91Supra313;1529065 said:
No prob..I understand. PM me if you need any help. Oh...! The letter of compliance needs to be for that specific year the car was offered in the state with the original engine and EPA specs. I just remembered to say that.
Importing a Supra?
- Thread starter supra2jz
- Start date
No prob..I understand. PM me if you need any help. Oh...! The letter of compliance needs to be for that specific year the car was offered in the state with the original engine and EPA specs. I just remembered to say that.
Well, I called Toyota Headquarters in California today, and they told me that Toyota will not give out the Letter of Compliance to anyone without a car that was manufactured in the US because of compatibility issues with parts in the US. I pleaded every case I could think of and it didn't matter a bit. They refuse to send anything out. Also I called 5 dealerships across the country and none of them would even attempt to draw one up.
One thing I do need to find out, is where I can get something in writing stating the year of manufacture and some other info for customs when it does come over. I was thinking about contacting Toyota Japan, because Toyota USA's computers only go back to 1991.
One thing I do need to find out, is where I can get something in writing stating the year of manufacture and some other info for customs when it does come over. I was thinking about contacting Toyota Japan, because Toyota USA's computers only go back to 1991.
91Supra313;1529170 said:
WTF...Are you serious? Listen, I have to give my friend Jeff a call a Toyota in Coconut Creek Fl for you. PM me your Chasis ID. Look in the engine bay on the left hand side, it should have an alpha-numeric code. PM that info and I'll call my friend to see what he can do. Also Japan will not give you a letter for the US. Sweeden & Ireland will though for sure. They have almost the same type of standards as the States -the EGR system. Give me a few days to see what I can do for you...
Seems a bit expensive. You must love the car. Why not a nice used Toyota Camry from a good U.S. dealer. Also how do these companies, like BMW, Mercedes work out these vacation packages. You travel over there, see the sights of the motherland and then come back with your new BMW. I know they have a program where you actually tour the factory. I guess they have something worked out with customs. Probably BMW is paying them off. Don't know. But I do know a few people who have done it because you do get the car for less, and see Deutchland uber alles!!!
Wow man.....did you really just bring back to life a 2 year old thread? Also if you go to BMW and buy a 1 series....I highly doubt they would let you fart in their sales chairs. Now, if you walk in and buy say a top of the line M6 Convertible for $130k then yeah they might let you tour the factory. But honestly who cares about wasting time watching a car get built? Ok alot of us would like that. But back to the topic in the begining.....Why did you honestly revive this dead thread? Just for another post counter?
Why revive the thread?
Um because he had something to say.... Not like its a huge deal or problem...
Um because he had something to say.... Not like its a huge deal or problem...
91Supra313;1855300 said:
This isn't Supraforums. If something must be said, then it'll be said. Not everyone has been here from the beginning.
RazoE;1855715 said:
Exactly. Also tech articles, opinion pieces and any thread (like this one) filled with static "data" will always get bumped. The only time you'll really see the staff bitching about bumping is if you're replying to a 3 year old classifieds thread (Yea, like that stuff is still for sale) or bumping a thread with a "yea me too" comment. pbsupra90 had something to say. From a "financial" perspective I agree with him. However this site isn't about what makes economic sense, it's about love for a car that (increasingly as they age) makes no financial sense whatsoever... So in that sense, I think it's a somewhat silly comment considering the site it was posted on. This is SupraMania, not SupraConsumerReports... However he is entitled to his opinion...
Now back on topic folks, please.
to answer the bmw tour question... they are building a us spec car for their "special" customer they also have it shipped to a us bmw dealer as part of the package. and it is not done for free... the factory tour is available at a price to all of their new special order customers. the more the car costs the less you need to spend to get the tour.
Its called European Delivery. You get to go tour the factory, drive your BMW in Europe for up to two weeks, and then you drop it off at the port, where it will be shipped to your local dealer. It's advertised as cheaper than MSRP, and doesn't cost extra to tour the factory. Most Euro car manufacturers do this.
Dunno if someone hit on this, but you can ship a car in pieces... As long as the vehicle is not capable of running on it's own and going through customs you have the paperwork to show that it is being used as salvage, which isn't hard to do considering there's thousands of imported cars and parts and pieces have to come from overseas. You can go about it that way, will cost a bit for shipping but you can expect to pay in the neighborhood of 10,000$ -15,000$ to do so.
Some places are very lax on what they'll allow on their roads. I would be willing to bet you could get away with it where I live, as long as the car has something that resembles a VIN on it in an official, legit-looking manner. I wouldn't recommend driving it anywhere where it IS an issue.mattsplat72;1884443 said:
Tricky question though, since it is a federal issue (DOT regulations, import regulations, etc), but registration itself is a state issue... I can't say for certain. If anyone wants to ship me an R32 GT-R, I'll try to find out for you!
