![]() 06/21/2015 at 09:24 • Filed to: CAR CULTURE, JDMLOPNIK, IMPORT, IMPORTING A CAR, NISSAN SKYLINE, JDM | ![]() | ![]() |
The JDM RHD craze has just started to hit the US, but it has been going strong in Canada - especially on the West coast - for about a decade now. Why are Japanese imports so popular? Can we expect the same boom in the US? As a Jalop living on Canada’s West coast, allow me to show you why JDM imports are so freakin’ common here.
1. Utility
Japan is the only country that has so much population density on so little land. Necessity is the mother of invention - they’re forced to make the most practical cars on the smallest possible footprint.
Looking for a small, roomy, reliable, efficient, 4x4 diesel manual cabover van with skylights, refrigerators, inclinometers, and curtains? It only exists in Japan.
But why, then, are there just as many RHD versions of cars we got here as there are enthusiast JDM cars?
2. Condition
Regardless of if it’s an R34 GT-R or just a RHD Legacy, chances are it’s in fantastic condition. And I don’t mean ‘for its age’ - I mean these cars are just-out-of-the-showroom clean, and there are LOTS of them.
In Japan, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! is such that owning an older car is often more expensive than just buying a new car every few years. Hence, people trade up their barely-used cars often, and there’s high depreciation.
Try to find, say, a 15-year-old diesel Land Cruiser anywhere else in the world that looks like it just rolled off the showroom floor...it’ll quickly become clear why so many Canadians put up with RHD!
This includes things like small utility trucks never seen here - i.e. the stuff Torch loves - which are a dime a dozen there. Plus, anything that’s not a work vehicle typically has equipment that no US/CDN equivalent has ever seen...
So with an exclusive supply of unique cars, Japanese exporters can mark them up all day long. Right?
3. Price
There simply isn’t enough space for the hoarding necessary to do this - the cars need to leave the country! So what happens when you have a market flooded with gems that have nowhere to go? Prices are laughably low.
Buying a spotless, highly-equipped JDM car and paying all the transport and import costs is much cheaper than buying something of the same year (but with less equipment and in worse condition) originally sold new in Canada.
Historically, they’ve been going to Eastern Russia, as well as RHD markets like Australia, SE Asia, and the UK. But once all the Skylines, Delicas, Hiluxes, and Pajeros became legal in Canada, people here started importing them, as well.
Unique enthusiast cars like those evangelized the aforementioned benefits, expanding the JDM import scene to include non-enthusiast buyers...
That’s when it really took off.
Aren’t US and Canadian import laws different?
Not really, except for one major thing: Canada has a 15-year restriction on imported, non-compliant cars, as opposed to the US’ 25.
In essence, all an imported car needs to be legal in Canada (if it’s between 15 and 25 years old) is that it’s not a rusted-out piece of crap, that all its factory equipment works, and that it has working seatbelts, side markers (people glue them on), and headlights adjusted for driving on the right.
When a car is 25 years old or more, it really needs nothing more than what it had when it left the factory. I’d check with Mr. DeMuro to see if it’s the same case with 25+ year-old cars in the states!
So will JDM cars take off in the US like they did in Canada?
The enthusiast stuff has just started hitting US shores now. If you start to see Kei cars and small RHD trucks driving around major cities in the near future, then brace yourselves - JDM cars are coming!
!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!
![]() 06/21/2015 at 09:29 |
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stupid laws.
![]() 06/21/2015 at 09:54 |
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“The JDM RHD craze has just started to hit the US, . . . ”
Just started?
![]() 06/21/2015 at 10:45 |
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The JDM craze will come it will last for about 5 years where people go crazy and buy them like there is no tomorrow then it will slowly start to die off.
