Low volume importing in the US

[MK]

You can pick up second hand, low km S13's, S14's and S15's in Japan for very little money and ship them over to the country where you live. Thats normally what I do when getting an import.
Ive got the advantage of living somewhere where its right hand drive so compliancing is easy. In the US however, you've got all the bits necessary for changing it over to that demented left hand drive (j/king <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>) already in country from existing models there.

So, why do people bother with the export stuff thats local and not just import direct?
Is the genuine JDM car subject to heavy taxation from the government to protect local industry if you bring them over privately?
Or is it just too expensive to do the RHD-LHD conversion to make it worthwhile?

Everyone should have a drive in a JDM S15 once in their life and its pretty shitty that the US dosent get to play with them.

[duderiffic]

From what I understand some real Japanese cars are banned in the US. &nbsp;I don't know why... &nbsp;a major magazine made an article of cars that aren't in the US that should be... &nbsp;And I think it stated something about tariffs or taxes. &nbsp;If the white man buys the yellow mans car.... and the yellow mans car as the same performance as a Ferrari for 1/6 of the price. &nbsp;White man taxing isn 't happy. &nbsp;He'd rather get the luxury tax and huge taxation that comes along with the purchase of a $250,000 automobile. &nbsp;That is what I understood from the article... but then again what the #### do I know?

Jeff

[ca18guy]

The cars need to be brought up to federal safety laws. If there is a variation of the car in the states then it needs to be brought up to that spec. Like if I brought my S13 over I've been told it would be around $4,000 to convert to US spec. Also you would need to convert the turn signals and headlights. &nbsp;There's more to it, but it gives you a quick idea of what it takes. (nothing much to do about taxation)

[yenpit]

it all comes down to US crash test and emission compliance. most JDM- and Euro-spec cars do not meet these criteria. MotoRex in Cali spent like $1 million in crash &amp; emission TESTING ALONE in order to &quot;legally&quot; import the Skyline here. THEN after they spend gobs of $$ shipping them here, they have to perform the upgrades to the vehicles to make them US compliant. very expensive. for example strengthening the doors with beams welded inside em for crash protection, plus whatever emission upgrades are needed. very expensive. there have been LOTS of people/companies importing &quot;grey market&quot; cars into the US over the years, some of which are quite easy to upgrade. Mercedes, Porsche, BMW and even the Mini as examples.
The one misunderstanding about importing into the US is that RHD cars do not have to be converted to LHD...... they can be legally registered as long as the other criteria are met! driving a RHD vehicle is a REAL challenge on LHD roads.....you can't see around other cars to pass em!!!
i'll post some interesting details here later after i talk with our sales manager.....he has just gotten licensed to import a very specific Land Rover into the US. lots of loop holes!

[MK]

My boss was telling me the other day about US people who went overseas in europe, bought a car on holidays, drove it around for a week or two and just sent it home on the boat to arrive a month later.

So there is no precedance for doing this for a Jap car? It probably wouldnt be a real cheap prospect but still. Discussion about engine differences aside, there are a lot of other mechanical goodies in a JDM Silvia Im not sure you fellas get the export silvi's- HICAS, ABS, TV's (yes, tv's are a factory option) heavy duty brakes (I know for a fact my S13 K's has a massive set of front disc brakes compared to the Q's and export models)

Compliancing is much the same over here in Australia as it would be in the US with Side-impact reinforcing, seatbelts and tyres so Im sort of familiar with it.

Still, if there was a loophole for 'ya'll' to jump through then I'd like to see some of you being able to get a JDM car.

[Chokets]

ha, MK said &quot;Ya'll&quot; I almost couldn't understand anything he was talkin about till he said that, thanks for speaking American MK!

[yenpit]

I'd say the majority of those people will special order a US-spec car (ie BMW, Merc Benz etc), arrange &quot;ship delete&quot; or &quot;factory pick up&quot; (choose not to have it shipped to US at that time), take a trip to Germany (in most cases!), pick the car up at the factory, drive it around Europe while on vacation (holiday!), and arrange &quot;legal&quot; shipment/export to the US when they're done. Since the car was ordered as US-spec, there are no customs concerns. I believe most German car manufacturers will even arrange shipment to the US once the buyer has finished their vacation. Those rumors have been around for decades. I'd guess since the 70's (??) Americans could no longer import Euro-spec cars (prior to the tightened DOT regulations we could!).
The only legal loophole I'm aware of is costly, highly regulated, and restricted. As a person registered in the US military ONLY, you have ONE opportunity to import a Euro- or JDM-spec car into the US. There is LOTS of &quot;red tape&quot;, the person importing and registering the car can NEVER sell or transfer title here in the US, but CAN drive the car as if it was US-spec. The only way to get rid of the car is to export it back to country of origin or........... crush it here in the US! No exceptions, and the DOT keeps a close eye on the car. They will demand proof of ANY change!
This is the info that I have gathered over the years, but may not be completely accurate. As a regular old US citizen we have no legal loopholes.... to my knowledge. As you can tell by this &quot;book&quot;, I have had an interest in this subject. My only option is to join the military, and lets just say I'm too far past my prime for that!! :biggrin: Hope this answers your questions!

