MugenEg

Hello everyone,

I'm in here in hope that some of you guys out there know the answers to my questions. I am so into EK9 hatch. I see that a lot of people just converted their US hatch to look like the EK9 and most of them are done out of the garage which I wouldn't want to buy them.

I would like to know if I were to buy a car oversea, what's the shipping going to cost and days to arrive in USA?
How much will it cost to get test it before it is legal to drive in US and register the car?
And most of all, will it worth it for all those time and money?

Thanks in advance for all your input

97ej6dx

There are different answers to your question. One option is to buy an ek9 and have them ship the Shell and motor seperaely. This will avoid the customs taking it and giving it to an importer or This takes away you needing to go through a licenced importer. In shipping the car as a shell it comes up as a car part in which customs will search the vehicle makeing sure there is no forgien soil under neath for pests and all that good stuff. The vehical has to be de registered in the country of purchase. A shipping crate coast 1700 including shipping to california. from there it depends on where you are California is the most strict on vehical emissions. After the car is in the US you will need to install the motor your self or have it done to avoid having to go through an importer which will convert every thing to make it legal for the use which is where most people go wrong. This way of importing is not illegal at all and infact is how many cars are imported by the car companys to avoid Chicken taxes and all the other annoying problematic things our government likes to add. It also depends on where you live. If youlive where a place that has no emission testing such as mine. all you will need to do is call your secretary of states office. Prove that the vehical has a counter part in the US so that it can be registered. The vehicals imported in to the united states have to pass front end collision tests. but many people go around this by importing the shell of the vehicle and registering it as a kit car or a hot rod. but that would mean you could only drive the vehicle a limited amount of miles a year. So the best way would to prove that the vehicle has a counterpart in the US and that counter parts front bumpers are identical to the vehicle imported. That will be easy because it will be a Honda civic Hatch back. you will also need to be sure the car you import has both drivers and passenger side air bags. I belive the Civic Type R came with both from factory but i could be mistaken. Those are also required. Before you actually buy one i would check with your secretary of state about information you need to do to register a vehicle in the US. dont mention you are importing it act as tho it is already in the US> The vehcial shipped from japan will take about 3 weeks to arrive in the states after every thing is said and done and shipping can cost from 1700 to 2500 bucks for a container. From that point it would depend where you live.