I Want a GT4, Oh God, not one of those threads again! Options

[JoKeRkId613]

I have $35,000 cash and want to get a GT4. I was going to get a 370Z but after dealing with over 10 local Nissan dealers, no one seems to want to sell me the car - even after showing them the checks - they're a bunch of greedy bastards. It's rediculous that even in this crappy economy with everyone going out of business, they act this way. Anyway, I figure getting the GT4 is cheaper and it'd be nice to save some of that cash.

What's the best way to get one? Does anyone know any websites for importers with inventory search, perhaps? I know it's nearly impossible to get but with enough money, I guess it can be done.

edit: i must sound like a noob posting this, but i've actually been here a few years. sorry if the post annoyed anyone. lol.

[chacha]

there's a couple out there...travel to canada...-$1000, deal with dealer there and buy one...drive it back....DONE...if you got the money already....this step up there should be easy to follow...

[96bluevert]

Getting it legal in the states is going to be difficult...But if you can find a way, more power to you.

[crankyelbow]

get a 5th gen and swap in a 3rd gen 3sgte... build to hearts content and enjoy a car that cost you a fraction of a 370z and will poop on it from every angle.

[jimmykay]

You could get a Hyundai Genesis 3.8 Track and save yourself 8-10k I've heard that they are actually pretty decent.

Personally if I had 35k to drop on a car I would look at a WRX STi, or maybe even a BMW 128i. But those don't allow for nearly as much hauling as the truck hatchback of the Celica.

[JoKeRkId613]

genesis, ive considered, havent test driven. might have to do that.

1 series i dont like. if anything it'd be the 135i, but even then, after taxes, it climbs over 35k, same with sti. i only like to buy brand new cars, unless it's not possible - like the gt4.

there's a couple out there...travel to canada...-$1000, deal with dealer there and buy one...drive it back....DONE...if you got the money already....this step up there should be easy to follow...

how much do they go for in canada?

[GordGT4]

You could get a Hyundai Genesis 3.8 Track and save yourself 8-10k I've heard that they are actually pretty decent.

Personally if I had 35k to drop on a car I would look at a WRX STi, or maybe even a BMW 128i. But those don't allow for nearly as much hauling as the truck hatchback of the Celica.

My GT4 eats STi's for breakfast and Evo's for lunch !

If your mind is set on a GT4, go out and get one. Theres always a way !

[Sinyk]

There's two for sale in Campbell River at tyeeimports.com. One is $8900 the other $9300, but I assume there's additional fees before you can take it off the lot. I'm sure one of the Calgary guys could tell you about any additional fees related to legalizing the car for our roads.

[jimmykay]

Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to have a GT4, but realistically I dont see spending 35k on legally importing a 15yr old car being a good way to spend your money.

[GriffGirl]

I watched this whole Road & Track thing about the Genesis on the Speed channel and I have to say, it really looks worth looking into. I NEVER thought I'd hear myself say something like that about a Hyundai. . . but it got excellent reviews by Consumer Reports and Road & Track.

That being said, you might try contacting Joe (crap, I can't remember his user name!) who's in Okinawa (USMC) or Stetsonaw, either of them might be able to help point you in the right direction of legit exporters. I think Culpable has some knowledge and possibly some contacts, too. I do know that you won't be able to import it in one piece into the US, you'll have to import the front clip and the rear clip as separate parts. There could also be some issues registering the car, but depending on how scrupulous you are there are ways to work around that quite easily, I'm sure.

You might have to look around on the web some, but I know there's a guy in Indiana IIRC who imported a GT-Four to the US. He has since sold the car, but he would be a good person to either read up on or contact to find out how to do the whole thing. And I think believe it or not you'll have an easier time importing one directly from Japan than you will from Canada.

[JoKeRkId613]

Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to have a GT4, but realistically I dont see spending 35k on legally importing a 15yr old car being a good way to spend your money.

i wouldn't spend all 35k into a gt4, for that i'd get a very nice supra. i'm just making it a point because when i would look at these types of threads, they're mostly dreams because people think 15k is too much. i'd gladly pay that for a gt4.

