the guy i talked to at a show imported his from japan, some van, small...

but he said he drove it regularly, but he had to pass emmissions and a safety thing...and that was it

 

well having one and getting it out of customs is 2 different things, ask taka about the 2 s13's that I believe are still sitting in port from I believe 3 years ago because customs will not release them

 

have fun with those right and left turns

 

doesn't someone on here drive a rhd skyline he imported through motorex?

since when did the mailmen start taking all the rhd legacies to car shows?

and how does my neighbor drive his strange rhd english cars on the street all the time?

stop being so wrong all the time....

 

motorex did all the crash test and all that eather BS. if u wanted to get a skyline or any eather car that they have imported u can give them a call. but it well run u about 20k to get the paper work from them. then u would need to get your car to pass all of the emsions here. for osmehtign liek this u could go to sunshineimports.com they r about 2 hours form tampa.

 

i can almost taste it with my nose

 

First off, it all depends on where the car is originally registered. Is the car registered in Japan, or is it registered in Canada? That's the first question.

Second. It is not illegal to have a right hand drive vehicle in the USA. The catch is, the vehicle must meet all EPA and NHTSA standards for that year of production. A couple years ago, the NHSTA made a major ruling. They stated that a RHD version of a car IS NOT comparable to the USA LHD version, i.e., a RHD civic is not COMPARABLE to a LHD civic (for safety standards). What this means is that if the car wasn't produced to meet USA standards as a RHD, than it has to be brought to the USA, be converted to conform, and be crash-tested.

Your best bet is to check the import eligibilty list, and if the car you want to import IS NOT on it....FORGET IT. If the car IS on the list (*except for skylines), you would need to find an ICI and an RI that is willing to bring the car in. Expect to spend some big $$$. Wallace labs in Texas is the most popular place to get emissions testing done, and they run about $2k per test. IF you fail, you'll have to pay again to be re-tested. The EPA tested required are MUCH harder than anything done by the state.

If your looking for a skyline, only MOTOREX can convert it. (yes, RBMOTORING sells skylines legally, but they are still converted by MOTOREX).

So simply put, between EPA, NHSTA, Customs, shipping and all the other B.S., expect to invest about $10-$15k in the car (not including the cost of the car itself).

Okay...so now you've given up on importing the car the normal way. You hear about 2 other ways (legally). One is as a "show-car". Let me quash this for you as well....to be imported as a show car, the car must be of some siginificant technilogical value. Any street car that you might bring, wouldn't apply.

The second most common method that people mention is under the "Race Only" provision. This one isn't that easy either. First, you have to prove that you are going to race it (member of a "racing" organiztion), and second, you have to meet certain criteria. *Note: A Ferrari F50 that was being brought to the USA was REJECTED under the "RACE ONLY" provision becuase the car was too high. They literally used a coke can, and becuase the car's ground clearance was taller than the coke can, the car was considered NOT to be a race car and shipped back to italy. The funny part was that the car had adjustable coilovers, and the car had been raised for shipping. When the car returned to Italy, the mechanics "lowered" the car, and shipped it back, this time it made it through.

Unlike others that provide speculation on importing cars, I provide hard facts. Do a search here on TR and you will see that I have discussed this in detail many times. I have read ALL THE LAWS regarding this subject, I have contacted ICI's and RI's, and I have learned alot. BE very cautious of places that sell you false promises.

If anybody wishes to challenge me, feel free to try, you will loose.

Here are 3 more things for you:

1. Taka shipped 3 cars to the USA, hoping to sell them. Taka was only allowed to remove one from port. What people didn't realize is that Taka was an EXCHANGE STUDENT, and as such he had special priveliges that allowed him to import 1 non-conforming vehicle for 1 year. According to the laws, that single non-conforming vehicle ould have to be either shipped back or destroyed AFTER 1 YEAR.

2. All these "RHD JDM" cars you see for sale on EBAY. Notice that none of them come with US titles, only BILL OF SALES. The cars were imported in crates of motors and the car was refernced as "PARTS-ONLY" in the manifest. The ports are too busy to search, so the cars get into the USA, only problem is, they are NOT street Legal, and there is NO WAY (within reason) to make them street legal.

Charles

 

Okay smart guy....try just randomly bringing a Silvia here and get it all legally registered and get a tag and get insurance for it....and lets see how fucking successful you are. Stop trying to prove me wrong all the time, when I'm correct. Never said that he couldn't use Motorex, as that is the practically the only source to get RHD legalized. That's how the Skyline from Z Fever got here. Schmuck.

 

the fact you can't bring any random sylvia here is not because it's RHD, but more so EMISSIONS AND CRASH SAFETY REGULATIONS

 

we could go to the bakery