about how much would it cost to ship a car from japan to the states? and why r right-hand drive vehicles illegal in the states?
about how much would it cost to ship a car from japan to the states? and why r right-hand drive vehicles illegal in the states?
well, from what i gather, it's about $1000 for the actual shipment... getting it past customs is another story...
and RHD cars AREN'T illegal in the states... i looked into importing a silvia, and i was told that all i need to have everything transferred to me is have the odometer checked and the VIN verified... again, this is what the lady at the DMV told me, so i'm not sure if that's what needs to actually happen...
i don't know how much it would cost to ship to the US, but i know if i want to ship a car form the US to Russia in a closed container, it would cost me $1500-2500 just for shipping.
even if you get the car into the US, you will have to prove them that it is legal to drive it , and it is safe and all that other shit.
you can import right had drive car into the US if you are planning to use it for show, race only. basicly, if the car doesn't sees the roads, it will be fine.
lets say you go that far, and you got the car into the US and they allowed you to register it. well, before you can register, you have to pay custom taxes and they are not cheap. they can be as high as the price of the car.
overall, it would be easy just to import the front clip or wrecked accord and swap the parts into the US model.
Alex.
You want a car? Try this guy > http://www.importconcern.ca/
My buddy imports these cars from Japan, etc all the time. His name is Chris. I met him at a local car club meet here in Edmonton.
why not import a silva and buy a wrecked 240 w/title and swap vin plates
EDIT: why? when people like import concern make it fairly cheap to own a legit one!
Last edited by hondamanlxi; 01-31-2005 at 10:32 AM.
I havent forgotten my roots
to drive it on the streets it has to be given the proper title. It takes about 10 grand worth of mods to get a car street legal.
you have to redo the whole bumper, bracing, and fender system. Along with the radiator having to be mounted.
Cars have to do a 5mph impact test and be basically undamaged to be allowed on the american motorways.
all I type is a lie
p1 87 lx-i 254,xxx its gone
p2 91 awd 100,xxx
p3 98 csvt 120,xxx
some kid at school imported a 93 sir II for 3 grand. and it's right hand drive, it's not illegal, gettin it registered is hard tho. i kno he ran into a bunch of vin problems.
3geez for life.
i believe it has a good bit to do with what state you're in... that and who is doing the work over at the DMV...
I heard that the states requires a 25 yr wait, while canada has a 15 yr wait for imports of non-North american approved cars. I've been talking to Dominic at Import Concern, and it is doable, but you americans are SOL from the sounds of things for the next 8 years or so.
The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard;
And the stupid people are breeding......
http://www.cardomain.com/id/bluebead
well, if it's a skyline you're looking for, they have been crash tested and everything... pretty straight foreward on those...
and that 25 year thing has exceptions... the big thing is that you have to import a car that is "substantially similar" to a car already existing and up to US standards... silvias can be found over here on the roads legally...
that 25 year old thing just means that you can import ANY car that was built before certain date...
I have always heard crash laws are so different, it would cost a LOT to make it D.O.T. legal. Smog laws and such also.
I have also heard of people bringing cars into the country in pieces, then reassembling in the states. There is some kind of loop hole if you do that.
It is still just plain EXPENSIVE, usually so expensive it' just not worth the hassle.
Thats my .02
you can probably also bring the car over as a race-only car and then title it for the road...
true.
or ship it in a container and hope it doesn't get checked by US customs... that's a chance, too...
only like 10% of containers are checked... just list the contents as auto parts and bury the car in the back behind a bunch of crated motors... even if they DO check, they won't find it... make some side money, too...
But..... the only benifit there would be if you never planned on licensing it. And if it was me......I sure a f@ck would want to drive that shit on the road all legal like.
thing is that if you get it past customs, most of your cost is done with... everybody i've talked to that's imported anything has had the most problems out of customs... the rest was cake compared to customs...
if you did import a car like that you would have to import all the parts too. That would be a hassle.
not particularly... if you get a car that's similar to one here, or get a car that's got a lot of aftermarket, it's not a problem to get parts...
the problem with importing a foreign car is that the safety measurments dont match up to the US federal standards. There are some ways around that, but most of them arent exactly legal (vin swap etc). How hard it will be to register a JDM car to drive depends on your area.
As far as i know, Customs searches EVERY car container. They're the only place to catch illegal cars. The DMV doesnt care if the car meets fed standards.
my advice is only consider importing a car from out of country if you have a lot of extra cash and dont plan on seeing the car and driving the car for a VERY long time.
The price of shipping depends on the company. Batfa JDM cars will ship to any major US port in the US for around $900. They also guarantee all their cars are running.
Nothin' 2 Old Racing
no, customs doens't search every container... if they did, there wouldn't be a black market for cars now, would there?
they dont ship black market cars on legit container ships.
Nothin' 2 Old Racing
dude you cant do that cause youll never get near the car to swap the plates until customs is done with it unless you are customs.Originally Posted by hondamanlxi
why not import a silva and buy a wrecked 240 w/title and swap vin plates
EDIT: why? when people like import concern make it fairly cheap to own a legit one!
and as far as shipping the car in the black market.... you better know the captain of the boat or someone at the shipping yard to get the car hid for you. and shepard you know as well as i do that the inspection in this state is very easy to pass cause chances are is that you know someone that works at the inspection shop or know someone who is friends with the shop. hell my car passes every year and it aint even the right car for the vin number. the tires are shit and the ball joints are shot. my bro went to b&m auto repair in martinsburg on friday last week to get his car inspected. i wouldnt pass that thing if he paid me. but the owner said and i quote" i dont feel like lookin at anymore cars so here you go" and gave him his sticker.
now in my own opinion i think it would be easier to ship a car to canada and then get it into the states from there but i dont know.i know that if i got a skyline from japan and got it through customs i wouldnt have no problem getting it legal! man i love wv laws!!!
b u n n y · t y p e R"the bunny liked the go-faster stripes... but wasn't too keen on the rear spoiler and ridiculous bodykit"
My uncles friend imports stuff and from the sound of it Customs in New Jersey checks most if not all incoming car containers. They also have a habbit of stealing parts (wheels, etc) before you get it. The guy imports Evo's for ralley racing or to sell but you cannot ship a complete car so he will rip a bumper, fendor or what not to make the car look salvaged. Im gonna try to work something out this summer with the guy to get another B20A with 5speed and some other stuff since he rents the container.
So if you in the US you can get stuff but not legally register it unless you know of some loopholes or spend a lot of money. Its just like Motorex importing skylines, basically they pay a shit load of money for a new vin# and all the certifications after they update it and its legit.
rob, you'd have a better chance of getting b20 stuff if your buddy can get stuff from australia. that place is a goldmine for 3g parts if somebody could hook up with a importer who gets stuff from australia.
Nothin' 2 Old Racing
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