[LewFX]

whats your secret to getting 35k!

[xs94st]

Send $49.95 to my paypal and I'll send you a booklet and DVD showing you how ;P

[Nartanian]

Send $49.95 to my paypal and I'll send you a booklet and DVD showing you how ;P

I think an Evo IX would be great because, it has a crap load of potential for a reasonable amount of money. A Lexus IS300 or SC300 would be sweet as well. That is just my .02 cents though.

This post has been edited by Nartanian: Jun 11, 2009 - 8:19 PM

[azian_advanced]

maybe PM the guys who are driving gt-fours in the US and ask how they got them and how they are driving them.

but if you ever figure out a way to import them from Canada, let me know.

[TRD_Ian]

here is what you do if you dont already own a celica buy one!.....drive it to canada.....bring it to say my house....drive to montreal.....hijack/hot wire a GT4 of same color and drive it back to my place or some one else in canada u could trust.... swith the vin and plates and drive back to the states no problem........you could also just buy the GT4 and do that legaly but our police are slow and kinda lazy.....you could easily out run them and loose em for a joke so save 10 grand that way...just an idea

[delusionz]

gt4 kicks ass, they r worth 9k in new zealand

[Hanyo]

in all honesty $15k doesnt really get you a performance car. When you factor in all the fees and what not your looking at or around $25k. And the only way I will ever import a GT4 is the WRC edition. Anything else your better off spending your money on a wrx STI and using the extra money on upgrades.

If you want to get a new car, try the new chevy camaro and the genesis, every where i've read kept saying there are good cars.

[delusionz]

Why WRC specifically? What is it about WRC that makes every other GT-Four worse than Subaru?

Personally I think later models are better.

1. Younger running gear, less kms (generally)

2. Airbags

3. Sideskirts

4. Facelift headlights & tail lights, facelift interior

5. Not all JDMs in 1994 have ABS brakes

I'm making my own intercooler spraybar and water pump system, and I doubt you'd want to be activating antilag on a street going car without 100's of CT20b's at your disposal.

[joehernandez]

whats your secret to getting 35k!

X2

and you will have plenty of money left and with that
you can even get me one!!! doesn't that sounds great!!!!
or at least a 3sgte and i guarantee you your way to heaven is assured!!!

[Axel04]

If you really do have that kind of money and are interested in getting a gt4 I know a couple people here in central florida that I can talk to for you. They have imported alot of cars in the last couple years. LMK and I will talk to him asap.

[jimmykay]

If you really do have that kind of money and are interested in getting a gt4 I know a couple people here in central florida that I can talk to for you. They have imported alot of cars in the last couple years. LMK and I will talk to him asap.

...And once again, the resources of 6gc saves the day.

[Nial]

gt4 kicks ass, they r worth 9k in new zealand

They do in deed "kick ass" one of the best looking cars that normal money can buy.

Pick one up in the UK now for £2000 ($3200) all in...stupid cheap at the moment which is sad as people are making more money breaking them up for parts than selling them as a whole. Have seen them go as cheap as £1500 ($2500)

With $35,000 you could come over and buy ten of them.

[xs94st]

With $35,000 you could come over and buy ten of them.

Oh my, wouldn't that be a lovely site

I think that you should hit axel up and see how you can get one. I want to see this go through becuase that would inspire the hell outta me to get one =)

[azian_advanced]

i remember someone posting on here a few years back of a silver gt-four being sold in Florida by some exotic car importer.. i'm not sure if it was ever sold

here is the link: http://www.evolutionimports.com/ go into used cars (top right) and scroll through the pages. i think it is on 4th page.
here are specs:
1995 toyota Celica GT4 ST205
The Turbo charged AWD celica was one of the rarest celicas made.This car has the 2.0L Air/water intercooler,Apexi air filter,PW,PS,AC,PW,double Din radio,5 speed tranny,cat back exhaust.This car is FL right now.call for more details.This car is at our Florida facility,call to make an apointment to see it
Color: silver
Price: $19,000
Mileage: 37,000 miles
Condition: Interior: 4/5 | Exterior: 4/5

the site is no longer running



another interesting post by FORGMANN

There actually was or is a silver one for sale in FL for $19k .. overpriced yes.. and being sold by evolution imports they title all there cars thru loop holes in Fl .. car is considered a kit car i believe but not 100% sure ..

