amg_rx7 wrote: So (assuming you can register and insure the car), you're stuck driving a RHD car in a LHD country?
So? That's the #1 reason I'd want a JDM AE86 vs a USM version.
amg_rx7 wrote: So (assuming you can register and insure the car), you're stuck driving a RHD car in a LHD country?
So? That's the #1 reason I'd want a JDM AE86 vs a USM version.
Holy carp! A Honda City (non-turbo) seems to be able to be had for under $500. So, it'd cost way more to import and clear customs than it would to buy...
I'd like one of those Autozam AZ-1s, but it's a tiny car and I kind of doubt I'd fit (6'2" 220lbs.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autozam_AZ-1
I live in Japan and if anyone was wondering in the last 2 years skyline GT-R prices have almost doubled. If you want a clean 89-91 R32 gtr then your going to spend around 14-16k at a dealer ship or you might luck up and find one at aution for around 9k then you still have to have it imported back into the US.
turtl631 wrote: Why not BNR32 GTR? Seems like most of the headaches and cost are fixed. Unless you were just set on the RWD layout or had a hard budget cap.
GTRs aren't legal yet. IIRC they first started building them in August.
I've always secretly wanted an R32 GT-R.
Caleb wrote: I live in Japan and if anyone was wondering in the last 2 years skyline GT-R prices have almost doubled. If you want a clean 89-91 R32 gtr then your going to spend around 14-16k at a dealer ship or you might luck up and find one at aution for around 9k then you still have to have it imported back into the US.
Doesn't really seem worth it at all at that point then, unless you just love the car.
eastsidemav wrote: Holy carp! A Honda City (non-turbo) seems to be able to be had for under $500. So, it'd cost way more to import and clear customs than it would to buy...
Non turbo is fine. I probably need to put the engine in the back anyway to do a decent wheelie.
turtl631 wrote: Doesn't really seem worth it at all at that point then, unless you just love the car.
From a pure dollars & cents point of view, it's never really 'worth it'. But that never seems to stop us. 
You're also paying extra for being the latecomer.
A lot of GTRs got exported to Oz and the UK, now good ones are getting rarer and thus more expensive.
eastsidemav wrote: Holy carp! A Honda City (non-turbo) seems to be able to be had for under $500. So, it'd cost way more to import and clear customs than it would to buy...
similar story with my wheels... I paid $52 for a set of 4 wheels... and it cost me $470 to get them to Oregon
In reply to Wally:
Sweet!
amg_rx7 wrote: So (assuming you can register and insure the car), you're stuck driving a RHD car in a LHD country?
So do postal workers, lol. It's not a hassal where i live there are always at least 4 lane highways. The only time it comes into play with being annoying is if you are on a 2 lane highway and want to pass someone.
Mezzanine wrote:kanaric wrote: He also puts up a youtube video like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TUPfzIt2Zc&list=TLUxahSvalDxeD9duvfkN9sHk7I_tdTewjThanks for all the info, and the Skyline in the video looks great... I hate to say it, but I was lusting the whole time for the 190e 2.5 16 parked directly in front...
Yes, what's great is that you can get Alpina BMW, 2.5 16 evo 190e, etc. from that country. I've seen them all.
turtl631 wrote: Why not BNR32 GTR? Seems like most of the headaches and cost are fixed. Unless you were just set on the RWD layout or had a hard budget cap.
When I was first looking the GTR prices doubled around then. Before I could get one for 8k, though not exceptionally clean. Keep in mind this car, before any fees, cost me $4k and they used to be $2.5k. That and the GTR is supposed to be far more of a hassal to maintain and more expensive. I wanted to keep things inexpensive at least for my first "JDM" car.
Next that is going to be a different story. Depending on when If eel like doing this again i'm planning on a Pulsar GTIR or Autech Stagea 260RS aka the GTR wagon. That is obviously going to be a few years from now but pulsars become legal next year. The advantage of the Pulsar is it's not as much of a sought after car so I could get it for probably what I paid for this car if the price increases. They have a SR20DET with a good Garrett turbo and ITBs, GTR AWD system, and are a small weird looking hatchback. The Stagea is rare so I expect it to be more expensive but they don't exist until R33 GTRs come into play so that is probably 5 years off IIRC.
eastsidemav wrote: Holy carp! A Honda City (non-turbo) seems to be able to be had for under $500. So, it'd cost way more to import and clear customs than it would to buy...
Well keep this in mind. You will pay far less for a mint car than yo would in the US to a point where the fees included may even be less. Like if you buyt that car compare it to what you would pay for a mint CRX or one of those gas saving Civics that cost ridiculous money now.
Honestly though I wouldn't import a Honda City non turbo. You might as well import the best car you can because the hassle isn't worth a $500 car.
turtl631 wrote:Caleb wrote: I live in Japan and if anyone was wondering in the last 2 years skyline GT-R prices have almost doubled. If you want a clean 89-91 R32 gtr then your going to spend around 14-16k at a dealer ship or you might luck up and find one at aution for around 9k then you still have to have it imported back into the US.Doesn't really seem worth it at all at that point then, unless you just love the car.
Well look at it this way. A MK4 Supra or a FD RX7 in the US costs double that again and the R32 Skyline GTR is a superior car and is more sought after worldwide than either of those.
