Home & Auto — Icrontic

Importing a car from Japan

BuddyJ — Thu, 11 Mar 2021 16:10:55 +0000

Last year I finally took the plunge to import a 25 year old vehicle from Japan. It's not hard if you're willing to be patient, and doing it yourself will be cheaper than buying from a stateside JDM import dealership. There are several paths to getting a legal car in the US, but here's the path I recommend based on convenience and buying from a Japanese auction.

ASSEMBLE YOUR TEAM

You want to find n vehicle exporter in Japan to handle the purchase overseas. Japan has a complicated title/ownership system and all vehicles must go through a de-registration process before they can leave the country. Your exporter will handle all that along with booking the ocean freight to ship your car, various Japanese inspections, and making sure the car gets to port. There are several companies that do this and their fees vary as either a flat rate per car you buy, or a percentage of the purchase price, or some combination of the two. I used JapanCarDirect.com and have been very pleased with their service.

In my case, I paid a $500 deposit to JCD which gave me access to their web platform so I could look at cars at all the Japanese auctions, view historical sales data on the cars, etc. The deposit can be used toward the purchase price of my car should I decide to bid, or it can be kept on retainer if I want to keep using them as a vendor. It is fully refundable and therefore not included in any of the cost estimates in this document.

Once you send over a deposit, you're good to start playing the game of finding a good car to import.

You also want to find a freight forwarder to handle the import of the car one it hits the US port. This will add cost but also makes life super easy because they'll handle filing all the paperwork with the port, US Customs, the EPA, the DOT, etc. Be aware that finding a company willing to import a car for your personal use can be a challenge. Many companies only focus on commercial accounts and don't want to get burned by people trying to import illegal cars. Shop around because fees vary wildly.

THE COST

As soon as you get into the auction system, it's tempting to see the sales price of cars and think OMG SO CHEAP. The price you pay is only part of the larger picture. Here's pricing for my small kei van. Bigger cars mean higher prices for inland transportation, ocean freight, and delivery to your door. Your Japanese counterparts can help estimate freight costs based on the vehicle prior to bidding so be sure to ask what the Landed Cost estimate is for your vehicle type.

Cost Group 1 - $3,700 Paid once you win a car within a couple days via wire transfer.

Purchase Price of the Vehicle - My van was $1,680.
Fee to the Exporter - Figure $1k for most cars for their services. This is how they make their $$.
Inland Transportation to the Port and Inspections - $300
Ocean Freight & Marine Insurance - $1,000
Wire Transfer fee from your bank - $40

Cost Group 2 - $1,700 Paid when your car delivers to port 4-6 weeks after your make your initial purchase. OMG So Many Fees!!! These are the prices I paid through a company down in TX.

ISF Filing - $52
Unloading- $172 goes to the port operator who got your car off the ship
Duty - $334 (Figure 25% of the vehicle price for trucks and cargo vans, 3% for cars)
US Customs Clearance- $145
Single entry bond - $95
Express Courier - $30
Documentation - $85
DOT - $53
EPA - $65
Transit - $650 to deliver the car to my driveway. This varies wildly based on your distance from the port and the size of your vehicle. In COVID times, budget $1,000 or more to deliver to a location 8 hrs away from the port.
Wire transfer fee to the freight forwarder - $40

So my $1,600 van cost $5,500 by the time I got it plated and insured in my home state. Budget accordingly. I'll break down and explain some of these fees later

Another One

MAGIC — Fri, 05 Jun 2020 02:47:35 +0000

Well, we made the move to Colorado in the middle of a pandemic. Finding a house was a pain in the ass and luckily for my sanity we did as if I was unemployed with nobody hiring, unable to go anywhere, and had nothing productive to do I'd probably lose my mind.

This house wasn't in too bad of shape, built in the 80's, and other than the fact that it settled about four inches on one side so everything is out of square/level, it needs very little layout changes. I did have to rip out and flatten some subfloor where we removed walls to open up the kitchen.

Started the first week of may by completely stripping the inside. It was all dated and hadn't been kept up since the home was built. Filled almost two 30 yard dumpsters.

So far I've gotten 90% of the upstairs done. All the bedrooms have had the popcorn ceilings scraped, everything retextured, new doors, trim, and paint. Stole a bit of a bedroom closet to turn the hallway linen closet into a second floor laundry. Carpet was installed last week and I just finished the the wood floor in the hallway and on the stairs.

We have a metalworker building us a rail, that'll be installed later next week. I'll be starting on putting the kitchen back together this weekend.

Saw this guy on TV...

GHoosdum — Mon, 24 Aug 2020 13:37:07 +0000

Hey @pseudonym ! That's a mighty cool EV drag car you've got there!

Need help with what people currently like on home finishes, styles, etc.

Mt_Goat — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 02:33:00 +0000

Moving in the next year and looking for input on what everyone likes style and finish wise in houses. I am in the Austin area with a 12 year old 3 BR, 2 bath with office, formal dining 1900+ SF. And going to do refresh on the place prior to selling. Any and all help is appreciated.

I decided to do a thing ....and perhaps more.

Mt_Goat — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 02:35:15 +0000

After the disappointment of being able to not do old school things to a new truck last year that I really got the bug to build a old muscle car for my cruising pleasure as well as make some 1/4 mile passes in the sub 10 seconds range. So a few months ago I got serious and decided on a 1965 Mercury Comet Cyclone. The plan is to remove factory subframe, shock towers and fuel tank and replace with 2x3 tube frame with Mustang II type front suspension, Moser 9 inch rear differential on four link suspension. Install an all aluminum custom built 351 Windsor stroked to 454cid. It will be Candy Apple Red Metallic with gold flake.