Besides mine (midest car noted in previous post) and NH car there is at least 3 more real st205's in NA.

one in Calgary (same guy who got mine) , black one that was sold on EBAY 3 or 4 years ago in NJ but who knows where it is now , and supposedly a silver one in WA but have never seen it ..

when i was towing my car home ran into kid at McDONALDS in Billings ,MT that said they picked up a friends JDM S13 in WA and importer had a silver st205 .. dont really care either way ...

i can say one thing about titling .. I have a friend who has a blue 94 jdm mr2 and he has had car for over three years been pulled over 7 times and never once i say ONCE was the rhd or his crappy vin swap (which he didn't do ) ever called into question .. Now he lives in Indiana and BMV laws are very very easy compared to most states .The car had to have a county sheriff impsection twice and passed without issue .. Now i am not saying if you get a st205 do a vin swap but there is no DOT police .. You deal with local authorities only so getting into US is the bigger hurdle .. title any way you want and good luck but understand the risks .. dont be ignorant..

my car was listed as parts car but still had to go thru 5 min inspection at border and had zero issues even through car was driveable and overall complete .. all they cared about was drugs, produce, and any hidden terrorists i might be smuggling in .. paid 200 in taxes and had paperwork done and cleared before i even hit border ..

now i am 32 and plan on using mt st205 as my collector car / hobby car .. would not reccommend it as a daily driver and even more so if your younger .. the RHD will be tricky for younger inexperienced drivers and being younger cops will go out of there way to investigate rhd . plus when we are younger we tend to have car exposed more out on street and that leads to issues with people knowing about your and will tell their shady buddy they really want your rhd car and that could lead to possible theft issues ..

i would love to see more st205's in US ..good luck and happy importing ..

[block]

forget the genesis. it's butt ugly. the track version has a potent mitsu motor but the looks killed it for me. it looks so out of place like the 1st generation tiburon. i say if you could find a nice gt-4, go for it. there are always ways of doing it. best bet is to drive up to canada or have a canadian drive one across the border and buy a 1-way ticket back for him that was my plan a while back but i went for an is300 instead. GL and update us!

[Hanyo]

Why WRC specifically? What is it about WRC that makes every other GT-Four worse than Subaru?

Personally I think later models are better.

1. Younger running gear, less kms (generally)

2. Airbags

3. Sideskirts

4. Facelift headlights & tail lights, facelift interior

5. Not all JDMs in 1994 have ABS brakes

I'm making my own intercooler spraybar and water pump system, and I doubt you'd want to be activating antilag on a street going car without 100's of CT20b's at your disposal.

only the hardcore rally version had the antilag, the wrc gt4 is just a normal gt4 with the rally goodies. I'm not saying that the regular gt4 is worse then a wrx. But if i was gonna go through all the trouble of finding a gt4 + import it + find replacement parts (your never gonna be able to find brake rotors/pads ect for the gt4 in the states) for the run of the mill car i might as well get the wrx. Easy replacement parts and upgrade.

[GordGT4]

You can buy GT4 ST205's over here in the UK for between 3-5k pounds. Dunno what that works out for you boys.

I paid £3,500 pounds for mine, but I got lucky. The owner was in a rush to sell and I was in the right place at the right time. The money and time he spent on the car, he coulda got anywhere between 4k-5k.

I have never driven a Supra, but a few people in the ClanJapan website I am on do, and they are serious cars with serious power. I'd have to drive one before having an opinion between them both, but I couldn't see the Supra out shining my GT4

[FORGMANN]

Wow, Haven't looked at those pix in a long time ..The one with car on trailer is at 6am in MN. Drove from just north of Helena,MT to just cross border in MN, 18hrs of driving.

