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Ship my Mustang to Japan for month long vacation?

KingKona

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Go through all that for a few weeks?

Not in a million years.
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shogun32

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better use of your time would be learn how to ride a motorcycle and do all your locomotion via 2-wheels as much as possible. I wouldn't even take my car to Mexico and it doesn't get any easier than crossing that border.
 

KingKona

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Someone's having some F&F Tokyo Drift fantasies.
 
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diegoaccord

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Having driven and owned a couple JDM cars in the US, it is quite a hassle driving a car with the wheel on the wrong side. Things you don’t even consider have to be carefully thought out. Drive thru windows, toll booths, parking garages, sight lines for intersections, the list goes on. I definitely see it as being more cost effective and less headache to rent something there. Plus it is an opportunity to drive something we can’t get here yet until the 25 year rule goes into effect.
I have had a rhd car in the us.
72522D1A-6794-4CF2-A831-0F91F170D13E.png


I have also been to Japan before and drove this

C63E5883-0A73-4DE9-8EF1-EDBC07A2C8FC.jpeg


So none of what you're saying is new to me. Driving my own car in Japan is.

I can rent cars like this all day there but it's not mine. It's a 20+ year old car that people rent and beat. Lewis Hamilton literally trashed this exact car:
E5811047-7BBD-48CB-AF6D-D0949F5D6EB1.jpeg

If I rent it, and it breaks, which is an actual possibility, I get to fix a skyline which will cost more than shipping both ways. Doesn't matter why it broke, if I'm driving it, it's on me.


The arguments against this that involves the shaken and my mods are what I'm after. I assumed exemption due to the temporary nature of the export. Even then it's unclear, as according to some people on this forum putting a gt350 cluster in a gt means $1000 worth of programming work, and an 18 front swap is 20K.
 

shogun32

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Shakken is the most persnickety inspection you can imagine times 1000. If you can't ace California emissions you don't have a prayer in Japan. Your car as described would go straight into the crusher.

So rent a stock civic or other unmolested factory hot hatch from a reputable outfit instead of some F&F fight club outfit.

Jap police are none too lax about natives let alone gaijin acting like ass hats. There are certain locations where it's unofficially and tacitly tolerated sure.

In Japan prison time is real, not this club fed American prisons are.
 

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TW Merema

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Hey it’s your money dude, spend it how you like. Just seems like, from my chair, the cost far outweighs the benefit. Would I put my car in a container, throw it on a ship for a few weeks each way, hoping for the best? No. I boat in the Gulf of Mexico, and have seen shipping containers bobbing out there just above the waves. Would insurance make you whole again? Maybe. Would I go through all that just to drive my car in Japan? Personally, no. I’ve seen some imports right off the boat and they had more surface rust than the auction pics. You do you though, hope it works out for you. Sounds like a cool idea, but so does driving my car off an open drawbridge.
 

Nightmonkey

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If I rent it, and it breaks, which is an actual possibility, I get to fix a skyline which will cost more than shipping both ways. Doesn't matter why it broke, if I'm driving it, it's on me
Why are you renting from this company if they can't sell you the right insurance to go with it?
No matter what it costs, I even insure the tires of the rental vehicle abroad, because I don't want to have anything to do with all that shit.
I even insure the deductible.
If it falls off a cliff, screw it: "Here are the keys, down there is the car, give me another one!"

Get a K-Car from a reasonable supplier and enjoy asking the last of it.
With small shitboxes you can have real fun with the knife between your teeth.
 

Nightmonkey

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If you have to pass Shaken like Nightmonkey's post above says, the GT in your sig is guaranteed to fail.
One more thought on this:
Over here, vehicles from other EU countries are withdrawn from service and end up on the tow truck if a police inspection reveals that there are "defects".
These vehicles are allowed to drive here without an inspection, but must comply with the laws and rules.
If it's the same in Japan, maybe no shaken is required on temporary import, but if you get pulled over the first night and e.g. they don't like the smell of the exhaust, you might be a pedestrian by then.

