How to import a Japanese car to the USA

Since I have been posting all these cars that us citizens of the USA don’t get to play with I thought I would post some information on how to import a Japanese car to the USA. Probably the most coveted and wanted car that people were trying to import from Japan is the the Nissan Skylines.

Importing Skylines, particularly the R34′s became so huge companies like Motorex popped up. Now this will not be the story of Motorex and it’s demise. This will be more of a how to guide on importing a car from Japan.

Now there is a difference between importing the car and registering the car. Just because you can get the car into the USA does not mean that you can register it.

The main rules to get the car into the USA from Japan are as follows. Get all you paperwork as far as bill of sale etc together. Also make sure the car has been thoroughly cleaned, especially the under carriage. If there is any plant material (dirt) under there you will have issues. The department of agriculture is strict about bringing in material from other countries.

Four words – Off Road Use Only:
Under the rules and laws of the NHTSA you can import any vehicle you want into the USA for the period of 1 year. After that one year expires you can leave the car in the USA but it may not be used on the road. Meaning if you want a race car, track car or just a show car that will not be driven on public streets you are good to go with no changes to the car.

Since we know that most people wanting to import a car from Japan want to drive them lets look further into other LEGAL options.

Import For Show Or Display Only:
According to the NHTSA you can apply for a “For Show or Display” permit. There are four basic rules to this way to import a car to the USA.

• Whether a vehicle of the same make, model, and model year was
  manufactured and certified for sale in the United States.
• Whether a vehicle of the same make, model, and model year has been
  determined eligible for importation pursuant to 49 CFR Part 593.
• Whether the vehicle is currently in production.
• Whether more than 500 of the vehicles were produced.
• Whether the vehicle is a kit car, replica, or special construction vehicle.

If the answer to any of these is yes your out of luck. If the answer to 4 is yes then you need to prove that the vehicle is of exceptional technological and/or historical significance. You can get an approval for driving these cars on public roads but it must meet all EPA guides.

Now looking at the NHTSA rules the Skyline GTR R34 V-SPEC Early Model Limited Edition is listed as approved to import. Now you will still need to convert it to comply with the EPA and crash standards. This is what the people who are selling the R34′s the legal way are doing.

Cars more than 25 years old:
This means that classic Japanese cars that were made in 1984 or earlier are eligible to be brought into the USA with no changes needed. What cars fall into this that anyone would be interested in? Not much.

Going through a registered Importer:
A registered importer can bring cars from Japan to the USA. The main factor is some form of the car was available for sale in the USA. The importer will have to also bring the car up to meet all EPA standards. This is why and how you can get cars like a Civic Type R. Getting cars through these registered importers can add thousands of dollars to the price of a car though.

Going through an approved NHTSA importer guarantees you will have no issues registering driving your car here in the USA.

The not so legal ways to import a car from Japan to the USA:

One way to import a car from Japan to USA is to actually break the car down to parts. I mean take the whole thing apart down to the frame. Then you ship the parts over in at least 2 separate shipments. Then reassemble the car back here in the USA. The problem you will have is getting the car registered. Most people do this with cars like Civic Type-R and Nissan Silvia’s. The most common way to get them registered is to use the VIN of a junkyard US spec car. Note THIS IS NOT LEGAL.

Another way to cut the car in half and ship it over then have the car welded back together. Its less time consuming than taking the whole car apart but the integrity of the car is basically crap after you put it back together. Now I have talked to people who swear if you do it right they are as good as new, but I don’t think I can trust it.

Now that I have written this huge guide the only way I know that for sure you can import a car and get it registered from Japan to the USA for sure is to go through a registered importer on the NHTSA LIST.

I hope this helps anyone out there thinking about importing a car from Japan to the USA.