Is it illegal to own a unregistered RHD rx7?
 

I cannot find any threads about this subject and for some reason my past thread was just closed so i cannot get an info in that one.....?.......

I need to know if i can own one, but just not have the ability to drive it, or if they will take it and ship it back or crush it if its found out i have it. I am getting mixed opinions on this and i have read through THOUSANDS of goverment sites that have really not given me any real conclusions or facts.. WHO KNOWS?!?!?!?!? Help me out with this, i need to know so i can make a tough decision! Thanks!!

Yes you can own one unregistered.

:facepalm:

How do you define "own"? If you have a title, why not get it registered? If you can't get a title you may have paid for it, but you don't own it.

It's legal to have it..... it is illegal to drive it, register it with a false title, or "state register" the car. There are plenty of "grey market" cars out there that are registered at a state level, only for the reason to get plates and tags. They are not federally registered so there for they're considered illegal by the U.S. Government but not State government. There are plenty of ways to get a title for a car, but it all comes back to the federal database.

Just like sgtblue posted... unless you have the D.O.T. bond release, papers from the R.I. and a legal title stating that it is in your name the Fed's do not consider you as an owner.




...and one other thing. Even if you do register and title the car, it doesn't mean the Feds can't show up one day knocking on your door asking for the car because it was illegally imported.

plenty of folks have titled and driven illegal cars.. and plenty of folks have titled, driven and had their illegal car impounded and crushed.

Just purchase a USDM 7 and go from there. I don't understand this infatuation with JDM 7s.

You know you're gonna replace everything anyways.

register it as a show/ track car.

The problem with that is that you have to have proper documentation to prove that it was indeed a track car before it was imported. You can't import any car and say it's a track car.

As someone living in New Zealand, and having no understanding of the US vehicle registration system, it seems odd to have the notion that you can't buy a car and trailer it to/from private roads/tracks!

To import a show car, you have to prove that the vehicle entering the country is of enough historical value that warrants the importation. Historical value can mean a number of things, but for rX7 folks it means that similar vehicles were produced in the states and you'd have to have a real reason to import it - meaning Spirit R status.

Also, one has to provide documentation that it's actually being shown. And eventually, it must leave the country - it is not a permanent importation.

Ok, now that I've said that: S O A P B O X R A G E ! ! ! ! !

If you can get Mazda USA to provide documents of support you'll have a much easier time registering a RHD RX7. Problem is Mazda will not want to set a precedent.

Go import a R33 Skyline GTR. That's easier

From a guy that owns an RHD rx7 in japan, I have no clue why people create such angst for themselves.

I've got boxes full of stock parts I've pulled off/replaced from mine that will go back on the car if/when I go back across the pond. Then I'll sell it, go to the US, find another one, and begin the fight all over again.

Maybe it's a money issue, where they buy the car real cheap and think importing them will be easy. Of course going this route will end up costing you 2 or 3 times as much, take up a lot of valuable time that could be better spent drinking beer, and require the use of lots of Tylenol. Then you spend your days and nights wondering if all the effort you put into the car will result in it being crushed into a 4x4 cube.

Then on top of it you have a car that is awkward to drive on US roads. How is this worth the effort?

If there was a company out there converting imported cars to LHD then importation might be much easier, but I have no idea if the law still considers a converted LHD as its original RHD configuration.

I remember reading one of the docs for this. It is unlikely you can get the spirit r in like this. I think the magic number is 400 units. I think you can specially request the spirit r for special status but I don't remember.

OP, your previous thread was locked because there have already been plenty of threads on this very subject. If you run an intelligent search then you will find them.

This question has been asked, and answered, numerous times before.