How to import an R34 LEGALLY through Show or Display

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GSX-R35
Posts: 137
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2015 6:42 pm
Car: 2010 Black Obsidian TSM Pro Eight R35
1999 Midnight Purple 2 R34 V-spec
1990 Gun Metal Grey Nismo R32

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The NICO forums are one of the places people most often end up on when researching importation of JDM cars, especially Skylines so I figured I'd share this video I made on how I imported the R34 GT-R I recently acquired. The video itself is just a (somewhat) quick summary of how it happened but for people looking for even more detail please check out my blog at 23GT.net.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1vpzbl ... 4zl4AaABAg

Stay safe out there guys!


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audtatious
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There are limitations on show/display which to me are "off-putting", such as being limited to no more than 2500 miles in a 12-month period, among others. I'm surprised they are letting any in at this point, but it's been over 12 years since Greg and I addressed this issue so the strings may have been loosened more from a government perspective.

Still, if you are determined to have a R34 just wait another 3.5 years or so and get one permanently.

GSX-R35
Posts: 137
Joined: Thu Mar 26, 2015 6:42 pm
Car: 2010 Black Obsidian TSM Pro Eight R35
1999 Midnight Purple 2 R34 V-spec
1990 Gun Metal Grey Nismo R32

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audtatious wrote:
Thu Aug 13, 2020 5:39 am
There are limitations on show/display which to me are "off-putting", such as being limited to no more than 2500 miles in a 12-month period, among others. I'm surprised they are letting any in at this point, but it's been over 12 years since Greg and I addressed this issue so the strings may have been loosened more from a government perspective.

Still, if you are determined to have a R34 just wait another 3.5 years or so and get one permanently.
The way I see it 2500 miles a year is 2500 miles a year more that you can enjoy an R34 legally than you could otherwise. Glass half full in other words. It's also not such a huge deal when you consider it's a collector car meant to be a weekend toy and not a daily driver. The 2500 mile limit is a pretty standard condition for a lot of collector car policies which is why it was the limit that was accepted by the NHTSA when they first established the Show or Display amendment. And it could be worse, it could be just 500 miles - the limit that the original legislators first proposed until a coalition of collector car owners convinced them 2500 was a more realistic limit.

FWIW, I've had no trouble keeping my R35 GT-R under 2500 miles a year even with having driven it to track days at COTA and Laguna Seca and various local events in AZ. I don't use it for standard errands and the same would hold for the R34 - I suspect most people who can afford a US-legal R34 would be the same.

Besides, the way prices are trending currently for an R34 (really, any Skyline) waiting another 3.5 years would mean spending a lot more if you didn't already buy one and put it in storage so importing one through S&D and enjoying it legally now is really a pretty good idea when you weigh everything.


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