Some opinions appreciated...
 

Hi all... I would certainly appreciate some input from you fellows that are obviously "in the know". Would anyone care to comment on the 928's being imported from Japan to North America. Is there anything one should be aware of that would make them a strictly undesireable car? Is my assumption correct that since they are a "world car", the is nothing particularly scary about them as say a European model, or even the N/A spec car? I notice that the N/A cars have different side markers and the "nubs" either side of the rear license plate, but outwardly that seems to be the only difference in a 91 model year. The rest of the car?... who knows, and hence the first time noob post :)
Any information would be most welcome, and... Thanks

regardless of what really needs to be changed (probably not allot) an ICI or RE will charge you $10,000 plus to do the work. Thats on top of shipping $1,500-$2,000 and the price of the car of course.

Also, generally grey market cars are worth less then the US spec cars, unless there was a hole in the market. Such as in Porsche terms the 993 RS or 964 RS which were never imported here to the states. However with the 928 being the same in the states as it was in europe (aside from minor changes) they are the same car, so if i was buying one, i would discount the grey market car assuming everything else was comparable.

This is coming from someone (me) that has actually imported cars from Europe and is not just spewing heresay.

Good luck

>>not just spewing heresay.<<
Gotcha, Ryan... thanks. Uh... ICI?.. RE? Could you elaborate? Would a 20% discount be about average in your experience?

This has actually been covered a number of times in previous posts, but given that you are a newbie, we'll cut you some slack. Here's some links to previous threads about the subject:

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ighlight=japan

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ighlight=japan

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...ighlight=japan

As an owner of a Japanese 928, I'd recommend that you find a local car that you can have inspected and that has a full service history(or at least a list of recent work performed on it). If you're thinking of bringing into the US, I think you'll find the costs of federalization prohibative. Look on this forum and you'll see that there are very good cars up for sale on a regular basis.

Welcome aboard!

Is this about the 928 in Japan on eBay?

there are a bunch of nice low mile 928's coming out of japan

Look here in the states, i think cars are cheapest here, NOT TO MENTION THE US DOLLAR AINT WORTH CRAP!

RE is Registered Importer, and ICI is Independent Commercial Importer and are the only guys that can legally import cars and they charge big bucks.

The hassle of flying out to inspect, shipping cost and time and cost of federalizing and 6 month wait for that is a big PITA. Not worth it on a 928, you can find nice 928's here for less money and can have it in your driveway in much less time.

Laird... Thanks for the slack, and the links, too!! Actually, I'm over here in BC, but I grew up in Saskatchewan.
Jason... Ebay? No. Not the car I'm after.
Ryan... See? I'm learning stuff already!! I wasn't aware the U.S. were/are placing such strict "market protection" strategies in place. 10 large to put a 928 on the streets in the States is a bit much....

Importing a Japanese spec 928 into Canada is very easy - BTDT: these cars are basically ROW cars ( 'ZZZ' as characters 4-6 in the VIN), LHD in a RHD country, and with a couple of minor twists for the Japanese market - no big deal).
With care, you can find a low milage unit in excellent condition. The only downside is that if you choose to sell, it cannot enter the US market.
For importation info, google RIV ( registar of imported vehicles).

I have a Japanese import....what I like is the lack of the rear bumperettes and they all have the Euro side markers. Otherwise it is the same car and will most likely have a lot less miles on it than a North American version.

You want to bring it in to the US or Canada? It makes all the difference. Canada = ok, US =not so much!

Just and FYI..Adam B and I were a Registered Importer (RI) up until a couple of years ago. Insurance hassles and the dollar/euro conversion rate have put this part of our shop on the back burner for now. Bringing a Euro 928 can be done (as evidenced by James Morrisson down in TX) but yes..it can be costly just because the shops that do it ..can charge whatever they want.... As far as Euro cars into Canada...anything older than 15 years can be brought there without too many problems...search for Bob Voytcheff..he does this quite frequently...I think his company up in BC is called splendid auto..

Good luck