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Having A Hard Time Finding A Supra...Import JDM Supra???

11K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  AlexDiaz8 
#1 ·
hey guys,
I've been waiting years to find a MKIV supra for sale NA or TT. Either it was in really bad shape or way to modded. I check CL daily but nothing really that catches my eye. It seems that the other option is to get a jdm imported 93 supra since it's 25 years past and there are so many out there.

Does anyone have info on how to bring in a jdm supra to hawaii specifically? I've been in touch with a few jdm importers on the mainland but have rolled nothing since they too are not familiar with importing a jdm car to hawaii. Mainly because of the FMVSS label and having to go through recon instead.

Could anyone shed some light?

Thanks
 
#5 ·
I've been also looking for a clean MKIV. Specifically a TT 6spd. Dont want a N/A or auto as I do not plan to do any heavy mods and swapping engine/drive train is def out of the question. I looked into importing and the big thing is it has to be 25 years old to the month of manufacture. So as of this post you can legally import a 1993 manufactured in December and older. No other special requirements besides the basic pass safety and insured.
 
#10 ·
Still looking to this date. I've been trying to do research but have come up with very little. Being that I'm on Oahu I'm subjected to recon. I know the other islands don't require so I see how it is easier to get one on another island. I tried calling the recon office but got very little information. I see a few more jdm imported vehicles on oahu now and was wondering if anyone had new info on how to legally import a jdm vehicle to oahu specifically.

Thanks
 
#7 ·
You went to the wrong inspection place ! BTW...Is your's JDM?
 
#11 ·
Yeah of course, I’ll break it down from the beginning with a list of what makes it legal and then what you have to do.
1. The car needs to be 25 years or older to the month, mine was build in February, 1994 so it was legal to ship into the US this February, 2019.
2. To import a vehicle to Hawaii you’re gonna need someone in Japan to actually go through the process of exporting it and mailing you the documents you need (there’s business or dealerships that you buy your car from that already have the hookup with shipping companies and it’s makes things 100x easier)
3. Importing to Hawaii is different from the rest of the US, you need to hire a customs broker here. (What they do is paperwork to ensure your vehicle is legal and make the process with customs easy, if you don’t hire one and your vehicle shows up and you’re not ready with any paperwork you’ll get a hefty fine, I think the fine is a few thousand and it takes a little bit of time so you have to make sure to communicate the information they need/want from the dealership you bought it from/and the exporting info so you can get the car almost as soon as it gets here.
4. In Hawaii you’re only allowed to import 2 vehicles from another country in your lifetime under your name, a third or more needs to be put under a businesses name and it requires a lot more work.
5. To go over the costs I’ll make a small list here and around what I paid:
The price of the car
The price of shipping: 2,000$
Paying for your customs broker: 600$
Paying customs and border protection: (they’ll take a 3.5% tax on your vehicles worth)
6. Here in Hawaii it’s a pain in the ass.
You have to get these things in this order and it fucking blows:
-Recon
-Safety
-Weigh your car at a hawaii state certified scale (kapa’a quarry) is one
-Translate the papers in Japanese to English by a state certified translator who’s allowed to do written translations
-Vin Verification (supposed to be done by the recon station and those assholes won’t let you do it until your vehicle is recon certified.)
-Registration

7. Here I’ll give you a list as an example of what the recon station told me to do to my car:
-get rid of my tint (legal is 35%)
-get a third tail light
-get 4 brand new DOT approved tires
-fix my window because it didn’t go up
-bolt in side markers that illuminate into the cars front and rear bumper in front of the forward tires and behind the rear tires, Amber color in the front, red color in the back.
-have to do something with the suspension to make it RECON(reconstructed) either get lowering springs or get whole brand new coil overs
-get an alignment within 30 days of getting recon with a sheet showing the info of your tires alignment

8. The recon is by far the hardest and most expensive to do bro, apparently there is a place that will do your safety without the recon but most will tell you “no you can’t until you get your recon” and it sucks to because they need to do your vin verification too but they won’t do it if you don’t already have your recon.
 
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