Under the 15 year mark Japanese Cars?

SON240sx Automotive
1

I have been looking into a couple cars recently.

One of them is a 95 Silvia. It comes in under the 15 year limit on importing a japanese car. But the thing is it’s essentially the same as a 95 240sx. Does the 15 year rule apply since the car already exists here in canada? or is it still considered illegal to have? It’s not like a Skyline which never existed here in any form.

Currently the car is already registered here in Ontario…but I have the strong feeling that it’s tagged as a 240sx…and not a silvia.

have any input on this? thanks

2

not 15, NOT LEGAL.

thats the simplest way of saying it.

There are a few cases in canada, one being in toronto…some guy had a r33…went touting around it was nice and legal, somone pulled his papper work at the mto and what do you know, registered as a 95 240sx…guess what happened to his car.

You know why nobody will tell how to legalize a newer car? because they are not legal. Ask the guy in town with the integra…ALEX? he’s my dad’s student, he tried telling my dad he did it legal…i can gaurentee it’s been registered as an Acura, not the honda is.

Bottom line, not 15, NOT legal, dont waste your time or money.

3

Still illegal.

Is it this car by any chance?

http://www.jdmengineland.com/forums/s14/s14_001.jpg

http://www.jdmengineland.com/forums/s14/s14_003.jpg

4

is it true that they have also put a hold (i heard temporarilly) on registering evwen 15 year old japanese cars in ontario becuase of some problems with the length of the vin, anyone know if that is true?

5

No.

6

That has been resolved as far as I know… do a search and you’ll find the thread.

7

That IS the car i am refering to

8

Here is another response I got on my other car board…

You should be fine Drew.
1-It likely will be tagged as a 240. I have a friend in BC with a JDM 03 Integra and its tagged as a RSX
2-MANY MANY of the JDM car Importers in TO that sell Skylines do (and have) been selling Silvias for years
3-If its already reg’d, then its already reg’d. You have nothing to worry about. Insurance companies will not have a listing for Silvia but will for 240. Essentially, its a NAME difference
4-My Scion is NOT fifteen and is not sold in Canada. I can have it here as it meets all HTA requirements. A Silvia STRUCTURALLY is a 240 so will meet the same criteria
5-Any car meeting the HTA standards but not sold in Canada must be imported as a used car. To be considered usesd it must have the equivalant of 8000kms or six months of use and must already have been reg’d to a driver in another country (much like my xB)

AS far as Steffan’s remark about

[quote]IF the cars manufactured overseas are built, tested AND certified to meet all applicable CMVSA stanards/american standards are are not altered in any way
…that will only apply to CRASH/STRUCTUAL STANDARDS only (ie, cant add a rebar to an EVO). If the car was not already reg’d for use in Ontario, you would probably have to make some changes to meet the safety standards certificate (like i Idi by adding DRL).

Its here. Its being driven. By it and post pics once you do![/quote]

kris, if they were legal to import why wouldnt your buddies jdm integra be REGISTERED as an integra and not as an rsx…of course theres a lot of skylines and silvias around - they are the ones 15 years and older

your scion was most likely imported from usa which is totally fine - it doesnt have to meet the 15 year rule as long as its on the admissability list from RIV

you can’t make changes to a car thats not admissable and just call it “admissable”, if that were the case - you would see many evos on the road who just slapped on a front rebar and called it legal - the car manufactures have to make a product line specifically for us with that rebar and they said “no its not worth our time and money to only make a few thousand specifically for canada”, on the other hand, dodge did with the srt4 hence why we didnt see any in 2003, but they made some specifically for us in 2004

im not saying that the 95 silvia isnt registered because according to drew it obviously is, im saying it was illegally tagged as a 240 when it really isnt…

and the response there…

Its not reg’d as an Integra cause the canadian gov’t does not have a listing for a 03 Integra…only an 03 RSX. The gov’t considered this car to be an RSX. When they ran the VIN through the system, it came back as an RSX. They didnt DECIDE it was an RSX, the vin INDICATED it was an RSX.
I have even heard that Skylines (depending on the province) actually reg’r as 300ZX’s. This isnt because the owner tried to deceive the gov’t, its because the numbers in the VIN indicate that. Flaw in the system? Possibly, but, thats not our fault.

On a side note, I know a guy in TO that has a true RHD JDM Toyota VITZ. Same thing. He went to have it reg’d and the VIN came up as an ECHO.

and again…

^^ You can’t just assume because its made somewhere else that its not admissable into the country… You have to look it up on the three lists that RIV has, and see where it falls.

Theres also LOTS of cars that were sold in the US that couldn’t be imported at all(previous Audi RS6 wagon for instance, my godfather tried EVERYTHING legal to get one into the country).

Drew, like Stefan and Kris said, if the car has already been registered in Ontario, then its likely been tagged as a 240, which could get the person that imported/registered it in a ton of shit if caught. How it could transfer to you, I’m not so sure. Knowing the government, they’d probably take the car and either impound it until its 15(unlikely), or chop it in half(more likely).

If I were you, I’d find the three RIV lists and see if the silvia is by chance on the allowed, or ‘allowed with modifications’ list. You might find that since the unibody is the same(I would assume), that it might be allowed in with canadian rebar and door reinforcements.

9

have you even looked at that silvia in person its a pos and it has 200,000

is this a joke?

10

tell you what, take it to RIV and see what they have to say about it, tell them what it is.

