GT4, i want one Options

[94GreenLantern]

can you guys tell me what it takes to get a gt-4 into the united states?

[ZGear]

Do you know people of people in the Freight Shipping company? Are you in the military with personal belongings from overseas? Do you have a lot of money? If so are you able to register the car in your state? This should be a good checklist to start!

Otherwise use search button. This question has come up plenty of times.

[CelicaST_CALI]

*shoots kitten*

[lagos]

can you guys tell me what it takes to get a gt-4 into the united states?

Money.
A guy 5miles from my house has one.

[joehernandez]

ideal anwer would be you can't,,,
i will give you hope and tell you that you can
but its kind of HARD to do it...
believe me, i habe been here on the forums since 2006

[yarik83]

Please use forum search and find about 889789456467987564321645 other threads just like this one.

Short answer: NO
Long answer: YES*

*asterisk is there for a reason. Other threads will tell you what you need to do

[94GreenLantern]

every other ends with the same answer "use search button" that is the only reason why i asked, but i think its expensive to import and a problem to register.

[easternpiro1]

i love the title of this thread.... lol

but yes. contacting your local DMV is also a big step in this... give im a yell... and prepare for massive headaches, and being hung by redtape. but its doable

This post has been edited by easternpiro1: Feb 24, 2010 - 10:52 AM

[dabazied]

i love the title of this thread.... lol

but yes. contacting your local DMV is also a big step in this... give im a yell... and prepare for massive headaches, and being hung by redtape. but its doable

X2

[_Jim_]

I can get you a GT4 for 10K shipped to florida.

[Johnnyny]

I can get you a GT4 for 10K shipped to florida.

thats an answer i like lol

[SwissFerdi]

I can get you a GT4 for 10K shipped to florida.

...care to elaborate? I assume this is without paying off whoever needs to be paid off in order for it to be "legal." Reason I ask is because my ST cost 7100 in 2008. So 3k more for a GT-4 is a bargain.

[_Jim_]

10K is for the cost of the ST205 shipped to your door (and in this case, it is a WRC edition ST205). From there you can chose to find your own way of registering the car, or I can have it LEGALLY registered in the United States (and no, I am not talking vin swapping, I am talking LEGALLY registering) for an additional $3000.

As Art said, it is far from impossible...Just takes money.

[Johnnyny]

10K is for the cost of the ST205 shipped to your door (and in this case, it is a WRC edition ST205). From there you can chose to find your own way of registering the car, or I can have it LEGALLY registered in the United States (and no, I am not talking vin swapping, I am talking LEGALLY registering) for an additional $3000.

As Art said, it is far from impossible...Just takes money.

so 13000 for a legal gt4 start saving guys

[lagos]

10K is for the cost of the ST205 shipped to your door (and in this case, it is a WRC edition ST205). From there you can chose to find your own way of registering the car, or I can have it LEGALLY registered in the United States (and no, I am not talking vin swapping, I am talking LEGALLY registering) for an additional $3000.

As Art said, it is far from impossible...Just takes money.

so 13000 for a legal gt4 start saving guys

Thats pretty much the same price my local place said they could get me one for. You just need cash money (not the type of thing you can make monthly payments on), and understanding that if it gets damaged or stolen, the insurance company would probably not do a whole lot to cover it.

[yarik83]

I would really appreciate if someone could provide me verifiable evidence of legally registering a gt-4 here in the states without it being registered as a show car or as a race car with a 2500 mile limitation. I have spend well now 8 months digging through archive and various government resources, I have even wrote to the president (not that he will ever read it) and I can not find a resource which allows registration of a 1994-1999 celica st-205 with 3sgte and awd here in usa. I cant find names, addresses, articles, peer review papers, scientific journals or annals of importation junkies, I cant find any information.

I can however report that places that did "import" gt-4 celicas here into usa have been shut down by the government because they violated every possible law and from what I know vehicles that they registered as kit cars have been impounded and crashed.

Having said that... I was quoted by a number of canadian importers that they could deliver a gt-4 to my door here in florida for as low as 8 grand non registered.

If someone has a verifiable resource that is credible please do feel free to share.

Thank you.

[_Jim_]

Different states have different "requirements/standards" that are required to be met to pass DOT inspection and emissions. It is VERY possible to import and legally register JDM vehicles here in the state, you just have to know what you are doing and be very familiar with all the legal paper work....and there is A LOT. There are a lot of fees, taxes, inspections, etc to LEGALLY register a JDM vehicle, hence the 3000$ price tag.

