JDM Kei Craigslist Find - NPoCP?

"SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie" (sidewaysondirt) 08/10/2015 at 09:55 • Filed to: craigslist, npocp, kei, imports

1

15

I found the car I want. It’s small. It gets good gas mileage. It has four wheel drive and is a truck. W !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , and I’m in love. It’s over 25 years old, so legal. It has a title, which means that you shouldn’t have any trouble keeping it on the road in Florida or in some other places where they may be more lax about inspections. There’s no word about when it was actually imported into the country, but with the Feds going after Minis, Skylines, and Land Rovers, they might miss this one.

Laurence > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 08/10/2015 at 10:02

0

These little kei trucks are so adorable! No idea if that’s a good price or not, but whenever I’ve checked Japanese sites for these (I.e - goo-net) I’ve seen similar pre-1990 trucks for half the price. I'd still drive the hell out of it though

pip bip - choose Corrour > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 08/10/2015 at 10:04

2

NP!

davedave1111 > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 08/10/2015 at 10:11

0

That might just be the most CP thing anyone’s ever asked that about. I don’t know what it would cost to import one - it’s not exactly going to take a whole container to itself - but the vehicle itself is worth maybe $500-750, I’d say.

Have you ever actually seen one in person, by the way? It’s hard to believe just how tiny they are when you’re looking at pictures because everything’s in proportion. It’s narrower than a Smart, and not much longer - they have the same wheelbase, within half an inch, the overhangs are the difference.

LongbowMkII > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 08/10/2015 at 10:13

0

that price could probably get you a nice 1990 toyota 4x4 truck

G_Body_Man: Sponsored by the number 3 > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 08/10/2015 at 10:24

2

NP! Up here, they go for $6k plus.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > LongbowMkII 08/10/2015 at 10:27

0

...or several not-as-nice but just-as-tough Toyota Trucks.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > davedave1111 08/10/2015 at 10:28

0

Yes, I’ve seen them in person. They’re cool. They may be cheap little trucks, but they were never sold here. It seems like a ton are imported for off-road use only on farms and shit, but there’s no way to get those ones on the road. Having a title and not needing to import it makes it worth that much to me.

Laurence > Laurence 08/10/2015 at 10:33

0

Looking back, that’s a mega CP; checked in Japan and found a much better (but unfortunately year newer) example of the same truck for $540. The import and storage costs would have to be a lot to offset that.

http://www.goo-net-exchange.com/usedcars/SUBAR…

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > Laurence 08/10/2015 at 11:40

0

Yeah, they’re super cheap in Japan if you want to go through the trouble of importing it, dealing wuth customs, etc. With the cost of shipping it and hiring a broker to take care of the paperwork and import process, it would end up being about the same as this guy.

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > davedave1111 08/10/2015 at 12:15

0

A low km, 14 year old 4x4 Kei truck in good condition? This is a pretty good price, espescially considering the rarity.

Laurence > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 08/10/2015 at 12:16

0

I figured that much. It's not a bad example by any means, and likely hundreds of times easier to buy than one that's still in Japan.

davedave1111 > Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder 08/10/2015 at 15:23

0

They’re not at all rare. They’re bog standard Japanese work trucks.

davedave1111 > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 08/10/2015 at 15:25

0

Oh, they’re definitely cool. I nearly bought one a couple of years ago. But I was paying something like £500, not $4500. I’m not sure what the cost of a container to the US is, but you could ship one over for much less.

Is the paperwork on this one actually OK? Or is it another dodgy import on shonky papers?

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > davedave1111 08/10/2015 at 18:39

0

I’m guessing dodgy import, but not recent. These were imported in small numbers for use on farms. I see them around all of the time, but only on private property. This guy probably knew someone at the DMV who was able to issue a Florida title to it, so it’s unlikely that any trouble will ever come from it. It could even have been here long enough to have been initially registered when things were much more lax. Either way, I don’t think that it’s going to end up being crushed by The Man, or at least I hope not.

Pabuuu, JDM car enthusiast & Italian parts hoarder > davedave1111 08/11/2015 at 03:53

0

With that I meant rare in the US.