Automotive Importers
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There are a couple places that do it, but usually the overhead for shipping and conversion to US emissions standard almost doubles the cost...it sucks, but all the really cool cars are so difficult to obtain in the US - you must really have a love for a car, and the money to back it up, to really want to take the hit for the sake of being unique...
What were you looking for in particular?
What were you looking for in particular?
Joined: Apr 2002
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Rep Power: 344 J-Garage has alot of cars for sale, but if you read the FAQ most of them except for Skylines and cars over 25 years of age can not be imported for street use. [IMG]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/IMG]
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From: SEATTLE, Washington, US
Rep Power: 0 i work for US Customs for the port of tacoma so I know about importing cars.
its not that hard, and you CAN do it yourself without dealing with the high markup of an importer.
All you have to do is find your car, get financing for it (this is the hard part because most places wont finance a car thats overseas), get it shipped - i can recommend a company when you get serious, then when it gets here customs gives you 30 days to make the car US DOT compliant which means you get a letter from the manufacturer (honda, nissan, whatever) saying what changes need to be made to the car to make it compliant, you make those changes, present the car to customs, then they clear the car and you can get it titled and licensed.
most hondas dont need too much modification to be DOT compliant. maybe you will just need to change the headlight bulbs...do check with the manufacturer first to see what changes you need to make before you get too far, some cars need major mods like side impact bars, which makes the whole process not worth it if you ask me.
usually you dont have to worry much about smog regulations unless you live in california, or any large metro where they do emmissions testing. this kind of depends on the age and type of car as well.
i dont wanna write a whole novel about the topic, so if you do get serious and have any questions just ask.
its not that hard, and you CAN do it yourself without dealing with the high markup of an importer.
All you have to do is find your car, get financing for it (this is the hard part because most places wont finance a car thats overseas), get it shipped - i can recommend a company when you get serious, then when it gets here customs gives you 30 days to make the car US DOT compliant which means you get a letter from the manufacturer (honda, nissan, whatever) saying what changes need to be made to the car to make it compliant, you make those changes, present the car to customs, then they clear the car and you can get it titled and licensed.
most hondas dont need too much modification to be DOT compliant. maybe you will just need to change the headlight bulbs...do check with the manufacturer first to see what changes you need to make before you get too far, some cars need major mods like side impact bars, which makes the whole process not worth it if you ask me.
usually you dont have to worry much about smog regulations unless you live in california, or any large metro where they do emmissions testing. this kind of depends on the age and type of car as well.
i dont wanna write a whole novel about the topic, so if you do get serious and have any questions just ask.
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