SO i “HEAR.” When you get a car from japan you have to get it legalized, and also I hear it doesn’t matter. Anyone actually know WTF you do? That and if you do get it legalized what all goes into that?
just buy JDM its sooooo much cooler!
curious or serious… i think jinxy posted something a couple weeks ago and some post went on. :dunno:
serious
buy JDM car. buy really really really cheap and shitty car of similar make and model. Steal vin from other car. send Darkstar strippergram for his parlaying his infinite wisdom upon you.
from what i hear/read people do the VIN swap with silvias and 240sx coupes. some have went so far as trying it with a s14 240sx and a r33 skyline. i guess it all depends on where you live and how strict inspection is. i bet it could easily be done here in allegheny county where i live. no one would even know the difference.
i have also read that you can get in a great deal of trouble if you are ever in an accident or something along those lines.
Jimmy
Thats irrelevant considering the main point of entry to the country is going to be California. Customs Inspectors would snag that shit in a second. Theres a guy that joined SCF forums who imports cars, he would be able to answer any and all questions. Heres his post:
Just wanted to say hello to all the members on this forum.
Little info about myself. Born and raised in Niagara Falls, Ont Canada. Moved to Japan Jan of 2004. Lived in Okinawa for 6 months, then moved to Ehime prefecture due to car related networking.
My current employment consists of exporting newer cars to Pakistan and Dubai. On the side I have my own registered business in which I supply many
Canadian GTS/GTR etc. owners.I look forward to sharing automotive related subjects with all of you.
Here’s a picture of myself from last weekend at the Mazda meet. The car pictured is from my tuners shop. (HYPER FD)Adam
FEASTEXPORTER
http://www.gatmotors.com/
ford_edge@hotmail.com
gotta be dot legal
its not though. these cars dont have to come from JAPAN, canada was graced with certain cars that america wasnt so that is always an option.
there are circumstances where the car does not need to be DOT approved and street legal such as “track only” cars. i know loop holes exist and there are ways around anything. im not an expert by an means. im only stating what ive read since of course i myself have never imported a car or really plan too.
SR20DETs are illegal in street cars but they still “come through” customs before being implanted into USDM cars even in the strictest of states. its not legal but it still happens.
Jimmy
Mexico too.
also european cars would probably be imported through New York. :boink
Jersey.
Japan.
you are correct…
you definatly need to get them to pass through customs, one of my boss’s brought a fto into the states and after quite a few months finally got it legal to even have it in his possession.
my one buddy in jersey imported a real s14 from japan through mexico, and he had to wait a few months to get it registered to his name.
well… since I OWN a japanese car…
East coast does a lot of importing, probably more than most people think. Getting it into Canada though, then into the states is just retarded. When you do it that way, you will have to run it through customs twice. Also, its not like its that much easier to get something into canada than it is to get it into the US.
My ferio came from the “Port of Newark” through a terminal in Elizabeth. What went on to get it out of customs, im not positive about. I believe, like i’ve said before, there is a list of cars that have already gone through the rigamaroll and are less held up for inspections and fees. In that event, the fees include customs fee’s (processing fees) and clearing the shipment through CBP (custom’s border protection i think). If you can get the declared value of it under 2k, then there isn’t as much crap to go threw.
Its most important though for the seller to know what he’s doing, otherwise i think you’ll have to get a customs broker to get the shipment processed, which is another fee. I’ve been talking to a guy in New Zealand that does this regularly and said there’s no problems i’d have to worry about at the docks. It sounded legit, but u never really know. If i can sell my red EK hatch, i might try to get something else in.
…i’d like to talk to that Adam with the rx7, see what he can do.
Yep, that’s the article I posted w/ the ins and outs of importing foreign cars. I believe it says that Japan is one of the easiest countries to get cars out of too…and what has to be done.