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  #31  
Old 01-25-2010, 06:50 PM
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Re: People to watch out for

The wheels start out forwards, then go on backwards.
Head explodes.

Nice car!
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  #32  
Old 01-25-2010, 07:15 PM
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Re: People to watch out for

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Originally Posted by TomsSVX View Post
I have another way around importing issues... Couple VIN plates and a clean title can fix that

Tom
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  #33  
Old 01-25-2010, 08:46 PM
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Re: People to watch out for

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Originally Posted by TomsSVX View Post
I have another way around importing issues... Couple VIN plates and a clean title can fix that

Tom
I was wondering this as well. It might not exactly be legal, but it might go unnoticed.

How do other jdm cars get imported? I've seen too many skylines to believe that it's impossible.
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  #34  
Old 01-25-2010, 11:29 PM
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Re: People to watch out for

Quote:
Originally Posted by icingdeath88 View Post
I was wondering this as well. It might not exactly be legal, but it might go unnoticed.

How do other jdm cars get imported? I've seen too many skylines to believe that it's impossible.
Good question -

However its not really necessary to drive it
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  #35  
Old 01-26-2010, 02:04 AM
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Re: People to watch out for

Quote:
Originally Posted by icingdeath88 View Post
I was wondering this as well. It might not exactly be legal, but it might go unnoticed.

How do other jdm cars get imported? I've seen too many skylines to believe that it's impossible.
Skylines are a special case. An importation company bought some and spent $$$$ crash testing them to US standards. They got legal permission to import them. There's a good write up about importing skylines here:

http://www.nicoclub.com/articles/skyline-import-1.shtml

There's also an attachment showing what modifications they had to make to bring the vehicle up to US standards.

Read this one too. "MotoRex and the North American Skyline Fiasco" : http://skylinegt-r.wikidot.com/0-60mrex

I'm not so sure that Tom's VIN plate idea would work. There's a very obvious difference between USDM and JDM models. You would not have to be an SVX expert to notice it.

In reality, whoever buys this car will have to park it in a barn and leave it there until it's 25 years old.
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Last edited by b3lha; 01-26-2010 at 02:29 AM.
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  #36  
Old 01-26-2010, 03:34 AM
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Re: People to watch out for

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Originally Posted by svxistentialist View Post
Years of red tape pain I would say, with no guarantee of official acceptance at the end of the tunnel. It will be a brave person with deep pockets that will take this on.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TomsSVX View Post
I have another way around importing issues... Couple VIN plates and a clean title can fix that
Tom
Quote:
Originally Posted by b3lha View Post
I'm not so sure that Tom's VIN plate idea would work. There's a very obvious difference between USDM and JDM models. You would not have to be an SVX expert to notice it.

In reality, whoever buys this car will have to park it in a barn and leave it there until it's 25 years old.
Those are interesting links Phil. Thanks for the info.

And Tom's plan might work if the Feds don't know the difference between RHD and LHD.

It could work.......
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  #37  
Old 01-26-2010, 03:46 AM
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Re: People to watch out for

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Originally Posted by svxistentialist View Post
And Tom's plan might work if the Feds don't know the difference between RHD and LHD.

It could work.......
We have legally registered RHD Subarus over here, plenty of them, I know of 3 Legacy wagons in my area, they are rural mail delivery vehicles. I haven't actually looked, but I would bet they have a regular US VIN on them.
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  #38  
Old 01-26-2010, 04:00 AM
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Re: People to watch out for

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We have legally registered RHD Subarus over here, plenty of them, I know of 3 Legacy wagons in my area, they are rural mail delivery vehicles. I haven't actually looked, but I would bet they have a regular US VIN on them.

Elliott

It looks like you did not read all through Phil's links re the Skylines.

On the first NICO link, on page 4 or 5 there is a section where a strong distinction is made between state registration of a vehicle and the legal status of the vehicle with the import authorities, NHTSA, is that what you call them?

"Registration could still be revoked by the DOT, EPA, or customs service, if the vehicle was found to have entered into the country fraudulently."


I imagine what you say is true, but that does not make it legal. Sinking a lot of money into a vehicle that is easily recognised as an import by the steering, then running the risk it could be simply trailered away and impounded, that does not appeal.


You would have to be very keen on being the owner of a slightly different Japanese SVX to run that risk.
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  #39  
Old 01-26-2010, 04:06 AM
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Re: People to watch out for

I was just saying that a RHD car with a normal US VIN is not uncommon, I've seen it with more than just Subarus, there are even a few RHD Saturns running around. So just being RHD is not always an immediate tip off that the car is not USDM.
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  #40  
Old 01-26-2010, 04:17 AM
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Re: People to watch out for

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Originally Posted by Elliott View Post
I was just saying that a RHD car with a normal US VIN is not uncommon, I've seen it with more than just Subarus, there are even a few RHD Saturns running around. So just being RHD is not always an immediate tip off that the car is not USDM.
That's a fair point I'll grant you.

