Is RHD illegal to buy in the US?

[Summerwolf]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Many BMW wagons never made it to the states, that niche demand hit hard and fast as soon as 25 years were up, and many snuck in before they were old enough, all the 'deals' left in Europe are gone with cars being priced too high for the average person who wants it after import fees or too beat to be worth the effort of restoring it.

Demuro was a day late and a dollar short on that one, there was a moment in time when you could buy an E30 touring for $3k USD in decent condition and have it here for $8k give or take. Most of those cars got snapped up and I bet he was running out of time to get a car. Japanese cars generally get taken care of a bit better so their used market is a bit more attractive, hell there's some Japanese E30 wagons that got brought over.

http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1990-bmw-325i-touring/

http://bringatrailer.com/2013/03/13/...w-e30-touring/

http://bringatrailer.com/2016/09/21/...w-e30-touring/

(Fun reading the comments in this one, listed a 1991 Japanese car for sale in 2011... hmm doesn't quite add up to 25 does it?)
http://bringatrailer.com/2011/05/18/...w-e30-touring/

E34 M5 touring, <900 made, this one sold for $56k, at any given time I can find a few E34 M5's worth putting some effort into for <$10k. (Note this car is only 23 years old)

http://bringatrailer.com/listing/1993-bmw-m5-touring/

Every E30 touring that pops up here had to be imported, I daresay there are easily hundreds of them in the U.S. now and a few dozen M5 wagons that snuck in under the guise of being regular M5's.
http://bringatrailer.com/search/?st=&s=bmw+touring

As for the OP, plenty came over as RHD. Certain RHD cars can absolutely be legally put on US roads, but I can't imagine the cost ever being worth it unless it's a car truly important to you. And then there's the practical and safety concerns outlined in the rest of the thread.

All hype, no bite, save your money kid, maybe you can pick up someones 'baby' in a few years when they get tired of it without breaking the bank.

I understand the niche of certain BMWs. It is hard to say, but with so many European wagons being available domestically, I'd almost say the Japanese sports car import market is more prevalent. I doubt there is any true statistics available.


IDK, I'd love a RHD GTR or Supra TT, and the prices are reasonable even after import costs. Obviously you're going to get the Japanese classic pricetag when it comes to parts but it isn't like it is hard to acquire 2JZ or RB parts. Who knows.... I only seriously looked in to the purchase of a GTR in Canada and bringing it across. I don't think I'd ever want to do it any other way but that or an importer with the vehicle stateside already. It would be hard to justify purchasing something unseen and then waiting / doing the paperwork single-handedly.

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by i heart ricers

so your dads 30 ?

No. Lol, shit I'll be 30 in just a couple years. I don't even want to think about that

But both of these were his. If we're gonna thank the franchise for the prices of these cars being outrageous, I'll relay the message to the appropriate people lol

[Gunman]

Originally Posted by TylerLieberman

Lol my Dad says "you're welcome"

I knew you were related, didn't realize you were the son

[TylerLieberman]

Originally Posted by Gunman

I knew you were related, didn't realize you were the son

Yep. Though, he'll say he hasn't seen the paternity test and it hasn't been proven in the court of law.

I think we both know deep down that we're related though. It's hard to argue when the two of us are together. We're both ****s

[Watch Me Run]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

You can't figure out a freakin' search term on your own?
Just type the bloody title of this thread into Google.
Jesus.

Why are you so angry at me? It's like pulling teeth asking for information. No wonder the car community is so shunned by outsiders, because people like you with bdp have to assert your dominance over a new person and their pathetic questions, like your Negan.

[Watch Me Run]

Does anyone know the federal code which states manufacturers of pedestrian vehicles cannot under any circumstance sell a RHD car to a civilian?

[Ashikabi]

Originally Posted by Watch Me Run

Does anyone know the federal code which states manufacturers of pedestrian vehicles cannot under any circumstance sell a RHD car to a civilian?

Tcoat is a little burnt out right now. Normally he is more forthcoming with info. I felt he was a little too aggressive too. Don't worry about it.