[lagos]

I would really appreciate if someone could provide me verifiable evidence of legally registering a gt-4 here in the states without it being registered as a show car or as a race car with a 2500 mile limitation. I have spend well now 8 months digging through archive and various government resources, I have even wrote to the president (not that he will ever read it) and I can not find a resource which allows registration of a 1994-1999 celica st-205 with 3sgte and awd here in usa. I cant find names, addresses, articles, peer review papers, scientific journals or annals of importation junkies, I cant find any information.

I can however report that places that did "import" gt-4 celicas here into usa have been shut down by the government because they violated every possible law and from what I know vehicles that they registered as kit cars have been impounded and crashed.

Having said that... I was quoted by a number of canadian importers that they could deliver a gt-4 to my door here in florida for as low as 8 grand non registered.

If someone has a verifiable resource that is credible please do feel free to share.

Thank you.

You will never find a legal way of doing this. It's simply not possible... however it gets done because someone knows someone who works at the dmv and they get it done even though they are not supposed to.

Like I said, there is a real gt4 5miles from my house. They imported it, and then spent about 3 grand paying off the right people to get the car registered.

[yarik83]

GT-4 does not appear on EPA/NHDOT list as a vehicle that is allowed to be driven in the states regardless of what state it is. It is true that every state's emission laws are different but with respect to car registration it has to be registered in the state you are driving it in unless you have a relative who is willing to register vehicle in his or her name and pay insurance etc etc in their state. That does not answer question that I raised about accredited institution certifying car for road use.

Accredited institution is not joeshmoesaiditsgonnawork.net or sureyoucanregisterthisjdmcarthatisnotonimportationlist.com

I need something credible that ends in .gov and has dot in its name, which is the agency that handles car registration and will allow me to get proper paperwork to file for registration.

There are documents which will allow you to petition agencies to allow car importation if you are a registered certified importer. Vehicle would have to satisfy all rules and regulations of course and pass crash test and yada yada.

There are documents to petition agencies for a "race" license but vehicle must have been built as a race car to begin with. Such approval allows vehicle to be imported for race use only and must be removed from country in a year and must not be driven on public roads and you would be required to provide documentation of every move.

There are documents to petition agencies for a "show" license but again that implies that your vehicle will be shipped out of country in due time and can not be driven more than 2500 miles while reporting to agencies with your wereabouts.

There are documents to register a car as a kit car but car must be built as a kit car from the start and pass all rules and regulations before being issued a vin number et cetera.

There is a rumor on the street that there are documents to import a gt-4 and register it here for 3000 dollars but so far I can not find them and until I do I have to take those rumors with a ton of salt.


Edit: exactly what Lagos said.

Paying off someone implies that you are bribing an official which can result in far worse consequences than vin swapping.

[lagos]

Edit: exactly what Lagos said.

Paying off someone implies that you are bribing an official which can result in far worse consequences than vin swapping.

Bingo, but thats how its done and thats how you see rare jdm cars on the road from time to time. Either you have the balls to do something like that or your dont, but no one should assume they can just buy a gt4 and 110% legally use it as their daily driver car.

[easternpiro1]

and what pray tell will happen if u get caught vin swapping? lets say somebody has a hatch, and takes vin codes from the usdm hatch and puts it in the same locatons of a GT4... how can they tell its not just something customized? i never understood those steps...

ive been pulled for driving my coupe with my hatch lisence plate and he went straight for my windshield, but if it was the same model car how couldl they know? im confused...

[lagos]

and what pray tell will happen if u get caught vin swapping? lets say somebody has a hatch, and takes vin codes from the usdm hatch and puts it in the same locatons of a GT4... how can they tell its not just something customized? i never understood those steps...

ive been pulled for driving my coupe with my hatch lisence plate and he went straight for my windshield, but if it was the same model car how couldl they know? im confused...

They wouldnt know, and thats how people get away with it.

[yarik83]

In your case when they run license plates they get a screen with vehicle information, who its registered to and then they approach the window and ask for license and registration.

If it said hatchback and you were driving a coupe or the other way around.. thats pretty much a easy to spot discrepancy so they will definitely have a look at those vin numbers.

On the other hand lets say you had 2 coupes or 2 hatchbacks (like I did before) then you can kinda get away with it. I drove on one insurance policy last 2 years of college while driving 2 celicas and 1 license plate (well 2 cause new jersey requires 2). I just kept all documentation in easy to grab ziploc bag and when other car was headed for the shop I would transfer plates and keep driving to work and to classes. Obviously that is not legal but i was in no mood to pay 2 registrations and 2 insurance policies.