I’m in Edmonton and I’ve seen this happen. I believe the peak JDM was around 2007-2008 for Edmonton, at that time there was skylines,kei cars,toyota surf’s,ect all over the place and now you don’t see them all that much. There is still some but not like before. Most of the companies that imported cars closed their door and now there is just a few left.
oh I should also mention that I was part of the JDM craze. I had a 1991 Toyota Soarer Twin Turbo and a 1990 Fairlady Z Twin Turbo.
![]() 06/21/2015 at 11:15 |
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The import craze didn’t really JUST take off on the West Coast, it just got more....open. Those who actually cared about having JDM cars just got state titled cars or one’s imported by some other means. The JDM craze here didn’t JUST start, but it became public.
![]() 06/21/2015 at 11:44 |
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Meh.
I had an Asian acquaintance in Montreal who had a bone-stock JDM Skyline about 7 years ago.
Many mornings, he was late for work.
The Sûreté du Québec would stop him, despite the fact that he was driving within the speed limit, breaking no laws, and have him pop the hood, looking for modifications like a nitrous system.
I have no idea why his boss was so understanding and didn’t just say, “get a fucking beater for driving the work and keep your toy for weekend use... or leave an hour early because you know exactly what’s going to happen on your commute.”
![]() 06/21/2015 at 12:53 |
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There was a JDM 93-94 Supra in my shop a while back. It was higher mileage but was was in grear condition. NA and auto, cool and sad at the same time.
![]() 06/21/2015 at 15:09 |
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Enthusiasts are just starting to notice all the interesting stuff they can now bring over into the US, so I’d say so, yeah...
![]() 06/21/2015 at 15:18 |
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Nice rides!
In Vancouver, I’d say the peak happened around the same time, but it’s still definitely going strong.
What’s imported nowadays blends in much more than it did in ‘08... Newer Delicas, for instance, don’t stand out like the old ones did, and we’re seeing a lot of RHD Civics, Altezzas, Legacys, etc, which are all but identical to their equivalents here. Then there are all the LHD Japanese imports that are very common now (Benzes and BMWs, mostly).
Vancouver Island, however, is still chock full of the most quirky JDM 4x4s.
![]() 06/21/2015 at 15:27 |
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That’s exactly what I meant, yeah. ‘Craze’, as in more widespread popularity, encompassing more than the most die-hard Japanese car guys...
![]() 06/21/2015 at 15:28 |
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Quebec banned the import of RHD cars in 2009! (25+ year-old cars are still ok)
![]() 06/21/2015 at 21:04 |
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Yeah, I knew the guy in 2007 and moved away in 2008. Not sure if he was allowed to keep the car. Regardless, circa 2007, it was a harassment magnet.
Also: don’t you mean 15-year old cars ? (his was an older JDM Skyline that would have fallen under the 15 year rule)
![]() 06/21/2015 at 21:13 |
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As I understand it, he would have been able to keep the car. They just didn’t allow for any new registrations of RHD vehicles after the law was introduced.
![]() 06/22/2015 at 02:52 |
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Eggplant got it. In 2009, QC made it illegal to import any more RHD cars that are less than 25 years old. Anything that got through before then continues to be legal.
The rest of Canada still holds to the original 15-years-and-anything-goes rule...
![]() 06/22/2015 at 11:30 |
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Yeah the big thing in Edmonton is Subaru’s now. They are the most common JDM RHD car I see around here. I see the odd Lancer Evo once and a while. But Legacys,WRXs,Foresters are still all over the place.
I’ve seen 1 R34 GTR a year ago and I don’t think I’ve seen another Skyline since. R32’s used to be EVERYWHERE, now I think they’ve all gone to drift heaven.
It’s a shame really because I LOVED seeing all this cool cars around here.
![]() 06/22/2015 at 15:09 |
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It’s the same case here. I’ve seen not more than two R34s so far - with one of them incidentally being in my neighborhood. I’ve seen sorted GT-Rs priced at about $40k though, so I can sorta get why they aren’t as popular as R32s were...
![]() 06/30/2015 at 17:37 |
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How did you put together the linked images at the bottom of this post? Is that a new Kinja feature? Does it automatically or is there a button or some html involved? This is something I might have some use for in future posts.
