I am sure everyone here has seen the european civic 5-door(but if you havent:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TM3gHGMFqs

I want one for my self and I am seriously considering getting it imported, if there isn't any for sale in the USA. Has anyone done this, any advice would be great

 

i did,only cost me $23,000

 

Don't do it. It's nowhere near worth it. The car is actually SLOWER than the USDM Si and doesn't even handle like a "Type R" should.

That's of course if you're looking at importing a Type R. Not sure what the other models offer....but i'm pretty confident it's not enough to justify spending the ***-load of money it will cost to get it U.S. street legal.

 

That car is so futt bucking ugly. What the hell do people see in that thing?

 

if you are going to import an R, get the real R from japan. JDM type R > USDM Si > UKDM type R

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2008fijibluesi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That car is so futt bucking ugly. What the hell do people see in that thing?</TD></TR></TABLE>

First time I've ever agreed with this guy.

That car isn't worthy of the Type R badge.

 

Hahaha

 

It has a beauty that only those of the finest taste can truely appreciate (haahah)

I guess its one of those - you either love it or hate it. I am willing to sacrifice some preformance for its style, so long as the ride quality isn't seriously compromised (which I would like to here any comments on that if you have/ driven the car).

But I thought that the North American and European versions would be the same on the inside (minus the common under performed Euro engine and diesel options), thanks for the heads up.

as for the PRICING and CONVERTING, would a popular car like a civic need and converting to be street legal in the USA?

and to 06CIVICRACER (sorry but i dont know how to quote on this forum) how much is shipping and any other costs to bring it here? where did you get it shipped it from?

thanks for the help, all

ohh i forgot to add .... and since i will be sharing this car with another how know absolutly nothing about manual i probably get a model with automatic (maybe the automatic with steering-wheel shifter) and (if the shipping and of costs are too high) i'll get the lowest bare bones model Dx or Lx European equivalent.


Modified by summertime at 8:29 PM 3/6/2008

 

You cannot easily import it.

The costs will completely outweigh the benefits.

I would say easily double the price of the car and that's how much you would pay to have it here (legally)

 

if it is double the price then i'd forget it and not think twice, but, 06CIVICRACER a few posts early said he paid 23000. the new civics are about 19 thousand (base) in euro and pound, so that doesnt sound too bad - but that "if" he bought his new. but he is hammering himself .... lol

 

Yeah he most likely bought a new USDM SI.

There's several laws preventing it from coming here, the main one is that since the model is not available here there's no safety/crash testing ratings. To my knowledge it's incredibly expensive to pass those (ie takes multiple cars for them to test) and then you have to convert all the glass to spec, the tires,etc.

It's much more expensive then paying shipping.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by summertime &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if it is double the price then i'd forget it and not think twice, but, 06CIVICRACER a few posts early said he paid 23000. the new civics are about 19 thousand (base) in euro and pound, so that doesnt sound too bad - but that "if" he bought his new. but he is hammering himself .... lol </TD></TR></TABLE>

You DO realize 19,000 pounds is like 38 grand here right? So 38 grand for a civic, plus all the fees of importing it. All that and you couldn't even drive it on the streets. Sweet.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by elohel &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

You DO realize 19,000 pounds is like 38 grand here right? So 38 grand for a civic, plus all the fees of importing it. All that and you couldn't even drive it on the streets. Sweet.</TD></TR></TABLE>

QFT

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 06civicracer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i did,only cost me $23,000 </TD></TR></TABLE>

Please tell me the details of this, and if its legal to drive this side of the world

 

my Euro ciVic dream is fading away. life isn't fair.

Anyways I have read 3 important bits of info that at best, for me, give me some long chance to bring the civic's foreign brother here - it may be useful for any others that have any connections:

if the car comes via CANADA then it be a lot easier to get it legal, If you are in the military then you can ship any car from anywhere by way of military cargo for less that $300 (anyone in the military want to be my friend ), and thirdly Independent Commercial Importers (ICI) will take care of everthing shipping and govern-men t related - I dont know their price or if they provide this for none exotic cars.
search this in google, then click "html view" (for slow computers) gove-r nmen tapprove d ICIs
http://www.epa.gov/oms/imports/icilist

there are 2 in Maryland so that works for me, but i have to call about prices since they both have no website.

 

I friend of mine (a Corporate VP) imported a BMW from Euro. It cost him couple grand just to ship it. Then it sat at the port in San Fransisco for 4 months. Customs quarantined the car, torn through it and searched it twice before finally releasing it. It then cost him another few grand to get it legal enough to pass smog and get it registered. The car was not same after the modifications to pass smog. If performed significantly worse then it did when he drove it in Germany. He confessed it was biggest mistake he ever made.

Anyway, to each his own. Just don't expect to get the performance the car was designed for, once you bring it to US smog standards.

 

It looks good to me, but its lacking a lot of suspension.... IT may be 'nearly' as fast, but it will never run a lap as fast on that suspension they gave it.

Also: Importing a car isn't really a good idea for a DD, let alone a weekend driver. Get something really kick ***, but use it as a track/show only. You can run it without any mods for smog.

 

i dont reccommend importing this car, not the best car youll want to spend your money IMO

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by summertime &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if it is double the price then i'd forget it and not think twice, but, 06CIVICRACER a few posts early said he paid 23000. the new civics are about 19 thousand (base) in euro and pound, so that doesnt sound too bad - but that "if" he bought his new. but he is hammering himself .... lol </TD></TR></TABLE>

The British Pound and Euro are two totally different currencies. The British Pound is about 2.01 U.S. Dollars......the Euro is about 1.5 U.S. Dollars.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by summertime &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


Please tell me the details of this, and if its legal to drive this side of the world</TD></TR></TABLE>
lmao,i was only kidding,ask your local dmv and they'll tell you if you can or cannot import one