As far as the quoted question... I don't know any government codes but I think your question is a little unclear. Did you mean what code disallows the sale of RHD vehicles by the manufacturer to civilians in the US? If so I don't think there is a law for that. You just can't import it, register it, or drive it on the street. And you'll never convince a manufacturer like Toyota to sell you one so it doesn't matter anyways. It's not that these vehicles are specifically banned, it's that they don't meet the requirements that all vehicles(under 25yo) are required to meet.

If you're just curious about this then Google around and read the NHTSAs statements on it. If you seriously want to import something then find a broker(like the one mentioned above) and talk to them. But be prepared to spend a lot of money. It's very spendy

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Watch Me Run

Why are you so angry at me? It's like pulling teeth asking for information. No wonder the car community is so shunned by outsiders, because people like you with bdp have to assert your dominance over a new person and their pathetic questions, like your Negan.

........ you needed that .....

@Tcoat is standing down fer ah spell ...... while his barrel cools down.

Like others have suggested, I also suggest you do your own investigations on this subject and/or consult with an import broker.

Now, get off ma damn lawn .....


humfrz

[Watch Me Run]

Originally Posted by humfrz

........ you needed that .....

@Tcoat is standing down fer ah spell ...... while his barrel cools down.

Like others have suggested, I also suggest you do your own investigations on this subject and/or consult with an import broker.

Now, get off ma damn lawn .....


humfrz

LOL

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Watch Me Run

LOL

You're a good sport .......


humfrz

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by humfrz

You're a good sport .......

You are much better at expressing these things. I bristle at abject laziness.

[BRZSS]

Funny this topic has come up. The last 4 months I've been researching and preparing to import a car from Japan.

I'll clear up what info I can, some of which has been said several times already.

Yes you can import a RHD car or any vehicle for that matter to the usa under a few provisions.
1.) The vehicle is 25 years or older. This goes by month and year of manufacture. If your car was built 12/91 and it hits US shores on 11/2016. Tough luck. Its not legal to import and may be seized by customs if you try to bring it in. Make sure your car hits us soil at 25yrs exactly, no less.

2.) Their are other provisions for importing a vehicle that is under 25yrs old but they are very complicated and very expensive to do. The average joe will not have the means to do this. Primarily because you must demonstate to the us goverment that the vehicle conforms to DOT, NHTSA, and EPA codes as well as the FMVS codes. To do that you have to wreck that model of vehicle to see if it conforms to crash safety regulations. Then modify what doesn't pass and crash again. You'll go through several vehicles to come up with a conforming passing safety standard. This is very time consuming, very expensive as you have to pay for labs to do the testing under proper standards. Motorex imported a bunch of R33 Skylines back in the 2000's and did this testing. They got permission afterwards to import with the modifications that made the vehicles conforming. The license was revoked when it was found out they were importing R32 and R34 cars also and claiming they were "the same" as the R33. They also stopped doing the required modifications and were selling the cars non modded to increase their bottom line. If your curious what it takes to make a less then 25 yr old car conforming, here is the documents detailing what Motorex did to make the R33's legal. http://www.nicoclub.com/articles/NHTSA-update.pdf The document was released after a law suit and the patent from Motorex ran out. So if you want to import a R33 that document list everything you would have to do to make it US legal as of 2008.

3.) So only option is to import 25 or older. Good news is at 20yrs the NHTSA says a vehicle need not conform to FMVS codes. And EPA says at 25yrs old a vehicle not need to meet EPA code under the caveat that the vehicle has not had an engine swap and is running on the motor configuration that came from the factory. This includes any emissions equipment it may or may not have had. As far as DOT requirements. The law is not so clear here. Their is no imported vehicle provision that I've found. Meaning tires must be DOT approved. As well as seat belts. But because the car is exempt from FMVSS you could claim the vehicle does not require yellow/amber side marker lights. I've yet to find any case law were someone was busted for this though. I would not worry to much on this. Just make sure you have DOT tires on the car.