Now anyone who wants a st205 could purchase in canada and do like i did and tow across (really only option),i would remove front sheet metal or something to make
car look like parts car and have a broker and seller in canada do a bill of sale as parts only. Canadian title would be useless to use but could help speed up finding a way to
register at local DMV/BMV. Biggest hurdle is getting across border.. I crossed directly south of Calgary which is in middle of nowhere and for most part quiet crossing.

This was over 5 yrs ago and i am not sure on any changes to customs laws but do know brokers fees and taxes went up. As long as paperwork is done ahead of time and
you catch a border patrol agent having a good day then have a good chance of no issues. Btw crew on Sat was extremely more relaxed then friday crew when i was going to
canada. Way less power trip'n going on.. US seems to be more focus on foods,drug,and if you have anyone hidden in trunk rather than what the hell your towing.

I am not 100% sure could still pull off but in theory no reason can still tow as parts car just as long paperwork says parts car.Once you get home then up to you and local
laws to deal with. I would budget at least $ 2000 over cost of st205 in canada to cover fees,towing,gas,etc...It might even be easier if had a shipping company pick up "parts
car" and tow over with other cars on a semi but again just idea...

[rave2n]

Want one myself, still debating on just straight importing one, or doing the clip thing on the ST...hard choices ahead.

[Axel04]

Well I guess the person that started this post must not really want one because I've pm'ed him and no replie and also he hasn't wrote back on here..

[Tech-Nics]

Dude there is one in New Jersey in white for only a little over 9k. Still for sale...

http://www.jdmautodepot.com/JDM_cars/62/19...ica%20GT%20FOUR

With all that money left over you can easily reg it and get FL plates for it.

[azian_advanced]

^ that's in Montreal

[Tech-Nics]

^ that's in Montreal

Oh. I saw it on craigslist and said NJ. my mistake.

[SwissFerdi]

gt4 kicks ass, they r worth 9k in new zealand

They do in deed "kick ass" one of the best looking cars that normal money can buy.

Pick one up in the UK now for £2000 ($3200) all in...stupid cheap at the moment which is sad as people are making more money breaking them up for parts than selling them as a whole. Have seen them go as cheap as £1500 ($2500)

With $35,000 you could come over and buy ten of them.

Holy crap, 3200 is nothing!

I need to go to Europe immediately.

[celicast95]

Take that 35k and move to Canada.

[joehernandez]

guys im on the process of getting a gt four,
uhm theres two options, one is a 97 gt four, the other one is a WRC 1994....
of course the wrc is more expensive, 2000 dollars to be exact...
what do you guys recommend me?
also i heard you can and that you cant get them to be driven legally here in the usa,,
who is saying the truth?
i dont want to spend my money and then be left in the middle of nowhere with a car i cant drive....
heeeeeeeelp please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
oh and the two cars are currently in canada,,,,,

This post has been edited by joehernandez: Jul 24, 2009 - 12:37 AM

[SwissFerdi]

They are not legal here...but I have seen JDM vehicles registered as kit cars, like the above, so that might work for you.

[joehernandez]

They are not legal here...but I have seen JDM vehicles registered as kit cars, like the above, so that might work for you.

howcome they are not?
there were post somewhere on how to make it legal..............

[SwissFerdi]

No idea, but I would guess emissions and safety.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Jul 24, 2009 - 1:01 AM

[joehernandez]

daaaaaaaamn,,,,,,,,,,,,,, this can't be trueee!,,,,,,,,,,,,
there must be a way,,, if i have seen hondas del sol, skylines and supras here in the states,,, there must be a way,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[SwissFerdi]

There is always a way if you have enough money.

Just take that example in the first few posts, the guy registered it as a kit car.

This post has been edited by SwissFerdi: Jul 24, 2009 - 1:04 AM

[joehernandez]

what things can you do if it is registered as a kit car?

[Ruroniarc]

I'm interested. But I want a LHD GT4... What countries had LHD GT4s? I know there were a few. How much would it cost me to import one? And could I even register it?