[thewholefnshow]

I know that there is even problems going back and forth from canada... you have to get papers and tests done to go back and forth, pay some taxes, fines whatever... I have heard of a lot of guys importing superbikes for next to nothing. guys getting 11,000 bikes for like 2,000 shipping included from hong kong and tokyo... for cars I dunno. #### I wonder enough about putting japanese parts into an american frame... Bikes may be different though because I know there are not really crash test for them... and as far as emmisions, I know they are not treated the same.

[yenpit]

i owned an &quot;illegal&quot; Mini Cooper that was brought into the US from Canada by a girl in the mid-late 80s. it DID however have a legal US title, it just should not have been allowed in....i dont know how she did it, i didnt care, i had a title! thats a good point for MK to see....... same continent, different country, and we have different DOT rules &amp; regs!!

[AZN GTR]

I have a friend from Germany who came here to study for a year, because his dad was working here for the company, &nbsp;they brought with them their BMW, but the thing is, it's gotta go back to Germany in a limited time(forgot how long). &nbsp;So wouldn't that mean, if they had a Lancer or whatever, they could have brought it here?

[yenpit]

i think (ouch <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt='???'>) a person coming into the US to work for a set period of time is allowed to bring a car in on a limited DOT approval. same restrictions....cant sell, must go back, and yea i've heard limited time, but unsure. dont know the answer to Lancer ?? if you wait 8 months you can have a REAL new one, not the Mirage POS!!!

[jskim9]

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">Quote: from AZN GTR on 11<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':0'>3 am on Jan. 24, 2002
I have a friend from Germany who came here to study for a year, because his dad was working here for the company, they brought with them their BMW, but the thing is, it's gotta go back to Germany in a limited time(forgot how long). So wouldn't that mean, if they had a Lancer or whatever, they could have brought it here?
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you could bring a car here for commercial or racing purposes for a limited time, which is 18 months (in CA anyways). after that, it has to be on a boat or crushed...

[MK]

Chokets- Yeah, I learned 'American' the hard way. <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>
I had a boss from Pennsylvania for about 2 years and about 3 friends who where all from Texas (a gun nut, a writer and an airline controller) who I still try to keep in touch with... then theres this other fella who's one of my newbie staff at work and he's from Florida.
(Needless to say I got used to being called 'boy' a lot, even though Im nearly 30 and older than most of them...)
Then theres this other guy I know who came from Alabama and used to work in the CIA, but I'd rather not talk about him here, 'bout as politically correct as a retard in a sperm bank but you had to laugh, otherwise he'd probably shoot you. No, actually, he would shoot you.

OK, the DOT (Dept of Transport?) looks to have the situation well in hand for keeping you well and trully, hmm how to say this with any delicacy?
&quot;F*cked&quot;
I knew the taxation was pretty rabid on imported cars to protect the USDM but this is something else isnt it really. Sort of the &quot;why buy a Japanese hatchback for the some money as a US 4 door sedan? Or why buy a Skyline when a Trans-am is about as fast?&quot; question facing consumers.

One of the guys I know in Texas was having all sorts of problems doing some mods to a Nissan 4 runner, or whatever its called over there, parts where really, really damned expensive for some reason that I failed to fathom at the time. Then we got talking engine conversions telling him I could get a Toyota quad valve V8 and ship it to him for about 3000-4000US$ and he sort of wasnt sure what a 1UZFE motor was... so I went looking around a bit more and found a VG30DETT for about the same and got back a &quot;wut iz dat shit?&quot;, last I heard he was going to supercharge it or something silly... bloody 4WD shopping trolleys <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'>

Way it looks the only way might be to either get some bud's up in Canada who you can cycle the car through every 18months and as long as you didnt mind it comming back fulla hockey pucks and a polar bear in the boot I guess thats one way. Dont join the military though... <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'> Not in the current state the world's in anyway, unless its something your really keen on doing.

Oh well, there is some truth to the import car vs domestic crap on wheels and lets f*ck the consumer in lots of holes law.
Sad and bitter as it may seem, New Zealand opened its gates to imports about 10 years ago, the ensuing flood washed away domestic and Aussie built crap, all the way into the pacific ocean. Taking with it 6 factories and numerous spare parts manufacturers. So maybe theres some truth in it.

