# Moving to Japan



## hillbilly (Jan 16, 2006)

well in mainland cars dont rust as fast so u see a lot more old ones still around. dont realy under stand the law myself thay wont let you bring anything over to japan unless it 1976 and older


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## Wookie (Feb 24, 2006)

Hi all,
I'm moving to Japan later this month for a 2yr tour. I've been reading some of the threads here for a bit and I guess it's debatable whether or not you can legally drive a skyline in the states. I'm going to get one over there anyway, so my question is which model has the best chance or the easiest to legalize? I'll probably try to spend about $5-10K. Also is it possible (probably not) to import a car that has a similiar model selling here, like the RSX type-r?


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## TwistedGTR (May 19, 2005)

> Hi all,
> I'm moving to Japan later this month for a 2yr tour. I've been reading some of the threads here for a bit and I guess it's debatable whether or not you can legally drive a skyline in the states. I'm going to get one over there anyway, so my question is which model has the best chance or the easiest to legalize? I'll probably try to spend about $5-10K. Also is it possible (probably not) to import a car that has a similiar model selling here, like the RSX type-r?


What part of japan are you moving to? I used to live in Okinawa like 5 years ago. I would recommend the R32 cause it's the cheapest to legalize. Unless you found a kit car company over there that will do the paperwork,dismantle, and ship to you when you get to the states . I don't know about getting the RSX over though


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## Wookie (Feb 24, 2006)

I'm moving to yokosuka, (navy) which is about 30 miles below tokyo. I was leaning towards getting a R32 since it's pretty cheap. I'm sure the Navy will ship a car for me for free or at a low price, but I'm not sure if it goes through the normal import channels.


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## CALIGULA (Jun 12, 2005)

While there, ask around thats all. If your there for 2 years i am sure also you can work on some connections, get to know some people so they can hook you up. The best business transactions are based on connections.


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## TwistedGTR (May 19, 2005)

> While there, ask around thats all. If your there for 2 years i am sure also you can work on some connections, get to know some people so they can hook you up. The best business transactions are based on connections.


I agree. I am pretty sure you can get connections over their.


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## hillbilly (Jan 16, 2006)

i live in Okinawa and i see it all the time. people try and never do it cuz its to hard or dont have the money to do it. sense u are going to mainland i would get an old one like i gothttp://filepit.freewebs.com/tiresmoke/1971_SKYLINE.html if it is 25 years or older there is no import laws and the military will ship it for free. the retard that bring them back illigaly has open the eyes at DOT and are cracking down that is why its getting harder to bring one back.


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## Wookie (Feb 24, 2006)

That's a damn good idea. I remembered reading something about olders cars being exempt. 25 yrs in 2008 would be anything before 83. I'm assuming this is for any car not just skylines, which opens ups alot...How common are classic cars in Japan since they junk them pretty often? Getting a legal older skyline is definitly better than an questionable r32 for me. These laws don't make sense cause there are alot of custom hot rods on the streets that are alot more dangerous than a r32. I don't get it...


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## Wookie (Feb 24, 2006)

I made it over here and bought a 97 skyline gts (i think) last week and am going to pick it up tomorrow! It's a silver coupe with 71Km, but with one owner and I got it for 388000 yen (about $3600). When I first got here I was set on getting an auto due to the traffice but couldn't resist the manual. I'm pretty sure I won't be able to take this back home so I'm going to look for a classic car. I did find a 70's gtr for 1999000 yen ($18000) which is way to much.


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