When THOSE cars become legal. Right now a MK4 supra or FD RX7 in japan is like $6000. Prices are going to crash. Nobody is going to pay a $20k-$30k Supra when you can get a JDM kewl kid car for 1/4 the price.
double post
thanks for the info, i'm hoping to do something similar in a couple years with a similar budget. I have a feeling driving any skyline around here would get enough confused looks.
i've never seen one in person, but i may be able to get away without using a broker as i have a contact in japan who said he would help, and his brother drives an r32 gt-r over there.
kanaric wrote: lol well the shipper told me I was the only person he worked with that had any problems. One guy bought 5 cars and had no issue with any of them. Cost of car not included? That is insane. A year ago when I wasn't serious about this I starting looking how to get a Delta Integrale or a AWD Sierra Cosworth but couldn't find any importers it was just buy a car, ship it yourself, do your own paperwork kind of deal that I wasn't comfortable with. What's funny is I found both of those cars for sale in Japan at one point, though rare. If I was on the west coast and wanted a europeon car I would just get one from Japan. If I was on the east coast would be another story though. What did you get?
I bought a 1966 Impala and a 1985 Alfa GTV6 while living in Hungary. Problem is I bought the Impala right as the Prime Minister started a whole bunch of taxes aimed at auto-owners and after a year of "what new tax do we have this week" there weren't a lot of people left with the scratch to buy an expensive "Hobby car". (Example: This mustang has been for sale for 3-years... http://www.hasznaltauto.hu/auto/ford/mustang/ford_mustang_fastback_mach_1-6547498)
So figuring I'd lose more than I wanted to with the sale of the Impala, and not wanting to have the Alfa scrapped (it's almost completely taken apart) I decided to have them shipped 
And boy did I ever pay...
did you do roll-on, Roll-off, or a container?
Thanks for posting and posting links, I now have something else to poke around at work.
I've always been curious how this works exactly and it doesn't seem as bad as I had thought. Better than buying from some of these US importers that sell directly and apply crazy JDM taxes to everything.
I'd love to have a 80's 4 door sedan like a Cerifo or Laurel.
Hungary Bill wrote:kanaric wrote: lol well the shipper told me I was the only person he worked with that had any problems. One guy bought 5 cars and had no issue with any of them. Cost of car not included? That is insane. A year ago when I wasn't serious about this I starting looking how to get a Delta Integrale or a AWD Sierra Cosworth but couldn't find any importers it was just buy a car, ship it yourself, do your own paperwork kind of deal that I wasn't comfortable with. What's funny is I found both of those cars for sale in Japan at one point, though rare. If I was on the west coast and wanted a europeon car I would just get one from Japan. If I was on the east coast would be another story though. What did you get?I bought a 1966 Impala and a 1985 Alfa GTV6 while living in Hungary. Problem is I bought the Impala right as the Prime Minister started a whole bunch of taxes aimed at auto-owners and after a year of "what new tax do we have this week" there weren't a lot of people left with the scratch to buy an expensive "Hobby car". (Example: This mustang has been for sale for 3-years... http://www.hasznaltauto.hu/auto/ford/mustang/ford_mustang_fastback_mach_1-6547498) So figuring I'd lose more than I wanted to with the sale of the Impala, and not wanting to have the Alfa scrapped (it's almost completely taken apart) I decided to have them shipped
No. Due to the customs hold and my not knowing when I could get it I paid the customs broker to ship it. Otherwise I might of had to take a week off work, lol.
I'd love to have a 80's 4 door sedan like a Cerifo or Laurel.
A31 Cefiro is nice, pretty much a Skyline with a different body style and their price is LOW. All the Skylines but GTS-R (in R31) came in 4 door form as well and they have slightly different trim. Autech made 4 door GTRs. Heres an example of a 4 door skyline GTS-T, they are extremely common. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6BBgiShF9k
If you like the Cefiro the AWD version has the same drivetrain and suspension as a GTS4. The RWD version iirc has a different suspension setup that might be harder to find parts for.
Heres some inspiration for you, lol https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1yFXlJYtI0
Man, I wish the 4-door GTS-T was sold over here, I'd probably be driving one of those instead of an E46. I do love me some fast 4-doors.
Heres the Autech 4 door GTR
EvanR wrote:kanaric wrote:You'd better double-check that. the current rule is that even if you register it under any of the Classic/Historic plates, any car built after 1967 MUST pass a smog check prior to its first registration.EvanR wrote: I'm waiting to see how you get it past NV smog.Registering as classic rod or classic car so I don't have to, lol. I have a friend that did the same thing with a Galant VR4. Before I go do that, however, i'm going to get it smoged to see if it will pass stock. Registering it as "classic" lets you have only 5000 miles per year on the odometer. It used to be 2500 so IMO it's worth it now. I have already daily driver so this is no problem.
Should be a piece of cake to pass. Even if it doesnt e85 works magic on the tail pipe sniffer test, you'll have have to get your tuning solution ahead of schedule.
This was a really cool and informative post.
unevolved wrote: Man, I wish the 4-door GTS-T was sold over here, I'd probably be driving one of those instead of an E46. I do love me some fast 4-doors.
Well, god forbid you wander into that Buick GNX thread. 
Slightly off topic, but how have you found the driving on the wrong side of the car to be? Also who did you get insurance from? I inquired about getting it through Progressive on a recommendation form a friend on the West coast that has a similar Delica to mine, and they were open to it. Of course I haven't done the insurance yet as I don't have the vehicle, but I will get it soon.
Matt B wrote:unevolved wrote: Man, I wish the 4-door GTS-T was sold over here, I'd probably be driving one of those instead of an E46. I do love me some fast 4-doors.Well, god forbid you wander into that Buick GNX thread.
Yeah, I saw that. Unfortunately, I'm still stuck on thinking I should never pay more than $5k for a car. Mrs. Unevolved does not agree, however.
In reply to kanaric:
That's one of the big reasons I was interested in the A31, basically a Skyline without the popularity taxes, i'm glad you can confirm the low cost.
@ the video... once the boost hits serious business. I'm not a huge fan of turbo motors but if it was a sedan like that i'd be ok with it. Thanks for posting!
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