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I am sad I found this thread 'too late', but lots to read up on... I'm now in a position to live some dreams of chasing after JDM cars! I'll be in Japan in March and my ideal scenario would be getting as close to hand-picking a few vehicles as possible + writing a check to someone in the US reputable to help facilitate the actual import (i.e., I don't want to end-run an importer, I just want to pick what gets imported... if that is a thing). 3/1/1998 is the magic date!
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Jan 23, 2023 23:17
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Here's the inspection report for one of the Sambars I'm looking at:quote:Inspection Report 1992 Subaru Sambar Preliminary searching finds some evidence of videos / tips on replacing the entire axle and/or the boots. They are asking $9500 for this right now, 42K miles.
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Feb 1, 2023 18:16
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everdave posted:Is this a Sambar truck or van? Year and miles. No to $9200 unless this is an extreme example of a Sambar van 1992 (I like the round headlights) Sambar truck, 42K miles, currently located at a dealer here in Seattle (so already been imported / titled / everything), and I test drove it + confirmed a lot of the visual / lack of serious rust / etc condition myself. Last Shaken in 2022. I'd call it a 4. They have one priced $1000 less that has a lot more poo poo wrong with it (including a mis-matched rear tailgate) that I could also try to drive down even lower. I'm not going to pay near $9K for this but not sure how much lower to offer. Still trying to figure out how to 'register' for JCD (the reg form doesn't seem to work?) but going directly to auc.japancardirect.com shows ~21 Sambars on auction (that I can see without a login) but I can't see what the condition scores are.
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Feb 1, 2023 21:32
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everdave posted:Please link it. No one here wants to sell you anything, but I think you’d be better off registering with Jed and getting advice here. There are the two: * https://www.jdmcarandmotorcycle.com/details/used-1992-subaru-sambar-truck/89345574 ($9950, I typo'd... and lol, it is listed as Grade 3+) * https://www.jdmcarandmotorcycle.com/details/used-1992-subaru-sambar-truck/89787136 (this one is the mis-matched tailgate cover... this is priced too high relative to the one above it). Sambar is appealing because yeah, 4 cylinder + rear mount engine. AC isn't a must have for me, supercharger could be nice if only to not have a carb. Definitely want 5MT, no early 90s eCVT. Bed condition meh as I intend to put some kind of liner or similar on it (I think, I've never had a truck before, but it seems smart to do so?). e: Also, the round headlights while looking cool... it's also hard to argue the headlights are a reason to give up on getting a newer, lower mileage vehicle... but buying a kei truck is irrational anyways. movax fucked around with this message at 22:01 on Feb 1, 2023 |
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Feb 1, 2023 21:55
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everdave posted:I glanced at the listings, but if you could do without round headlights I’m confident you could find a Sambar with very low miles in excellent co diction in your driveway for 7. And I’m talking fantastic condition. The seat in the first one makes me cringe. Again, this dealer is not ripping you off I just think you can do better. This is SA AI. We’d be glad to help. I’d even be glad to give you a heads up if I see one but I have no interest in taking over getting one for anyone anymore. BUT, it’s all laid out here. It’s just made easy now. JCD uses my customs broker now anyways. No problem, appreciate the input! I expect in 2-3 months time I'm going to be needing a storage location for vehicles as my neighbors kill me. Recent liquidity has opened my brain to new options! It looks like my JCD registration went through this time, so I'll wait to hear from them. I'm actually not too worried about the customs brokerage side of things... started a company a few years back and got forced into crash course learning about bonds, HTSes, etc etc until we could hire up a real logistics team. Definitely interested in any personal recommendations for those operating in the Seattle area -- I assume most of the autoliners call at Tacoma, not Seattle?
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Feb 1, 2023 22:22
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How do most folks go about insuring something like a kei truck / these older vehicles? The online forms have no idea about these vehicles -- treat as classic cars? Call and provide the VIN / fact that is JDM? I have Progressive right now, and there would be some mild value to me in keeping everything under one provider (also have my motorcycle under there) but open to switching up if someone else is better for this. e: Oh neat, going to Progressive 'Classic', Sambar is the only one they have listed under Subaru for 1992, and down to the KS4 chassis code too. Seems to be through Hagerty? Is this the right track? movax fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Feb 21, 2023 |
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Feb 21, 2023 01:53
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Thanks dudes -- appreciate it. Did you generally get it setup before driving off the lot? Or will the 'grace period' cover?