The "art" of importing the car is simple.
You find an exporter in japan. Their are thousands as Japan is a primarily export market. They ship nearly all used cars out making for a big business for exporters. You surf the auctions and look for the car you want. You contact your exporter, tell them the bid listing and your highest amount you'll bid. Bidding happens and you win or do not win the vehicle. If you don't win you keep looking. If you win, then the fun starts. Your exporter will contact you telling you the winning bid price and will prepare an invoice for you. You'll need to send wire payment within a certain amount of time. The exporter goes through the process of de-registering the car in Japan and preparing it for shipment. If their a good exporter they will translate de-reg documents to English and certify them. This is important and makes getting it in and registered in the us much easier. The vehicle is then put on a RO/RO (Roll on Roll off) ship. That means the car is driven onto the ship and put in a cargo hull strapped down next to a bunch of other cars being shipped.

After up to a month the ship arrives at your nearest port. If your on the East coast your in luck as cost to transport a car is roughly around $1000 at the time of this writing. you will be notified the vehicle has arrived. Most people will pay an importer to get it through customs but you can actually do this your self and save some money. Once the vehicle arrives you'll go to port. Meet with one of the shipping companies people who will escort you (due to customs laws you must be escorted on port property unless you have a TWIC badge) to your car and you can look it over and inspect it. You'll then contact customs and let them know you have a vehicle to declare for entry.

You will pay a 2.5% duty tax on the declared value of the vehicle (that's why English translated documents help.).

You will fill out a Customs Entry form, they will help you with the numbers for the port.

You will present a filled out NHTSA form HS-7. This document declares the vehicle to be 25yrs age or older and exempt from NHTSA/DOT rules.
The document itself bears the DOT mark.

You will present a filled out EPA form 3520-1. This document declares the vehicle to be 25yrs age or older and exempt from EPA rule (remember the original motor caveat.).

Once Customs inspects the vehicle (making sure nothing illegal is being imported or smuggled in.) They will release the vehicle to you. You'll need to trailer it home as it's not registered yet. Customs will give you a release paper. Hold onto this, you will need to show it at your DMV to prove the vehicle was legally imported.

From their you get to fight with DMV to issue a registration for the car. You'll pay your registration tax based on your area's sales tax. They'll love you on the mere fact your probably the first person to ever do this and they have no idea how to get it done. It will take time but you'll get a registration eventually. No matter what....DO NOT allow them to issue a new vin. Japanese have chassis codes on their cars and they are 9 to 13 digits long. Us vin codes are 17. This gives them issues trying to put it in the system and they may try to just cheat and issue you a 17 digit vin. This means your car was registered as a Kit car. This is both illegal per FMVSS and illegal for when you register the car for insurance and constitutes insurance fraud. If you get in an accident and it comes out the car is legally titled as a kit car and its not a kit car. Your insurance will deny your claim and you'll be stuck on the bill.

In fact getting a car titled as a "kit" car is the way a lot of shady people try to skirt the import requirements to get cars under 25 into the US. They disassemble a car and import it as "parts". Then reassemble and claim it was a "kit" car. The problem is the legal definition of a kit car states it must be a vehicle that was not sold as a mass produced vehicle at one point. (Their are a few exceptions to that rule that have come out recently but its mainly to exempt companies who have partnered with the Detroit 3 to make replica's for the original muscles cars Camaro, Chargers, etc.).

Once you deal with the DMV you'll get a registration title and can have the car tagged and driven.

Congrats!
Your the proud owner of a 25 yr or older JDM vehicle!
Should the car break you'll have fun getting parts to fix it.



Costs:
X - what ever it cost to get the vehicle at auction.

$1000, the cost you pay your exporter. This will vary but typically be around a grand. This is their fee for bidding, transporting, de-reg, and arranging shipment. As well as getting documents English translated.

$1000, the cost you pay the shipping company to get it overseas. Will vary depending on your port. Can be as high as 2,000. You'll need to get estimates before you commit to bidding. Your exporter will have general ideas what the shipping will be for your closest port.

2.5%, the US Customs Border import Duty tax.

$100 - $500, various charges from Customs depending on what they do when inspecting your car as well as processing fee's for the paperwork.

X.X% , whatever your state sales tax is when getting a title at DMV.

X, the cost to get a car tagged in your county/State.

[Gunman]

Originally Posted by Watch Me Run

Does anyone know the federal code which states manufacturers of pedestrian vehicles cannot under any circumstance sell a RHD car to a civilian?

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/standards/

[go_a_way1]

Why is this thread a thing??