i am in the process of importing a GT-4 from japan, any know what the customs bond cost is? thats the only thing i have not taken care of. here is some info on it its a 1994 with 90,000km its white and i paid $6494.59 with shipping, and another $200 for marine insurance.

sweet! i'm guessing its rhd? doesn't matter. you should have a meet at your place when it gets here.

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damn you lol beat me to it

plus i no longer have the only white gt4 looking car in cali grrrrrrr lol

ive been thinking of bring a lhd gt4, white of course, over from germany..... any idea on how ur guna get it street legal and reg. in cali? i need to know this for when i get mine.

This post has been edited by urbandork: May 12, 2007 - 3:43 AM

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What site did you purchase it from?

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from http://www.kamikaze-drive.com they have a good selection, i was tempted 2 get a mark 2 or a chaser. but i figured that the bond my be as much as the car. but when u get a invoice from the company they show the price and shipping as 2 different charges, thats a big deal bcuz if they show it all as one price with shipping, the bond would be that much more.

This post has been edited by SlickRick: May 12, 2007 - 4:46 AM

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a family friend does smog. he has been passing my cars for about 2 years now and said he would take care of it, although i dont even like mentioning it bcuz i dont wanna get him in trouble. so although it sounds risky, i am just gonna swap the VINs and send a junker 6th gen back with a swapped dash. i got an extra RHD dash, the air bag in blown but it dont matter i am gonna just swap the dash and send that one back and weld in the old VIN, the junker is currently registered and "passed" smog last year. i just was a bit weary bcuz the company only took wire transfer and that can be kinda risky over the internet. i mean its been a big long process about 6 months so far, but i hope to have it by the end of the year. the paper work takes FOREVER! i am bringing it over for "repair or alteration" temporary exemption code "A" that way when i send it back if there is any problem i can just say it was sent here 2 be fixed, but never got fixed. and i do not need a EPA waiver bcuz the 3s is in the us spec mr-2 turbo, there is no difference in gen. as far as the EPA knows. and i state that the car will only be here for 90 days, after which it must be "exported or destroyed" if it does not have a full EPA exemption. as u can tell its been a long process, it would have been so much easier if i was in the Japanese army!! lol well wish me luck!

Damn. This is like a movie plot or something..

This post has been edited by hitcachi: May 12, 2007 - 12:34 PM

if I were you I wouldn't post stuff like that.

just an opinion

nice, hope it all works out for you.....post some pics when you finally get it

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why do u say that?

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In case you didn't know, there are police officer searching on car forums, doesn't mean they are gonna see this post and investigate but the information is there open for anyone to see it, it has happen on other boards and can happen here. there is certain stuff that is just better not to know / let people know. a couple GT-4 s are in this country and how they were legalized we don't know, people always assume, but no one can take you to court based on assumptions, but what you have posted are your comments where you already stated the procedure you're gonna follow and even you say that is not legal, that can be used against you, and that would be sad.

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yeah i know what u mean, but its a calculated risk. i knew from day 1 what i was gonna try to do and the consequences involved. so i mean if a year from know i have it and it gets taken and crushed, i knew that was a possibility when i started. but i do know where ur coming from big brother is always watching.

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Hope you take into account of penalty of perjury, plus, it can also be considered insurance fraud.
VIN swap = falsifying state document = fraudulent

My $0.02

are u keeping ur celica u have now

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yes i might have 2 sell it for the bond money but i hope not. i am just gonna wait until i have the bond money then ship it.

some one needs to let us know how much it would cost and what all needs to happen to do this legally. cuz i really want a gt4.
i know it has been done a few times but there aren't any posts on how to do it. i haven't got the first clue on where i would need to go otherwise i would look something up.
and then once it has been done it needs to be stickyed

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don't know if that's all and exactly what needs to be done, but its a start. hopefully more people know cuz i wanna import a lhd st205 someday.

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You can't find that info because its never been done legally. The one or two GT-4s that are in the states were imported "by other means."

I think the best bet if people really want GT-4s is to get a list of people WITH DEPOSIT MONEY, then go to a registered importer and try to convince them to go through the process to legally import them, or at least to explore the feasblility. The deposits can be used toward the costs of legalization (i.e. crash tests etc)

OTOH, my guess is that there really aren't that many people willing to pay top dollar for a GT-4. There would be a SIGNIFICANT markup to defray the expense of the legalization process. Look at how much Skylines cost on Japanese sites, then look how much Motorex legalized ones go for. I don't think GT4s would bring enough profit margin to make it worthwhile for the importer. But I could be wrong.

J.

rumor has it that jdm cars are easier to import from canada than directly from japan. there are a couple of dealerships that have been talked about on the alltrac board but I cant remember off the top of my head. But the importing process seems to be easier for the japan to canada portion. Although you will still need to deal with EPA, it is rumored to be easier because the US and Canada are very similiar as far as importing vehicles is concerned. In fact, they are a bit more strict over there as far as crash tests go... that's why there are no legal SRT-4's or EVOs in canada.

just my 2psi...

~bloodMoney

nice.
good luck bro.
i think we all wish we could import one.

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No SRT-4's? Get your facts strait. Evos are not avail in Canada, yes. But SRT-4's are legal. 100%. They are just as common as most other cars out here.

update?

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still trying to find out how much bond is gonna be b4 i have it shipped, shipping has been paid (it was included in the selling price) for its at a friends place. and i dont know what way to go just yet as far as trying to get it legal, i might have to talk to an importer. i dont want to have to crash it to get the data.

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I think you’ve just hit a brick wall there. Cause getting it legal is what you should have thought of first.

This post has been edited by Rayme: Sep 25, 2007 - 1:29 PM

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Just out of curiosity, how would swapping VINs be any more illegal then doing a AWD conversion and swapping a 3s-gte into a US Celica?

Engine swaps can be legal as long as you follow the rules, but there is no legal way to swap a VIN number.

I'm saying what is the difference if you convert your entire celi to a 100% GT-4 or just import a GT-4 and stick your VIN on it. Seems to me big brother wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

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I don't know there, but in Canada, when you need to go through the custom to release the car, if it's illegal to drive on the road they will deny it. Even if it's of "off-road use only", if it looks like a normal street car they won't allow it because it' an easy way out. Basicly from what I understand, any car that is road worthy and illegal to drive in Canada..is illegal in the country(simply put)! And I got all the reason to beleive that it's just as hard in the USA...anybody remembers Motorex? They were importing Skyline and they have to go through major steps to legaly sell skylines.

So the big question is to actually get ahold of the car in your own yard. If you know "illegals ways" though, it's another story.

BUMP

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hey......my car's white too.