Over here, it's a real pain to get the car back on the road, if the defects are related to "tuning".
Usually, the car is inspected right after the seizure in order to confirm the defects identified by the police officer on the road. If the defects are confirmed by the expert, the entire vehicle may be impounded to preserve evidence (in case of obviously intentional manipulation = tuning).
When this procedure is completed, the operating license is not restored until the defects have been corrected and the expert has verified that this is indeed the case.
This whole process costs time, nerves and money.
Something like this in a country where you do not know habits, language, laws, etc. well, must be like in limbo.

@diegoaccord
I'm unclear how at home you are in Japan, but it would be a shame if something like this ruins your experience there.
 
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RagmopInKona

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I'm considering doing this. I'll be in Japan for most of June, and it's been since 2019, for obvious reasons. I think I want to ship the car over there to drive while I'm there, already sent for a Carnet Passages en Douane so I get the process started.

What I did previously was rent a normal car for the trip, then I rented a "JDM" for some fun. I would much rather have my own car there, and then I can still rent like a Skyline or something.

The main concern is rust, and how the trips will affect the car. Coating everything in oil is a possibility, I gues? But I dont want the car to be aged prematurely to the point that I need to get rid of it once I'm back. I have an Evo but those are already there, and I don't trust that car to just drive around .
Me, I'd buy a classic JDM over there, then ship it back here, then sell it here. You get to drive it for a month, and maybe some while selling it here. This will make your cost for having a car to drive over there almost nothing, or nothing. This is what I would do. IF I was to ship a Mustang over it not be mine, and it have a for sale sign on it while driving it over there. Sell it when leaving, You get to drive it over there and no cost to ship it back. And someone got a Mustang that wanted one over there.
 

Gnatsum21

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With all respect, I think its just a childish plan. Leave the car at home, its only a month. For 12 months or more, maybe. I wouldn't do it. Too many things can go wrong.
 

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joe603

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I've shipped a car to Italy while I was in the military...it is a major pain in the ass. They damaged it...had a mirror just dangling when I went to pick it up among other scratches. The military is used to filing claims; I couldn't imagine doing that on my own. But it was awesome driving a V8 Firebird around with a flowmaster exhaust!

For you, I'd recommend that you just rent something there...a GTR would be awesome! Just know that you'll want something right-hand drive FOR SURE!
 

Cobra Jet

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Listen to all of those who are familiar with the process and have gone through such a process of shipping a vehicle overseas.... it's not worth the troubles for 1 month... Definitely not worth it if the car gets damaged or is held in car prison for not being compliant with XYZ Country's laws/regulations.

Can you imagine getting the car there, then it's held in car prison for not being compliant AND you're not allowed to access it or transport it back to the US until all the legal limbo-jumbo is situated? Your month will be up faster than the car transport time, finally getting to Japan port, and going through all of the inspection processes.

If you're moving there, or will be there temporarily longer term (12 mos-2 years), then *maybe* it's worth the hassle...

Hit up the Euro/Overseas Regional sub-forums on here - I'm sure there's awesome car clubs in Japan or folks can point you to car rental places that rent out sport or performance cars...
 
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diegoaccord

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I'll look into whether or not mods affect the temp import in Japan. Also, it does seem as if a lot of answers haven't read the post. Some of these answers are said as if I haven't already been over there, and as if I haven't already rented a sports car. I've done these things. The pics were mine, not Google.

Also buying a car there is a horrible idea. The only car I want is an Evo 6(a car I drove there), and as bad as I want that, I'm not paying whatever they want for them, which is likely to be more than they were brand new. It's my favorite car ever, but it's not objectively better than the ones I already have. Anything cheap is likely an R-grade, and also wouldn't pass shaken.

Those with the horror stories, however are giving me things to actually think about. Would not want to have to do bodywork.
 
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diegoaccord

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What a waste of time and money. Just drive what is available there. The mustang is not that special of a car.
Very helpful.

My money. The 3 years I didn't get to go on vacation, I can spend that money now. Sooo.
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