state vs. fed legal??? one un answered question i have

[lemon]

alright.... i now fed legal means you are in the clear..... completely with the skylines.

state... means your car meets your states requirements right??? soooo

if i get my car "state" legal.... am i in the clear as long as i stay in my state? no worries?

this is the only thing confusing me.... if so im going to go for it and get a skyline, if not though, and is till run the risk..... i'll have to wait.

[Marenta]

Fed means that it meets FMVSS, DoT, and EPA requirements.. and that it is imported with an RI or JK Tech that has actually done the work and made all the modifications necessary to it and actually had the inspection done.

Plus, it means you've paid all the fees to the government to have it shipped here.. which means you've actually paid 2.5 times the worth of the vehicle. The highest priced R34 SpecV GTR that I've found was 19K US in Japan, so.. if you do the math, importing it would cost 2.5 times that.. but, you'd have to pay another 20K to have all the modifications done to it by an RI.

Now, if you keep the rb engine in it, you're going to need the OBDII spec done, and that wasn't released to the public. So, there's a few ways out there that people have been doing it, different mods that people have tried, but the way that JK Tech had done it is still under wraps, so whatever way you get to beat the emissions is up your call. But, you can do it if you're an engineer, or you know somebody who's electrically savvy.

Now, state legal, gray market cars.. are just tags and title cars.. meaning, they usually don't have the mods done on them, they don't have the OBDII system, they don't have a 17 digit VIN (unless they're Kaizo unibodies, but then they're kit cars, and those are different from gray market vehicles) and they're usually ECR/ECN/BCR/BCN VINs. If you live in a state that has no emissions testing, usually you can fly under the radar. But, you have to make sure that you've tracked where your vehicle has come from. If it's come from Florida, New York, or California, you might want to actually locate the person, or the RI that actually shipped it initially, just to ensure their "legitimacy" as it were. These cars can be tracked and will be taken from you.

You can get a Kaizo car, and it's a specially built kit car. It is waived from the emissions standards, unless you're in California, then you have to wait in line on January 2nd like all the other n00bs wanting one of the 500 passes for that year. But, your safest bet is to find one of the federally bonded Motorex cars if you really want one, or a Kaizo car that's already here in the states and built.

Hope this helps you out some.

If you need any help with the CFRs or documentation digging, I can point you in the direction of where to go. Best of luck.

[lemon]

well i now the one guy on here, that can get it, ship it, receive and "state legal" it for me.....

....what would you say if its done right, state legal style... that it will be taken???

[ArmadaJspec]

As long as it 15 years or older your Fed. and State legal. now if its newer than that then you have to be in the military to import legally. Now there are other ways to get around but you pretty much have to have deeep pockets and know people.

[Gold Digger]

As long as it 15 years or older your Fed. and State legal. now if its newer than that then you have to be in the military to import legally. Now there are other ways to get around but you pretty much have to have deeep pockets and know people.

Being in the military doesn't make it any easier to get it legal. I know too many people that were stationed here that tried it. Guess what, their Skylines are still sitting here in Japan, abandoned and rusting to hell.

And in the U.S., it's 25 years.

[tyndago]

As long as it 15 years or older your Fed. and State legal. now if its newer than that then you have to be in the military to import legally. Now there are other ways to get around but you pretty much have to have deeep pockets and know people.

15 years is in Canada. The US is 21 years for the EPA,and 25 years for the DOT.

Military. I was in the military for 6 years. 1991-1997 USN. The military will ship a car for you, they do not exempt you from importation and legalization requirements.

[tyndago]

http://vehicleimport.blogspot.....html

Seized cars - http://vehicleimport.blogspot.....html

Seized cars - http://vehicleimport.blogspot.....html

Seized cars - http://vehicleimport.blogspot.....html

People get way too cocky. Too brazen. Eventually they get caught. A state legal car must still comply with federal law. Are the government going to come after your car ? No. Piss of the right person in the right place, and expect to have some major issues though. That cop that pulls you over,and he "doesn't like you". He might make your day a real bad one. All he has to do is push. All they have to do is call 202-366-5291 and ask about the chassis number of the car.

[Gold Digger]

Seized cars - http://vehicleimport.blogspot.....html

That link from GTROC UK was also posted here...

zerothread/344322

There haven't been any recent updates on it, so not sure what exactly has happened lately.

[Vandrel]

15 years is in Canada. The US is 21 years for the EPA,and 25 years for the DOT.

Military. I was in the military for 6 years. 1991-1997 USN. The military will ship a car for you, they do not exempt you from importation and legalization requirements.

