Disclaimer: All policies are subject to change without prior notification.
Q. What is the Milage on these cars?
A. The average milage of the cars we offer is typically around 40,000 miles (when converted from kilometers). However, it is not out of the ordinary for it to be more or less than that, depending on the particular vehicle.
Q. Are all of the vehicles you offer used?
A. Yes, currently all of the vehicles we offer are pre-owned.
Q. What is the gas mileage on these cars?
A. That differs, depending on the model/year of car and the engine/transmission it is equipped with.
For example, the Honda Accord Wagon gets an estimated combined average (highway and city) of 27.87 miles per gallon.
Q. Are these cars authentic right-hand drive vehicles, or just left-hand drive to right-hand drive conversions?
A. These are, in fact, the real deal. They are all authentic, imported pre-owned right-hand drive vehicles directly from Japan.
Q. How much do they cost?
A. Well, that depends on the each individual vehicle. Each vehicle's price is based on the individual vehicle's original cost, shipping costs, conversion/legalization/registration costs, make, model, trim level/package, condition, mileage, extras equipped on the car, market demand/desirability, and the availability/rarity of the vehicle.
Q. How can I pay for it (the vehicle)?
A. Currently, we only accept credit cards*, certified/cashiers checks, money orders, bank transfers, pre-approved loans from outside lending sources, and of course, cash is always welcome (so long as it isn't counterfeit).
*Credit card payments may be subject to transaction fees.
Q. Can I put a hold on a car that I am interested in?
A. We require a 10% deposit of the advertised price to put a hold on a vehicle. If the hold is canceled, or if the deal falls through, you may be subject to a restocking fee.
Q. Can I finance the car through your company?
A. No, we do not currently offer financing though our company at this time. If you would like to finance the vehicle, it must be done through an outside lending agency.
Q. Why are the prices of these cars so much higher than the Blue Book prices of the U.S. model equivalent (if one exists)?
A. The reason for this is mainly due to the cost of shipping and conversion, legalization, and registration. It is a very expensive and involved process that takes quite a long time to complete.
In addition to that, it is simply not the U.S. model. It is a different car that is targeted for different specialty-car markets. You are paying for the uniqueness of owning an authentic right-hand drive model.
Q. Why are the California (50-state) legal vehicles more expensive than the non-California (49-state) legal vehicles?
A. The reason for that is, for a vehicle to be legal in California, it not only must pass Department of Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandated safety and emissions testing; it must also pass further California Air Resources Board (CARB) emissions testing (which is much more stringent than the EPA emissions standards). Similar to the way your favorite aftermarket sports parts manufacturer must test its products to be able to be marketed as 50-state legal (CARB Exemption Order).
These test add an additional expense on top of the already expensive government mandated testing through the EPA, DOT, and NHTSA. And that, unfortunately, raises the cost of the product.
Q. Are there any additional costs to register the car?
A. Before we sell the vehicle, we obtain a California "Title Only" document. This document is pretty much the same thing as any regular title or "pink slip" for a vehicle, proving that it is legally registered and owned. However, it differs from a normal title in the fact that no licensing fees or usage taxes have been paid, so it has no license plates or registration tags allowing it to be driven on the street for personal use. Once the car is sold, we would sign over the "Title Only" papers to the purchasing customer (like would happen when buying any vehicle from a private party, or any used vehicle from a dealership), and that purchaser would pay any appropriate taxes, and licensing and registration fees applicable based on the state and area they are registering the vehicle in as normal. There should be no extra or additional fees or costs simply because it is an imported grey-market vehicle.
Q. Will you ship the vehicles to me/Can you help with shipping arrangements?
A. We, Right Hand Drive JAPAN, LTD. do not ship any of the vehicles purchased through us. However, we can help with arranging the shipping of the vehicle if a customer would like us to.
Q. How much does shipping cost/How many days will it take to ship the vehicle to me?
A. Only a shipping company would be able to supply you with that information, we recommend you contact them for further information regarding this.
Q. If I go to your location/fly in from out of state to pick it up, can I drive it back home?
A. Yes, the car will be supplied with the proper temporary documentation to allow you to be able to drive it home, just like you would receive from any other dealership. However, according to California State Law, if you fly in to California to see the vehicle here at our location, and then pay for it and drive it home, you have then taken physical delivery (or "taken possession") of the vehicle in California and would be subject to any state and local taxes applicable to the vehicle sale. Most states will give the purchaser a credit towards the taxes paid in California, and would only have to pay the difference left over in their own state (if any). The only states that do not do this are: Oklahoma, Mississippi, West Virginia, The District of Columbia (Washington D.C.), and certain counties in the State of Colorado. All residents of these areas would be subject to paying the full amount of all taxes applicable in their area, along with the full amount of any taxes required in the State of California.
Q. Can I take a look at the vehicles in person?
A. Absolutely! We would encourage anyone interested in purchasing a vehicle to see it in person before going through with the purchase. Although, we do ask that you please schedule an appointment to do so with us first, for both our convenience and your own.
Q. Can I test drive the vehicle?
A. We do allow test drives as we see fit, determined on a situation-to-situation basis, and as long as the potential test driver is able to meet our "potential test driver" requirements . However, we do reserve the right to refuse that service to anyone.
Certain model vehicles are exempt from being eligible to be test driven, and no one under 21 will be allowed to test drive our vehicles. All persons wanting to test drive a vehicle may be subject to a credit and driving record check prior to being granted permission to test drive our vehicles.