[trdproven]

I believe parts of europe but not UK

[Random_Stranger]

You could get a Hyundai Genesis 3.8 Track and save yourself 8-10k I've heard that they are actually pretty decent.

Personally if I had 35k to drop on a car I would look at a WRX STi, or maybe even a BMW 128i. But those don't allow for nearly as much hauling as the truck hatchback of the Celica.

Hyundai? HAH HAH HAH, are you serious?! Please tell me you are joking..... Hyundai?! Might as well wait until Geo Metro puts a jet engine in their car and go buy that.... P.O.S. car with a turbo, because that's always the best solution. pppffftttt......

[jimmykay]

Hyundai? HAH HAH HAH, are you serious?! Please tell me you are joking..... Hyundai?! Might as well wait until Geo Metro puts a jet engine in their car and go buy that.... P.O.S. car with a turbo, because that's always the best solution. pppffftttt......

well, having not driven a Genesis myself, I can't say for sure how it drives. But its definately in a different class than the GT-4, and much more easily attainable in the states. The OP said he was shopping for a 370Z and since these two and the mustang GT are all in the same class, I simply pointed it out as an option to him.

I've read quite a bit about it and everyone has good things to say. The only exception being the somewhat squishy feel of the manual transmission. Trust me, I would normally avoid Hyundia's at all costs, but they seem to have their stuff together for this one. Maybe by 2011 or 2012 they'll have all of the potential bugs worked out and this will end up being a very solid car.

[azian_advanced]

hyundai had no history of building performance cars or participating in racing events, but the Genesis is their first true sports car. hyundai reliability is probably one of the top 5 right now so i wouldn't call them cheap (unlike their cars in the 90s where they really made poor quality cars). HKS and a few other tuning companies have already begun production with Genesis aftermarket performance parts. I just hope hyundai keeps this up so they can compete with the japanese makers like Nissan, Honda, and Toyota especially and relive the 90s by building high performance cars all over again.

[gomezjose26]

hyundai had no history of building performance cars or participating in racing events, but the Genesis is their first true sports car. hyundai reliability is probably one of the top 5 right now so i wouldn't call them cheap (unlike their cars in the 90s where they really made poor quality cars). HKS and a few other tuning companies have already begun production with Genesis aftermarket performance parts. I just hope hyundai keeps this up so they can compete with the japanese makers like Nissan, Honda, and Toyota especially and relive the 90s by building high performance cars all over again.

I believe they have a rally car or had one at one point but im pretty sure they did. i would look into the subaru(my first choice) since I have a family i would also (and i know this is not a gt4, but hey you have the money) consider getting a cadillac cts-v and pay it monthly or a 05 STi. just my opinion.

This post has been edited by gomezjose26: Jul 24, 2009 - 7:33 PM

[Random_Stranger]

Hyundai? HAH HAH HAH, are you serious?! Please tell me you are joking..... Hyundai?! Might as well wait until Geo Metro puts a jet engine in their car and go buy that.... P.O.S. car with a turbo, because that's always the best solution. pppffftttt......

well, having not driven a Genesis myself, I can't say for sure how it drives. But its definately in a different class than the GT-4, and much more easily attainable in the states. The OP said he was shopping for a 370Z and since these two and the mustang GT are all in the same class, I simply pointed it out as an option to him.

I've read quite a bit about it and everyone has good things to say. The only exception being the somewhat squishy feel of the manual transmission. Trust me, I would normally avoid Hyundia's at all costs, but they seem to have their stuff together for this one. Maybe by 2011 or 2012 they'll have all of the potential bugs worked out and this will end up being a very solid car.

I see what you are saying, and we all got to start somewhere. I dream of the day of one day starting my own car line, but that would never happen for me in this life. Still fun to dream about though. I know it is a bad ass car (just from looking at it and from what I heard and what it has), but still........ I have a hard time debating if I should buy a Datsun 240z, just because of my love for all Toyota cars and just the Toyota name itself. Every car I love without a logo on it, just happens to be a Toyota. I just wanted another side project that is bad ass and something I can drop a motor in and be exempt from smog.... But that's getting off topic here and thread jacking.