Before I left Okinawa TMO said so long as a vehicle is listed on the NHTSA list for either conforming or non-conforming that can be brought into compliance they will ship to whatever Registered Importer I want it to go to.

[audtatious]

The highest priced R34 SpecV GTR that I've found was 19K US in Japan, so.. if you do the math, importing it would cost 2.5 times that.. but, you'd have to pay another 20K to have all the modifications done to it by an RI.

R32's and R34's can't legally be imported at all.

[tyndago]

Before I left Okinawa TMO said so long as a vehicle is listed on the NHTSA list for either conforming or non-conforming that can be brought into compliance they will ship to whatever Registered Importer I want it to go to.

This is the danger of not having enough information.

They will ship it, but clearing customs with it, getting it released, thats up to you. If its not on the list, or an RI won't take it, then start paying the $300 a day they charge you at the port to store the car.

You ever see the cars at the "seized government auctions"? Where do you think they come from ?

People with not enough knowledge that get stuck and lose their cars. Don't be one of those guys.

[EL MAMITO USMC]

R32's and R34's can't legally be imported at all.

any specific reason for these cars not been able to import them? i know that the only one crash tested was the r33 96-98. but if this is all that is needed why some just crash test this models. thanks guys in advance for clearing my doubts

[audtatious]

NHTSA release on March 2006:

"This document announces a final decision by NHTSA to partially rescind a prior decision by the agency that 1990-1999 Nissan GTS and GTR passenger cars not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable Federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) are eligible for importation into the United States. As a result of this decision, only Nissan R33 model GTS and GTR passenger cars manufactured between January 1996 and June 1998 are eligible for importation. All other model and model year vehicles admissible under the prior decision are no longer eligible for importation. As a consequence, the agency is rescinding vehicle eligibility number VCP-17, which covered vehicles admissible under the prior decision, and issuing vehicle eligibility number VCP-32 to cover only those model and model year Nissan GTS nd GTR passenger cars that remain eligible for importation. The rescission will only bar the future importation of the model and model year Nissan GTS and GTR passenger cars that are no longer eligible for importation, and will not affect the status of vehicles that have already been lawfully imported under vehicle eligibility number VCP-17."

[sicwitit]

ok, so what does all of this mean for us. I my self am in Japan, and want to bring back a 96-98 GTR. sure TMO will ship it, but to who? can I pick any RI off the list, have all the necessary paper work and when it shows up at their doorstep, will they let me just come pick it up? I think I'm comming to the conclusion that I will just give up on this whole idea, and but a Exige when I get back....it would probably end up costing the same....or the option to send over a drivetrain from a R34 and just buy a Kaizo body.

JTYokota AB

[audtatious]

It means that technically you need to find a RI that can get it converted to meet fed requirements and thus receive a bond release.

[Vandrel]

ok, so what does all of this mean for us. I my self am in Japan, and want to bring back a 96-98 GTR. sure TMO will ship it, but to who? can I pick any RI off the list, have all the necessary paper work and when it shows up at their doorstep, will they let me just come pick it up? I think I'm comming to the conclusion that I will just give up on this whole idea, and but a Exige when I get back....it would probably end up costing the same....or the option to send over a drivetrain from a R34 and just buy a Kaizo body.

JTYokota AB

I can help you get one back, email me at [email protected]

[tyndago]

ok, so what does all of this mean for us. I my self am in Japan, and want to bring back a 96-98 GTR. sure TMO will ship it, but to who? Yokota AB

The best answer is - YOU CAN NOT IMPORT A GT-R. JK says they can, they are quoting $36,000. They are the only RI, that would have any chance of actually bringing a car into compliance. The problem with the confidential mods is the airbag situation. You can not buy the airbags that were used in the crash test. They are/were specially made for JK.

If an RI can not get a hold of these airbags, then they can not bring the car into compliance. Anyone that tells you otherwise is scamming you. Flat out.

JK still has not proved they can meet EPA requirements for a 1996-1998 car. The problem is OBD II. http://vehicleimport.blogspot.com/search?q=OBD+II .

The DOT- OVSC did not allow 1995 cars as they could not determine which of the 1995 cars were dual airbags. For DOT compliance a 1995 car must have dual airbags. Also a 1995 car does not need to meet OBD II requirements.

OBD II is a huge stopping point. I do not believe that JK has a functioning and approved OBD II system.

[sicwitit]

this is what I've come to figure out. all the reading I've been doing and what not. I'm glad I have not bought one yet. I hate to say this but I think I'm going to have to put all the playing on hold until I get back in the states, I wonder what the 2012 Lotus Exige will look like?

JT