import to usa??

[eurosx]

I have a european spec '91 200sx equiped with the CA18DET and was wondering if anyone knows what kind of hoops I will have to jump through when I import it to the states to register it there. What conversions other than lighting and exhaust modifications will I have to make. Any info will be helpful, thank you.

[eurosx]

why can't it be imported, what is the difference between it and motorex importing skylines?

[Daunttless]

Motorex spent a lot of money to get a piece of paper from the government that says they can do it. You probably don't have the money, and I know you don't have the paper. Enjoy your day!

[EnzoRWD]

and the money motorex spent to bring several (i heard at least 3) skylines to smash for crash testing stuff. care to bring 4 cars in?one possibilty you might want to consider is looking at the DOT 'show and display' laws. while limiting mileage for your car, you might be able to bring it in. that's how they bring in 959's, XJ220's, etc these days . . .-Enzoand darnit, wheres my 'show and display' EB110 ??

[Daunttless]

You have to have a truly rare car to get a show and display, and it can only stay here 18 months.

[EZcheese15]

Also, a "show car" is limited to 2500 miles a year, and the mileage must be legally reported to the EPA at the end of every year.

Oh, but you *could* import it as property of a temporary stay U.S. visitor. But you have to show that you have a permenant residence outside the U.S. And also, if you do that, your are forbidden to sell it. You just have to keep it for yourself.....forever.

[EZcheese15]

By the way, that is how the people that ran the Gumball Rally this year got their cars here legally...

They were imported as their personal cars while on vacation, and had to be exported when the owners left the country.

[EnzoRWD]

im truly confused. i am now sure i know about #@% on the DOT laws, but i know ive seen some very non-street-legal cars here in the us...lotus elise and exige (for example), not just for track use either. they had genuine plates. ok, so the exige came in a trailer, but the elise(s) just drove away on the highway.there must be some sort of loophole that these ppl found. or maybe the just put down "mr2 spyder with bodykit" on the title. hehehehehe-Enzo

[EZcheese15]

Originally posted by EZcheese15 "]Also, a "show car" is limited to 2500 miles a year, and the mileage must be legally reported to the EPA at the end of every year.

Nope.

Vehicles imported for demonstration use may not be licensed for use on, or driven on, public roads. There are no exceptions to this policy.

Importing it as a race vehicle requires prior EPA approval, and the car must be "not capable of safe or practical use on streets and highways", as decided by the EPA.

Oh, but you *could* import it as property of a temporary stay U.S. visitor. But you have to show that you have a permenant residence outside the U.S. And also, if you do that, your are forbidden to sell it. You just have to keep it for yourself.....forever.

Yea, um, that's wrong, too.

Nonresidents visiting the United States may import their vehicle for a maximum of one year. After that year, the vehicle must be exported. There are no extensions for or exemptions to this this policy.

If importing a foreign-model car was feasible, people would be doing it all the time.

Ok, here are some quotes I got off the NHTSA website. So this *IS* the law:

NONRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

A vehicle registered in another country may be imported for personal use for a period not to exceed one year. The vehicle cannot be sold and it must be exported within one year from the date of entry. Your passport number and country of issue are required on the HS-7 form. Use Box 5 on HS-7 form

And KCar....

ON-ROAD USE

A vehicle eligible for Show or Display may receive NHTSA approval to be driven on the highway. The odometer must not register more than 2,500 miles in a 12 month period.

[EZcheese15]

im truly confused. i am now sure i know about #@% on the DOT laws, but i know ive seen some very non-street-legal cars here in the us...lotus elise and exige (for example), not just for track use either. they had genuine plates. ok, so the exige came in a trailer, but the elise(s) just drove away on the highway.there must be some sort of loophole that these ppl found. or maybe the just put down "mr2 spyder with bodykit" on the title. hehehehehe-Enzo

Enzo, go to http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/ and read over everything there.

Me and Daunt have discussed this thoroughly, there are NO loop holes. Well uh....that we are going to talk about

[ca18datsun510]

there are loop holes for military personell (spelling?) and if i remember correctly if the car is over a certain age it can be brought in, such as the guy in florida who was in the military and brought over the early 70's skyline.