In case of vin swappage it would work something like this:

You have a 1994+ celica registered here in the states (ideally with clear title). You get gt-4 here and rip vins off it and rip them off usdm celica. Swap and park mule usdm vehicle on your property out of sight with no intent of driving it (or keeping it semi-maintained in case you ever need a replacement vehicle). at this point you can pretty much say good bye to selling your vehicle so with that in mind you can start driving that gt-4. But not so fast.

You must have a darn good explanation in case you ever get pulled over and cop questions your right hand drive.

[lagos]

You must have a darn good explanation in case you ever get pulled over and cop questions your right hand drive.

You can say that the car was converted and that you bought it like that.
Its totally legal to drive RHD cars on our roads, as thats what the post office workers do.

[yarik83]

from my understanding postal workers are only allowed to drive special production/model jeep and car has to be registered to usps and used in state(s) where 4x4 vehicle is a must have.

While there is no law against RHD vehicles, NHDOT has made it quite clear that vehicles that are RHD must meet certain criteria.

When it boils down to it I would like to see one of our guys (not some guy who some other guy knows who knows a guy who have imported it) import one of these babies here.

[SwissFerdi]

If it said hatchback and you were driving a coupe or the other way around.. thats pretty much a easy to spot discrepancy so they will definitely have a look at those vin numbers.

Not really, unless you know Celicas. The shape between a coupe and a hatchback aren't that different, not like we're driving something around that looks like a Golf/Rabbit.

I think when people see only two doors and a roofline like ours, they generally think "coupe."

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Feb 28, 2010 - 12:33 PM

[yarik83]

even my mom can tell a difference.

Coupe is your 2 door sedan
Hatchback is your 2 door sedan with a door in the back
Liftback is your usually 4 door sedan with a door in the back.

I am sure that cops are trained in vehicle identification even if it does not have badges. BUT. It also depends on a police officer and why he is pulling someone over. Lets say that your light is out and he lets you know. He will probably not pay attention to whether car is coupe or hatchback. Now if you were say going 25 over the speed limit and talking back to him he will find reasons to give you more tickets.

I could be wrong tho but it would kinda make sense for officers to know what to report to dispatch at high pursuit.

[SwissFerdi]

I'm not saying that there isn't a difference, I AM saying that the difference is minor in OUR case.

[OnAllFours]

Just a heads up for people thinking of VIN swapping, Japanese Domestic Market VIN's are stamped into the firewall on the driver's (right) side. It is unlikely, but if an enforcement official is aware of this and sees a 17 digit VIN plate on the dash and a ST205-XXXXXXX VIN on the firewall, then you could kiss your car and money invested goodbye.

Like it has been said before, it is POSSIBLE, but very risky to register and drive an imported vehicle under 25y/o in the States. If you don't have the disposable income to throw away $15,000 and not worry about it, then you would be best not to bother trying... move to Canada instead, it will be cheaper for you in the long run

[_Jim_]

VIN swapping is VERY illegal. Knowing how to get around the proper red tape and using lope wholes in the system to LEGALLY register the car in the US in not.

And no, the $3000 isn't used to "bribe" people in the DMV. Again, the $3000 covers the tax on the car, duties, requirements that the DOT inspection will need to be met, paper work, etc. The car would be registered in the states with in original 10 digit JDM VIN.

Again, this is not for everyone, and I understand the skepticism...as all we have heard since the site started was that there was no way for this to happen. But it just takes a bit of homework, and knowing the right people to get the car here. In fact, it is harder to get the car here, then it is to register it.

[OnAllFours]

VIN swapping is VERY illegal. Knowing how to get around the proper red tape and using lope wholes in the system to LEGALLY register the car in the US in not.

And no, the $3000 isn't used to "bribe" people in the DMV. Again, the $3000 covers the tax on the car, duties, requirements that the DOT inspection will need to be met, paper work, etc. The car would be registered in the states with in original 10 digit JDM VIN.

Again, this is not for everyone, and I understand the skepticism...as all we have heard since the site started was that there was no way for this to happen. But it just takes a bit of homework, and knowing the right people to get the car here. In fact, it is harder to get the car here, then it is to register it.

I'm curious as to what kind of requirements one can meet for the 25 year rule to be exempt. I'm a member of a Canadian import owners club and we constantly have people asking what it would take to buy a car in Canada and bring it over. A couple of the guys in the club are in the law business and have found there to be a few loopholes to jump through, but all are quite easy to be caught up on and are not worth the risk.

Also, registration is one thing, insurance is another. I know in most states you aren't legally required to have insurance, but it would seem quite unwise to not have it. Even here insurance is a crap shoot.

