Need help with R32, PLEASE!

[maxpsi]

I have recently purchased an R32 GTS from Japan and having it shipped to Seattle. Can anyone give me any insight into having it legal to drive here in the states (excluding Calif). Keep in mind that my state (Tenn) does not have emissions controls. Also, if anyone has any idea on the steps i am going to have to take such as DOT, EPA, etc,etc on which i should and the forms i am going to have to fill out. Also, what is the price of the EPA testing? What can i do to get it to pass? Motorex will not give me the neded information. Or does anyone know who to go to to get these things done in Wash? Any importers someone could refer me to? I only have a few weeks until it arrives. Please help! Any other state or etc that someone could recomend me to have it shipped to that may make it easier on me? I have a limited budget and dont feel like i should pay Motorex $17K just to make it legal. There is no way that it could be that expensive.

[EZcheese15]

I have recently purchased an R32 GTS from Japan and having it shipped to Seattle. Can anyone give me any insight into having it legal to drive here in the states (excluding Calif). Keep in mind that my state (Tenn) does not have emissions controls. Also, if anyone has any idea on the steps i am going to have to take such as DOT, EPA, etc,etc on which i should and the forms i am going to have to fill out. Also, what is the price of the EPA testing? What can i do to get it to pass? Motorex will not give me the neded information. Or does anyone know who to go to to get these things done in Wash? Any importers someone could refer me to? I only have a few weeks until it arrives. Please help! Any other state or etc that someone could recomend me to have it shipped to that may make it easier on me? I have a limited budget and dont feel like i should pay Motorex $17K just to make it legal. There is no way that it could be that expensive.

You should have researched that before you bought it. The ONLY way to legalize it in the U.S. is through Motorex. That is it, no other way. $17k sounds about right to get it legalized. Sorry dude. But it sounds like you are either gonna have an illegal car, or have to shell out $17k.

[EZcheese15]

Oh, by the way, if you want to get it EPA approved by yourself, you must buy atleast 2 other identical cars, crash test them in an EPA approved crash test, and pay about $100k in legal fees to get it approved. Motorex is the cheapest way to do it.

[Daunttless]

: ) You'll probably need at least 3 identical cars. But hey, then you can start legalizing too. And to think, in order to beat Motorex's price and make back all your money you'd only have to legalize like 20 skylines. : )

[ChickenBoo]

Well.... you could always steal the VIN off of a 240 and just say it's a body kit..... with a right hand drive conversion.... a completely different engine.... and everything modded to R32 specs..... : )

[EZcheese15]

Yeah, you could also just drive it anyway and hope you never get pulled over. I think the point was he wanted to make it legal Stealing a vin tag isn't exactly legal

[Daunttless]

but its effective... : )

[ninjak84]

hahaha, i just love how everyone offers illegal (yet pretty good) solutions.dont get me wrong, 17k is way too much in my eyes

[Daunttless]

hehe, well if you don't feel like paying it I'll get you an unlegalized R32 Skyline GT-R for 20,000 dollars shipped to your door. : )

[Stoneage_Turbo]

"hehe, well if you don't feel like paying it I'll get you an unlegalized R32 Skyline GT-R for 20,000 dollars shipped to your door. : )"

lolif thats the case ill let you know when im ready to build my first racecar ......

[JadeFalcon]

Hmm. . . one idea. . .

Get it titled as a custom car. That's how those old hot rods that people build themselves are legal to drive. I know you can do that in Louisiana, and you should be able to do it anywere else.

Motorex wants you to believe the only way to get a Skyline is through them, so they can rape you with doubled or tripled prices.

Just wondering, how much did it cost ya?

---Jade

[EZcheese15]

Hmm. . . one idea. . .

Get it titled as a custom car. That's how those old hot rods that people build themselves are legal to drive. I know you can do that in Louisiana, and you should be able to do it anywere else.

Motorex wants you to believe the only way to get a Skyline is through them, so they can rape you with doubled or tripled prices.

Just wondering, how much did it cost ya?

---Jade

Um, the only way you can legally drive one in the U.S. for more than 1 year IS through Motorex.

