Rep Power: 0

I recently bought my first car,a 99 Honda civic EJ9 and when i went to get an insurance quote i was told they could not insure me as it was a Japanese import but the last owner assured me it was an English import and I even have the VRT(vehicle registration tax)slip that says it was imported from the UK also my speedometer is in mp/h and not the usual Japanese km/h which would suggest that it is not a Japanese import is there any way of checking if its English or Japanese imported without having to pay for a background check?

All help is greatly appreciated
Thank you

 
Rep Power: 813

well the vin number will tell you fast. i cant remember all the details, but if it starts with a number 1, it was made in the usa. if it came from europe, you can look at the lighting. when park lights are on, there should be no amber at all on the front of the car. when signal is used, there should be amber in front AND rear (no red rear signal allowed overseas). there may also be sidemarker lenses for the signal on the fenders. and you may have a rear single red fog light.

 
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The vin prefixes will answer your question.

1 or 4 is usa
2 is canada
3 is mexico
j is japan
k is korea
s is england
w is germany
z is italy

 
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For my own curiosity why can't they insure it if it is imported from japan?

 
Rep Power: 813

i guess one other very important thing is if the car was from japan, it would be RHD (right hand drive) with the steering wheel on the opposite side.

 
Rep Power: 368

different safety features?
i had to install DRL when i went to canada for a while.