laws on importing
05-29-2004, 09:39 PM
#1
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laws on importing
do you guys know what exactly the laws are on importing a car here from japan?
i've heard that if you do import one here from japan that it would not be street legal and you would only be able to enter it in car shows or drive it on track. is this true?
thanks ahead of time
aaron
i've heard that if you do import one here from japan that it would not be street legal and you would only be able to enter it in car shows or drive it on track. is this true?
thanks ahead of time
aaron
05-30-2004, 10:30 AM
#2
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I believe it all surrounds the validation of a car via crash testing.
Motorex.com is one of very few that import non-street legal cars and make them legal, but for an extra high fee.
Motorex.com is one of very few that import non-street legal cars and make them legal, but for an extra high fee.
06-01-2004, 04:22 PM
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www.motorex.net says you can buy an r33skyline gt-r for about 50,000 (used for 30,000 miles) but then you'd have to pay them another 25,000 to convert it to street legal spec. then you have to ship it here to hawaii. I think the conversion has something to do with the Japanese chassis for safety as they have different laws.
06-01-2004, 04:38 PM
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it may be easier for you guys to have a car from japan imported over to hawaii rather then california...motorex has to do alot to the car in order to make it pass the restrictions here in california...but from what i have researched...
you can buy the entire car and have it shipped but like what gruppe-s did, you either have to cut the entire car in half or separate shell and motor and have them shipped in two different containers...from there you have to deal with all the customs ish, which requires you acquiring a customs inspector, as well as paying all the import fees and taxes for the car,....this doesnt even include what you have to do in order to make the car pass emissions, but everyone is doing japanese engine conversions so if they can slap them in their cars and pass smog, what difference is it to have the shell....(there may be as sti-LLlegal stated certain conversions you need to make in order for the chassis to pass safety in America), but just check your government laws...there is a slight prob with registering the car though, but again thats what motorex had to do to their cars in order for buyers to be able to register the cars....
maybe ask around for someone that has actually done this, such as gruppe-s or even email motorex for importing laws that they had to abide to...gluck and yeah if you get a s202 or rhd rex, be sure to take lots of pics with you next to it and driving it so we can all envy you lol....
you can buy the entire car and have it shipped but like what gruppe-s did, you either have to cut the entire car in half or separate shell and motor and have them shipped in two different containers...from there you have to deal with all the customs ish, which requires you acquiring a customs inspector, as well as paying all the import fees and taxes for the car,....this doesnt even include what you have to do in order to make the car pass emissions, but everyone is doing japanese engine conversions so if they can slap them in their cars and pass smog, what difference is it to have the shell....(there may be as sti-LLlegal stated certain conversions you need to make in order for the chassis to pass safety in America), but just check your government laws...there is a slight prob with registering the car though, but again thats what motorex had to do to their cars in order for buyers to be able to register the cars....
maybe ask around for someone that has actually done this, such as gruppe-s or even email motorex for importing laws that they had to abide to...gluck and yeah if you get a s202 or rhd rex, be sure to take lots of pics with you next to it and driving it so we can all envy you lol....
06-04-2004, 12:43 AM
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Originally Posted by STi City
you may have to move Japan's driver side controls to the US side. you should just buy a lamborgini
From what I've heard, if you register the vehicle as a show car, you don't need to pass emissions or collision, at least in California. As a daily driver, this is more difficult because you need to pass emission AND collision both. A trick that some people have used before is to buy the car overseas and drive it there for awhile, then bring it back as their own used car. However, this was done mainly with European (particularly German) cars so I don't know if it's as easy to take care of for Japanese cars. You could also ship the car over in bits and pieces and rebuild it and register it here as a kit car, perhaps.
This is mostly just speculation on my part. It'd be best to contact importers like Motorex and perhaps even the local authorities to make sure
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