[Jeunesse]

Hyundai? HAH HAH HAH, are you serious?! Please tell me you are joking..... Hyundai?! Might as well wait until Geo Metro puts a jet engine in their car and go buy that.... P.O.S. car with a turbo, because that's always the best solution. pppffftttt......

well, having not driven a Genesis myself, I can't say for sure how it drives. But its definately in a different class than the GT-4, and much more easily attainable in the states. The OP said he was shopping for a 370Z and since these two and the mustang GT are all in the same class, I simply pointed it out as an option to him.

I've read quite a bit about it and everyone has good things to say. The only exception being the somewhat squishy feel of the manual transmission. Trust me, I would normally avoid Hyundia's at all costs, but they seem to have their stuff together for this one. Maybe by 2011 or 2012 they'll have all of the potential bugs worked out and this will end up being a very solid car.

I see what you are saying, and we all got to start somewhere. I dream of the day of one day starting my own car line, but that would never happen for me in this life. Still fun to dream about though. I know it is a bad ass car (just from looking at it and from what I heard and what it has), but still........ I have a hard time debating if I should buy a Datsun 240z, just because of my love for all Toyota cars and just the Toyota name itself. Every car I love without a logo on it, just happens to be a Toyota. I just wanted another side project that is bad ass and something I can drop a motor in and be exempt from smog.... But that's getting off topic here and thread jacking.

Do you guys know that Hyundai is a big company that makes ocean-going vessels?

Hyundai's company profile...
"Hyundai Corporation is Korea's leading general trading house, providing export and import services with a wide variety of products ranging from ocean-going vessels, plants and machinery, automobiles, steel and chemical products, to electronic products and general commodities. Combining its 34 worldwide offices and prompt and extensive information-gathering capability with advanced trading techniques and financing ability, Hyundai Corporation produces an optimum solution to its customers' various requirements.

Development and investment in overseas energy resources including oil and LNG
projects, another long-standing business of Hyundai Corporation, has achieved
remarkable success. Recently, in an effort to diversify and improve its business portfolio, Hyundai Corporation has been keen to develop the business in the information and communication area such as LCD, PDP, mobile handsets and industrial resources fields.

Establishing Qingdao Hyundai Shipbuilding specialized in the small to mid sized vessels and located in Qingdao, China, Hyundai Corporation successfully entered the shipbuilding industry and added another high value added business into the portfolio. Now, based upon manufacturing business, Hyundai Corporation is taking a great leap forward to become a professional global trading, distribution/development firm."

I wouldn't call their cars P.O.S because they are more than qualified to make good QUALITY cars from goor QUALITY parts because of the company's history.
Toyota maybe a pioneer in car manufacturing because of their lean manufacturing which results to good quality products but their secrets are now out in the open. Books like "The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World's Greatest Manufacturer" and "Toyota Production System" by Yasuhiro Monden are out in the market and I'm pretty sure all the engineers and upper management of other manufacturer's are using these as their guide to make more profit and make good quality products. I, personally read these books and am trying to inculcate all that I learned to my work, I work in an electronics manufacturing company by the way.

Has any of you driven a Hyundai Genesis? I personally haven't but I would call it P.O.S just because it's a Hyundai.

[Tech-Nics]

A Hyundai Elantra is faster than a U.S. Celica ST!!! LOL

[SwissFerdi]

I really like the Genesis...haven't driven it, but it looks pretty good (except for the stupid grill) and seems to do well for itself. Cheap performance is never a bad thing.

[yarik83]

I just want to bring up one point. That point is simple so I will go straight to it.

