-100K here.

Yip,once the EPA and DOT have their piece of your ass,your left with a price tag that resembles buying an actual nice new car here.

but i thought dot and EPA dont mess with you if you say it is a "kit car" aka in like 20 peices when it comes here.

 

[hcivic.com]

bring it into mexico and drive it home
there are no laws about bringing it back all you need is insurance and reg
and use a vin number of your honda adn just put it on the new car

 

[98integrals]

Originally posted by asmallsol@May 24 2003, 05:22 PM
b. it is hard to import a whole car but one of the local shops around here is in the process of buying a skyline, dissassembling it in Japan, shipping it over here on 2 diffrent boats then once everything comes here, he is going to registor it as a kit car. No vin, no emissions crap, ect.

Are u talkin about the the R33? cause that guy already has his here. i think.

 

[asmallsol]

Jack, I am not sure what kind it was, mike from TI was telling me about this.

 

[98integrals]

yeah thats the one then. its already here

 

[posol]

import to mexico or even canda isn't easy either.
Darcy, steve's friend, went to school in toronto- and bought an SiR up there (our 99-00 civic si). the only differences are the lights, the badging, and a couple random options. nothing safety related, bumper or anything like that. It still took him a bitch of an effort to get it back to the states when he came home from college, and paid out the ass to get it approved.

as for the shop getting an r33 here in pieces... sure, it can be done. and then, once you get all 3 parts or whatver to your house, you're still stuck with a car that you can't legally drive on the street or register.

 

[hcivic.com]

ok i live in canada
no emissions no saftey checks
unless older than 10 years and your insurace companey requirs it no govt regs though

 

[posol]

right... but how are you going to register a car that has:
A- no title
B- no VIN
C- not in any insurance database in the US

 

[[spoon]]

Originally posted by hcivic.com@May 26 2003, 11:53 PM
ok i live in canada
no emissions no saftey checks
unless older than 10 years and your insurace companey requirs it no govt regs though

we have emissions in some cities but not everywhere.

i know vancouver has emissions testing.

 

[hcivic.com]

i live in calgary alberta
here to my knowledege there is onlyt an emmisions test in some parts of bc

 

[Baker]

Originally posted by pissedoffsol@May 27 2003, 12:56 AM
right... but how are you going to register a car that has:
A- no title
B- no VIN
C- not in any insurance database in the US

as a kit car which usually have no title, no vin, and don't exist in insurance databases

 

[Domeskilla]

Kit cars are not production cars, anything that is a production, must have the things listed.... still wont work.

 

[B16]

Originally posted by Domeskilla@May 27 2003, 10:33 AM
Kit cars are not production cars, anything that is a production, must have the things listed.... still wont work.

but, if its not in any of the US databases, how do they know it was a production car?