ST205 in the US?

Einst3in

New member
im sure this comes up a great deal but dose anyone know of any possible ways of getting a st205 into the states specifically AK? Ive read into it a lot. From the looks of things the easiest way would be to get Toyota Japan to send a letter to the NHTSA/DOT and EPA stating that the car meets US standards and data to back it up im sure. Other than that there is registered importers and then just hoping to make it across the border and mod the vehicle to meet emissions and then just hope customs never sees it.

Any feed back or even any words from anybody that has one in the US would be much appreciated.

thanks in advance

devin
 

gt4st205ellis

New member
I have looked very in depth to getting mine back to the states. to import it straight up it needs to be 22 years old, which is not soon for any st205.

One way is VERY expensive, very long, and i wouldn't recomment it. What you'd have to do is provide 4 ST205's to the us government to crash test, they don't have to be running, but the engine blocks and seats(with seat belts) need to be in place. this is not the smartest route because you need to pay for shipment of all the cars, as well as the price for crashing the cars.

If you have a relative or trusted friend in Canada you can ship it to them, have them register it. It would get a canadian VIN, which then could be transfered to the states.

The easiest way (and cheapest) is to ship it to the states as a "track car". to do this you need to fit it to certain retrictions that are required with a US registered style of racing, such as roll bar, racing seats, fire surpression, and harnesses. the one downfall to this is that you'd need to wait untill the car is 22 yrs old to be able to drive it on the road.

I have also heard that since the production of the ST205 was minimal (around 2500 +or- a few per yer) it may be considered a collector's car, which is allowed to be straight up imported. this may be true but i have not confirmed it myself.

hope this helps!
 

reeves

New member
I cam across a few ST205's on sale in Canada during my search for an alltrac.. Is bringing an ST205 over from Canada just as difficult as from Japan?

I'm not sure if Canada has the same or higher/lower emission standards as Japan so just asking.

A friend of mine used to live in Michigan for several years and says he saw two different ST205-looking celicas during his time up there. He couldn't confirm if they were legitimate ones or just somebody modifying their '94+ celica to look like one.. But regardless, it left me with a small drop of hope that somehow a few ST205's from Canada made their way over the border? :wink:
 

Mr.Fister

New member
buy all the parts and convert a us one over to rhd. and bam 2yrs later and after alot work and headaches you got yourself a us legal gt4 with an american vin

DSC00258.jpg
 

Celicatuner92

New member
does anyone know if we could actually by an imported car from canada and bring it to the states? i would love to have a 205 or a true 185 RC.
 

187flatliner

New member
^^^^alot of work........find someone in canada and become really good friends.....have them buy it and drive it across the border......you'll have to go back to canada every few years for tags but you'll have a legit 205.
 

BCip

New member
I know this is a bit old, but I'll tell my little story here.

I have the chance to buy a '96 Celica GT-4 ST205 this week, it's in AMAZING condition with a lot of aftermarket work done to it. It's pushing 300HP and just screams down the road. I want it, and I have the money for it.

My only concern is getting it back to the USA. I need to be able to take it with my when I go home, (I'm in the Military stationed here).

I have a good friend who lives in Canada who would import it for me if I needed it sent there.

I havent been able to find a guide or ANY sort of information on EXACTLY what the hell I need to do to make this happen. I'd hate to pass on the car because I wont be able to take it home at the end of my tour. So whats the deal about importing it to canada? Can you do that and still live and drive it in the USA?
 

Boo_Guy

Member
Perhaps you could get a hold of a car / engine importer and talk to them about it to make sure, but as far as I know, its a Canadian registered car now, no different than any other Canadian car.


And for someone who asked above, emissions standards for Canada are pretty much the same as they are in the US, we have the EGRs and all the other same/similar control systems the US cars have.
 

celicat93

New member
What we ought to do is just find someone trustworthy in Canada to be our "owner", write up some legal documentation to indicate that we're "renting" them and he gets some sweetness out of the deal. I've seen Canadian vehicles driving down here, there's nothing wrong with that, just can't register them here.
 

Boo_Guy

Member
Id do it if it wasnt for the emissions testing that goes on in southern Ontario. But we have to test our cars every two years and its modeled after California's system. There are grumblings about it having served its purpose and being scrapped but the shops havent made back what theyve spent on the machines yet so who knows how long it'll be before its significantly reduced or eliminated.

Anyway, it would be better for someone out west to do this, they dont have that kinda crap to deal with.
 

