Any importers out there willing to sell a jdm vehicle to a US resident?

[jmariano0285]

I own a used car dealership in New Jersey and am interested in purchasing a jdm car in Canada and see if someone would be willing to register the car and drive it through the border with me. I have no need to register the car here as I have dealer plates. The car will basically live in storage anyhow with me occasionally taking it to a show/event every once in a blue moon. I know there is no legal route to importing a jdm car here, so this would be my only option. If anyone's willing to help out shoot me a pm.

[awdftw]

Pretty sure your dealer plate is going to be invalid on an unregisterable car wouldn't it?

[jmariano0285]

Pretty sure your dealer plate is going to be invalid on an unregisterable car wouldn't it?

No, I'd be fine.

[standardsupra]

To rephrase,

you are asking someone to smuggle you a car,

and you are asking on a public online form.



good luck.


PS.. 1989 GTR would be a good bet.

[jmariano0285]

To rephrase,

you are asking someone to smuggle you a car,

and you are asking on a public online form.



good luck.


PS.. 1989 GTR would be a good bet.

Precisely, except the only person doing anything illegal in this situation would be me, by driving the vehicle in the states. And even then, the car would be in storage for most of it's life, basically as an investment.

[RyanV]

No, the person who drives the car across the border would also be liable.

[jdmvip]

I've just moved this to the US thread. This doesn't necessarily have to be illegal, there are legal ways of bringing in 25 year old vehicles of course. There are some difficult ways of doing newer ones legally (it's a tricky process from what I read to say the least).

The OP hasn't said what the age of the vehicle would be and what it is.

I also believe you can import newer vehicles as show or track cars just as you can in Canada. There was a company who did that in the US but I can't remember their name but it was a thread on NASIOC.

But in plain English from what I've heard and read, that the US Customs does not look kindly at people who they think are driving a JDM over there to sell. Even if you sell it legally and they find you did sell it, you may have trouble in the future with the US Customs I'd think. It may be possible to do legally but as far as the US Customs that's another issue if they have their own interpretation and don't know the exemptions for show/track cars.

If a US citizen wanted to buy a JDM I was selling I wouldn't drive it over unless it was 25 years old or unless another company took care of the shipping/customs process.

[classic]

Someone sometime must have done it by now.
I wonder what the repercussions would be for the seller

[Sastrad]

I've just moved this to the US thread. This doesn't necessarily have to be illegal, there are legal ways of bringing in 25 year old vehicles of course. There are some difficult ways of doing newer ones legally (it's a tricky process from what I read to say the least).

The OP hasn't said what the age of the vehicle would be and what it is.

I also believe you can import newer vehicles as show or track cars just as you can in Canada. There was a company who did that in the US but I can't remember their name but it was a thread on NASIOC.

But in plain English from what I've heard and read, that the US Customs does not look kindly at people who they think are driving a JDM over there to sell. Even if you sell it legally and they find you did sell it, you may have trouble in the future with the US Customs I'd think. It may be possible to do legally but as far as the US Customs that's another issue if they have their own interpretation and don't know the exemptions for show/track cars.

If a US citizen wanted to buy a JDM I was selling I wouldn't drive it over unless it was 25 years old or unless another company took care of the shipping/customs process.

We had a client, a US citizen, buy a car from us and we sent to NWM for him to pick up. He used a friend's address in BC. Then he stayed in Canada for some time (I think a couple of months) so it could be registered in his name as a temporary resident of BC. After some time he returned to the US with his car. He was successful in getting it registered in his home state.

He tried the same thing a while later and was not successful...I don't recommend this to anyone as its a risk.

However, there is no reason why someone cannot buy a legally registered car from Canada, and bring it into the US. The key to this is that the JDM import is given a 17 digit VIN that US customs can use. So as long as you get it across the border into the US, its up to your state to register it for the road.

The EPA is a federal government body while individual states regulate their own roads (except for US highways). Each state likes to flex his/her own muscles when it comes to being independent of the US Feds, and motor vehicle registration is a prime example. Mini truck importation is regulated by the EPA, but there are a number of states that will allow for owners to register their truck for road use.

This example of mini trucks does not apply to North American registered vehicles. So, technically a vehicle imported into Canada, given a 17 digit VIN, should be allowed entry into the US, and allowed to be legally registered for Federal and State roads. However, US Customs like to think they are in charge of road regulations and may want to prohibit entry of a JDM vehicle.

[Qsecofr]

I was under the impression that the vehicle must be 25 years old to be exempt from US compliance requirements, and pre-import to Canada in this sense does not make any difference because it does not make the vehicle "Canadian and therefore built to comply with US regulations".

Am I missing something?