here in okinawa japan theres a place that imports skylines and stuff like that to the states through florida classed and registered as kit cars.......so ive heard. has anyone that is in florida heard of this or know anything about it.........if there is some truth behind this or a way for this to happen i was planning on bringing back a 20b mazda cosmo. my family lives in kissimmee so it would be out of the way once i got back to the states..................screw skylines ive actually seen a few in the states , how many 20b cosmos have people seen on the roads of america ???!!!....

 

what's the name of the company? do they have cars for sale already or are they just a shipping company?

 

yeah Im interested in send back a comso also

 

I have heard of at least 2 Japanese market cars being physically in Floria. The problem is getting them registered and insured.

You can go here to get an idea of the kit car rules:

http://www.dmv.org/fl-florida/custom-built-cars.php

If you were talking about a true kit car that would be one thing, but you're not. Now the question is whether you think you can fool the authorities into accepting a fully manufactured and assembled car as a kit car. Your first stumbling block is the VIN number.

There's a reason why JDM vehicles aren't running around all over the U.S.

 

the idea is, what you do is bring the car in without an engine, or anything, then its technically listed as parts, not an actual car, and then you bring the engine in seperately, and put the engine in the car and register it as a kit car. Its technically not illegal but its not entirely legal either so. It works i guess, but if you get caught... it wont end well.

this is how it was explained to me at anyrate... still not entirely sure id go that route...

 

The flaw in that approach is that the whole thing has to start with a VIN number that's attached to the frame / chassis. If you look at the Florida rules, that's where the process starts. I suppose there are various fraudulent ways to get around this, but as you say in your post, you run a good risk of getting caught.

There are so many hurdles that you have to clear bringing in a non-approved car.
The first is at the port when the car comes into the country. I've heard all sorts of stories of cars being impounded.

I know there recently was, or is, one JDM FD in FL for sale on e-bay / Autotrader. I have to wonder what's the story there? You also have to wonder why it's for sale? Is it someone who's run afoul of the red tape now trying to unload his mistake?
As the saying goes, "Buyer Beware."

 

the guy who does all the importing is in orland florida , i believe his number was 407-283-0711

ask him he will explain it for you , my friend imported his r33 gtr with him and it cost him $12k yet he waited a couple months

 

As I say, there's a reason you don't see a lot of delectable JDM cars running around on U.S. roads, and it's not the extra money involved.

2 years ago I saw a nice Skyline coup sitting in the parking lot of a suspension / tire shop in Tampa. It was undriven, covered in a layer of dust and dirt, and it had no license plate on it.

There are a lot of unhappy endings to the stories of importing "unapproved" cars.
Caveat emptor.

 

I have a friend who got a skyline here in the US from Japan. He did it by shipping the car in parts. The chasis one week... engine next... body parts the following week. Had them sent to different shops and then they all met up in one shop. They took pictures of it in the broken down shape and then the progress of it being put together by a licensed shop. He's been driving it around town ever since he got everything done like 2 months ago. I'll ask him who imported everything for him... maybe he could better explain how things went down....

 

Just so u know titling ur jdm car and tagging is just like over there! I can prove it al day and night, we "FL" dont smog check like cali, but handling ur DEREG is like a title so thus if there is a "brand" on ur DEREG then that brnad caries forward so if its rebuilt or CD'd then that brand follows as well! PLEASE ASK ME ANY QUESTION U LIKE I WIL BE MORE THAN HAPPY @ HELP/POINT U IN THE RIGHT WAY- I HAVE HELPED AT LEAST 150 PPL TAG AND TITKE THERE JDM **** THE RIGHT WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
AND YES IF ITS A 95 NISSAN THERE IN JAPAN UR **** WILL READ THE SAME HERE! U CAN EMAIL ME@ JAWFLAPPER123@AOL.COM AND YES I HAVE FLOWN TO CALI TO EDUCATE THE PPL @ DMV, I HAVE DEALT WITH NUMEROUS PPL SO IF U WANT PROOF IL SHOW U THE WAY!

 

Orig. Poster, contact tsunaumi of colurs here in Okinawa. he is a retired air force guy who imports to through florida. get on zeroyon.com and you can see quite a bit of info. The guy who ran the business ran into a little 'quirk' but I think he has things smoothed back out. If I were going to take a car back, I would give him a call. Also, there is another source to go through the west coast, if you are interested. Its on ZY...

 

thats funny i do al of his paperwork, his name is Geo, just ask him who helps document al of his cars for his customers! and everything u stated is correct, as a matter of fact he still currently works @ a base there! and btw the "issue" that he had was not his fault, customs tryed to pull a fast 1 on him, but he did hire an attorney who focuses on Customs related issues and he is kickn *** so far!! and yes that can be proven as well!

 

to add..

back in the mirage/evo forums people talked about this company called kaizo industries. it would have been 15-20k to import an e3 or e4. AND its only the complete shell. motor and tranny must be taken out. and suppose to be the ONLY current way of importing a car.

 

^ legally that is

 

I also handle kaizos paper work as well, and to be honest there is more than 1 way to import what ever u want, there are alot technicalities to many too list as a matter of fact, kaizo is a real company and i have seen there manufacturing process it is pretty entertaining.

 

Ok here is my question: The car I want to register is already in the states in Maryland, and is not yet registered. It's a 1996 RX-7 Efini. If ther car already existed in the states, would it still be as difficult to register it in the states? I want to register it in FL if that helps at all.

Any advice on the matter?

P.S. it HAS the export certificate...