Okay I think I can set the record straight for you guys. I happen to work in international importation and exportation. My job is to bring in and send out of the US containers of irrigation equipment "mainly" but I know everything there is to know about export compliance and cuatoms documentation for each country.
The short version is of course you can get anything you want from wherever if your willing to pay for it there are multiple ways u can get it here look at drugs and weapons for example. PM me if ur serious, i won't risk my job to do it but I might tell you how its possible.
The long version and most legal assuming you know a company or someone that is a qualified exporter and will load the car for you in japan is: the biggest thing and most difficult is paperwork hands down! If you have all of your customs documentation right ,your schedule B #, your liscenses and bookings right you will be golden but that takes alot of knowledge and fees. Anyway after that contact a freight forwarder and make a booking on a vessell for a certain date they also have to have intermodal truck service in Japan. Then have the container dropped off to the company loading it. Have it loaded to custom clearance specs. Put it back on the truck and make the rail cut on that certain date and get it on the vessel you booked. When it gets to the US it will have to clear customs but the thing most people don't know is that 98 percent of containers are cleared before they make it into the country because of the paperwork being accurate and the companies on either side of the transaction being reputable and not having any current red flags up with customs.
So can the everyday person import a car from japan...not likely unless u have very deep pockets. The world is a corrupt place and money talks no matter what, that was the hardest thing to grasp when entering the international world. People are crazy man being normal is not normal! But can a knowledgeable someone that knows the ins and outs of importing get a car imported from Japan....of course just like with anything else in life. Its what you know and who you know. Couple months ago i got my CEO a jet ski from China before it was on the market.
The short version is of course you can get anything you want from wherever if your willing to pay for it there are multiple ways u can get it here look at drugs and weapons for example. PM me if ur serious, i won't risk my job to do it but I might tell you how its possible.
The long version and most legal assuming you know a company or someone that is a qualified exporter and will load the car for you in japan is: the biggest thing and most difficult is paperwork hands down! If you have all of your customs documentation right ,your schedule B #, your liscenses and bookings right you will be golden but that takes alot of knowledge and fees. Anyway after that contact a freight forwarder and make a booking on a vessell for a certain date they also have to have intermodal truck service in Japan. Then have the container dropped off to the company loading it. Have it loaded to custom clearance specs. Put it back on the truck and make the rail cut on that certain date and get it on the vessel you booked. When it gets to the US it will have to clear customs but the thing most people don't know is that 98 percent of containers are cleared before they make it into the country because of the paperwork being accurate and the companies on either side of the transaction being reputable and not having any current red flags up with customs.
So can the everyday person import a car from japan...not likely unless u have very deep pockets. The world is a corrupt place and money talks no matter what, that was the hardest thing to grasp when entering the international world. People are crazy man being normal is not normal! But can a knowledgeable someone that knows the ins and outs of importing get a car imported from Japan....of course just like with anything else in life. Its what you know and who you know. Couple months ago i got my CEO a jet ski from China before it was on the market.
Getting a Jet Ski from China before it was on the market is completely different then importing a car. While the above poster is true in stating that you can import anything you want, there was one thing that was failed to be stated. If you get into an accident and the car is found to be a Japan Import ( or any other country other then US ) IT WILL BE CRUSHED. There is no settlement, no buying it back for the engine or anything you have put on the car. There is a specific list of cars that are LEGAL to drive in the US, and a list of cars that are ILLEGAL. Doesn't really matter who, or where the car is registered. It also does not matter how much money you spend to get it here in parts. If the car is illegal, there is a damn good reason for it. I tried to get my 1989 RHD GT Limited back from Germany, and customs said it would cost over $30,000 to get it here. That is covering everything from paperwork, shipping, RI ( registered importer ) and anything that needs to be changed to make it US legal. Is a car really worth what ever you paid for it and then on top of that, at least $25k to make it legal? Look in the links in my sig block below. I go into detail about this whole thing. That is how I got that ribbon on the left <-------
To sum it up, I understand having a RHD car seems cool because there may not be any in your area.... What is it that makes it so cool to drive a RHD car? I have owned one and to be honest it gets rather annoying when everybody comes up to it in a car show and asks where you had the conversion done. I owned one in Germany and I got pulled over twice because the cops didn't see anyone in the driver's seat. With everything that you would spend to get it legal, and look cool for a few months, you could have put all that cash into either a better car, or upgrading your current one to be pretty bad ass. Been there, done that.....and it is not worth the trouble and heartache when customs says NO. I have contacted US Customs in both Miami, and L.A. both of them said " No, if it is illegal and caught, IT WILL BE CRUSHED. We have 1,000s of Skylines waiting to be crushed right now sir."