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Feb 21, 2023 03:04
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Lol, e-mailed dealer and they offered to only drop $500 or so on the price. Which would still total ~$11K after tax... https://www.jdmexport.com/subaru-sambar-truck-1992-for-sale-5466b993-6a61-4877-abcb-3f551df4700c Found this one... got in touch w/ JCD as well, maybe I will have them just look out for one for me. For that kind of money, like someone mentioned here, can do much better in terms of mileage, getting A/C, etc. Getting something "now" isn't worth nearly $4K to me, not when I can get a better example + more of what I'm looking for. movax fucked around with this message at 02:33 on Feb 22, 2023 |
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Feb 22, 2023 02:07
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Been trading emails with Yoshi. Currently hunting for: 5MT JZZ30 (Toyota Soarer) ST205 (Celica GT-4) KS4 (Sambar) This is fun! I live in Seattle proper, it’s going to be fun figuring out where to store / park these 
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Feb 23, 2023 03:13
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everdave posted:Ks4 sambars are just the 4wd trucks, there are two dozen plus up every week at least. Sambar has the biggest cab of any besides the Daihatsu jumbo and is the only 4 cylinder kei. AC is much rarer IMO in the Sambar versus say the acty Problem is I want the cute lil' bug-eyed 1992 ones; not too many of those showing up compared to the piles of 1994/1995s. But, they just aren't as cute. But, I have been slowly re-reading this thread. There are no Ruggers on, but there is a Blizzard... getting it inspected tomorrow. IT MIGHT BE MY FIRST. KakerMix, which Soarer did you have, an UZ?
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Feb 23, 2023 07:56
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KakerMix posted:If you want a specific Sambar, get the one you want, don't compromise. Just wait and the ~perfect one~ will show up. It always does. Goddamn that is a cool dash. Growing up my family had a 1993 Mercury Villager, and it had a digital dash... so awesome. I think I'm going to put a bid in on the Blizzard, assuming the inspection goes smoothly. Current status: quote:5mt, crack in windshield, interior scratches/dirty/tears, ceiling liner torn/loose, seat torn, undercarriage surface rust/paint, other dents/scratches/paint waves 55000 km, 1986. Also need to see if it has the 2L or 2L-T. I asked about windshield repair prior to shipping -- going to assume that getting Rugger/Blizzard parts in the US is hilariously terrible. Also, Ruggers seemed to have disappeared from the site... does it only show up if at least one is currently on auction? Or is it listed as the Rocky? Any tips on car storage in a city proper besides... don't, and move out to the boonies and build a big pole barn?  I have a two car garage and large-ish common parking area outside, but my neighbors' patience will not extend to a fleet.
movax fucked around with this message at 01:52 on Feb 24, 2023 |
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Feb 23, 2023 19:43
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everdave posted:I have not bought anything from the auction house the Blizzard is at, I’d ask how tough or not they are in grading. The blizzard looks ok they are very prone to rust and the pics look decent. I'm paying for an inspection, so hoping that bears fruit. Asked Yoshi if I could pass along requests (I doubt it, but never hurts) to specifically ID which engine, verify the OEM PTO winch works, few other things. Have your recent experiences been w/ Mat or Yoshi?
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Feb 23, 2023 21:07
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KakerMix posted:Blizzards are worse Ruggers in that the Rugger would have the 2.8 liter diesel Daihatsu engine with timing gears, Blizzards were saddled with Toyota 2Ls with belts (afaik). The chassis and body is all Daihatsu. The one we had was a 2L-T, the 86 you're looking at looks to be a naturally aspirated one, non-turbo on account of being really early, and no turbo badging either in the decals on the side or the one that goes in the grill. It does look good, and little things like that box in the passenger footwell that has all four of the chrome rings for the wheels is a *really* good sign, because they are already on the wheels which means they sought out replacements. Someone liked, if not loved, this truck. Stereo has been replaced with a period-esque version maybe? The winch will be PTO meaning it's shaft driven from the differential, not electric. I would go for an inspection on this, absolutely. Good news on the windshield: quote:"small chips" tend to be really small <1-2 mm and do not necessitate a replacement. Awaiting inspection. No new Sambars, Soarers or GT-Fours overnight though sadly. On the radio front, I'll try to replace it with the least LED-ridden / most tasteful simple single-DIN I can so I can just pair my phone via Bluetooth. Don't see myself going full CarPlay screen in this one -- I'll do a phone mount and run Maps on that instead. I let this one go: https://auc.japancardirect.com/aj-2v64kxAXo3pT7Ji.htm ; haven't researched enough to know what I want yet, but looked decent. Forget if it's the HD or HZ that has the bottom bearings thing going on... movax fucked around with this message at 01:54 on Feb 24, 2023 |
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Feb 24, 2023 01:50
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I was wondering about that — checking the specific month! Thanks for the tips on that. Inspection came in quote:
As long as the surface rust stays that way… I live in the PNW, what are some of the common rust-mitigating things I can do to prolong life of the vehicle? e: woof, failed to meet reserve and I was 300K under the high bid. movax fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Feb 24, 2023 |
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Feb 24, 2023 03:02
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KakerMix posted:Me, a professional: That is a very nice Prado; still insane to me that a 1994 fetches that much, but that’s virtually no mileage at all. Alas, that Blizzard was not meant to be — it says “sold by nego”. I had asked yesterday Yoshi if we could private message the seller for an offer, but he said it wasn’t generally possible. movax fucked around with this message at 23:39 on Feb 24, 2023 |
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Feb 24, 2023 21:36
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KakerMix posted:The year is exactly what makes it so valuable though! These things have come off of the cheap and nobody wants it phase and shot right into the 'nevermind I actually want something like that' zone inflating their cost to wild places. It's also one of those things where there isn't any other game in town if you do want a Land Cruiser 2 door with a stick. They straight-up don't make stuff like this in the USA and is exactly why we made all our money on Hilux pickups and Land Cruisers. Was this one recently on? Can’t seem to find it on JCD… I don’t see any USS auction cars on there, actually. I’ve been glossing through this thread really really fast — did I miss something on USS auction registration being separate?
