cookie

right now i am in korea and i am about to go to japan. i am not sure if i will do two or three years yet. i am thinking about buying a "nice" car while i am there. not sure where i am going after japan. my question is how much B/S is it to bring a car from there to another overseas location or back stateside?
i am all for the LS1, but i would love to have a skyline...

LS1_Disciple

iTrader: (1)

Well, Japan drives on the wrong side of the road if I'm not mistaken. That's going to probably be the biggest hurdle in bringing over a car bought in and intended for use in Japan. Not sure if you can register/title/whatever a right-hand drive car in the U.S.

rabbit102

iTrader: (1)

I believe it IS possible to bring over a real import car from overseas however, you will need to make plans to have it converted to left hand drive instead of right hand drive. On the other hand, I have seen a couple cars here and there such as a Lexus Soarer ( Lexus SC300/400 in the US) that were still right hand drive as well as a skyline so there is obviously a way to do it. Be best to check with the DMV

Dex

iTrader: (5)

You are as wrong as two guys ******* Thats a joke. You dont have to get it converted to left hand drive it would cost some much it would be retarted. I believe its $8000 to convert a reagular skyline and $20000 for a GTR skyline. There are "other" ways to get it over here that aren't exactly legal. Its kinda weird some cars are a LOT easier to bring back then others. I can get you some info from a friend that was gonna bring his supra back but he sold it for more than he paid for it so.
I was stationed at kadena and still have friends over there.
My advise is to buy a decent car that gets good gas mileage and save your money there is a lot of headache involved with bringing one back no matter how "COOL" its is. You need some serious $$$ to bring it back no matter what. So not worth it unless you get a car that is 25 years old then its pretty easy to ship it back due to import laws which are bullshit.
If you need more info just PM me

Vee 6

+1

I was stationed in Kadena too....almost bought a Skyline but glad I didn't. Also I had friends that bought GTS-T Skylines and dumped a bunch of money into them only to sell them before they PCS because they can't bring them back to the states. Seemed like a lot of money wasted to me.

stevez2885

iTrader: (9)

it does not have to be converted to left hand drive but the most problem is the emissions going from japan to the us. I know just in germany to bring a car the glass, door frames and all kinds of stuff has to be chnaged and its a hell of a lot of money.

risner

dude i dont know if youve been or what other ppl think but i would do anything to get out of going to japan for 2 years.
i would have to think about going w/o my wife to get a 1 year tour. i hated it

the car thing. you can get some pretty decent cars from the other marines that are PCS ing. they stay in the family you know and are pretty cheap and usually JCIed for the next year or so.

jasonk

iTrader: (29)

yeah, left hand is really the only thing you dont have to worry about, emissions is one part but the larger is the safety items that are required for US vehicles, that are not in japan. that will cost you several thousands alone, IMO save your cola and wait to get home to get into something nice, alot of cars tend to be beaten up a bit over there, that is not to say that they all are, but most of them, on top of the fact that they live in the middle of the sea, ocean salt, rain and typhoons will make quick work of anything nice you may wish to do to a car there

cookie

hey thank all of you for your info. yea it sounds like it is not worth it to bring one back. i would like one but F*&^ it. i think i will just save my money for the NEW camaro to come out. it should be out by the time i come back to the states. Later

JUICED96Z

iTrader: (2)

I used to know a guy that helped with getting cars over here and unless its some CRAZY good deal like a GTR for pennies its not really worth it. If the car was made in another country and was not built at the factory to be sold in the US then they are not built with the same emissions policies so you have to get to pass emissions and thay can get pricey and if you can't get it to pass you can't register it. After it passes you can ditch all the emisssions if your state does not test.
In all honesty its not worth it even if if just a LS1 car or something.

I know at and around Kadena they have lemon lots, I would stick to them or something cheap and save your money untill you get back in the states. Its pricey period to ship a car across the ocean regardless.

Phatso

If you want to seriously bring a Skyline back your sol. Motorex was the only authorized importer and they were shut down due to shady business tactics. They still have a website, but it isn't what it used to be. I know they used to charge right at $16,000.00 just to convert the car, and that didn't include the price of the car. A friend of mine called them and asked before they were shut down.

I was stationed in Atsugi for 8 years. I seen lots of guys take cars back to the US that they had invested lots of money in. But to make it as painless as possible, the car needs to have a counterpart here in the US. Lots of guys brought back Hondas, RX-7s and lots of Nissan cars like 180s (240 here). I know you can get Personal Property (what its called in the Navy) to pack your car for you, but I am not sure how it works. I know once you do ship a car here the cost goes up a lot. You have to catch the car at a port of entry, San Diego, Seattle and I think LA are your only options. The car has to be trailered from there as it will not be road legal. You can check with the DOT to get what needs to be done to the car which must all be done including smog checks (if state required) before you can get a plate for it. The moral of the story is the whole process is expensive and as a whole not worth it in my opinion.

As for getting a car when you get to Japan, you can get one SUPER cheap. There are lots of people trying to unload a car so they can transfer. I seen people get cars for $1 and a lift to the airport for the previous owner. If you are feeling adventurous you can try to buy a car out in town. Hit up any 7/11 and pick up a catalog. Since Japan is roughly the same size as California they have one used car publication for the entire country. I forgot the name of it, but its about the size of a large phone book. You can get some killer deals on cars, but you need to know how to speak Japanese which could be a problem.

JUICED96Z

iTrader: (2)

I was waiting for that one hahaha, he could make friends with a translator....

Phatso

True, or just do what I did and make friends with a Japanese girl...

jester177

thats what im doing only i am getting a c6 z06 when i get back saving all my cola and putting it in 12/24mo cds with 4-5% intrest should be roughly 24k in the bank when i get back. nice lil down payment.

Optimus_Prime

iTrader: (4)

Wouldnt it be easier to bring a skyline back if you were only going to use it as a race car?

JUICED96Z

iTrader: (2)

I like that idea better!