Purchasing Jap Cars...

Im looking into purchasing a new car, and this will be my 1st.  I really love the Skyline, and the Lancer (not the B.S version just released in the States), what would I have to do/or can I even import one of them to drive over here?

You gotta be one rich ass mofo to import cars. Especially a Nissan Skyline ($90,000) Lancer is gonna be pretty expensive too, if you do have that much money go for the skyline

Or buy  Twin Turbo Supra from here.

If you want to buy a Skyline, there is only one company in the US that can legally import them.  That company is Motorex, and you can check out their offerings at this site:  http://www.skylinegtr.com/  It\'ll cost you around $30,000 to $50,000 for an R-32 or R-33, and $75,000 - $95,000 for an R-34.

If you want a Mits Lancer Evolution, all you have to do is wait until next year, and buy one from a US Mitsubishi dealer.  There is a great deal of debate on what the price will be, but I think it will be under $30,000 for the base model.  Try this thread for an argument about the upcoming pricing:
http://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=58047

It must SUCK living in the US when it comes to JAP cars. Man, the Aussies have got it made.

Skyline R33\'s are around $AUS 26 000 2nd hand, with around 40 miles on them. This equals around $US 15 000!!! R34 GTR\'s are quite expensive. You could buy one of them with low k\'s for around the $AUS 40 000 mark. Thats $US 22 000!

Anyways, this probably isnt helpful, but check out this site here Auto Force

Check out the prices.

It must suck having all those import restrictions. We have pretty tough restrictions, but nothing like the US.

It can be done fairly easy..depends who you know. One of the guys at our shop just bought a Jspec AWD,turbo Galant with group-A rally suspension. That sucker has a factory FMIC!!! He only paid $2600..including importing. The car is a 92 if I remember correctly.

As for the skyline...they will never be cheap to import b/c of the demand for them in the states.

Yeah, and the emissions from the Skyline don\'t help at all.  U.S. is strict on those kind of things.

beerstud, what state do you live in?  Depending on the state, all the regulations change.  In California, I believe there is a law which states that you can import a car and drive it in the states for either 1 year or 3 years (i forget) without it having to pass California emission laws.

However, I know for a fact there there are more than 1 company in the states that import Japanese vehicles and sell them in the states.  I\'m really sorry, I don\'t have the information at hand (I left it in the states when I came over here) but there was a company located somewhere in Anaheim, California which started out a couple of years ago that specifically imports Skylines. and it wasnt the company that was afore mentioned.  The costs were still up there, but one thing that this company did was convert left hand drive to right hand drive (if needed) and stuff like that.

I know a friend of mine who imports motors from Japan, and he was interested in importing a skyline, and was doing research on the topic.  From what he found out, you need something like 3 or 4 skylines.  1st one has to pass a crash safety test.  2nd one had to pass a 100km emission test, and the 3rd was some other test.  Tell you the truth, he was telling me all this about 4 years ago, and back then there weren\'t any companies that were importing skylines, so things have probably changed.

As for the skyline, I\'m not sure if you know or not, but the infiniti G35 is the skyline.  Its ugly.

And if you\'re interested in importing a Lancer Evolution, it might even be cheaper simply to buy a mirage, buy the body parts and engine separate from an import shop, and simply have everything installed.

There\'s a company located in Southern Orange County that is importing JDM Civic type-r and selling them for more than 30k.  That\'s way overpriced, when in fact you could get the same quality automobile for far less.  For example, purchase a 97 civic hb, purchase a JDM type-r motor for 4k, install it yourself, and woallah, your car is equivalent to a JDM type-r , and it only cost you 10k.

If your seriously into modding, buy a Diamante.

These cars have serious modding potential, and look really good depending on the bodykit.

Heres are few.


I don\'t like the wing, but I love the kit.


Nice. Bit too chunky.

Funny that you note this Racer, cuz I\'ve always liked the Diamante, and I\'ve always thought that it had potential.... but I dunno about them rims on the top pic =X

Looks like a tinker toy oldsmobile.

Originally posted by Bozco
Yeah, and the emissions from the Skyline don\'t help at all.  U.S. is strict on those kind of things.

emissions arent a big deal, that is easily fixed, specially if one isnt going to register the vehicle in CA.

Originally posted by ##RaCeR##
If your seriously into modding, buy a Diamante.

These cars have serious modding potential, and look really good depending on the bodykit.

Heres are few.


I don\'t like the wing, but I love the kit.


Nice. Bit too chunky.

the best comment yet.....:rolleyes: they are way to heavy and the support isnt there for them to be a good modding platform. If one has money out of the anus and just loves that diamante body, then sure..anything is possible. For an average buyer..no way is a it a good place to start.

exactly what i was thinking.

a diamante???, HAH!

If you dont have a lot of money stick with the following:

Preludes
Civics
CRX
Integra\'s
RSX Integra
Ford Focus (I wouldn\'t recommend this one)

Originally posted by kokopuphz
However, I know for a fact there there are more than 1 company in the states that import Japanese vehicles and sell them in the states.  I\'m really sorry, I don\'t have the information at hand (I left it in the states when I came over here) but there was a company located somewhere in Anaheim, California which started out a couple of years ago that specifically imports Skylines. and it wasnt the company that was afore mentioned.  The costs were still up there, but one thing that this company did was convert left hand drive to right hand drive (if needed) and stuff like that.

I know a friend of mine who imports motors from Japan, and he was interested in importing a skyline, and was doing research on the topic.  From what he found out, you need something like 3 or 4 skylines.  1st one has to pass a crash safety test.  2nd one had to pass a 100km emission test, and the 3rd was some other test.  Tell you the truth, he was telling me all this about 4 years ago, and back then there weren\'t any companies that were importing skylines, so things have probably changed.

You\'re right, there are other companies importing JDM vehicles, but Motorex is the only one I know of that has invested the money in crash testing and modifying Skylines to pass safety and emissions standards.  Maybe someone else has started doing this since I heard about them.  

I personally don\'t see the need to invest so much cash in a vehicle that may be difficult to support, and incredibly expensive to insure, just so you can drive something thats rare.  There are other cars available in the US market that would match the Skyline performance-wise.  If you\'ve got that kind of cash, just wait and buy one of the Ford GT40s, or one of those Lotus Elises with the Integra engine.  Those are supposed to be scarey.

Originally posted by TheGR81
exactly what i was thinking.

a diamante???, HAH!

If you dont have a lot of money stick with the following:

Preludes
Civics
CRX
Integra\'s
RSX Integra
Ford Focus (I wouldn\'t recommend this one)

you forgot
neons
camaros
mustangs
DSM\'s
omni\'s
daytona\'s
CSX shadows

The focus aint bad if one is picky and knows where to shop.
Ive seen some s/c\'d focus\' fun crappy 14.8\'s..lol 5spd\'s at that.