Importing a GT-4 to the U.S., What I've learned so far. Others please contribute... Options

[94GT]

I must admit, I'm one of those dreamers who wants to get a GT-4 into the states. A lot of us probably are, so that's why I'm writing this post. There have been several (3 at least) of these posts that discuss importing but there were a lot of questions remaining so I'll try to answer them with what I've learned over the past week. If you can contribute to this thread, please do, or if you find some info that contradicts what I've found, please post that as well. I'll start by saying that doing this legitimately is nearly impossible, so there is some degree of shadiness to everything here.

1) Shipping a whole (not disassembled) GT-4 from anywhere in the world (besides Canada) to the U.S. and claiming it at the port.
This is the expensive and nearly impossible one. This means you would have to use a Registered Importer (they're the guys who do the conversion) and post a bond for the vehicle at 150% of it's value. If you've heard of the Nissan Skyline, that's what they do to make those legal in the U.S. None of this has anything to do with which side the steering wheel is on (RHD and LHD are equally legit in the U.S. provided there is crash test data). Basically reinforced beams have to be added to the doors, all glass has to be replaced, all seatbelts and airbags have to be replaced, all headlamps, tires, rims, reflectors, turn signals, wiring and so on and so forth. I can't even name all the parts, but if you'd like, look closesly at the parts on your celica and you'll see that a lot of them have DOT stamped on them. Euro or JDM models won't have that, and in order to be legal in the U.S. you'd need every last one of those parts. Several tens of thousands of dollars worth of work would have to be done just to make the body of the car legal not to mention the fact that the EPA is going to jump you for smog compliance. In short, if you've got the money it takes to do this, you're better off buying a skyline.

Here's the data off the NHTSA website that addresses this approach:
If the vehicle is less than 25 years old and was not originally manufactured to comply with all applicable FMVSS, and/or was not so certified by its original manufacturer, it cannot be lawfully imported into the U.S. on a permanent basis unless NHTSA determines it eligible for importation. The agency makes those determinations on its own initiative or the basis of a petition from a registered importer. These are business entities that are specifically approved by NHTSA to import nonconforming vehicles and to perform the necessary modifications on those vehicles so that they conform to all applicable FMVSS. The petitions must specify that the vehicle is substantially similar to a vehicle that was certified by its original manufacturer as conforming to all applicable FMVSS and is capable of being readily altered to conform to those standards, or, if there is no substantially similar U.S.-certified vehicle, that the vehicle has safety features that comply with, or are capable of being altered to comply with, the FMVSS based on destructive test information or other evidence the agency deems adequate. Import eligibility decisions are made on a make, model, and model year basis.

An additional requirement for the lawful importation of a nonconforming vehicle is that it be imported by a registered importer (RI) or by an individual who has contracted with an RI to bring the vehicle into conformity with all applicable FMVSS. A bond in an amount equivalent to 150 percent of the declared value of the vehicle must be given at the time of importation to ensure that the necessary modifications are completed within 120 days of entry. A list of RI's can be found on our web site at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import/. You might want to contact one or more of the listed RIs to obtain their opinion on the feasibility of conforming the vehicle that you seek to import to the FMVSS, and the costs involved in petitioning the agency to determine that vehicle to be eligible for importation, as well as the costs for conforming the vehicle to the FMVSS.

But wait, why can't you just forgo the bond that you paid at the port and skip the modifications? If you can buy a decent GT-4 for around 4200 USD, another 6300 to customs then you've got a GT-4 for 10,500, right? That would definitely be cheaper than modifying it, but that's when titling screws you, which I'll talk about later.

2) Canada
Just as hard as the states, so if you get one there, you're home free, but you'll probably run into the same problems.