First of all, those "old hot rods" are legal because they are classics. Anything over 25 years old can be registered as a classic, and they can be anything. No emissions testing, complete custom vehicles, etc.

If you register a car new than 25 years old, as a custom car, it must be registered for demo only, and has a maximum regestraton of 1 year. Anything past that, and you have to return the car to the country in which it was imported from.

It sickens me that everybody thinks they are other ways around Motorex. There isn't. Not for street use anyway, or atleast not legally. Motorex is the ONLY way to get a skyline legally on the road here.

Well, I take that back, you can do all the EPA tests to bring a car into the U.S. yourself. Don't expect it to be cheaper though. You'll have to buy a minimum of 3 of the vehicles to start with. Crash test two (side impact and head on impact), and use the 3rd one to change over bumper height specifications, and make the proper OBDII modifications to comply with federal OBDII laws for whatever year skyline you buy. When you are done with everything, you will have to go through the mile high paperwork, and pay for all the EPA certifications.

If you look back, Motorex is not the first company to do this sort of thing. Ameritech did the same to the McLaren F1 as Motorex is doing to the Skyline. You know how much it costs (or costed, during production) to get an F1 here in the U.S. and be legal? It was approx. 1.2 million dollars. Ameritech had to make back their money for the lost cars during crash testing, just like Motorex is doing.

Motorex prices are not outrageous. You figure a car that is comparable with a NSX, Viper, Corvette, Esprit, costs you $50-$100k. What do these other cars cost? They are right along the same price.

[JadeFalcon]

Well I know for certain that you CAN import it and drive it legally, but you have to stay under 2,000 miles per year. The same goes for McLaren F1's, you can't drive them more than 2,000 miles per year. The reason that McLarens cost over a million isn't because Ameritech crashed two of them, the reason is that they cost that much in Europe too.

But the other idea I had was to get the car a custom title. If you build yourself a motorcycle from parts, you can get a custom title so that you can get insurance for it and drive it on the road. I never knew anything about the title only lasting one year, but if it did then you could re-register it. It might not be the ethical thing to do, saying that a Skyline is a custom car, but it would look good on paper. I'm not saying that's the best idea, but it is an idea.

It makes ME sick that people think there's no other way than Motorex. I don't know ALL the details on everything, but I know for SURE that you can import it and drive it up to 2,000 miles per year. If you need to drive more than that, then you're out of luck. The custom title was just an idea, I'm not sure if it would work out very well, but in theory it would.

Also, ANY stock Skyline does not compare at ALL to a Viper, and most Corvettes. For a '01 Vspec II they want $95,000. With 95 grand you could have a Viper AND another car, or TWO Corvettes. Or a turboed Viper. . . Then, for a USED R34 they still want $78,000 bucks, with that you could have a NEW Viper which would take out a Skyline any day, no argument.

If you've got lots of cash and don't want any worries, then Motorex is the way to go. But in my opinion their prices are just wrong. Therefore if I really wanted a Skyline, I'd have to import one on my own. I don't blame Motorex for not giving away what they do, because that's how they make their money. Motorex is a cool company and I admire what they do, but they're not the ONLY way.

Ah well anywho. . .

[blink0r]

Who cares if it's legal, you have a skyline!! Why didn't you research the information first before importing it?

[APEXi240]

Did you know that Motorex (a couple of years ago when they were first selling cars...) sold wrecked/salvaged skylines to customers? Motorex sucks, they aren't in it for the love of cars, they are in it to make money...which is a shame. Yes I know every company needs to make money to survive, but like it was said...95k for an R34 is outta hand. HELL 28k for a R32 gts-t is stupid. I could buy an RB20 setup for 1k....for under 5 or 6k you can have an RB powered Z31....28k....6k....doesn't make sense.

[EZcheese15]

Did you know that Motorex (a couple of years ago when they were first selling cars...) sold wrecked/salvaged skylines to customers? Motorex sucks, they aren't in it for the love of cars, they are in it to make money...which is a shame. Yes I know every company needs to make money to survive, but like it was said...95k for an R34 is outta hand. HELL 28k for a R32 gts-t is stupid. I could buy an RB20 setup for 1k....for under 5 or 6k you can have an RB powered Z31....28k....6k....doesn't make sense.

