Learn me Skyline GTR R33

If you want to be the cool dad and give your 15 year old a missile, I have a built motor turbo Miata that I can assure you is legal to be in the US, is cheaper to maintain, cheaper to buy, and faster than an R33.

Let's make a deal.

Is it really anyone's goal to be the "cool dad"?

This IS NOT directed at the op in any way: but trying to be cool to your kids isn't the best way to parent.

If it is, you're doing it wrong.

I don't aspire to be a cool dad.In this day and age I am considered overly strict and not much fun by my kids.I buy them things because I can not to be cool.Good points given,and taken,about this being more car then he needs.

^It's too much car for a lot of adults.

Best. Thread. Ever.

If it is shady could it be bought and put away until it's past the 25 year rule? You could be the cool dad that bought it, but by the time it's legal he'll have some experience.

Wally wrote: If it is shady could it be bought and put away until it's past the 25 year rule? You could be the cool dad that bought it, but by the time it's legal he'll have some experience.

After 25 years or not, I don't want to think about the nightmare that is registering a car with a bullE36 M3 title.

Avoid these cars. If it's not 25 years old and older I wouldn't touch it.

If it's cheap it's not legal. All the legal cars are a MINIMUM of $30,000. And that is for a wrecked GTS-25T not a GTR.

By minimum of $30k I mean that every one you actually see that is in proper working order are $60,000 or $80,000 or even 6 figures. And they sell at these prices.

It's too much car for a lot of adults.

It's a 300hp AWD car. They are relatively easy to drive. It's like saying a WRX is too much car.

If it is shady could it be bought and put away until it's past the 25 year rule?

If you have the original Japanese title it's possible, the export certificate title. Bring it to a customs broker and have them sort it out. You will need the import and shipping paperwork. I don't see it working at all. This car is likely permanently ruined. Use it as a donor and put the engine in a 240SX or R32 or something.

kanaric you must be pretty close on prices as minimum bid is $25k

singledownloop wrote: kanaric you must be pretty close on prices as minimum bid is $25k

Ya if it's an auction and the car is proper with all paperwork and in mechanically sound it's going to at least double that in short order. At that point you might be ok.

However the customs police still might one day show up at your door to take the car and crush it if it's even slightly out of order. I've read countless nightmare stories.

If you bid on it try to get the export certificate and all the original import paperwork. That way if you find issues later you can take it off the road and store it or something until it's 25 years legal.

I would google the motrex cars and read up on all that before anything

In reply to Wally:

http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticles/ID/3198/Vehicle-Importation-Understanding-the-25-Year-Old-Rule.aspx

As I understand it no, it has to be 25 before it gets here. There was lots of discussions on build months and such on some forums when the first person to bring in a R32 did it on Jan 1.

http://jalopnik.com/this-is-the-first-r32-nissan-skyline-gt-r-legally-impor-1493127416

$25K minimum bid?? My head just exploded.

Not because of the price. Yeah, so what. Some stuff is expensive.

But I am a little surprised that someone with that kind of coin wouldn't just buy his son a nice new Honda and be done with it.

Confession time- I often try too hard to be the cool Dad. Not proud of it, but that is the truth. I am blessed that I am not in the financial position to buy stuff like this, or I would make a lot more stupid decisions than I already do.

But I will also admit that I don't believe anyone who says they are not trying to be the cool Dad. I just don't think that is very honest- maybe my viewpoint is skewed.

"My son wants this (and obviously shouldn't have it), so I took a picture and showed it to his Mom- I really like it". That REALLY sounded like Mr. Cool Dad to me.

My sincerest apologies if I misinterpreted your post.

HeavyDuty wrote: In reply to Wally: http://www.motoiq.com/MagazineArticles/ID/3198/Vehicle-Importation-Understanding-the-25-Year-Old-Rule.aspx As I understand it no, it has to be 25 before it gets here. There was lots of discussions on build months and such on some forums when the first person to bring in a R32 did it on Jan 1. http://jalopnik.com/this-is-the-first-r32-nissan-skyline-gt-r-legally-impor-1493127416

omg... not that guy again.

That car was illegally imported. He was lucky it wasn't crushed. Me and a few other people went on a crusade against Jalopnik advertising this garbage.

Seriously, don't read that site. It's about as reputable as a tabloid.

Also YES they WILL! check your build month. Customs will at the port, the DMV will when you register it. I've SEEN them do it.

SVrex you're a little off base but this is a car forum not a family counseling forum so it's all good.

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/heres-how-the-not-yet-legal-first-r32-got-in-1493437688

Here's a follow up article to that GTR article. I posted an equivalent of my own in the comments at the article. I just assumed the guy just drove it from Canada which it turns out he did.

What's funny is I guarantee he couldn't register it. My DMV asked me for my build month about 5 times AND two separate people looked for it on the vin inspectoin.

There is no secret method for importing these cars. You either did it legally or illegally.

