poke

I was wondering if anybody knows how different the crash test results are for a jap spec bB? See i live in Okinawa japan and am thinking of shipping a bB to the states. But I was going over the paperwork and it needs to coply with crash tests and ect. I'm not worried about emmisions and stuff. i'm sure you JDM freaks out there understand me. I'm in the military and I get to ship 1 car for free, except for registration and u.s.a. modifications if nesessary. Any other in put would be great help, thank you.

P.S. bBs are very cheap over here

crayonBOX

im pretty sure i heard that the bumpers are smaller, and the bumper height is lower than on our usdm models, that may be an issue, also depending on the state you ship it to...

think you can get a chassis shipped? i'd like one...

bBlover

I want one too!!!! In BOP please. J/k How much do they cost??

poke

I've seen a couple for under $10,000 and one for $6000 i mean 600000 yen,
i'm sure i can get a usdm bumper for a resonable price. the state that it's going to be registered is arizona. i don't think i can just get a chassis shipped to much work. but if some one were to find out prices and stuff for importing it (i'mgoing to be looking too) i wouldn't mind helping someone buy one. But not trying to make a buisness out of it,i have a lot of other work to do too. but if someones got the money and the info i'll definately give it a try.

bbninaritai

What branch are you in? When I was in the Air Force I wasn't allowed to ship a car back. The military allows you to ship a car back into America only if you ship a veh into the country in which you are stationed. You can argue this with me all day long but remember that I was a staff sergeant in TMO in Misawa Japan which you know means Traffic management office and I dealt with household shipments for everyone going in and out of the states. I did find out while I was there that exporters will do everything for you for 150% of the vehicles value, which they determine. Along with all of the paperwork it just wasn't worth the time or effort. I went through talking with T.S.K and company for about 8 months before I came back to the states with nothing. It would be awesome if you have time and could do this so here is a list of exporters I had to work with but I couldn't do anything with. http://www7a.biglobe.ne.jp/~Yamato-Damashii/ .Good luck, I love the bB, I had one for 2 years in Japan before I came back to the states so keep me updated if you can do something. Also I know everyone has this site bookmarked in Japn but if you don't this should help you out. http://www.importexporthelp.com/importing-cars.htm . Hope this helps. If not I am sorry.


Gambatte kudasai!
Good Luck.

poke

I'm air force and thank you for the info, it saves me a trip to tmo. the tmo here doesn't know what there doing anyway. but i did get a list of export/importers from them. they also have a list of cars you can ship for free wich i picked up yesterday and the bB wasn't on it.

Tyler_Knight

I have no idea what the US military will pay for or not but I do know that my brother was stationed in Germany for a year and picked up his Volvo at the factory with the agreement from Volvo that they would ship it to the US for free when his tour was up.

Do you have an exceptional/rare version of the bB that makes it worth the hassle? Do you mind the fact that the steering wheel will be on the "wrong" side or do you plan on becoming a mail carrier?

If it was AWD or if you had an open deck, it would be cool to convert it to left had drive and have something truly unique.

Tyler

bbninaritai

Yes like I said the problem is since we are not able to ship a veh from America to Japan you cannot ship a veh from Japan to America. You are however allowed to ship a veh to Germany so you can ship a veh back to America. If you need any more help I still have some friends up in Misawa that might be able to help you and my brother in law lives in Sendai down below the Aomori Prefecture, he unfortunetly does not speak english.

poke

acually when you drive a right hand drive car for a while it feels natural. you just have to get used to judging the distance on your left side. and at first looking over your left shoulder to back up is weird.

i'm probably not going to ship one. i don't feel like spending a lot of extra money. i guess i'm just getting a little tired of waiting to get a scion, i've been waiting over a year now. it wasn't worth the money just having one for the 2 years i'm here. but when i get to the states that's first on my to do list. i mite just end up getting some jdm parts and putting them on a scion in the states when i get there.

poke

bbninaritai do you know about the 25 year and older rule. my papers talk about it briefly but i was just wondering, because i could get an old mini cooper and if it's exempt from a lot of laws would it be a lot cheaper, or maybe fall under the free car shipment during my pcs????
thanks for all the help

bbninaritai

Yes, the 25 year and older rule is true. But just as anything in the military you need time. They do not need the crach tests done to them either as a new car would. The best bet if you really wanted to bring over a car is just go off of the list. Then contact an exporter now and start making arrangements. I got used to right hand drive while I was in Japan and now driving on the left seems weird to me. If you want better answerers at TMO don't talk to airman, start at least with a staff sargeant that has been there some time. They usually have more answers.

xBtuner

I can vouch for this as well. I was stationed in Atsugi, Japan for 8 years with the US Navy. I was trying to ship my RX-7 and my slammed Toyota Lucida and it was immpossible. Was going to cost me 10 grand to get my RX7 state specd and taxes paid. It is possible to get them shipped, but the money it costs to get it done is just silly.

05Toaster

do it do it

TheIcon

I really wanted to do this myself. Some people told me the price to ship starts to add up (taxes, etc) None the less it was still affordable. But then I started thinking about going to the ocean and going through a toll booth. oooops wrong window. What you want me to pick up Wendys. oooops wrong window. Coming to work I need to insert a card to open a gate. oooops wrong window

Still would be fun to drive.

Lonely_Raven

hehe, Wrong Window...that cracks me up, but yeah.
It's the little things we forget about!