Q. How do I register the vehicle?
A. All street-legal imported ("Grey-Market") vehicles sold by Right Hand Drive JAPAN, LTD. are legally registerable in any state, as long as the vehicle's emissions compliance been approved for that state. Please contact us for further details concerning the emissions compliance of the vehicle you may be interested in.
Each vehicle we sell will already have a California "Title Only" certificate to accompany it. This "Title Only" certificate is exactly the same as a normal Title Of Ownership, with the only difference being that no sales and/or usage taxes or registration fees have been paid on the vehicle.
All vehicles registred for use within the State of California will be completed by our dealership, and the customer will recieve a temporary registration slip taped to the lower passenger-side corner of their front windshield, just like would be done at any other California dealership.
If the car is to be registered outside of the state of Californa, the purchaser will be given the California "Title Only" document along with the other paperwork from the sale. This document will be signed over by our dealership to the purchasing customer (like would happen when buying a vehicle from a private party, or any used vehicle from a dealership). Then, the purchaser would take this document to their government agency in charge of registering vehicles (be it a DMV, Tax Assessor, etc.) and pay any appropriate taxes, licensing, and registration fees applicable based on the state and area they are registering the vehicle. There should be no extra or additional fees, costs, or documents required simply because it is an imported grey-market vehicle.
Q. Will I have trouble registering the vehicle because of the 10-digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)?
All of the vehicles we sell are equipped with the original Japanese 10-digit Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) they came with from the factory. We were instructed by the Department Of Transportation to keep the original 10-digit VIN's, and not change them to a US standard 17-digit VIN. These VIN's are accepted by the government, and are able to be registered in any state vehicle registration database. However, depending on the state, it may require a specific code, form, supervisor, or even department in charge of grey-market vehicles at your local government agency responsible for vehicle registration for the system to accept the 10-digit VIN and complete the registration. If you run in to any problems or issues, please contact us and we will assist you in every way we can.
Q. Is it possible to register in California?
A. As long as the vehicle has passed the required California Air Resources Board (CARB) testing, on top of all the Department of Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandated testing, it will have California Certification and would be able to be registered in California. These requirements are the same for any vehicle to be sold for use in California. Please see the "emissions standards" section in each vehicles detail description page, or contact us, to see which emissions standard that particular vehicle complies with, and if it is able to be registered for use in California.
Q. Is the Vehicle Registered in the U.S.?
A. All the vehicles that are listed for sale will be registered to our dealership, and we will have "Title Only" papers available for it. Please see the above question (How do I register the vehicle?) for further details on the "Title Only" paper.
Q. How do you make a right-hand drive vehicle legal in the U.S.?
A. By performing the required modifications to make the vehicle meet the safety and emissions standards in the U.S., then passing the mandated Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Transportation (DOT), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) testing. Furthermore, if the vehicle is to be sold and registered in California, it must pass all mandated California Air Resources Board (CARB) testing as well to obtain California Approval status.
Q. Why do the cars have such low mileage?
A. This is because in the majority of the country, Japan has a very efficient, extensive, economic, and reliable public transportation system, that allows them to cover far more distances in far shorter time than it would take to do so in a motor vehicle. So, many Japanese find it much easier and more cost effective to use public transportation for their day-to-day commuting. Additionally, many companies pay for their employees to use public transportation, so culturally it is frowned upon not to take advantage of that benefit. Along with that, Japan is a relatively small country (smaller than the size of California in fact), so when the Japanese do drive somewhere, it typically does not need to be done over long distances.
On top of all that, the Japanese Government requires that a safety inspection be performed on all vehicles registered for use on public roadways to ensure that it operates correctly and meets regulations to ensure safe operation. The inspection alone costs roughly the equivalent of $2,000 (U.S.). That is then coupled with the cost of any repairs or maintenance that may need to be done to make the vehicle comply with regulations, all of witch must be completed before the vehicle will be allowed to be registered again, allowing its use on public highways. So, most Japanese treat driving and owning a vehicle as a luxury, and try to put as little unnecessary wear and tear on them as possible.
Q. Do you supply replacement parts for the vehicles you sell, especially the ones that are difficult/impossible to find in the U.S.?
A. Yes we will do supply replacement parts for the vehicles we sell (especially the harder to find parts), and parts for cars that have no U.S. model equivalent. In addition we also offer aftermarket sports and racing parts as well. Please contact us for more information regarding this.
*DISCLAIMER: Installing aftermarket sports and racing parts on your car can and may nullify the street legality of your vehicle.
Q. How many cars do you have/Do you have an inventory list?
A. Yes we do have an inventory list, it is on our website in the "inventory" section. Please refer to it for further information.
Q. Are there more right-hand drive vehicles coming?
A. Yes, we are constantly working on bringing you an ever-expanding selection of cars that have never before been offered as truly street-legal to drive in the United States.
Q. Can you help me legalize my right-hand drive vehicle/Can I special order a right-hand drive vehicle?
A. Unfortunately, unless the vehicle you have/would like to request is a vehicle that we have already have in our inventory as a street legal vehicle (meaning it has already gone through the legalization process through a Registered Importer), we will be unable to help you with it at this time. We apologize for any inconvenience.
The reason for this is because the cost of legalizing a vehicle that has not yet been approved for importation and legalization by the government is so high (easily, and often, exceeding $100,000), it usually makes it impractical to do for a single private customer/vehicle, and almost always greatly exeeds the value of the vehicle to begin with. So, unless we have a substantial amount of people all wanting us to legalize a specific vehicle model/year (making it possible to spread the cost of getting the initial approval from the government evenly and reasonably), it is highly unlikely that we would take on a private contract of that nature.
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