![]() 06/30/2015 at 21:18 |
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Paste the links from the articles you want, one by one, into the top box, and write the desired header in the bottom box:
gawker-labs.com/related-widget
![]() 06/30/2015 at 22:11 |
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Right on, thanks for the tip.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 17:41 |
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What companies specialize in reselling weird JDM imports?
![]() 07/06/2015 at 17:41 |
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Read the article.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 17:52 |
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I have driven a few RHD cars, and as much as it’s “kinda cool”, I just don’t like being on the right hand side of the car, when I’m driving on the right hand side of the road. It works if you’re driving on the left, because you can judge the line... but it’s just really inconvenient and awkward.
Love the cars. Love the prices. Hate the driving experience.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 18:41 |
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About the price: Isn’t the Russian market almost insatiable? With the Canadian “craze” on top of that I’d expect export professionalisation and rising prices.
I just spend a week in Russia and there were JDM cars everywhere. Not only enthusiast cars, but also a wild collection of economy cars.
Compared the rusty GAZ, ailing Lada and whatever GM had going in the country, the JDM cars probably attract a premium among buyers. Can’t fathom why this doesn’t feed back into the Japanese market, even if Japan has more inhabitants - Australia and others are lusting for JDM cars, too.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 18:55 |
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Want Mega Cruiser :D
![]() 07/06/2015 at 18:58 |
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odd question...how much is it to change a RHD car to a LHD car? I assume it is hard thing to do because finding a LHD dashboard will be non existant.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:07 |
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If the car had a LHD equivalent, and if you don’t have to reposition anything under the hood in a non-factory way, it would be straightforward. Expensive, but straightforward.
However, there’s a company in Australia that converts USDM pickups to RHD by self-engineering all the changes (since those never had RHD versions), including making new mirror-image dashboards. Costs quite a bit more, of course, but it’s possible...
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:11 |
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It’s gotta be the lack of space to store them all - it’s the only thing in the equation that can’t cancel out. The importers, however, are happy to take the slack for themselves...
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:17 |
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Off the top of my head, I know of one called Right Drive that has subsidiaries in both the US and Canada, one called Tyee Imports based out of Canada, and one called Nostalgia Imports based out of the US. There are lots more out there.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:21 |
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Go to Vancouver Island and you’ll see almost every other car be a Turbodiesel Delica, it’s insane how many people drive them there, and in all honesty, why the hell not?
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:22 |
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I want that one!
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:24 |
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Can we have a Zastava update please?
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:31 |
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Good point, yet the Japanese are masters of administration. “Right on time”-deliveries originated there. Why not organize a steady stream of cars on to RoRo’s bound to JDM-hungry customers? That’d be a business I’d research if I wasn’t all tied up already...
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:32 |
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Thanks for asking hehe
The plan was to take it to its first car show earlier this year, but the engine started to die when slowing down for stop signs and such...so no show or anything else for it until my mechanic digs through the engine. :(
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:35 |
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that reg plate is from the PH though
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:35 |
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My guess is since the stream of used cars - coming from private owners that decide to sell at effectively random intervals - isn’t a fixed input, it would be hard to apply a JIT model...
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:37 |
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Couldn’t find a good picture with a BC plate.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:37 |
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How about this?
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:39 |
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http://www.usededmonton.com/classified-ad/… Also rare high end cars that are LHD because fancy in Japan we never got in canada are now available. 1997 B10 Alpina anyone??
![]() 07/06/2015 at 19:46 |
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I’m seeing more and more 90s LHD BMWs around here! If their trim/appearance doesn’t give them away, the rear JDM plate holder does...
![]() 07/06/2015 at 20:02 |
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Here’s a question for ya.
