Because we get calls about this every day, I will put it in black and white here.
To import a vehicle into Canada, legally, from Japan or any other country other than the United States, the vehicle has to be 15 years old to the month it was manufactured. No if’s and’s or but’s.
We are aware that newer JDM vehicle roam the streets of Canada but I can assure you they are illegal or have gone through many great area loopholes and are very frowned upon if not illegal.
So for example, if you have got your eye on a V3 Sti, then these are not legal until August of 2011 since they were produced in August of 1996. You can buy your car in say June or July of 1996 but when it lands in Vancouver, it has to be August of 1996 otherwise you may not get your vehicle at all.
For our friends down south, you have a little bit longer of a wait. Your rule is 25 years for “grey market” imports to be exempt. With that said, there are certainly examples of rhd vehicles running around the states but the same rule of thumb follows…they are illegal or have gone through many grey area hoops to be registered and you risk having your car taken away at any given point.
Some stuff that is legal now is the AE86 or collector cars like a Hakosuka Skyline. These run extremely high prices though do their collector status in Japan now. The light at the end of the tunnel can be seen now though. In a few short years, the first of the R32 GTRs will be 100% legal for import.
Matty
RifghtDrive