[EnzoRWD]

hehehe thanks torry . . .

[EZcheese15]

there are loop holes for military personell (spelling?) and if i remember correctly if the car is over a certain age it can be brought in, such as the guy in florida who was in the military and brought over the early 70's skyline.

Those aren't loopholes. Those rules are stated on the NHTSA website as well.

Also, *anybody* can import *any* car that is more than 25 years old. It's called a "classic." Nothing you have to figure your way through on that. That dude's 71 Skyline is completely legal, and infact, anybody can import one if they want (legally).

[TrueSlide]

Thats so gay, why are imported cars illegal??? Whats the BFD.

Also, I remember reading(in some mag) that military personal can get a imported car shipped over here, but they are not alloweed to sell it(can someone put in the right direction if that is wrong)

[Nismo1182]

Yea i would like more info on the Military aspect of it. Let say I join the army and get stationed on Japan and I buy a Silvia while im over there. When my time is up can I just bring the car back just for parts? I dont care about registering or driving it here, I just want to transfer all the part off it to my US spec 240

[Daunttless]

You can, but you'll have to pay for shipping. : ) Why couldn't you just bring parts?

[themadscientist]

I hear Marines say this all the time "yeah i'm taking back my Skyline, Silvia, Lancer, whatever. I can always tell when they PCS off island because thier cars go on sale for rediculously low prices because they wait until the last minute and can't get it done. It's not impossible some guys have pulled it off but it is increadibly difficult and in a grey area usually, your car could get crushed at the port if one form is wrong. Motorex gets away with the crazy prices they charge because they paid the blood money to the government and crashed the cars it took to get DOT's nod so they can legally import, can you? I can't and that's why when I left Japan it 96' my Skyline stayed here. I did the research and discovered the process it would take namely slamming at least two Skylines, likely more into a wall to try to meet DOT regs so I could import mine. it sucks but it's the reality of our over-regulated country.

[Daunttless]

I'm all about exploiting the gray area....email me about it mad, I figured something out. : )

[APEXi240]

[quote=" Lost_To_A_K-Car

The "certain age" is anything before 1967. Any vehicle manufactured after 12/31/67 is subject to federal emissions standards. This is also covered on the US Customs page. [/quote]

Is this just for imported cars? I was under the impression that US cars before 71 were excluded from emmissions testing.

[AkaiRPS13]

'73 (and its supposed to be '74 this year but we'll see)

[johnpoppy]

if we didn't have people suing for getting hot coffee in their pants or disliking the tastes of beef flavored french fries, Then there might be hope for imported cars

What are the laws in Canada?

[chemosh6969]

I was in okinawa from 96-2000. First, most marines over there don't have cars unless they are have gone up in rank some, so a lot of what they say is bs. I was in the air force so it's safe to say that I don't care for them that much(along with all the rest of the air force over there). to answer an earlier question, you could bring it back in parts. if its the body, that's one thing but parts could be brought back and its done for free with the rest of your stuff. if there is something that isn't allowed to be shipped, a blanket will fix that. trust me.anyways i was going to bring my silvia back and i went to outbound(the place that sends out your stuff when you pcs). i asked the stupid lady for the guide that had all the numbers for bringing a car back and she told me they don't have one(even though my friends got one from there) and that i would have to call inbound(the place that deals with your stuff when you get to japan). i called and they said that it was where i was(no ****) so i go back and tell the lady and she goes and gets it as though she knew the whole time. then she told me i couldn't take it. i asked if i could get a photocopy like everyone else does and she said ok. the guide was out of date, disconnected numbers, wrong numbers, and so on.if someone were to bring a car from japan to the us, go to dot and find out what is needed to be done to the car. then while you are at japan, make some japanese friends that can hook you up with a good mechanic, don't go on base or those places that cater to americans right outside the gate. i got lucky, my wife's uncle has his own shop so i got a lot of stuff done for free or for beer.you can bring silvia's over here. you don't have to crash test them. skylines are one thing since we didn't have them here at all. silvia's/ 240sx's are a different story.everyday i wished i had brought mine back but i didn't know what to do and outgoing was a *****. of course now that i have learned how to do it, it's to late but i am moving back there after i finish college so i guess i can just get another one