You asked we told you. IT"S NOT LEGAL, no matter how much somone says it is. If there was a way for us to have legal cars that were not 15 or older you think people who spent 20000+ on a r32 gtr would own a 89-91!?

Siliva’s build dates started in 88, which is why they’ve been sold for “years” My cefiro is an 1988, build date is 87, it’s been legal for YEARS!

it doesnt have to be sold in canada to be legal, i’m tired of arguing with people about this. a SILVIA IS NOT A US/Canadian market s13. the rebar,headlights, sideimpact beams etc etc etc are either NOT PRESENT or different. READ THE HTA, if ANY car does nto meet thecanadian saftey standards. IT IS NOT ELLEGABLE TO BE IMPRTED UNTIL 15 years old!!!

IT CANNOT BE MODIFIED TO MEET THESE STANDARDS.

any importer that tells you different is full of shit.

A scion is legal, a GTO/EVO is not. ETC ETC ETC…i can show you cases of 92 tercels in the states that are nto elgal in canada due to the metal used on the automatic seatbelt mounts.

if you’d like to continue to argue, please email the guys at sci motors, jdm motors, or japanese imports. OR ANY OTHER REPUTABLE IMPORTERS!

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i should add Drew, that if anyone tells you that there import is registered by a different name than the actual car there most likely not on the level.

The Cefiro is registered as a Cefiro, the Skylines are registered as nissan skylines, etc etc etc, the Vin trick may work for an rsx, but pre i belive 1998 all japanese vins are under the 18 digit standard…which is why it’s so hard to get insurance on a jdm car.

12

there are ways to do it, but as already stated it isnt legal and if its found out they will most likly crush your car, then you can buy a 240sx and put a trailer hitch on the back and tow your gt-rcube to meets and be like yo yo gtrrrr

13

from another forum, DIRECT QUOTE FROM THE HTA

" quote:
“The Motor Vehicle Safety Act and Regulations require that all vehicles imported into Canada comply, at the time of importation, with the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards in effect on the date the vehicle was manufactured. Vehicles manufactured for sale in countries other than Canada and the United States do not comply with the requirements of the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Act, CANNOT be altered to comply and CANNOT be imported into Canada. The only exceptions to this rule are vehicles fifteen (15) years old or older as determined by the month and year in which the vehicle was manufactured and buses manufactured before January 1, 1971.”

So it says: Cars that are IMPORTED into Canada at the time of IMPORT must meet Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (note SAFETY) for the year of the car.

Now this is where it gets a little tricky, and there is more than ONE way to read this next line. But this sentance is it’s OWN complete thought.

Then it goes on to state: Cars cannot be modified to meet these standards, so those that require modifications cannot enter the country. THEN it states the only exemption to THIS rule (which they are talking about the modifications) are cars older than 15 years of age to the month. So therefore cars 15 years of age ARE allowed into the country, as long as they are modified to meet canadian safety requirements of the year that the car was made.

So it’s been in there all along. So technically they have every right to do this."

please send this “importer” a copy of the hta and get him to explain how his car is “LEAGAL”

14

he’s coming over from a 4 door escort… just about anything is a step up.

However it sounds more like Skuce here is looking for the answer he wants, not the reality of the situation. Let him learn the hard way.

15

matty runs shite.

The thing you have to worry about is getting pulled over by a savvy cop. If I decided to become a cop I’d still know about 240’s. If I saw a RHD S14 on the street I’d know right away it wasnt legal, and bam peace out RHD S14.

You should buy a 91 silvia instead, way less hassle and waaaaay less stress.

16

[/quote]

It doesn’t matter what cars i own right now and I am not looking for the answer I want.

I want to know the actual way things are…the truth. Not the candy coated version. Which it seems ppl have a tendency of dishing out all the time.

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The truth is as follows:

Any attempts by “jdm englineland” (or whoever the hell is selling the car now) to pass this off as a car that can be legally registered for road use are underhanded and deceitful.

The RIV list has FU.CK ALL to do with imports from any country outside the US. For cars to be imported from outside the US, it doesn’t matter if the car was sold in a CDM version or not-- if the vehicle does not originally meet CMVSS it cannot be registered for road use unless it is 15 years old or older-- to the month of manufacture.

Importing cars under ‘exhibition, demonstration or test purposes’ and then turning around and registering them is ILLEGAL.

Yes, it is ‘possible’ to get newer cars on the road with a piece of paper. It’s also possible to get fake certs, fake e-tests, fake insurance slips… just because you have a piece of paper doesn’t make the act any more legal.

Summary: forget about this car for road use.

18

i’m pretty sure lucky and everyone else just gave you the NON-candy coated version. if you still want to be sure, just ask MTO or HTA or whatever.

i would only move on something if i had 100% yes from all sides. since you heard a 50/50 yes and no, i would find out with the people who made the rules.

19

Sounds good to me :slight_smile: that’s what I wanted to know. And I’ll be passing on the car…and going to go chew out the “friend” of mine that was trying to get me to buy it. And that says that “JDM engineland” says it good…so therefor it is. etc etc.

Yes. Lucky/spd-dmn gave me the good version. That’s the stuff I like to hear

That comment was to some other ppl that I know are reading this post right now (and haven’t replied)

20

See drew i’m not a dick everywhere…just on VM where people tell you this BS is legal. Good thing you perma banned me or you would have found out all that info on vm!!