Between 2001 and 2007 I have dreamt of owning a gt4 and yet settled on 3sgte swap. Now that I think about it... nobody has ever ever ever stopped my car and told me that my engine is not legal. Basically what I am trying to say is that unless your car looks like a weiner mobile there will not be too many people who will investigate your car. If you can figure out how to import a left hand drive gt4 into canada then by all means find the resources and import one. Buy a used 94-99 celica or condemn your own vehicle and drive it to canada. Swap license plates and drive imported gt4 to the states right across the border. Again nobody will stop you (pending that both celicas are same color). No there will not be a special person extraordinaire who will stop you and inspect the hell out of your celica. Having been across the border many times over driving rented vehicles I have never had people inspect my car for things other than narcotics in which sniffing dog would sniff sniff and move on to the other car. So... drive straight into your house and park the car. Either forget about your old car or if you are really attached to it fly back to canada and recover your old celica. Now this is the tricky part where you could get caught. If they process license plates and see that your plate went in and out and then out again they might stop you and raise a red flag so I would highly recommend just leaving your condemned celica right across the border. Better yet you can probably find a very happy car buyer who would drive your celica there if you settle on a very low price and explain to him or her why you want them to buy your vehicle.

You might be asking yourself a question of why would I recommend this... well yes yes I do have a swapped celica that runs on par with my co-worker's subaru impreza sti but while I have tons of fun driving it I do lack the joy of rally. I am watching the market really carefully and if subaru/toyota 2012 celica gt4 falls through then I will follow my original plan and import a celica and drive it down to florida.

For about a year I owned 2 celicas. Only one was registered. Both were diffent colors and I would just take license plate from one and use it to drive the other car then swap it back while other car was in the shop. Never once have I been stopped. Police have better things to do.

Morale of the story is that if you have a goal in mind then you should pursue it. Most of us here would love to own a gt4 but most of us also do not have $20K lying around. As some of us grow up we are more tempted to spend money but again college bills and mortgage do not make that experience any easier. I think as time goes by... what we really need to figure out is not how to import a gt4 into states but how to import it so that most of us could afford one (ie for around $5000).

[Axel04]

Again as I said earlier on the first page lol. I know someone that could import one into the states and titile it for you. He said it could take up to 2 months to find one because he told me that it's actually a hard car to find in Jap. that's in good shape and that has less then 80,000 km because he will only import in quality cars so it doesn't hurt his busniess importing a car that might look nice but blow up in a couple day's. He told me that it would prob be in the range of 13,000 to 16,000 depending on how much he pay's for the car over there and how much the shipment is at that time. Again that's for shiping inspection and title work. LMK if your interested, and be serious if you are because you would have to have that kind of money up front. Unless you have great credit and can take out a personal loan because a bank wont give you the money for a car that old and an imported one if that.

[yarik83]

Well that is exactly what we are trying to avoid mate. There is no point in spending 16K on a car that could be purchased cheaper. We just need to figure out how and where and when.

[Axel04]

Well when you think about it it's not bad at all. Ok so you find a way to be able to get one into the states. Let's say you find one over there that has 120 km, and your just buying the car from the pic's and the guy's word, not even knowing if you get riped off. Ok so you get one for let's say 2,500 to 3,500 then it's going to cost you about 3,000 to ship it, and after that it's going to take you a while to find someone that could get the car titled and that can cost 2 to 4,000. So after all said and done your spending almost just as much as to letting a guy that's imported a lot of car's from Jap and has someone over there that finds one that's in great shape. So yes I would much rather spend from 2 to 3,000 more to know that I'm not going to get riped off and know that I getting a good car that's not going to need much at all except prob a good tune up, and when you think about it he told me that he's only making a couple grand for doing this for people and he's the one doing all the searching putting his money in for the wait for 2 to 3 months. If I wouldn't have gotten laid off a month ago I would deff invest into getting one, because also when you think about it, and I'm one of them. The 3sgte swap's. You pay 3 to 4,000 for a car that's in good shape and a stright body, you get th 3rd gen swap for about 3500 to 4000 shiped, then you can use your tranny if you have the GT model or sell off a few things and try and find a 3rd gen mr2 tranny witch will run you usually 1,200 and then you need gt-4 clutch cables 300 and axles made another couple hundred. Then you have to pay someone to do the swap or unless you can do it yourself. Or unless you try and do the awd conversion then put another couple grand on top of that. So see if I would have know I could have gotten one several year's ago before I done my swap. I would have def tried to import one then to have spent 13 to 14 grand on doing mine.