Still, you should be able to spend your money on what you want and theres no point spending it on an inferior product, competition should raise standards and only the strong should emerge.
Sucks huh?

[yenpit]

yup. and you got another thing right.....the US gov't is always watchin.....many of these rules, regs &amp; laws r &quot;there&quot; to protect US economy. sucks about NZ. in the past 10-15 years Toyota, for example, has set up production plants here in the states to build their cars so they can &quot;compete&quot;. this of course has taken a market share from the Big Three (Ford, GM, and Chrysler) and they're hurtin. Ford especially! of course many here on this forum might say &quot;....who the f**k cares!! f**kin domestic crap...!!&quot; but it hurts OUR economy like it hurt NZ. well, thats growth, change...and a part of life!

[MK]

Heh, you should really take a look at NZ, even if its just to look at the prices you can get a genuine Japanese sports car, upper market family car, 4x4 or even a supercar for. Sure, they dont have local market but they never really did have anything but small, inefficient and with terrible quality control. Most everything else got brought over from Australia anyway and they still do bring over their Holdens and Fords that way.
Maybe their economy does suck and unemployment sucks as well but whos really losing?
Its not the consumer!!
A guy I used to work with called Steve was a NZ'er and when he heard my Silvia rumble and snarl into the parking lot it would bring a tear to his eye. So I asked him why he was sad and he said- &quot;Back home before I came over here I used to have a 300ZX, 91 model with the twin turbos and I cant get a good one over here.&quot;
So I offered to hook him up with a mate of mine who was an importer but the fact of the matter was he would pay $30-35k AU for one and when he brough his back in 95 it had 40,000km on it and he only paid $21k for it... YES, 21 thousand NZ dollars!!! For a genuine TT, not the overweight piece of shite naturally aspirated model we got here in Aus...

Thats about 10-12K US dollars kids or about $19k AU. Feeling sick yet?

Anyway, forgive me for rehashing a bit of old news but this is what I wrote some time ago to a motoring mag over here-

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The S13 and PS13 Nissan Silvia and 180SX's.
Maybe you dont cover a lot of the grey import scene here in Australia, but its something to consider as undoubtably most of your readers who have had a look in recent years at the local 'pap' that passes for cars in this country and gone *sigh*.
Anything that is remotely interesting made here is either another re-hashed 'falcodore' and way, way out of most people's price range. Sure, I like the new Monaro, but wheres the average bloke going to find 50+ thou to finance a new one of these or a XR ford if they wanted something with a bit of guts?

So, wanting a bit of speed, looks, handling and a price range which is within reason, I like most of my new friends on the road, went looking at the imports.
Where else could I find a car in this country that will do consistant 0-100km/h in 6sec, rear wheel drive with aircon, power windows, ABS, 4 wheel disks, Turbocharged, huge range of spares and aftermarket parts?
For $14,000-17,000? On the road? With less than 60,000km on the clock?

Most of us are aware of the pitfalls of the greymarket scene, particually in places like Qld and Vic, where there are a lot of dodgy operatrs. But, like most things in life, if you educate yourself and make your purchase carefully there can be a bargain to be had. (which means more monies for go-faster bits and stuff!)

Me and a lot of other bored but basically middle income working class slobs with a few bucks to throw around reckon this is the way to go, this is where the real performance scene is turning and making waves. We dont have the dollars for pretty BMW's, slinky Jags or blazing V8 monsters, all we have is a love for fast cars and theres so few ways of getting anything like this for the amount of money we have. (and I'll be f*cked if I'll be seen in some 'hot hatch' front wheel drive PoS) Dreams are nice, but sometimes it takes awile to make a dream come true, if they happen at all.
My friend bought a Jap-spec S15 Silvia over a month ago, we looked for months for this car and finally he and his wife found it. Its such a laugh to put this car next to the locally mass imported product, really it is, the cars we get over here are such utter sh*te compared to the Japanese domestic market! Its shamefull, Im not sure who's to blame, the Japs for exporting what they do, or the local buyers getting f*cked in the wallet for buying any old thing stuck in front of their noses.

So maybe my old '91 Silvia K's isn't the most refined car around anymore, but it brings a smile to my face when I give her a run up the old Epping Rd Racetrack or a quick blast out on the highway towards Newcastle. And somehow in this dull, somewhat pointless existance of working, sleeping, eating life Im stuck in that makes it all worthwhile and bearable.
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http://www.silviaaustralia.com/

[yenpit]

Yea, but YOU still get better stuff....!!! :sad: :sad:

PS The Canadian's don't get much better than we do! Only a few.....I think they got Integra Type-R's before we did, for example, not much else! &nbsp;