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Feb 25, 2023 22:59
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KakerMix posted:It was, USS Nagoya. From Yoshi: quote:Thanks for the email. Any suggestions on where to search elsewhere for USS Auctions? I don't think I would be able to get access to the one you linked, unfortunately...
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Feb 28, 2023 01:38
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I e-mailed Yoshi and got NINJA access. I think I now own two Celica ST205s and one 1992 Silver Sambar. Holy poo poo there are SO MANY MORE vehicles on USS!
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Mar 1, 2023 19:17
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GT-Four port pics are in!    Makes me embarrassed as to the state of my current car, appears to be a pretty clean interior. This was the auction sheet: quote:5mt, ac, OZ wheels, trd gauges, leather seat covers, display audio, mileage unverified, interior dirty/worn, wheels scratched, undercarriage surface rust/corrosion, other dents/scratches/paint cracks/paint waves Gauge cluster has been replaced; I need to start diving into some of the Toyota forums and figure out what (if any) VCDS-equivalent tools exist to poke around the few ECUs on this.
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Mar 7, 2023 04:28
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I think a few folks in this thread were in the Seattle-area -- looking for broker recommendations. Got my first vehicle coming in soon -- just got the bill of lading and to get my ISF sorted. Following it next (pics soon)... * Sambar * MR2 * Midget II Still watching for a nice Caldina (guess I am a 3S-GTE stan), MT Soarer (rare) and occasionally peeking around for a J70...
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Apr 25, 2023 18:54
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KakerMix posted:Already has a crack on the left side, what a poorly designed handle. Thanks for letting us know, I had saw a bunch of other New Zealanders talking about that always being broken as well. everdave posted:You must make sure the ISF is file when getting on the boat not later. Did they not recommend my broker Joe? Thanks guys -- Yoshi pointed me at someone local to me (Sound Brokerage), which I didn't have time to go back through the thread to see if folks had issues with, but will keep Henry in mind. I think I will barely squeak into compliance w/ the ISF, getting it in today for sailing on the 29th.
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Apr 26, 2023 00:56
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Here is my haul so far... Celica GT-Four (ST205)   Midget II (K100P)   MR2 GT-S (SW20)   Sambar (KS4)   Celica is the first one I have the shipping date for.
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May 1, 2023 17:27
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Broker is doing their thing -- anyone have recs / thoughts on local ground transportation in the Tacoma, WA area? I have sent out a couple of emails to auto transport places but not hearing back (I will try calling). Or should I just plan on driving down, hiring a TWICC escort and then driving it back up?
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May 4, 2023 16:14
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KakerMix posted:You're going to want a transport broker, but if you can use a number you don't mind getting spammed forever and a day, same with email. Depending on how and who, you'll get transport bids on your vehicles but also get added to every email list and call list ever made. Yeah, I have been using a burner e-mail, but I wonder if my Google Voice account is still active. I'll start making some phone calls and see what's up. How long do you typically get to pickup at a yard in the US? It'll be different port-to-port I imagine but curious what your experience was.
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May 4, 2023 17:37
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One of the brokers I called got back to me and mentioned it was probably easier to just get a tow company with a flatbed to bring my car up from Tacoma; ~55 km. Not a lot of transport places have called me back, so thinking of going this route… thoughts? I don’t own a vehicle that can tow a trailer (yet), so not sure the U Haul trailer approach will work for me.
