I just brought back my 1994 jspec rhd rx7 from Germany. It has low miles around 70k. It has minor mods apex short ram intake, apex ecu with datalogit, Megan racing coil overs, aftermarket rims, three inch cat back, after market stereo, a detachable momo steering wheel, short throw shifter, and light weight flywheel with stage 2 clutch pack. I'm thinking of selling it but I have no idea what it would be worth in the states. Ow and the body and interior are in great shape besides common wear. Any help would be greatly appreciated because I have no idea.

 

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how did you get a 94 RHD FD in the america from germany? if youre military, theres no way TMO let you ship it and if youre civilian then hopefully you have some paperwork showing its legitimacy as far as importation goes. will you please fill in on some back story as to how it got to the states and what process was used? the method of importation and supporting documents will determine its value....

 

I knew I should have added that. It is plated here in sc. I have all importation paperwork. First from Japan to Germany then from Germany to the states. Taxes were paid on arrival with support docs and customs cleared it. The key to getting it home was separating the engine and drivetrain from the body. Under us customs law when a vehicle has no drive train it is not considered a car it is considered a assemblage of vehicular parts, which is not subject to the same customs laws as a "car". The engine I shipped home with my household goods (military house stuffs) once home I put the engine in took all docs to the dmv, verified the vin (which is different then American versions) and all was good. I did have to hire a customs lawyer to help but it worked. It wouldn't be able to pass a emissions test but in sc they don't require one. All glass is American safety glass the front and rear bumpers are American spec supported but that was the only change I had to do to the car to meet safety requirements.

 

So they just accepted the car without requiring you to meet NHTSA and Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards requirements? none of this sounds right otherwise people would be doing this all the time for all kinds of JDM goodness.

Is the car insurable? does it have a title? can you show proof of both?

Who was the registered importer? did they provide you with proof that the car meets FMVSS? If not then you have 120days to bring it up to standards. If what you did was truly legal then there would be more GC8's, JDM Evos, JDM EK9 Type R's, and other awesome JDM cars running around. Since it appears that you brought it in as a "kit" and based on reading NHTSA laws, it seems your car is more of a "grey market" car and can still be seized by the government. Also, its not a smog test so much as it meeting EPA requirements.


Of course if you can prove that it is legal here in the states and it is insurable with a title then tack on all fee's associated with importation and add up a complete RHD swap and then add what ever the base value is for a comparable LHD for final sale price.

 

Yes it had to meet safety standards hence the new glass and front and rear bumpers. It is insured by usaa with a stateside policy. Yes I have the title, it is through south carolina. No its not grey Markey no its not a kit car. The reason more people don't do it is because it took me two years of legal work and around 6 to 8k to get it here. The loop hole I found brings it in legally as a assembly of parts. Once the engine with matching vins is reinstalled it passed the us vin verification standard. Customs had no issues due to the changes I made to it in order to make it legal here. Yes if it was easy everyone would do it. It's far from easy. It took my blood sweat tears and money but I did it happily because it is the most amazing car I've had the joy and honor to drive. 200 plus miles per hour down the autobahn with more room to go, you can't beat that. Of course if I do sell it all paperwork from Japan to here would come with it which includes a legal us title. Based on what you said about adding everything up it'll end up going for 30k or more to cover everything. Which if someone offers me 30k+ I would part with it as sad as I would be.

 

Since it is an actual RHD FD3S and not a conversion and I am assuming its a 5spd and USAA has a policy that anyone can call and verify, it sounds like you could get anywhere from say 22-30k for it. TBH I would never sell it and if you truly want to off load an authentic RHD car then I would list it here with as many pictures that you can and post images of both the title and USAA's insurance card and wait for the offers to roll in.

 

That's what I was thinking just list it and say just to make offers. Trust me I don't want to sell it but sadly sometimes financial issues outweight things we want.

 

TBH, its a 1994 with 70k miles on it. Why would it be worth any more than a US 1994 car? I can see it being sold for a lot of money if it was a 99-2002 car, but I can pick up a USDM 1994 car with 70k miles pretty easily for $15k.

 

Yes you can get LHD cars all day but this is a true rhd efini rx7 that you can't get without alot of work. It's all about supply and demand. There is no supply so the demand goes up.

 

If you really did go through all the hassle to get a RHD into the US, why did you go with a 1994 when 1997 to 2000 model FDs are just as cheap and plentiful in Japan, and would have been more worthwhile to bring to the US?

Sorry, but this does not add up. I used to import a lot of RHD cars from Japan to Australia, here. That is how I got my current RHD car.

 

I got it in Germany where there weren't any 97s and up in the area. What is not adding up?

 

That's not how supply and demand relate. They do not necessarily affect each other directly; instead, price is determined by the intersection of those two factors (curves).

I'm not clarifying that to be pedantic. It is entirely possibly that a 94 RHD car is an object of both low supply and low demand. Honestly I think a USDM car is potentially more valuable. Also consider that it's not going to be long before importation of the earliest FDs is legal under the 25 yr rule and the floodgates are opened for cheap RHD examples.

 

I agree

All things equal it's worth less than a US car unless it was a 99 and up car with low mileage and even then with equal miles it would have to be a special car like an RZ to command more money. Typically a low mileage (under 25k miles) FD today is 25k and up.

The only reason other jspec/RHD cars are here is because we can't get them. 94 FDs are all over the place.

Put it on ebay and see what happens but I don't see it selling for much.

 

Thank you all very much for the enlightening input. Many many good points and it did answer my original question. It may sell for a decent price if the proper buyer is found, if not it won't. My goal is to work things so I don't have to sell it, because by God I love that car almost as much as my 87. I do again want to thank you all for you honest and enlightened view points on the matter. There are many reasons I love thsee vehicles and this forum, it's mainly the people you meet who share this same passion.

 

Here RHD commands much less then LHD but then again in the US its alot more harder to get. You might be able to get a fast and furious jdm fanboi to pay a premium for it.