how do you import a grey market car legally?

[mudduck3006]

i wa swondering about this since my brother has a rich girlfriend and she wants a car that well you just dont see too often here in the states like a skyline or a old gdb impreza wrx (she digs his impreza). now www.importconcern.ca from canada has some of them reallly cheap the skylines anyhows but how and where would i federlize them i know of some shops up north in like jersey and new york but im down here in nc please no flaming i just need some solid info on this especially if i can get a rx7 or a skyline gts-t type m outta this

[kaneda]

to register a grey market car it can share no similarity to any model built by the manufacturer in the states and a registered importer has to file all paperwork, perform all work necessary to legalize the car and most importantly - know what all has to be modified to legalize the car.

which means - no RX-7 for you. mazda produced all 3 generations of the RX-7 in the states; there is a similar model already here therefore the governement will not let you legalize one. this is done because models already produced in the US are emissions legal, have been crash tested, etc. the same goes for your impreza and whatever else you were thinking about importing just because it's "JDM", despite access to a cheaper, more readily availble model in the US.

as far as skylines, be they GT-R, GTS, GTT, or whatever else; Motorex is currently the only registered importer in the US capable of performing all necessary modifications to legalize a skyline. so you either buy your skyline from motorex or a company that legalized through motorex (RBMotoring) or be ready to have your car taken and/or crushed because you A) didn't use an RI, B) used a company that told you it was legal when it never was ,or C) tried to do a VIN swap with a 240SX/300ZX.

[mudduck3006]

well i can see motorex doesnt have the monopoly and i can get a jdm rx7 its avalible for importation http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/...LIG071404.html

any shop that is a RI and does conversion can do it been searching all morning to find this out and how does motorex supposiedly have the monopoly on the skyline stuff just cause they were first or what ? man now i cant wait for the first evos to turn 15 so i can be pimpin rhd down the road

[Tuner]

..... so i can be pimpin rhd down the road

Why? What's so special about RHD? Not being able to go through drive-thru's? Have you drive a right hand drive car yet? Or on a public road for that matter? It's not as easy as you think.

[DomLee]

The RHD RX-7 is not able to be legalized. It will not pass the FEDERAL emissions requirement, despite people's claims that their state does not have emissions/smog.

I will however, say that some times...people at the DMV or various other govt. agencies don't know all the rules or aren't all that knowledgeable. Mistakes can be made. So some times...cars that are not truly legal...get past.

MotoRex had to ensure that their legalization procedures was proprietary. They had some parts made. And submitted paperwork to ensure that their exact methods are proprietary. The DOT recognized their investment in doing so, and granted them a certain amount of exclusivity. This made their legalization...a monopoly. No other RI can just "do a conversion". This isn't a universal fit or one size fits all type of job. Every car requires a certain amount of parts/equipment...and every model is different from the next.

IMO, The RHD thing is overrated. A car is a car is a car. I don't care if it is LHD, RHD, or even if the steering wheel is in the center.

[mudduck3006]

It’s not the RHD. It’s that it’s that it would be an EVO 1 an EVO 1 is simply old school. And if you live in Florida all you have to pass is federal. There are no state inspections there yet. And parts made what parts made the Skylines I have seen that are registered with the little substitute for V.I.N. tags had stock cats on them and a new o2 sensor basic crap like that and that was through Motorex. I saw the car as it was offloaded from the car transport hauler from Motorex I helped get the friggen thing off there. And so the laws now are just arbitrary? So that if the Govt says something is importable Motorex says other wise?

I’m used to RHD I had a old crappy mg and a even crappier triumph that were RHD before I said scrap them I didn’t pay for them the RHD isn’t that bad and go to checkers sometimes you would love RHD then.

[Tuner]

its not the rhd its that its would be a evo 1 an evo 1 is simply old school and if you live in florida all you have to pass is federal there is no state inpections yet. parts made what parts made the skylines i have seen that are registered with the little substitute for vin tags had stock cats on them and a new o2 sensor basic crap like that and that was through motorex i saw the car as it was offloaded from the car transport hauler i helped get the friggen thing off there and so the laws now are just arbritrary so that if the govt says something is importable motorex says other wise? and i had a old crappy mg and a even crappier triumph that were rhd before i said scap em i didnt pay for em the rhd isnt that bad and goto checkers sometimes you would love rhd then

Huh?................................

[DomLee]

This thread is becoming harder and harder to understand you w/o the use of punctuation...(where is that Samuel L Jackson/Pulp Fiction picture when you need it?)

[Tuner]

This thread is becoming harder and harder to understand you w/o the use of punctuation...(where is that Samuel L Jackson/Pulp Fiction picture when you need it?)

See Above......

[Wayne]

dude just drop it, this topic gets discussed all the time, i personally know alot about RI's from a good friend of mine Sean Morris, the only thing you can do is either way the 15 years, or get that rich girlfriend or brothers gf or whatever to pay off someone. end of story

[Hubert Young]

come on guys, this is getting a little out of context.

mudduck3006: if you want to know more about importing a "JDM RHD car" to be "tite", go some where else with this topic discussed a million times like www.freshalloy.com or www.automotiveforums.com. No offense, but this forum is for drifting related topics. We don't care rather the car is RHD or LHD or the driver sits in the middle as long as it drifts.

[driftersil80]

come on guys, this is getting a little out of context.

mudduck3006: if you want to know more about importing a "JDM RHD car" to be "tite", go some where else with this topic discussed a million times like www.freshalloy.com or www.automotiveforums.com. No offense, but this forum is for drifting related topics. We don't care rather the car is RHD or LHD or the driver sits in the middle as long as it drifts.

Im using that quote in my sig^. That was ROFLMAO funny.

[240drftr]

and people wonder why i like hubert....

[240drftr]

oh and also....isnt it 25 years and not 15..i thought 15 was canada..

"This prohibition applies to both new and used motor vehicles, but does not apply to motor vehicles that are at least 25 years old."

yep...its too bad importing vehicles is basically impossible for most people...you dont know how much id like to have a gts or any car for that matter...their prices are simply cheaper than ours in the states..its ridiculous...i guess ill just move over there if i ever want to own a jdm vehicle. but untill then...looks like ill stay 240sx

[Tuner]

oh and also....isnt it 25 years and not 15..i thought 15 was canada..

"This prohibition applies to both new and used motor vehicles, but does not apply to motor vehicles that are at least 25 years old."

yep...its too bad importing vehicles is basically impossible for most people...you dont know how much id like to have a gts or any car for that matter...their prices are simply cheaper than ours in the states..its ridiculous...i guess ill just move over there if i ever want to own a jdm vehicle. but untill then...looks like ill stay 240sx

I hear ya, the mystique would be nice, but it's not practical.