This is what I already have started on.

This is what I am going for.

This was an alternative hood style I like and will not go with.

Now that I have income, help me mod my car

TheRedburn — Mon, 11 Jul 2016 07:32:12 +0000

I recently got a job again, and I want to make my car something worth driving. I also think it'd be great experience learning to work on my vehicle, so I'm asking y'all to recommend parts that'll make my 1996 Geo LSI faster, or just more efficient. So far, the car is all stock

Pretty cool stuff in Detroit

Ryder — Mon, 11 Sep 2017 23:34:50 +0000

Adam Savage (from Mythbusters) visited a Detroit (startup, I guess?) called Incite Focus. Their goal sounds pretty damn cool. Lots of open source collaboration to solve housing problems in more places than just Detroit.

Done with cars

Mt_Goat — Tue, 10 May 2016 01:19:49 +0000

I got rid of my last car. Now I am back to driving trucks again. Last week I got a new 2016 Ford F150 in Ruby Red with the Sport Package and a new 2.7L Ecoboost. I originally was planning on going with the 5.0 V8 but after a test drive in one equipped with the new Ecoboost I was sold. It us very noticeably quicker than the 5.0 at almost 1/2 the displacement. I have now ordered aftermarket Running Boards, exhaust, wheels and tires.

Bugatti Chiron - How it's Made Documentary

NiGHTS — Tue, 02 May 2017 15:32:08 +0000

A little overproduced from Nat'l Geo, but still interesting to watch. Prepare to lose 45mins of your day.

November 18th is going to be SO GOOD.

Ryder — Fri, 07 Oct 2016 03:17:10 +0000

Release date teaser:

The Trailer:

The Grand Tour: http://www.grandtournation.com/

So, excite!

Anyone know how to bypass the temp thermistor on a basement dehumidifier?

adarryl — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 21:53:55 +0000

I know this is a long shot but I have run out of ideas. I have a "Professional Series" dehumidifier branded "Collezioni" that I bought at Lowe's 3 or 4 years ago. It quit working throwing out the error code: "EC" which means the ambient air temperature around the unit is too cold (below 65 degrees) for the unit to dehumidify so it shuts itself off. Problem is my basement is cold, most basements are even in the dead of summer because of being below grade. And if your air conditioner runs, the basement amibient air temp tends to be even colder because exposed duct work radiating cold makes a naturally cooler environment even colder. Old tech dehumidifiers soldiered on under such conditions because they had only an ON/OFF switch along with a humidistat that you set to your preference (degree of humidity you wanted). This sometimes led to icing of the condenser coils hence the technology shift to using a temperature thermistor along with the humidistat. However, my thermistor won't let the dehumidifier do its job. Sheesh!! Do I have to put a space heater on it in order to fool the thermistor?! Since I can no longer buy the old school "working" dehumidifiers I either have to bypass, in some way, this thermistor or just live with basement condensation that I find unacceptable. Problem is, how does one bypass or fool the thermistor so it allows the dehumidifier to remove moisture from the air? Can anyone help or at least offer sympathy? P.S. I bought another thermistor based dehumidifier and it won't dehumidify the basement air either as it also throws out the same EC error code: ambient air temperature below expected temperature operating range.

Car Stereo - What AUX Connection is this?

fmueller — Sun, 19 Jun 2016 12:24:00 +0000

I am thinking the slot at which the red arrow is pointing might be some kind of aux connection. This thing is old - I am thinking pre-USB. It's too small for a CF card or PCMCIA. SD card looked good but doesn't fit - still a smidgen too large. Way too big for micro-SD. What else is there?

Stories from the track

aspieRommel — Fri, 08 May 2015 21:46:00 +0000

As we all know, I am highly involved in auto racing, mostly at my local short track. From my time at the track, I have made quite a few friends. I also have quite a few stories to tell. But I know that there are a few racers here on Icrontic. So I want to hear your stories as well as share my own. From the thrill of victory to the agony of defeat, with a few tales from the pits thrown in, what kind of stories do you have?

Love to hear 'em!

aspieRommel, Driver/owner of Icrontic Racing

New Car Arrived!

Sledgehammer70 — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 19:33:42 +0000

It has been a longtime since I have formally posted a new topic within these halls of honor. I sat back and was thinking what on earth do I have to talk about as of late as PC's are one year ahead of me these days, and I have fallen into the trap of cars and kids. The big CK combo!~

I know some of you folk are gear heads, I have always been one without the budget to support my wants as I spent that cash on silly things like GPU's and water cooling or date nights (Okay 100% worth it) and paying to fix my old cars. But I finally saved my pennies and got a new 2016 Camaro SS.

Now while I am a self-proclaimed gear head, I am not a drag racing, straight line running guy. I like to head to the track and do some autocross and put all the tech built into a car to use. As of late it has also made me a better driver, but admittedly and more aggressive driver.

I love American Muscle, that deep rumble and raw power. Yes yes, some imports will do a fun dance around my car, but not all . From Mustangs to Challengers to the older cars not in production (Novas, Chevelles, Pontiacs, Trans Ams, etc..) I love the old school hot rods. But no other Muscle car has had me more butterflied than the Chevy Camaro.

I remember attending an old IC LAN event many years ago, and we found ourselves down the main route, and all sort of cars were showing off their greatness. Anyone else recall that? Good Times!

Not sure if Ryder is around or the good ole FatCat, but I know you guys are most likely still driving some sweet rides