[PR0PH37]

I see what you are saying, and we all got to start somewhere. I dream of the day of one day starting my own car line, but that would never happen for me in this life. Still fun to dream about though. I know it is a bad ass car (just from looking at it and from what I heard and what it has), but still........ I have a hard time debating if I should buy a Datsun 240z, just because of my love for all Toyota cars and just the Toyota name itself. Every car I love without a logo on it, just happens to be a Toyota. I just wanted another side project that is bad ass and something I can drop a motor in and be exempt from smog.... But that's getting off topic here and thread jacking.

I feel the same way...I love toyotas. I am puertorican so it's in my blood.

[richee3]

daaaaaaaamn,,,,,,,,,,,,,, this can't be trueee!,,,,,,,,,,,,
there must be a way,,, if i have seen hondas del sol, skylines and supras here in the states,,, there must be a way,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Uhh..... Del Sols and Supras were sold in the US... I think I missed the point of your post

If I had $14,000 to spend, it would NOT be on a Celica, even if it was a true GT4. You can get a low end mkIV Supra to make a decent dd out of for that. Of course, that's NA and probably an auto although you do find a few manuals in that price range, but I'd have a Supra. My parents bought this Celica for me (I had to pay for half of it, so I'm not THAT spoiled. Only halfway )so that is the reason why it's worth another $5,000 to me to do the 3S-GTE swap. But if I had to pay the full price for my car plus another $5,000 for the swap, I'm not so sure that I'd be up for it. I love these cars like no other, but I tend to be pessimistic about spending money

[yarik83]

You do have a point there mate.. spending 14K on a 15 year old car is not something that most people can afford to do. Most people would take that money and probably buy a 2-3 year old car and call it that. The reason why someone would want to buy a 15 year old car for 14K is because you would be buying an idea rather than just a car. Same reason why people buy Ferrari and Lamborghini cars. If I had 14K just lying around I would probably not spend it on supra. To have a fancy shmancy 1000hp supra you need to spend at least 40 grand on it on top of the sale price and probably another 40 for sound system, tv etc etc.

Sigh maybe we should all rob a bank or something. Rich people can get anything even the most improbable. Just the other day I heard on the radio that some guy from United Arab Emirates ordered a solid gold "pump" decorated with precious gems. Darn reach people.. why not donate that money to us to import a few thousand gt4s into the states.

[96ST206]

Ok I'll chime in here. I imported a 1993 Nissan Gloria into the states 1 of 2 in the USA. Here's who I used

http://gspeedcorp.com/bodyshell2.html

Go to contact and email a guy named Kenji, he's really cool he takes care of you. They sell the cars with the engine taken out, however they have a shop next door who installs them and cleans up the engine bay. As far as registration, they have someone in Missouri title it under the 10-digit VIN number. I never did get my car fully registered as I had a junk Q45 laying around and took the VIN plates. So I'm not too sure on the registration part. And on a final note to those who are screaming that's illegal, you'll get your car crushed, you'll go to jail, I was pulled over so many times not a damn thing ever happend to me. If I lived in Cali though forget it.

[SwissFerdi]

You do have a point there mate.. spending 14K on a 15 year old car is not something that most people can afford to do. Most people would take that money and probably buy a 2-3 year old car and call it that. The reason why someone would want to buy a 15 year old car for 14K is because you would be buying an idea rather than just a car. Same reason why people buy Ferrari and Lamborghini cars. If I had 14K just lying around I would probably not spend it on supra. To have a fancy shmancy 1000hp supra you need to spend at least 40 grand on it on top of the sale price and probably another 40 for sound system, tv etc etc.

Sigh maybe we should all rob a bank or something. Rich people can get anything even the most improbable. Just the other day I heard on the radio that some guy from United Arab Emirates ordered a solid gold "pump" decorated with precious gems. Darn reach people.. why not donate that money to us to import a few thousand gt4s into the states.

Why would you need 40k to dump into a Supra for electronics and stuff? If you're thinking of pulling a Fast & Furious and ricing it out, then I'd say the intention is wrong. That can be done with any car.