Woot! My Nismo Is Now Fully Legal!

[GSX-R35]

I was going to post this in the Q&A thread but since that was getting a bit heated I just thought I'd start a new thread to share how happy I am that I finally got Arizona MVD to let me register and title my Nismo R32. Lets go shoot some pinatas to celebrate

Anyway, it took four trips to MVD, two to a next-to-useless third party title place, three weeks or so time-wise, one level 2 inspection, numerous phone calls and conversations between me, my importer, and the local MVD supervisor, and finally one airmail packet with a signed bill of sale from the Japanese exporter that sold my car to IVI...and maybe some sacrificial offerings to random deities...but at last I have an Arizona plate on my Skyline.

The ordeal - and lack of info about US Skyline ownership - made me decide to start a blog about my GT-Rs where I plan on adding some posts later talking about the import and registration process to hopefully help inform prospective owners. There's not a lot there yet but if anyone wants to check it out I've added a link in my sig.

Cheers everyone

[HarrisRacing]

Sweet! congrats! If yours is running and driving you'll still beat mine to the street! Mine's been titled, insured, and registered for a while, but I'll tell you ROD and MAIN BEARING KNOCK isn't good for rides around town.

Man your state sounds like a PITA. I'm loving all the R32's popping up on Ebay with "imported legally with all paperwork, HS-7...etc" and the next sentence qualifies it with "NOT FOR SALE IN CALIFORNIA".

Although my car didn't go through the same process, I have talked to 3 people that have had cars under the same process since then that reiterated my story in the heated thread that you're talking about. ALL of them have stated that "you will find GT-R lovers that are GT-R owner haters". They will post on your threads, facebook pages, video comments, etc. And none of them know what they are talking about. Supported my findings! I can't wait to slap this 8374 EFR powered stroked motor in my car and do smokey AWD burnouts!!!

Edited April 22, 2015 by HarrisRacing

[GSX-R35]

Sweet! congrats! If yours is running and driving you'll still beat mine to the street! Mine's been titled, insured, and registered for a while, but I'll tell you ROD and MAIN BEARING KNOCK isn't good for rides around town.

Man your state sounds like a PITA. I'm loving all the R32's popping up on Ebay with "imported legally with all paperwork, HS-7...etc" and the next sentence qualifies it with "NOT FOR SALE IN CALIFORNIA".

Although my car didn't go through the same process, I have talked to 3 people that have had cars under the same process since then that reiterated my story in the heated thread that you're talking about. ALL of them have stated that "you will find GT-R lovers that are GT-R owner haters". They will post on your threads, facebook pages, video comments, etc. And none of them know what they are talking about. Supported my findings! I can't wait to slap this 8374 EFR powered stroked motor in my car and do smokey AWD burnouts!!!

Thanks! Good luck with your car.

[t5iv]

Awesome info guys. This is where passion and persistence matter. It's a tough gig. A lot of the older guys here who imported early Skylines back in the day can attest to how much govt crap there is to work through. Hopefully the US builds a solid scene full of imports!

[GSX-R35]

Awesome info guys. This is where passion and persistence matter. It's a tough gig. A lot of the older guys here who imported early Skylines back in the day can attest to how much govt crap there is to work through. Hopefully the US builds a solid scene full of imports!

I think the R32 is basically going to be the trailblazer for more imports in the future because it's the first widely-desired car that was totally unavailable in the US. Before the R32 there really weren't any JDM cars that were desired by a lot of people and were widely available enough to matter. Hopefully this influx of R32s will pioneer the trend. I can only hope it also brings more attention to how stupid the 25-year rule really is nowadays. I wish we at least had the same 15 year limit as Canada so we could have R34s now too.

[GTR-N1]

Congratulations guys. You've got momentum now!

I do hope your cars aren't and don't become (what we call over here) 'thief magnets'!

[Matvei27]

We've had the R30 and R31 available for years; don't understand why more people didn't import those.

Anyway, I imagine our cars will become thief magnets but that's nothing an immobilizer or alarm setup can't fix.

[Kanaric]

We've had the R30 and R31 available for years; don't understand why more people didn't import those.

Anyway, I imagine our cars will become thief magnets but that's nothing an immobilizer or alarm setup can't fix.

Well the thing is with american car culture with imports is that the 240SX is so popular because of drifting nad the GTR is really popular mostly because of fast and the furious. The people that like those cars don't really have the money for importing one. They also have no interest in R31s because they were never "popular".

I've seen people only import skylines here no matter what it is. Someone imported an auto GTS sedan even. I was like why? Why not import a JZA Supra or a R31 or something? Why that?

The people who are actually interested in other cars like the R31 and others are rare.