From the NHTSA said: 8. Importing a vehicle that is at least 25 years old. A motor vehicle that is at least 25 years old can be lawfully imported into the U.S. without regard to whether it complies with all applicable FMVSS. Such a vehicle would be entered under Box 1 on the HS-7 Declaration form to be given to Customs at the time of importation. If you wish to see that form, you may download a copy from our website at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import. You should note that the 25 year period runs from the date of the vehicle's manufacture. If the date of manufacture is not identified on a label permanently affixed to the vehicle by its original manufacturer, to establish the age of the vehicle, you should have documentation available such as an invoice showing the date the vehicle was first sold or a registration document showing that the vehicle was registered at least 25 years ago. Absent such information, a statement from a recognized vehicle historical society identifying the age of the vehicle could be used.

kanaric wrote: That car was illegally imported. He was lucky it wasn't crushed. Me and a few other people went on a crusade against Jalopnik advertising this garbage. Seriously, don't read that site. It's about as reputable as a tabloid.

It's Jalopnik, the comparison with a tabloid might be a touch unfair.

Probably to the tabloid...

kanaric wrote: Also YES they WILL! check your build month. Customs will at the port, the DMV will when you register it. I've SEEN them do it.

My customs broker insisted that I needed to provide them with either the build month or the month of registration. I could only do the latter but that wasn't a big issue as the vehicles I brought in were all way older than the threshold. Even then, both customs and DMV checked and double checked the dates on the paperwork. I know that because I had to help with clarification multiple times as two of the bikes were grey imports from Italy into the UK before I took them with me to the US.

There are a few people on this forum who have actual experience importing, legalizing and registering vehicles in the US under the 25 year exemption. kanaric is one of them, as is Mazda605, the guy who imported a classic Mini from the UK recently (sorry, can't remember the username) and myself. Might be a good idea to listen to at least one of them.

BoxheadTim wrote:

kanaric wrote: That car was illegally imported. He was lucky it wasn't crushed. Me and a few other people went on a crusade against Jalopnik advertising this garbage. Seriously, don't read that site. It's about as reputable as a tabloid.

It's Jalopnik, the comparison with a tabloid might be a touch unfair. Probably to the tabloid...

kanaric wrote: Also YES they WILL! check your build month. Customs will at the port, the DMV will when you register it. I've SEEN them do it.

My customs broker insisted that I needed to provide them with either the build month or the month of registration. I could only do the latter but that wasn't a big issue as the vehicles I brought in were all way older than the threshold. Even then, both customs and DMV checked. There are a few people on this forum who have actual experience importing, legalizing and registering vehicles in the US under the 25 year exemption. kanaric is one of them, as is Mazda605, the guy who imported a classic Mini from the UK recently (sorry, can't remember the username) and myself. Might be a good idea to listen to at least one of them.

Ya they talked about the month of registration as well being acceptable as evidence. That is a good fallback if you are having issues finding your build month. In Japan it seems the build month is etched onto the car in several locations so if you get a car from there you should be good.

It's Jalopnik, the comparison with a tabloid might be a touch unfair. Probably to the tabloid...

Ya, their parent company Gawker on several of their network sites advertised their readership to attack and bully people and several companies pulled their ads. It's been ongoing no new advertiser lasts for long. There are several other famous incidents as well. It got so bad that Intel and Mercedes denounced them. I won't go into it further tho, that is off topic

In my case, two of the three bikes I imported were made by a small Italian manufacturer that folded in the 90s and was known for their idiosyncratic record keeping. No way of finding out the build month on that one.

Similar issue with my latest idea, err, folly. I'm looking at possibly importing a built kit car or specialist car from the UK and most likely will only have the registration date to go with.

BoxheadTim wrote: In my case, two of the three bikes I imported were made by a small Italian manufacturer that folded in the 90s and was known for their idiosyncratic record keeping. No way of finding out the build month on that one. Similar issue with my latest idea, err, folly. I'm looking at possibly importing a built kit car or specialist car from the UK and most likely will only have the registration date to go with.

Prebuilt? I think if it's in somewhat incomplete form you may be ok to register it as a kit car in the US regardless of date. I'm not sure how that works though. Like i've seen newer Caterhams and things like that on the road here.

singledownloop wrote: SVrex you're a little off base but this is a car forum not a family counseling forum so it's all good.

Fair enough.

If the car is already here before it turns 25, is it also granted amnesty when it finally does?

In reply to kanaric:

IIRC the Caterhams do come in in kit form, have to have a US spec drive train fitted and then they're fairly easy to register.

Problem is that a even a well used Caterham over here is a $25k car and I can find pre-90 cars in the UK for about $10k-$12k, or even less if I go for a pre-lit Westfield. The big deal about the pre-lit Westfields are that the parts are almost 100% interchangeable with the same age Caterham, which is why Westfield got sued.

Driven5 wrote: If the car is already here before it turns 25, is it also granted amnesty when it finally does?

I think that depends on how it got here in the first place. I vaguely remember that there might a way if you brought the car in under the display exemption.

If some idiot pretended it's a 240SX by altering the VIN, you're screwed either way. Not to mention that that's a federal offense, too.

Driven5 wrote: If the car is already here before it turns 25, is it also granted amnesty when it finally does?

Yes. It has to have documentation that it was registered before the law was enacted i the early 80s. Grandfather clause.

In this case 9/10 of the time it is a Europe import 70s or early 80s luxury car.

I 100% support getting him something older that won't loose a lot of value as a first car. It actually makes a lot more sense than buying a new car for him.

What other older cars does he like? How about a classic convertible that will make a hit with the highschool ladies?