3) Mexico!
This has been the most promising one yet although it still has it's problems (and it's slightly scary due to corruption, etc). Let's start with port selection. Baja California is probably the cheapest place to ship a car to, assuming you bought it in Japan. Ensenada is the most northern shipping port they have and it's a little less than two hours from San Diego (about 110 miles). If you try the Gulf of Mexico side, the boat will have to go through the Panama canal (again assuming it came from Asia) so it will probably cost a lot more to ship it that way. Mexico, unlike our northern neighbor doesn't seem to discriminate as much against cars. It has been said that you can ship the car there and then drive it across the border. It is true that a car registered in Mexico can be driven across the border into the U.S. without a problem, but the gray area is that you would probably need a Mexican citizen to do it. Border patrol and customs will probably do more than raise an eyebrow if you show up in a RHD celica with Mexican license plates and you yourself are not a resident of Mexico. Maybe if you've got a friend with a timeshare in Cancun that you can register it to you can pull it off, but you better have a really good straight story to make that work. Here's my solution. Many states will issue license plates or paper temp tags to you without seeing the vehicle. You'll probably have to sweet talk them to do it without a VIN (non U.S. cars are not going to have a VIN that works with our U.S. 17 digit system) but assuming you pull it off the car should go through just fine even with maximum scrutiny from border patrol. What I don't recommend: Do not just take your current celica tags, registration and insurance card down there and slap them on a GT-4. If you get pulled randomly or because RHD cars freak the officer out, you'll be in a lot of trouble for what you've done when they see the Japanese ID number doesn't match the VIN on your registration. Oh, and don't forget even if you've insured the car for driving in the states, you'll need a Mexico driving insurance policy to be legal to drive it in Mexico no matter where it's license plates say it's from. I wouldn't recommend messing with this one because the policies are dirt cheap and you can print them out online and if you DON'T have the proper insurance, Mexico will throw you into Mexican jail until you have paid all damages for whatever accident you're in.

4) Okay, so now you've got your GT-4 in the states either by skipping out on the bond in example number one or driving it across the U.S./Mexico border in example 4. Let's use Oklahoma as an example. You drive your car over to OK without wrecking it (don't forget to get it insured for stateside driving!). Oklahoma and every other state that I have family or friends living in all have the same clause in their lawbooks about foreign cars. No I didn't check all 48 CONUS states, but I did check California, Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Michigan. Every last one of them had the same clause buried in the lawbooks and it goes like this:

F. When registering for the first time in this state a vehicle which was not originally manufactured for sale in the United States, to obtain a certificate of title, the Tax Commission shall require the applicant to deliver:

1. As evidence of ownership, if the vehicle has not previously been titled in the United States, the documents constituting valid proof of ownership in the country in which the vehicle was originally purchased, together with a notarized translation of any such documents; and

2. As evidence of compliance with federal law, copies of the bond release letters for the vehicle issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Transportation, together with a receipt issued by the Internal Revenue Service indicating that the applicable federal gas guzzler tax has been paid.


This is the clause that screws us. If you bypass the port either by skipping out on your 150% bond or by sneaking it up through Mexico, you're not going to have the documentation that the state needs to issue your vehicle a 17 digit U.S. vin number. Well, if you were thinking about parting out your US celica, now would probably be a good time, and that will solve your vin problem, but like I said at the beginning, it's shady and could get you in big trouble down the line especially if you are in an accident and your insurance company or their insurance company presses insurance fraud charges against you. Now like I said, I didn't check all 48 state laws, but I'm willing to bet every one of them has that same rule about VINs buried in there somewhere.

5) Become a race car driver and import it as an off-road race vehicle.
This one sounded promising, too, but the NHTSA is on to this one and they'll get you at the port. Here's the skinny:

If you want it in the country permanently it cannot be a vehicle that was manufactured for road use (GT-4s are roadworthy where they came from so that won't work).

If you want it in the country "temporarily" you've got to supply them with all kinds of crap. Racing league, race dates, locations, etc. They basically want to track your itinerary and make sure it's back out of the country in short order

Then they throw this clause at the end to make sure you don't try and convert it:

"A racing vehicle may not be registered or licensed for on-road use. A vehicle allowed entry for racing purposes cannot subsequently be converted for use on public roads."

Screwed again.

6) Military. I am and I've looked into it. No special treatment. You can bring a US conforming vehicle into the US duty free (no taxes) but that's it. If you know someone who brought a beemer back from Germany, then it says DOT on all the lights, glass, etc, because they bought it through AAFES. It's US spec sold at a nice discount because BMW doesn't have to pay the import/export taxes on it. Buy a beemer off a normal lot in Germany and try and ship it back and it will still get bonded at the U.S. port.