Care to enlighten me?

[dabazied]

Just a heads up for people thinking of VIN swapping, Japanese Domestic Market VIN's are stamped into the firewall on the driver's (right) side. It is unlikely, but if an enforcement official is aware of this and sees a 17 digit VIN plate on the dash and a ST205-XXXXXXX VIN on the firewall, then you could kiss your car and money invested goodbye.

Like it has been said before, it is POSSIBLE, but very risky to register and drive an imported vehicle under 25y/o in the States. If you don't have the disposable income to throw away $15,000 and not worry about it, then you would be best not to bother trying... move to Canada instead, it will be cheaper for you in the long run

******Highly discouraged, find a legal way or don't do it************
That's why you cut out that part and swap those too, if you are going through the trouble of vin swapping, you go all out.

[yarik83]

My question still stands. Please direct me to a place that allows gt-4 registration for 3000 that fits criteria that you described (without bribing officials).

[OnAllFours]

Just a heads up for people thinking of VIN swapping, Japanese Domestic Market VIN's are stamped into the firewall on the driver's (right) side. It is unlikely, but if an enforcement official is aware of this and sees a 17 digit VIN plate on the dash and a ST205-XXXXXXX VIN on the firewall, then you could kiss your car and money invested goodbye.

Like it has been said before, it is POSSIBLE, but very risky to register and drive an imported vehicle under 25y/o in the States. If you don't have the disposable income to throw away $15,000 and not worry about it, then you would be best not to bother trying... move to Canada instead, it will be cheaper for you in the long run

******Highly discouraged, find a legal way or don't do it************
That's why you cut out that part and swap those too, if you are going through the trouble of vin swapping, you go all out.

Yep, I would never promote VIN swapping, but I don't want to see anyone's car get crushed either.

Supposedly there are these magical documents that along with $3000 will let you register a car in the states, but for some reason nobody wants to share them. If it were as easy as $3000 I'm sure there would be a lot more people on here with GT-Fours.

Also please don't give anyone else the money if you aren't certain of the process yourself, I doubt you'd ever see it again.

[Quidam]

Jesus, reading this thread makes me deeply appreciate the fact that I just walked into a local used car dealership; and [drove] out with a beautiful Red GT4.

Living in New Zealand rocks lol

This post has been edited by Quidam: Mar 1, 2010 - 4:07 AM

[Bigstring]

Is it really that hard to get one over there?

UK, easy.... sorry all.....

http://motors.shop.ebay.co.uk/Cars-/9801/i...d=p3286.c0.m282

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/list.asp?...p;Submit=Search

[OnAllFours]

Is it really that hard to get one over there?

UK, easy.... sorry all.....

http://motors.shop.ebay.co.uk/Cars-/9801/i...d=p3286.c0.m282

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/list.asp?...p;Submit=Search

Easy to get? Yeah... if you don't mind paying the shipping. The big issue is getting it registered with the Gov't

[lagos]

The point of this thread is... that if you have money and know who do talk to, its totally possible to get one.
However most people on this site are young and dont have that kind of cash to throw down, hence why these threads pop up every other month. People have a lot of dreams of owning them, but aren't willing or financially ready to do this, so whats the point of posting another thread about it when nothing will come of it?

[yarik83]

I agree with Lagos on demographics but there are some of us that are making the right kind of money and those "resources" are nowhere to be found. I am currently shopping for a 2008 evo gsr but could just as well buy a 4 door corolla or a 4 door takoma and a gt-4... the point that I am trying to make is that because "resources" are nowhere to be found, those of us that do have finances to buy a gt-4 can not commit to such investment because people with access to such resources often do not provide verifiable evidence to support their claims. Out of all people I would expect Jim (aka the king of imported engine clips) to have access to and or at least be able to point people like myself in the right direction if you know what i mean.

[OnAllFours]

I agree with Lagos on demographics but there are some of us that are making the right kind of money and those "resources" are nowhere to be found. I am currently shopping for a 2008 evo gsr but could just as well buy a 4 door corolla or a 4 door takoma and a gt-4... the point that I am trying to make is that because "resources" are nowhere to be found, those of us that do have finances to buy a gt-4 can not commit to such investment because people with access to such resources often do not provide verifiable evidence to support their claims. Out of all people I would expect Jim (aka the king of imported engine clips) to have access to and or at least be able to point people like myself in the right direction if you know what i mean.

Right! I mean if these resources are true, then please enlighten us, because to be honest $13000 isn't a whole lot for a GT-Four.

[96stgreendemon]

title yours, smuggle one in from canada and swap the vins, just dont get caught lol