I think a large part of the problem is people think it's expensive as f**k so to import so won't look and if they do look they don't know what to look for other than Skylines and Silvias. Like I knew NO ONE that knew about the Galant VR4 Evolution and that is something i know people here would want to find. People here just have no clue what is available and how easy it is. I bet when STIs and Lancers become legal you will see tons of them import and no Pulsar GTIR or Lancia.

I do hope your cars aren't and don't become (what we call over here) 'thief magnets'!

I doubt they will. Like you tell the cops that your black nissan skyline was stolen and you have the only one in the city like I do, lol.

I will not park it outside though regardless.

Edited May 4, 2015 by Kanaric

[GSX-R35]

Congratulations guys. You've got momentum now!

I do hope your cars aren't and don't become (what we call over here) 'thief magnets'!

Skylines are so rare here in the US even with the current influx that I doubt they'll be targeted except maybe for the wheels if one has a nice set of aftermarket alloys. Mine stays garaged anyway if I'm not driving it because it attracts all kinds of attention from both the good and the bad elements of society. Just had a friend text me that a random person posted a pic of mine on his FB page after seeing it while I was out driving around lol.

We've had the R30 and R31 available for years; don't understand why more people didn't import those.

Anyway, I imagine our cars will become thief magnets but that's nothing an immobilizer or alarm setup can't fix.

The R30 and R31 are relatively unknown in the US because they didn't have GT-R versions or the success the R32 brought in motorsports, and they were never featured heavily in Gran Turismo or other racing games. Most people I know who are familiar with JDM cars know of them from Gran Turismo and the shedload of Skylines that they threw into those games.

Not to mention the R30 and 31 have the eighties boxy styling that not a lot of people are fans of.

[Matvei27]

The GTS-R was a successful racer in its own right.

But you're right, most of the people who are "interested" in these cars don't know anything about them and don't have the money to buy one anyway.

[GSX-R35]

The GTS-R was a successful racer in its own right.

But you're right, most of the people who are "interested" in these cars don't know anything about them and don't have the money to buy one anyway.

I wasn't implying the R30 and R31 didn't have motorsport success - just that compared to the R32's domination of Group A and Australian Touring Car they were much less prominent. I know I thought the R30 silhouette racer was awesome in the early Gran Turismo games but the cars that really made me fall in love with GT-Rs were the later JGTC and Super GT race cars.

[HarrisRacing]

I wasn't implying the R30 and R31 didn't have motorsport success - just that compared to the R32's domination of Group A and Australian Touring Car they were much less prominent. I know I thought the R30 silhouette racer was awesome in the early Gran Turismo games but the cars that really made me fall in love with GT-Rs were the later JGTC and Super GT race cars.

Gran Turismo is a HUGE reason why I have an R32 GTR. It's just one of the key cars from the game that we went "Why is this SO FAST!?" back then and after research it stuck. I remember when the blue R34 was in FnF and I did say "FINALLY! A GTR!!".

Very very very happy to have one here finally and I hate to say, but I sold my extremely rare hardtop turbo MKIV supra to get it.

[GSX-R35]

Gran Turismo is a HUGE reason why I have an R32 GTR. It's just one of the key cars from the game that we went "Why is this SO FAST!?" back then and after research it stuck. I remember when the blue R34 was in FnF and I did say "FINALLY! A GTR!!".

Very very very happy to have one here finally and I hate to say, but I sold my extremely rare hardtop turbo MKIV supra to get it.

The R34 is the JDM Skyline I've always wanted because of Gran Turismo and F&F but I guess I'll "make do" with my R32 until I can get a 34 in ten years or so lol.

[Tommy Kaira RL]

Why dont you buy an r34 now and store it for 10 years. By the time they are available all the good ones are gone.

[GSX-R35]

Why dont you buy an r34 now and store it for 10 years. By the time they are available all the good ones are gone.

I can't do it right now since I just got my R32 and I'm still adding more stuff to my R35 but I did give it some thought. I've joked with my brother who lives in Adelaide that he should find me a good R34 GT-R over there. I'll pay for it and let him drive it as long as he keeps it in good nick until I can import it lol. Of course, that also depends on what Nissan plans with the R36 since I'm gonna want one probably

[NISSAN GTR]

I can't do it right now since I just got my R32 and I'm still adding more stuff to my R35 but I did give it some thought. I've joked with my brother who lives in Adelaide that he should find me a good R34 GT-R over there. I'll pay for it and let him drive it as long as he keeps it in good nick until I can import it lol. Of course, that also depends on what Nissan plans with the R36 since I'm gonna want one probably

Your brother is welcome to buy mine as I'm in Adelaide

[GSX-R35]

Your brother is welcome to buy mine as I'm in Adelaide

I'll have to let him know that if I ever free up the money lol.