Importing... Thinking of going that route

Importing... Thinking of going that route

For a 40ft container you can fit 2 to three cars in it. 800 per unit to the US east coast. I have a place that has most cars for under 6,000 most are about 2,000 or less... nice cars like Levin's Gt Apex's.. skylines with the rb26det or rb25's... for under 4g's....

Just wondering how much interest would be here...

I mean I can get a 1993 Levin GT Apex with a 20v manual, 2 door... for USD $1,121 plus shipping about $900 east cost i think... plus whatever the cost is to get it street legal...

Or a GT-FOUR WRC SPEC 1994 for 4,000... good deals...

neways... just wanted to see what people though...

hmm. i know people at the golf course i work at that have imported cars from germany. but it took like a month and they had to pay all kinds of taxes.

yeah i'm talking from japan....
nagoya to be exact

it would be nice but later on in life, can't afford it right now.

Cool idea, I'll take a Skyline, Supra, Levin, Silvia... nah, it would be sweet though, lol

more info please

Yes plz, more info really, 4gs for that sounds a little to good. Are they gonna kill you with taxes and legal stuff? Plz go into detail.

hey can you maybe do some totals? car,shipping,taxes etc...

do these cars run? are they in good condition? with everything in them

do u have to pass custom? and legalized your car to follow US safety & emission rules?

well.... i know that most of what you see above are laws for it to be street driven.... and if you register it as a show car or a racecar (as in, not street driven) then most of whats above doesn't apply.... but at the same time, if you bring a car in like that you can't ever make it street legal

I wouldn't wanna import a car just for show and race. I want drive the damn thing around. Soooo, unless I have the money to burn, which I don't, it's pointless.

yeah what happened? i know of a couple places in mass that are RI certified...

Here is what I know about importing cars. If the car is less than 25 years old it is subject to Federal safety, bumper, and theft Prevention Standards. If it is more than 25 years old the car must be imported by a Registered Importer or RI and you have to enter a DOT bond equal to 150% of the dutiable value. You'll get the bond back once the RI modifies the car to meet U.S. Standards. It will also have meet EPA requirements.

The best way to figure out how much you need. Take the cost of the car add a couple grand to change gauges, safety and recertification (note that I've heard these costs can go up to 15K). Then you have to put up a large bond to cover the car with customs. The best thing to do is to find mutliple people looking that way you can split the certification costs. Once one car is certified you can knock off a couple grand for the other cars.

Here's more info I've found.

Concact the manufacturer of the vehicle and find out if it complies with all Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS)

If it does meet all FMVSS except for labeling requirements all you need is the letter of approval and your vehicle registration.

If it meets all FMVSS except for speedometer and/or headlights you have to have these components replaced at a manufacturer authorized factory. In addition to the letter of approval and registration you will need to bring an invoice for the replacement to customs in order to get approval.

If the vehicle doesn't meet FMVSS then you will not be able to bring the vehicle to the U.S. without an RI.


Information I found at customs.

Warning! Imported motor vehicles are subject to safety standards under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, revised under the Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act of 1988; to bumper standards under the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1972, which became effective in 1978; and to air pollution control standards under the Clean Air Act of 1968, as amended in 1977 and 1990. Most vehicles manufactured abroad that conform with U.S. safety, bumper, and emission standards are exported expressly for sale in the United States; therefore, it is unlikely that a vehicle obtained abroad meets all relevant standards. Be skeptical of claims by a foreign dealer or other seller that a vehicle meets these standards or can readily be brought into compliance. Nonconforming vehicles entering the United States must be brought into compliance, exported, or destroyed.

lmportations from Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, or North Korea, or that involve the governments of those countries, are generally prohibited pursuant to regulations issued by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control.

For Customs clearance you will need the shipper's or carrier's original bill of lading, the bill of sale, foreign registration, and any other documents covering the vehicle. You will also need written prior approval from EPA, which will be evident to the Customs inspector at the port of entry in the form of an approval letter from the EPA, or a manufacturer's label in the English language affixed to the car, stating that the vehicle meets all U.S. emission requirements. Or, you may make arrangements to import your vehicle with an Independent Commercial Importer (ICI). In this case, the ICI will import your vehicle and perform any EPA-required modifications and be responsible for assuring that all EPA requirements have been met. ICIs can only import certain vehicles, however, and in general, their fees are very high.

Here are the Duty rates:

Auto: 2.5% of vehicle cost

You may also be subject to the gas-guzzler tax.

A WORD OF CAUTION: Both the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency advise that although a nonconforming car may be conditionally admitted, the modifications required to bring it into compliance may be so extensive and costly that it may be impractical and even impossible to achieve such compliance. Moreover, under Federal Regulations 49 CFR parts 591 through 594, effective January 31, 1990, some vehicle models are prohibited from importation. It is highly recommended that these prohibitions and modifications be investigated before a vehicle is purchased for importation.

damn, why do they have to be so anal about it? whats the big deal?

use to? what happened?

all i can say is check your local laws before u shell out any money to import a car.
my friend is trying to sell his 1994 previa 4wd to his friend across the border in washington state. his friend lives like 3hrs away.
what is the problem?? the guy in seattle can't take the van across the border coz he's been waiting for the official papers from toyota for close to a month now. the papers would say if the van complies/or or not to be registered in washington state.
then the guy in washington gotta fill up more papers at the border and pay taxes as well.

Oh, is that all it takes?

There is more to it than just the price. Some little things like the speedo have to be changed to mph. Or the car won't pass. Has to be given an emission's test which for you cali people wouldn't pass on the first time with out some sort of new stuff.