What you guys don't understand, is that there are two reasons Motorex is so expensive. One is that to make them legal in the U.S., it took lots of money. Therefore, they are trying to make back their money they spent on making them legal.

The other reason they are so expensive is because they *can* be and get away with it. If you don't want to fork out $95k for an R34, the next person will. It's a high demand vehicle, and with high demand comes high price.

Do you think $40k is reasonable for a Z33? Because that's what a loaded Z33 is going for right now at the dealers. It's outrageous. But people are still buying them. You have to understand the market. If money can be made, it will be. There is no reason to sell something cheaper when you can get the high price for it. Is there something wrong with Motorex wanting to make money? I don't blame them! They came up with a good idea and are making good money at it.

[Mike09]

ezcheese is right, it's only business

[JadeFalcon]

We don't know how expensive it is for Motorex to convert a Skyline because they won't state exactly what they do. Therefore you can't say that it cost a lot of money to convert one.

You're right, they can get away with the high prices, and if someone wants to pay it, more power to 'em. . . nothign wrong with that.

[r33pwrd]

maxpsi e-mail me I am able to get your skyline licensed but ONLY if it stays in WA. (I have a good friend in the state patrol that knows how to, and has done it)

[spec-u-later]

"If it looks too good to be true, it probaly is."

[r33pwrd]

I guess it must be! the r32 and r34 I got licensed allready must have been to good to be true! must have just been a figment of my imagination?

[SmithSR]

R33, what do you know of SPL up on Lake City Way ??

[r33pwrd]

I know the old owner John s. I not sure who owns it currently i heard they where moving to Las Vegas but Im not sure. Why do you ask? I know an owner of a pretty good shop in bellevue if you need some parts.

[SmithSR]

It's pretty darn impressive to see a couple Skylines and a couple mean Supras sitting out front...and it'd be a shame if they pack up and move.

What's the name of the other shop you know of? And what do they specialize in?

[r33pwrd]

The shops name is "r" sports in bellevue, they do a lot of honda and Nissan stuff there sales guys are Ok but there Mechanic is really good! In the last few weeks they have done a vg30dett (j-spec) into a non-turbo 300z , sr20 into a 240 , rb25 into a 240, ect. so they are pretty good with nissans and they are the washington distributor for Tein, who makes some nice stuff for the nissans.

[nlzmo400r]

well atleast that whole motorex argument died, anyway, not to re-bring it up, but what about registering a skyline as a kit car?? would that work, i dunno if anyone's tried, but id be willing to do anything to get one here, and honestly, it doesnt sound like that bad of an idea

[TruboostPerformance]

So through all of this talk, does anyone know if I buy a skyline tommorrow can I at least put it in my garage? I am in mainland Japan right now and have found several R32 GTR's for 5,000-7,000, and found shipping companies for like 1,000-2,500, I just want to get it to my house, and then let me deal with all the crap of legal smegal stuff, let me know, how does customs work when the ship comes in? Can I just pick it up on a trailor??? I am going to buy one just need some info that's all...plus I can get more for others so info is needed greatly...

[nlzmo400r]

u can put it in your garage with no problem, its driving it you have to worry about, contact afterdarktuning.com or mototrex.com for EVERYthing you'll need to know on how to GET IT HERE, then you;ll have to go through a lot of tmie and money to be able to drive it, so as long as u know you;re looking at probably 15-2ok to legalize it, then go for it

[S13 Power]

hehe, well if you don't feel like paying it I'll get you an unlegalized R32 Skyline GT-R for 20,000 dollars shipped to your door. : )

Just wondering if this is a real statement or just a sarcastic one. Could you really buy a Skyline for 20g's and just use it for track or off public road use?

[nlzmo400r]

yes and no, it is a real statement, but u have to have it legalized to even drive it on off public roads or the track, it doesnt have to be 'street legal' for the u.s. but it does have to be 'legal' to a certain extent