Hey so I'm in the very very early preliminary stages of wanting to import an RX-7 to California and I haven't had a whole lot of luck finding information on what sort of a process one needs to go through.

I understand finding an importer, buying the car, and shipping it, but can anyone enlighten me on applicable fees?

I've read through the US customs website, and they mention a 2.5% tax on the price of the car + a 17.5% tax on something else + registration + fees to modify it to pass smog.


So...does anyone know what kind of things I would need to go through just to get it to pass smog? Is it just a few mods or would I be looking at $5,000+?

Also, a Canadian importer told me that imported RX-7s are not legal in the US unless they're track cars, but that doesn't sound right to me. Can anyone confirm that?


Thanks a bunch!

 

http://www.epa.gov/otaq/imports/quiktext.htm

 

Laws changed a few years ago:
https://www.rx7club.com/showpost.php...2&postcount=80

While you may get one in the US and get plates for it, it will not be "legal".

 

So..... why dont buy a US FD then?

 

Well the US FDs were only '93-'95 and so if I were to import I could get something more around '98 or even an '02. I guess it's out of the question now though. Plus RHD is just plain cool.

That's really frustrating, I don't really get why they're not allowed in the US. If it can be modified to pass safety and EPA, why would it be illegal?

Are there ANY workarounds besides making it a track car? Say...import and register in Canada, then move it down to the US or do the same rules still apply?

 

Same rules apply no matter how it gets here. The simple fact is that it's not legal to import one. Military personnel who are stationed outside of the US for a certain period of time, are usually allowed to bring back non-US cars on a temporary basis (i.e. long enough to find a US DOT approved vehicle).

Don't you think if it was legal to do, there would be more 1996 and up RX7's in the US?

 

Maybe. I mean, there's no question that for many, the hassle just isn't worth it.

Is EVERY Japanese car (sub legitimate off-road and race cars) no longer allowed to be imported?

If so, I think I'm just going to go join the M3 club and get one of those -.-

 

^ Get out

 

lmao!!

 

Okay so I just found this PDF:

http://204.68.195.250/cars/RULES/imp...list120508.pdf

It's by the NHTSA and was written at the end of 2008. Just skimming through it, I get the feeling that importing an RX-7 from Japan would be 2-3x the cost of buying an FD in the states, because of all the mods needed to make it conform to standards.

Maybe when I'm older and feel like spending 60,000 on a 1998 RX-7 I'll give it a shot...

 

The cost and amount of work need to have it be a legal road driven cars varies per the state... Probley the hardest and most exspensive being California.

But, myself living in Florida. Its really not all that hard or exspensive. We dont have inspections or smog. Check your states laws and requirements to see what you will have to do. My mother has a Skyline and im planning to import an FD at the moment also.

Or, you could do what i first did. Just RHD swap it and add rare cool JDM parts... No one knows the difference and it has a US title still

 

you can import and legalize an rx7 from japan in california.
i know of multiple people who have done this, im not sure how, but anyone who tells you it cant be done is incorrect.

 

sure is... especially if you deliver mail as a hobby!

 

No one is saying it cannot be done. It's just not legal. States don't verify NHTSA regulations to hand out license plates. In most cases if you can get it into the country, you can get plates for it (which is different if you try it with a car for which a model was never sold in the US like a Skyline). Again, that doesn't make it "legal".