Importing... How the hell does that work...

[Kahulia]

So here I am, with a bone stock '97 Civic CX Hatchback wondering what the hell to do with it when I question if I should just leave it alone and save up my money for a car that I know I won't get stolen and will be respectably quick from the factory. Then the ever so cliche dream of owning an automobile truely born in the land of the rising sun comes to my mind and I start shopping around online at japanese companies that export cars to the US. (One in particular www.japaneseusedcars.com)

I come across a few Skylines and 240's and eventually find a hefty crop of Championship White 2000 Type R's that I can't stop wondering why I don't own. Which brings me to this oh so glorious forum.

I know there's a few legally imported Skylines in the state, some even by where I live, so I'm sure one of you guys browses around on this forum. I'm sure the Skylines you had imported went through Moto-rex, but I'm hoping someone on here has had some expereice with going through the whole process "on their own" (with the help of an RI of course).

I saw on the NHTSA website that there's an RI in Co. Springs, but I'm not sure if they're actually still in buisness. I'll give them a call tomorrow either way...

Anyway, after rambling on for so long, does anyone on here have any experience with importing cars from Japan? Was it really that painful? Our E-friends at (http://www.wallacelab.com/AutoImports.htm) claim that they'll convert your japanese automobile to US standards (on average) for $6,000. Seems like a miniscule fee to rock a legal RHD Type R for a total $16,000 shipped, legalized, and sitting in your drive way waiting for a spirited romp through the windy mountain roads.

Thanks

[Kahulia]

No one? Wow...

[HondaPower]

So what is the question?

[FrankDMS]

....or you could buy a usdm honda like the rest of the us.....(if ya can afford the gtr what is the question... :) )

[blue]

i think the question he is asking IS has anyone ever imported a car, what site, and what are the hastles.

[Kahulia]

i think the question he is asking IS has anyone ever imported a car, what site, and what are the hastles.

Good call. That was exactly the question.

1. Who's done it?
2. Was it annoying?
3. Who did you go through?

[STIBungy]

There's a Honda City Turbo sitting in Arizona that I'd like to have but it's not legal. :(

[2genCRX]

^POB

[chrisbarnett01]

The easiest way is to just bring it over, and hope customs doesn't check the container.

Many states will register a car in the US if it passes an emissions & safety inspection.

Everyone I know with imported cars has done it that way. In multiple states. AZ, TX, CO, etc. TX will even issue a title if there was no previous title WITHOUT customs forms.

A few things things to note.

1, it is next to impossible to get an overseas exporter to crate a full car for you. Don't expect anyone who knows to help you there.

2, if you do it, make sure to camo the car by having a front clip or two stacked in front of the car.

3, if customs finds the car they WILL cut it in half, and they WILL charge you like $2k to do it. Think about it. In a normal container you can fit 8 front clips or two cars. You're going to bring over front clips because those make money, and the rear of the car does you no good. If you bring an entire car, customs just assumes you brought it for parts, so they make it undriveable. So you wasted money shipping a rear clip when you could have had a 1-3 more front clips in that space.

4, with the new bill in place, expect it to be harder to get a car into the US unnoticed.

[Mark_H]

In a nutshell: It's VERY difficult and VERY expensive to get a JDM car here. I know you've seen those websites that show Skylines and Civic Type R's real cheap over in Japan, but the purchase price is just the tip of the iceburg.
I've talked personally with a few Skyline owners when I was considering getting one, none of them did all the legwork themselves. They had purchased theirs from Motorex when they were in business, or they bought them from people who had originally bought them from Motorex.
HTH
Mark

[Conrad]

and i thought motorex went out of business because of shady business practice...

I lived in japan for 3 years and tried to get a car back.

Needless to say its almost next to impossible, and no where near worth it.

[Ferret]

and i thought motorex went out of business because of shady business practice...

I think they lied about the year and cost of the cars they brought over, that was the deal.. that's what I've heard anyway, never cared enough to actually check on it.

[Skaterkid]

Well, they only crashed one car and said the exemption carried over to all three generations (they only crashed an R33), and the owner was busted for some criminal activity.