I'm currently stationed in Japan and have a pristine 92 JDM FD3S. It has 92,000 km on it. The import date just passed (Feb 2017) which means I can bring her back and register her under the 25 year rule.

My question is: Do you guys think the FD will go up in demand for JDM models this year or the next? I know the R32 spiked the market high in demand in 2014 when the original 1989 models came available; however, I think the "skyline" name and pedigree may have had something to do with it as well. Basically, I have a year prior to my PCS to assess the market. If it doesn't seem like it's doing much, I will likely just keep it in Japan. If I think the values are going up, I may bring her back with me.

 

LHD will have higher demand in the US market . and it really won't change. IMHO

 

absolutely not. the jdm fd market is crap now and will remain that way as these "super cool" cars are bought up at low prices by people that cant really afford to maintain them. they will blow up one after another and then the demand for them will continue to plummet. if you want to bring the car back with you, bring it back for yourself because YOU want it. if you bring it back to sell, youll lose money and have a bad time.

clearly you dont care about the car seeing as how your motivation for keeping it is whether or not you can make a profit on selling it. youd be better off just getting rid of it now and getting something else that you can make a profit on.... like a skyline or an nsx.

 

Alex R is importing them cheap and selling them at 17K.

 

OP, you are in for a world of hurt if you are walking into an FD looking to flip it unless you have a whole lot of knowledge and experience. Hope that is the case, because the FD is vehicle ownership on hard mode.




The concept of buying or selling FD's with one size fits all pricing is retarded, and frankly mythical. If I cannot buy them in Japan for $15k in decent shape with dealer auction access, then that $17k figure won't last long, hurry buy now, or if he is selling bottom dwellers, run...



The demand for export eligible RHD FD's is through the roof, they are much more rare than most think, not an opinion, consistent Japanese auction data proves it.

 

FD prices in Japan are actually really high right now, from what I have heard.

Still much lower than what you'd pay in the US, but high for Japan.

That said, prices vary WILDLY by year, condition, mileage, and mods because it was produced for so long and because they cost so much to maintain.

It probably still isn't going to be worth importing an early-model FD, once you pay $3K to bring it in. Not to sell, at least. If you just want to take your own car home, do it.

 

They get free shipping to the US, and many states sales tax exempt them if military. That makes it unlikely for them to sell it for more in Japan.

 

Well, not everyone who lives in Japan is in the military.

 

I literally almost spit up laughing at this nugget of truth when I read it. So very very true.

 

OP is.

If you have clean FDs in Japan the cost to ship them ourselves as civilians like us still nets a higher profit, however to your point there is risk, and time decay throughout the shipping process. Currently in the process of doing it both ways at the moment, we'll see how it goes.

 

BTW you inevitably have to lie on a federal form to use the 25-year exemption since you aren't allowed to bring modified cars back, but virtually every FD is modified to some extent or another.

 

Doing the import paperwork yourself is inefficient for most people including me. From a legal standpoint agree to disagree on the word lie, modified as it is defined by the feds own regulations has huge amounts of wiggle room, not only in the text but consistent precedence. Worked with over 20 bone stock cars last year just on Okinawa so they do exist.

 

I specifically asked DOT and they said "absolutely no modifications, including aftermarket mufflers, clutches, etc."

But you'll almost certainly be fine, regardless.

 

I would absolutely NOT get your hopes up OP.. I would only consider it feasible if you have a printed and signed letter from TMO specifically stating that they will ship a RHD vehicle back to the US for you... Unless you have that (printed and signed) then good luck

Hell, they almost refused to ship back my FD from the UK when I left there about 10 years ago.. And I bought mine in the US before I got stationed out there. The reasoning??? I put a new hood on, and the new hood didn't have the EPA sticker on it. I literally had to go back, find my old hood on base, and cut the necessary part out of it so that I could display it for shipping (and verify that it did, in fact, belong to my exact vehicle).

Just because something has suddenly become legal in the US, does NOT mean that you get to enjoy it (think weed in one of the many states where it's now legal) So yeah... Good luck

 

well, thats not entirely accurate. not sure how long youve been out but it actually is that simple. when PCSing from OCONUS to CONUS, all you need to get a POV shipment authorized on your orders, is to ask. just let tmo know that you want to ship a car back. they will verify that you dont already have a car in storage stateside and then youre good. its actually the port that has final say on whether or not the car is good to go or now.

 

Funny i see this thread. I sold my FD two years ago and dearly miss it so much and i am ready to come back to the game.

I just moved 2 months ago from the Dominican Republic to Orlando and my business back home was importing and selling cars. Anybody knows a nice customs broker that can assist me with the paperwork for 25+ year old cars? Still learning all about the import and motor laws in this country and i can get 92 FDs fairly cheap in Japan.

 

Just for the record, non-conforming cars get sent back or crushed. That doesn't happen until it's in the states.

That's pretty much every single RHD car from Japan less than 25 years old, but even then you have to file a specific federal form to get the car out of the port of arrival.

You also can't drive it home from the port on account of it not being registered, so you've gotta truck it.

 

You could a year or two ago... Now not so much.

All the doom and gloom about importing vehicles in this thread is just simply not supported by the reality of what is happening, 1000's of already successful imports can't all be wrong, yes you have to be careful but my god...

 

No. When I mean I can get them cheap I mean cheap and I mean now. I have my contacts in Japan, i could of bought one this Tuesday.

Like i said, I just moved here and i am looking for a nice customs broker who can guide me through with this whole process.

 

Interesting. So you're saying that the base out there doesn't check for any EPA compliance, US Safety standard compliance or anything else? (It seems to me like you're only looking at the initial step of the process, which is misleading in and of itself...)

I'm not talking about getting some Admin guy to amend your orders, I mean the actual shipment company to accept the vehicle.

I had my car shipped back in early 2009.

Also, word to the VERY wise... go over your initial inspection of the vehicle VERY thoroughly!! Fully document the vehicles condition and equipment yourself (full photos, full list of interior/exterior/engine mods, etc., etc) and maintain your copies of EVERYTHING!!!

When I had my (mostly stock) FD shipped out the car arrived without a shift ****. Some ******* stole the GReddy one that came with the car during shipment, I was in Afghanistan at the time so I didn't know about it until I returned months later.

When I had my (moderately modified) FD shipped back from the UK the shippers totally fucked up my A-Spec Bumper, then doctored the inspection paperwork to make it look like I dropped the car off that way. I was LIVID!!! If I didn't have my carbon copy of the inspection sheet then I would have had no way to prove that I was telling the truth.

 

We're not talking about affluent civilians with more money than sense, who feel like hiring a lawyer and dropping tons of money on personalized importation services so they can feel "special" about having a RHD vehicle in the US.

We're talking about a (probably junior) military member who's trying to get the US Government to cover the costs (all the costs) of shipping his JDM toy home to the states for him.


Vastly different situations

 

Your first statement is correct. No military organization does anything to inspect the vehicle. The only role played is some admin guy amends your orders. The port has the final say as to whether or not the car gets on the boat. Valkyrie is correct as well. Once it gets to America, it's a different game. That's when the games really begin.

 

Probably with all those single turbo thread , it got him confuse , S4 & S5 came with single turbo

 

Wrong thread?

 

Lol yes , sorry about that