But this is the SVX World Network. We know that there is no such animal as a RHD domestic US SVX. So why would the authorities not also be aware of this?

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  #41  
Old 01-26-2010, 04:43 AM
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Re: People to watch out for

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Originally Posted by svxistentialist View Post
So why would the authorities not also be aware of this?

The same reason I was not hassled for running a vintage 1975 tag on my daily driven Gremlin in 2008 and 2009, the authorities don't know everything.

The law in my state says cars 35 years and older are allowed to run (unregistered) tags of the same year as the car, provided the real tag is in the car. It does not even have to be displayed, my real tag is under the seat. My car was not 35 years old yet, so technically it was illegal to run the vintage tag. I was never once questioned about it by any authorities, most likely because they don't know the law. I'm pretty sure running "fraudulent" tags is a pretty big deal too, probably could have got some fines and had my car impounded.

Though, if I was doing something suspicious or just being a jackass on the road, they probably would have called me on it and used it as a reason to hassle me. Pretty much as long as you don't draw negative attention to yourself, cops leave you alone here.
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  #42  
Old 01-26-2010, 04:53 AM
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Re: People to watch out for

There have been people who have wanted teh JDM so bad they converter their LHD Audi to RHD with the use of a front clip and a hell of a lot of patience... That being said, I don't see it being an issue as long as you create a background for the car that you will stick to.

I am not kidding either, I have all the vin plates and tags off a car we junked... Clean title... A short while back I had thought about importing one for myself... Finances did not allow but I was preparing for it

Tom
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  #43  
Old 01-26-2010, 07:03 AM
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Re: People to watch out for

You might get away with it for a while. Maybe the guys who do your annual safery check won't look too carefully. Maybe a cop writing you a speeding or parking ticket won't bother to check unless you give him a reason to.

But the big problem would come if you have an accident and the insurance company doesn't want to pay. They will have a good reason to check the vehicle and they will.

Quote:
Originally Posted by eastcoastrover
We even know of a case where a Rover owner bought an illegal import that had a Utah title (and no DOT certification) and drove it around. Sometime later that vehicle had a bad accident where the driver was at fault. Under accident investigation it was found that the Rover was not DOT certified because the police officer investigating the accident could not find a 2001 Defender 110 in his crash estimating books. They also had issues because the Rover had a chassis # that indicated the vehicle was a 2001 Defender 110 (RHD, 300 Tdi) and a VIN that indicated it was a 1975 Series III 109 (LHD, 4 cyl) and the actual vehicle was a Defender 110 (LHD with an EFI V8). The Rover owner's insurance company refused to pay the claims against him. He lost his shirt because he was sued by the others involved in the accident, and he had incorrect insurance coverage, but that won't happen to you... right?
http://www.eastcoastrover.com/imports.html
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  #44  
Old 01-26-2010, 07:21 AM
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Re: People to watch out for

Just thought this little bit of info was interesting.

A friend of mine swapped all the plates on a skyline when importing it so that it would come up as a 240sx if the numbers were ever run. He tells me that there are so many aftermarket body kits and panels for the 240sx that were made to make it look like a skyline, so state patrol liscensed it (or the DOT, I can't remember). Nobody really asked any questions. I mean, you would think that someone with an R32 would get hassled trying to pass it off as a 240sx...
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  #45  
Old 01-26-2010, 07:37 AM
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Re: People to watch out for

Yeah, effectively you would be travelling without insurance. All the insurers have a get-out clause. They will use it when an accident happens.

Also the amount of times that papers or VINs are checked will differ from state to state, maybe from county to county, so all that situation quantifies is how big a risk of discovery you run, depending location.

What's central to the whole situation is the legality of import. If it's not 100% kosher you are not covered by insurance when you drive. Bottom line.

I'm interested in this because when I import an SVX here in Ireland I have to pay high registration tax to get one in [VRT]. However because of reciprocal arrangements the actual vehicle Type Approval tests are never called for. The safety standards of Japan or the UK or Europe are acceptable in Ireland.

In the USA your requirements for bringing in a vehicle are so stringent they are a joke. In reality the near impossibility of getting an import into the States for use is really a trade barrier by another name.

The Man does not want people importing cars into the old US of A. They would be competing with and reducing the value of US built automotives.

Australia has a similar system in place for similar reasons.

Joe
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