Skyline owners/fans, I need help. Importing a Toyota Celica GT-Four (1994-99) to the U.S?
Bargain Hotels
So, I went to this conference at a Miami hotel, when I saw a gorgeous silver Toyota Celica GT-Four parked in the hotel lot. As many of you know, this 6th generation car (1994-99) was never sold in the U.S.. Anyway, I waited on the owner and he showed me the interior, the engine bay, etc. so I was convinced that I was looking at the real thing, and not a regular Celica with a body kit. Anyway, he also showed me some papers that basically said the car was LEGAL to drive on U.S. soil!
Needless to say, this car was always one of my all-time favorite cars, and it sparked my interest. However, the man was in a hurry and I didn’t get to ask him probing questions as to what hoops he had to jump to get the car here. By the way, this was a left-hand drive car, so it wasn’t a JDM right-hand model, so I am guessing he must have gotten it from Germany, Italy, Spain or any other euro country that drives left-handed like we do.
So my question is…anyone out there knows how he might have been able to pull it off in bringing the car here? My understanding was that you could import a car if it’s 25 years or older with no problem. Anything newer would be considered a ‘non-conforming’ vehicle and can’t be imported (quoting DOT website). A friend of mine told me that maybe he brought the chassis with no engine…and then probably brought over the engine alone instead of getting the whole car here.
Anyone can shed a light on this? It must be possible to import it here, based on the number of, say, prior Nissan Skylines you see on the road here and there. Bottom line: I am getting a GT-Four over here…just need to know how you Skyline people got it done. Thanks!
Christine
March 19th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
Here is a website from the goverment that says which cars can be imported in the US as a conforming car (means it has been proven by a RI that the car has a similar counterpart that was sold in the US and can be changed with parts of the US counterpart to meet US standards). Your Celica was never approved so there is almost no way to import it, register it (legally), and drive it in the US. Now I’ve heard of people buying the car in Japan, having someone disassemble it, and ship it to the US to be reassembled, but that’s still illegal under the federal law. The only way to legally import that car is to buy it, disassemble it, ship it to the US, make major modifications to make it comply with Federal Safety standards, and rebuild it so that it can be classified as a kit car. It’s stupidly complicated, and can cost up to 100,000 dollars in some cases. Remember just because you saw a guy on the street with one doesn’t make it legal, or he could be temporary importing it. Also you could probably register any vehicle in certain state i.e. Georgia, Texas, Florida but it doesn’t mean it’s legal under the eye of the Federal government which means if they catch you, your car will be crushed and you will be fined.
March 20th, 2009 at 1:40 am
best bet is find one in the US already or find an import firm like
which sell a good mix of imports worldwide.and let them have the hassle for you.
March 21st, 2009 at 6:45 am
there is a way to get around the importing laws by doing what your friend said. if you bring over parts of a vehicle, instead of the whole car it is possible to make the car road legal. i have a friend that has done this with a nissan silvia. as for the skyline issue there was only one company that was allowed to legally import them after they were modified to meet U.S. safety standards and several had to be crash tested. that’s one reason why a u.s. skyline is very expensive.