Will Japan ever be depleted of original, low mileage JDM cars? They’re disappearing to the United States at a staggering rate.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 20:33 |
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I do. I love weird JDM imports and am always poking around the auctions for them. Problem is, there are no buyers at the price it costs to land them here. But, if you’re serious let me know and I can give you price ranges on whatever you have your heart set on.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 20:35 |
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Hmm. Considering the amount of good R32 Skylines left for US customers after the Canadian import boom, I’d say the supply is safe.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 20:42 |
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Nice summary! On shaken, it might also help to read this: http://japanesenostalgiccar.com/2015/03/05/pro…
![]() 07/06/2015 at 20:56 |
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Yikes! Sounds like this is turning into an expensive project!
![]() 07/06/2015 at 21:17 |
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i saw one of these vans the other day. definitely unique around here.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 21:25 |
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Turns out they botched literally every aspect of the restoration, so it’s up to me to basically re-restore the important stuff...
![]() 07/06/2015 at 22:19 |
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In the speed hating Virginia corner of the United States:
http://www.japaneseclassicsllc.com/
They’re excellent.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 22:41 |
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FYI fellow Jaolpers. I’d be wary of importing and best if you go to Japan and buy it your self. Key cars that people want are going for way more then what they should cost. You get what you pay for. Best deals are in Canada at the moment.
![]() 07/06/2015 at 23:27 |
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FTO? I always liked those cars in GT
![]() 07/06/2015 at 23:39 |
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If I may add, the Shaken is not that hard to pass at all... I would even say it’s a fairly easy inspection test actually. I wrote an article on the subject here:
http://oppositelock.kinja.com/my-first-japan…
The main reason why japanese have VERY clean cars is because here, how you “look” to other is very important. Showing off your weath is not well seen, but at the same time, you need to look perfect at all time. My wife’s reaction to a car with good “bump” in the back or a visible scratch is always funny: “ouhhh scary!”
This same way of thinking makes people change their cars very often. The newer the better. Therefore they change car every 2 or 3 years on average.
They also don’t own older car because a huge portion of the population is simply incapable of changing a tire. They don’t do ANYTHING on their cars. They want something that work, even after sitting for 3 weeks, as they barely drive too (5 to 6000 miles on average, 3 times less than an american).
As for the shaken itself, and older cars costing more, it’s mostly not true. It does cost a little bit more to own a car, but definitly not that much. My car is a 30 year old RX-7 and the shaken costs me around 1000$ every two years. In a new car, it would cost me about 700$.
Not exactly “much more expensive” :)
The only reason why you hear about 2000 or 2500$ figures for shaken, is because most people have companies do it for them. They come pick up the car at their place and do the whole process themselves, billing them twice the price or more at the end of the day. That’s how much japanese people don’t want to deal with car maintenance. Cleaning it, sure, but changing oil, no freaking way! :)
![]() 07/07/2015 at 00:07 |
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Classy.
![]() 07/07/2015 at 00:14 |
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The JDM craze was really big in Australia (especially in southern Queensland) from 1998 to sometime in the mid-aughts (the laws changed and it got harder to import certain models). Everywhere you went, you’d see them, but the craze seems to have died off and many of the cars have disappeared (at least from daily-use). For years, I was tempted to buy one (so much performance and luxury for such a low price), but I was turned off by all the unhappy owners I’ve known, who complained of mechanical and electrical problems, as well as rust. Never heard anyone ever say ‘my JDM car is great - best car I’ve ever owned’. In fact, quite the opposite.
Turns out Japanese car-owners don’t usually service their cars properly (they service on mileage, not age or don’t service at all). Which seems to make sense, when you realise they are barely driven, then replaced every couple of years. What would be the point of looking after a car if you know it’s going to be gone within 4 years and in that time you’re only going to drive it 40,000Km or less? When it starts getting driven big distances every day, especially somewhere as rough on a car as Australia, components start failing. Also, Japan being such a coastal country with typhoons, tsunamis and storm surges, salt-water rust is a thing. Smoking rates are higher in Japan than the west these days and cars are more likely to have cigarette smoke and ash damage.