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May 12, 2023 19:03
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everdave posted:Well I had no idea you were that close. I’d hire a TWIC escort and just Uber to port with a jump pack and a can of try fuel (if it’s a gas vehicle) and try to drive it home KakerMix posted:I disagree heavily with pressing unknown vehicles to drive any significant distance (20~ miles counts) since you have no idea how they will drive, nor when the oil was last changed, how the brakes are, etc. I'd do what I do, and indeed hire a flatbed to just pick up your vehicle and bring it to you. The distance is very short so the cost will be minimal. If anything is wrong with it, you'll be at home and go "Dang!" and can go about fixing whatever issues rather than breaking down on the way home or not even leaving the port because the vehicle won't start or run. Others might yee haw this sort of stuff but that isn't how I'd ever do it and it's certainly worked in my favor. From reading the thread, I think you were both dealers (Kaker you definitely were) so yep, you could line things up far in advance of seeing the car. I won't have insurance / titles lined up until I get them, so I think I'm just going to go with the tow truck approach. I may drive down to Tacoma the day of just to be around to make sure things go smoothly / in case there is some TWICery going on. I am currently awaiting the arrival notice though... not in my junk box, and Yoshi just sent me the link to WWO's "Contact Us" portion, so I will try my luck there.
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May 15, 2023 04:05
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everdave posted:Often they just don’t send arrival notice. Sounds about as smooth as I would expect, but seriously, 1000% thanks for the direct knowledge of what to do. OBAMNA PHONE posted:based on the fact that 10%ish of cars in washington state have no plates, expired temp paper plates, expired tabs, i say go for it, the stupid loving cops wont do a goddamned thing I almost got nailed the other day on Westlake by a 3-series sporting 2020 on its plate -- not even COVID as an excuse. Nobody gives a poo poo about tabs "here" (Seattle proper, brown person who normally drives an A4). cursedshitbox posted:*completely dependent on skin gradient. I can easily afford the tow / transport in this case, so going to go with that approach.
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May 15, 2023 17:31
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KakerMix posted:For what it's worth I've never had to do any of that, ever, but that might say more about my import broker than what is actually needed as the broker might do a whole lot of stuff that I don't ever see. I've never had to chase down arrival notices, that sounds like a huge pain in the rear end. I send the BL to the broker, they go "ok!" then time goes by, I get an arrival notice, send the broker a DOT and EPA form along with the documents from Japan Car Direct, then pay Hoegh (It's been Hoegh for all my RoRo besides one other time, and wouldn't you know it that one other time was a lovely experience!) and then when the vehicle is released, pay Great World (which includes all the taxes for the feds) then send our driver to go pick the vehicle(s) up. I think the step that got missed here (apparently) is I never got "the" arrival notice -- otherwise, I've just filled out forms and sent to the broker (EPA, DOT, ISF).
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May 15, 2023 18:06
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Not my forum but IMO lets drop the derail... Got the Arrival Notice just a few hours ago, didn't end up having to chase it down. SO CLOSE. Maybe I will have a new toy this weekend. I stocked up on the oil filters + drain plug gaskets for the motor, but I should probably look into the gear oil for the transmission + prepare for brake fluid and coolant changes as well. So far I've had decent luck checking the MR2 forums for the general 3S-GTE procedures and then figured I can map them to the GT-Four. MR2 nerds seem way too into arguing over which gear oil to use. I guess I can probably crib off that advice too; MR2s use the E153, ST205 uses the E154F, just with an extra diff... movax fucked around with this message at 22:41 on May 15, 2023 |
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May 15, 2023 22:37
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Darchangel posted:Have you considered reading the factory manual for such things? Yep, I've stumbled onto the PDFs for a few of the relevant ones. 3S-GTE manual / supplement should be common, and then at least for the electrics, that is more my wheelhouse and I've got the tools / etc to track down issues there. Have not found the erWin-equivalent / easy web portal to pay Toyota some $$$ for the official BGB though, especially the JDM ones... Re: the factory specs though, doesn't stop nerds from arguing though (or this)...
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May 15, 2023 23:11
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I have a problem. Just got a 1997 5MT JZZ30 Soarer w/ 45000 actual km on it, was barely molested (aftermarket muffler, seat and intercooler for some reason). Might make it into my daily, we will see.
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May 18, 2023 04:55
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Current best quote $454 for moving the car... ugh. Maybe I will try to find a Seattle based tower to minimize the deadhead mileage or soemthing, and drive down to meet them / work the paperwork w/ the escort.
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May 19, 2023 20:19
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Safety Dance posted:I don't know, but the Seattle thread in LAN moves so loving fast. SNR is low though. I've got a Sambar and Midget II in the area. And a GT-Four. And a Soarer. And... a MR2. I went a little crazy earlier in the year. It's a lot of a cars to work through / on... dailying the GT-Four for now though!
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Oct 24, 2023 06:50
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