Not to be rude, or anything like that against the above poster, but....you import work equipment....not cars. Not even remotely close to the same thing. I fought for months to get the right answers to make sure that if I got even one person to say it is good, that it would not be crushed by someone else.
To sum it up, I understand having a RHD car seems cool because there may not be any in your area.... What is it that makes it so cool to drive a RHD car? I have owned one and to be honest it gets rather annoying when everybody comes up to it in a car show and asks where you had the conversion done. I owned one in Germany and I got pulled over twice because the cops didn't see anyone in the driver's seat. With everything that you would spend to get it legal, and look cool for a few months, you could have put all that cash into either a better car, or upgrading your current one to be pretty bad ass. Been there, done that.....and it is not worth the trouble and heartache when customs says NO. I have contacted US Customs in both Miami, and L.A. both of them said " No, if it is illegal and caught, IT WILL BE CRUSHED. We have 1,000s of Skylines waiting to be crushed right now sir."
Not to be rude, or anything like that against the above poster, but....you import work equipment....not cars. Not even remotely close to the same thing. I fought for months to get the right answers to make sure that if I got even one person to say it is good, that it would not be crushed by someone else.
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Can't see a reason to import a car that's available in your country... most people doing this think it's going to get them a cheap car, not the case once you add in all the costs and the fear of it being crushed...
Just because it is RHD doesn't make it more valuable or rare.... People just want to think they look cool because it is a RHD car.
Well, 91Supra313, I really don't want to start a pissing match, that is for sure. Last thing i want do do is be new to the forum and come in calling people out and acting like a jackass. But if there is one topic I can be helpful in this is it! I acknowledge the fact that you may have a bad taste in your mouth from past experience with importing. I honestly wish i could have helped you...That was only meant to be a post for useful info in that field. I didn't mention anything about getting caught driving the car here because I don't know anything about that sort of thing..other than common sense.
I'll be honest my degree wasn't In law it was in business management with a focus in international trade. I was simply stating some facts about how it IS possible to get a car here from Japan. No matter what i say on a forum post you will have your own opinion, and rightfully so. But your opinion and the fact that i know without a doubt what i can do in my own field are two different things.
I don't have one doubt though what you have went through in your own experience but that doesn't mean it's the way it is. Give me $1,000 to invest in the stock market without knowing anything at all about stocks. Then give me $1,000 to invest in the same market having tons of inside information and on top of that knowing all there is to know about day trading, interest rates, annuities, bonds, tarriffs, etc. etc. and see which $1000 goes farther.
I said the everyday person could not and would not want to import a car from Japan. However I also said it is possible. And I do know how in more than one LEGAL way to do so.
Just for the record though a car and a jet ski are quite similar in exporting to be exact. I won't go into too much detail here other than tell you that they are almost identical in requirements to customs clearance.
I provide shelter to people in South Africa by including the price of the shipping container in the commercial invoice for their irrigation equipment, they're Gov. pays for it BC its "irrigation equipment " for the country and the people keep the containers and live out of them...I also ship humanitarian aid containers to Kenya supposedly containing clothes and dehydrated food when in fact on the container is packed with thousand of dollars in donated healthcare equipment from people I work with...anesthesia machines, hospital beds, oxygen concentrators, ultrasound monitors, and more..what do you do again??
I'll be honest my degree wasn't In law it was in business management with a focus in international trade. I was simply stating some facts about how it IS possible to get a car here from Japan. No matter what i say on a forum post you will have your own opinion, and rightfully so. But your opinion and the fact that i know without a doubt what i can do in my own field are two different things.
I don't have one doubt though what you have went through in your own experience but that doesn't mean it's the way it is. Give me $1,000 to invest in the stock market without knowing anything at all about stocks. Then give me $1,000 to invest in the same market having tons of inside information and on top of that knowing all there is to know about day trading, interest rates, annuities, bonds, tarriffs, etc. etc. and see which $1000 goes farther.
I said the everyday person could not and would not want to import a car from Japan. However I also said it is possible. And I do know how in more than one LEGAL way to do so.
Just for the record though a car and a jet ski are quite similar in exporting to be exact. I won't go into too much detail here other than tell you that they are almost identical in requirements to customs clearance.
I provide shelter to people in South Africa by including the price of the shipping container in the commercial invoice for their irrigation equipment, they're Gov. pays for it BC its "irrigation equipment " for the country and the people keep the containers and live out of them...I also ship humanitarian aid containers to Kenya supposedly containing clothes and dehydrated food when in fact on the container is packed with thousand of dollars in donated healthcare equipment from people I work with...anesthesia machines, hospital beds, oxygen concentrators, ultrasound monitors, and more..what do you do again??