Buying any used car is a case of buyer-beware, but even moreso when it comes to a JDM import. If you manage to buy a good one, then you’ll have grabbed yourself an interesting and affordable car (usually interesting = expensive and affordable = dull).
![]() 07/07/2015 at 00:49 |
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Really sick coverage!
The 3 parts are really interesting to read!
![]() 07/07/2015 at 03:29 |
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Yep, FTO!
![]() 07/07/2015 at 03:31 |
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What if I told you it’s actually a Nissan Micra?
https://www.google.ca/search?q=mitsu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsuoka_…
![]() 07/07/2015 at 03:49 |
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True words. True words. Curiously, my Honda family is a mixed bag. I User Shaken my S800 (\2500 or so), but the CR-V gets the full Honda Terrace treatment, which coincidental they called me today with their mitsumori-sho of \150,000. With a new Fit as a loaner in the driveway for the week, I will be happy to pay... Japan; the land of contradictions!
![]() 07/07/2015 at 03:52 |
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Interesting! In Canada, the only place where the laws changed was in Quebec, where they outright banned any sort of RHD import below 25 years of age. That was b/c of safety concerns about driving on the other side of the car.
Though most of the poor-condition stuff can’t become road-legal here anyway - at least on paper. Lots of inspection places in BC were letting problematic cars pass the provincial safety inspection, until the government cracked down on literally all of them a few years ago.
As for the ‘best car I’ve ever owned’ aspect, here it’s the other way around - dare I say,
upside down
... JDM cars are often better than the domestic-market equivalents in condition and equipment - but I can see that it’s down to the hoops the car must jump through before becoming legal.
![]() 07/07/2015 at 04:36 |
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Leasing deals are very predictable - and if people tend to buy new cars regularly, you have a professional counterpart in dealers already. Are these mostly singular business, chains, or brand-owned? Just saying...sounds like an opportunity there; I can only assume language und regulatory hurdles to be the blocking issues here.
![]() 07/07/2015 at 06:23 |
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prices better get low enough you can import two of yer hearts desires.....one for a yard ornament/parts car and the other to enjoy.
i have a US market 84 cressida wagon (soCal car)....i loved the 1600 mile road trip to south Carolina to get parts off a wagon.....id bet it’d be fun finding a gas station on the drive to japan if i had some jdm heap.
i still cant figure out how im smart enough to ditch the toyota drivetrain for a turbo buick setup....yet not smart enough to use something other than a unicorn for the roller....
oh yeah i remember “woah this looks like a miniature turbo regal....wagon...hmmm”
![]() 07/07/2015 at 07:48 |
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Dat Pajero evo. I have no need for this but I’d love one.
![]() 07/07/2015 at 09:48 |
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The cheaper Japanese cars have a very different destiny...
They are “converted” to LHD and become taxis in South America.
This one is in Bolivia.
![]() 07/07/2015 at 11:06 |
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Parts and also not California compliant.
![]() 07/07/2015 at 11:46 |
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What does JDM stand for?
![]() 07/07/2015 at 17:40 |
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Japanese Domestic Market.
![]() 07/07/2015 at 20:35 |
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I did. That was my reply to a statement in the article.
Do you have any more instructions for me?
![]() 07/08/2015 at 08:06 |
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Imported cars are BIG in Australia. The amount of Skylines, Cubes, Aristos, Delicas etc that are over here is crazy, considering they were never sold here. About half the Z32 300ZXs over here are imported.
![]() 07/08/2015 at 09:57 |
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Gimme
![]() 07/08/2015 at 09:58 |
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Gimme
![]() 07/08/2015 at 09:58 |
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Gimme
![]() 07/09/2015 at 21:47 |
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What car is this?
![]() 07/10/2015 at 05:41 |
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![]() 07/16/2015 at 22:29 |
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Enough that it’s easier to just spend the extra on the left hand drive version and if there isn’t one, forget it.