7) Import it as a parts only car.
This might be the big one guys. According to the rules you can bring it in as "parts only" if and only if you remove the "engine and drive train." In short, you've got to get someone in Japan to pull the engine and tranny for you crate them up separate and ship them separately. If they're shipped together (even though they're not installed), all bets are off, and customs considers it a full fledged car. In addition you have to remove the following non DOT approved stuff:

"Any items included in the assemblage that are subject to an FMVSS (brake hoses, brake fluid, glazing, lighting equipment, seat belt assemblies, tires, rims) that were not manufactured to comply with the applicable standard, and/or were not so certified by their original manufacturer, must be removed from the assemblage and exported or destroyed before entry."

Okay, so you ditch the rims scrap the brake lines, brake fluids, seat belts and glazing (what is glazing???) and ship those nice projector lamps, and jdm tail lights with your engine and tranny and you're good to go. Pick up some steel wheels from a junkyard that say DOT on them and use those to roll your GT-4 onto a trailer and you're home free. Wait for your tranny/engine/fancy lights to show up and start putting it back together. Oh yeah, still no vin number...

Well, if you'd like to make it semi legit, take your current celica, strip the hood, front bumper, engine, tranny, front and rear suspension and just swap all that stuff onto it and you've got a US AWD GT-4 with all the right DOT glass, headlights, etc. Sell the JDM projectors on Ebay or this site because you know someone will want them (along with the fenders, steering wheel, stereo, gauge cluster, moon roof, seats, and anything else you can part out. Might as well make some money). Why not just buy a front and rear clip and the JDM hood and bumper? It'll probably cost you more. Most people do the ST-185 swap and that front clip runs about 1900 shipped. I don't even know if you can do the AWD conversion using ST-185 clips (are the wheelbases identical?). If you do ST-185, that will probalby be less. If you really want a true GT-4 (and I mean ST-205 AWD 250ish HP) that front clip will run you around 3500 USD shipped, I'm not sure how much the rear clip would be because you'd have to get one of those clip importers to do it special since none of them list it, plus probably an even thousand for all the parts and shipping needed to do the full on GT-4 front end. In any case, I estimate that it'll cost roughly 7000 to get all the parts using clips and ordering the hood/bumper through your local dealer. Plus with a clip they've chopped the exhaust system so barring welding one together you'll probably spend some cash on one of those, too.

If you buy a celica in Japan, you can get a 1994/1995 for under 4,000 USD. Another 1000 to get it put on the boat and you've saved yourelf roughly two grand. Plus you've got all the extra JDM crap to sell on E-Bay and you can actually recoup some of your costs. By my count all you need now is to send your harnesses to Dr Tweak or DG Performance, and you'll have every part you could possibly need for a total GT-4 engine/AWD swap.

Finally, here's what I have not done yet:
Gotten a real shipping quote (I've heard 600, but since the motor will be pulled, "roll on roll off" won't work so it'll probably be more expensive)
Actually confirmed the list of stuff they want removed before customs will release it (tires, rims, brake hoses etc). All I need to do is figure out what port I'm using and start making phone calls. I'm stuck in Oklahoma for training for the next year, so I'll be getting more crazy with this when I'm back in Cali.

Here are some of the source websites that I used for info:
http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/rules/import...ages/page2.html
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/clearing...automobiles.xml

Here are some other threads on 6GC that address this issue:
http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=3216&hl=gt-4
http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=17021&hl=
http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=17951&hl=

As I do more to make this dream a reality I will continue to post. Please share the wealth if you find anything else.... Like a GT-4 for sale in the U.S. Can't believe I missed that e-bay opportunity!!!

[ST-204]

I used to live in Seattle, and there is a tuning shop which belongs to my HK buddies.
For real, the main issue in importing a JDM GT4 is only a money problem, if u do have enough to spend it, I damn sure that u can get a JDM GT4 from Japan.

A year ago, I wanted to import a GT4 from Japan either, but I had to spend around $23000 for it, it includes all tax fees, shipping fee, and even the fee for legalizing.

But let's think in this way, do u think spending around 23k is worth for a 7-year-old car?
Coz I can use the same price to import a RHD JDM DC5-R either.....


Anyway, good luck to import the GT4 here!!
Good luck.

This post has been edited by ST-204: Jan 1, 2006 - 3:19 PM