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Old 10-25-2012, 08:15 PM   #6
jBizzle
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Funny, the "owner's" original craigslist ad claims the "CAR COMES WITH LEGIT US TITLE!!!"

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/cto/3274986774.html

The pictures look like they were either taken at a dockyard when the car came off a ship, or a storage unit facility. In either case, the owner doesn't want to get caught with this thing.

You cannot legally title a JDM car in the United States. Zero of them pass NHTSA crash tests. You can modify them to conform to emissions, but unless you get certification from the NHTSA, there is no way to legally title it. How do you obtain certification? Go back in time and make sure Motorex never existed to mess it up for everyone with their Skyline scam.

There are two ways to get around this.

1. Once the car is imported (usually separated in crates from overseas so they can clear customs "for parts only") you can take it to your state's DMV and apply for a title. The DMV is not the federal government and they do not take it upon themselves to seize illegally imported cars. If they sense something is inconsistent with your application, they'll call the feds and your car will be seized. Sometimes the DMV has more important things to do than narc, so they blindly issue titles.

However, a vehicle registered in one state does NOT imply a smooth transfer to another state.

2. The other way around this is to swap a similar vehicle's USDM VIN plates onto the JDM vehicle. I do not even need to go into how illegal this is.

In summary, this vehicle looks hot. Just look at the significant drop in price in less than a month (for backseats?), look at the pictures, and look at the facts. Motorex ruined JDM imports for everyone, only a handful (maybe 40) of JDM Skylines were grandfathered in before the raid and received legal US titles.

Tl;dr this is a track car at best
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