![]() 07/17/2015 at 14:46 |
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I’m from the PH..those go for roughly 3500 cnd here in the used car market..they are converted into LHD by the importers..
Delica
![]() 07/17/2015 at 15:19 |
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Now you’ve got me curious... Was there a LHD Delica somewhere or do they custom-make dashboards and the other parts that can’t just be transferred?
The one in my pic is on a lot in Nanaimo, BC, Canada right now. The asking price is almost $7k CAD. Still RHD, with the minimum lighting-related changes needed to be legal here.
![]() 07/17/2015 at 15:44 |
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there are LHD L300 vans called the exceed ..the 4x4’s are the delicas..but most importers here does a pretty decent job of converting JDM imports..not quite sure about which dashboards they use..
![]() 03/09/2016 at 07:24 |
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Shhhh... go away. Leave our JDM trashpit alone!
After being to Japan, to the car yards where they store them before going on the ship, being around the importer companies etc, yes buyer beware, do your homework and know what you are getting into. Plenty of flooded fukushima stuff or cars that look good but have done 1000km/year with a single fluid change and are fucked...
Some stuff is overpriced. E.g. S2000s are overpriced because of their JDM motors. They make 250hp vs US models at 240hp, fuel cut 9120rpm etc...
Many skylines are also overpriced. Getting a 25/26DET isn’t cheap. JZs are cheap as chips though.
![]() 03/09/2016 at 07:25 |
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Shhhh... go away. Leave our JDM trashpit alone!
After being to Japan, to the car yards where they store them before going on the ship, being around the importer companies etc, yes buyer beware, do your homework and know what you are getting into. Plenty of flooded fukushima stuff or cars that look good but have done 1000km/year with a single fluid change and are fucked...
Some stuff is overpriced. E.g. S2000s are overpriced because of their JDM motors. They make 250hp vs US models at 240hp, fuel cut 9120rpm etc...
Many skylines are also overpriced. Getting a 25/26DET isn’t cheap. JZs are cheap as chips though.
![]() 03/09/2016 at 07:25 |
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Shhhh... go away. Leave our JDM trashpit alone!
After being to Japan, to the car yards where they store them before going on the ship, being around the importer companies etc, yes buyer beware, do your homework and know what you are getting into. Plenty of flooded fukushima stuff or cars that look good but have done 1000km/year with a single fluid change and are fucked...
Some stuff is overpriced. E.g. S2000s are overpriced because of their JDM motors. They make 250hp vs US models at 240hp, fuel cut 9120rpm etc...
Many skylines are also overpriced. Getting a 25/26DET isn’t cheap. JZs are cheap as chips though.
![]() 03/09/2016 at 07:26 |
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Shhhh... go away. Leave our JDM trashpit alone!
After being to Japan, to the car yards where they store them before going on the ship, being around the importer companies etc, yes buyer beware, do your homework and know what you are getting into. Plenty of flooded fukushima stuff or cars that look good but have done 1000km/year with a single fluid change and are fucked...
Some stuff is overpriced. E.g. S2000s are overpriced because of their JDM motors. They make 250hp vs US models at 240hp, fuel cut 9120rpm etc...
Many skylines are also overpriced. Getting a 25/26DET isn’t cheap. JZs are cheap as chips though.
![]() 07/19/2017 at 13:21 |
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“There simply isn’t enough space for the hoarding necessary to do this - the cars need to leave the country! So what happens when you have a market flooded with gems that have nowhere to go? Prices are laughably low.”
That is nothing but wild speculation. Cars are expensive to run in Japan. Needless to say that people use them less often - for the most part. There is little need to own a car because of the excelent public transportation. Cars are more status symbols than anything else and old cars are deemed as bad.
![]() 07/28/2019 at 13:21 |
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I am loving this Delica https://www.jdmbuysell.com/listing/1994-mitsubishi-delica-l400-turbo-diesel-4wd-low-mileage-61000-miles/