BCip

New member
celicat93":jdlgtv8b said:
What we ought to do is just find someone trustworthy in Canada to be our "owner", write up some legal documentation to indicate that we're "renting" them and he gets some sweetness out of the deal. I've seen Canadian vehicles driving down here, there's nothing wrong with that, just can't register them here.

I most certainly do have a trustworthy person in Canda who can do this for me. Where can I find information on where this would be legal? Wouldnt I get pulled over for driving a Canadian plated car in the US for months on end?

I really wouldnt mind not registering it in the US as long as I could keep the vehicle as street legal. Since the 205 I'm looking at is a '96 it should be easy to import to Canada as a "classic" car. It would be imported to Calgary Canada, and then I guess I'd drive it...to New Jersey....Good god that's a long drive.
 

celicat93

New member
BCip":1gmq3cc9 said:
celicat93":1gmq3cc9 said:
What we ought to do is just find someone trustworthy in Canada to be our "owner", write up some legal documentation to indicate that we're "renting" them and he gets some sweetness out of the deal. I've seen Canadian vehicles driving down here, there's nothing wrong with that, just can't register them here.

I most certainly do have a trustworthy person in Canda who can do this for me. Where can I find information on where this would be legal? Wouldnt I get pulled over for driving a Canadian plated car in the US for months on end?

I really wouldnt mind not registering it in the US as long as I could keep the vehicle as street legal. Since the 205 I'm looking at is a '96 it should be easy to import to Canada as a "classic" car. It would be imported to Calgary Canada, and then I guess I'd drive it...to New Jersey....Good god that's a long drive.

Technically you're supposed to register a car locally once you've resided in a state for a particular amount of time, I'm sure it varies state by state, but how are they really going to enforce it? I've never had to deal with it, so I don't know, but I can't see how they could. I'm sure you could come up with a story to tell if you're pulled over, so long as the person whose name is on the title says it's okay, there's nothing they can do.
 

BCip

New member
I found this http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/ ... 022010.pdf

"NONRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
A vehicle registered in a country other than the United States may be imported for
personal use by a non-resident of the United States for a period not to exceed one
year. The vehicle cannot be sold while in the United States and must be exported
within one year from the date of entry. This period cannot be extended under any
circumstances. The importer’s passport number and the name of the country that
issued the passport must be supplied on the HS-7 Declaration form. Use Box 5 on
the HS-7 Declaration form."

Unfortunately it says use by a NONRESIDENT, meaning as a resident of the US I wouldnt be allowed to use the car anyway ;\

I'm willing to jump through hoops to import the car, I dont understand why it has to be so difficult
 

83841

New member
BCip":70qhnzc6 said:
celicat93":70qhnzc6 said:
What we ought to do is just find someone trustworthy in Canada to be our "owner", write up some legal documentation to indicate that we're "renting" them and he gets some sweetness out of the deal. I've seen Canadian vehicles driving down here, there's nothing wrong with that, just can't register them here.

I most certainly do have a trustworthy person in Canda who can do this for me. Where can I find information on where this would be legal? Wouldnt I get pulled over for driving a Canadian plated car in the US for months on end?

I really wouldnt mind not registering it in the US as long as I could keep the vehicle as street legal. Since the 205 I'm looking at is a '96 it should be easy to import to Canada as a "classic" car. It would be imported to Calgary Canada, and then I guess I'd drive it...to New Jersey....Good god that's a long drive.


I bought mines from calgary.....and im in california. Apply for a working visa or green card and use your friends address..get your alberta license and register it and insure under your name. Good thing is that you dont have to smog it which is cool.
Also personalized plates are one time fee.. not a yearly fee...anyhow, the only problem that I have encountered so far is that RHD cars imported from japan canadian insuranace companies dont offer full coverage only liability, just because parts are not readily available. Its alot of process but well worth it to have a GT4 WRC on the road in california.
 

Celicatuner92

New member
i may be wrong but i looked up buying cars from canada and it seems to be common as the exchange rate makes cars cheaper. the downfall i read about was that the car would have a gray title making it worth a lot less but i am unsure if this applys to all cars or just newer ones.
 

underscore

Well-known member
Just a heads up, cars imported to Canada no longer get Canadian VIN's, they keep the JDM VIN. Also if your insurance is anything like ours then once a vehicle has been in a place/out of it's registered area for X amount of time the insurance has to be changed or it's invalid. Finally if the insurance is in one persons name but it is being driven by another person too much, the insurance is invalid. That's how it works in BC anyways (Alberta is close to the same, so a lot of the Albertans driving around here have no insurance...), so unless you want to risk screwing over yourself and whoever the car is registered to in Canada you may as well swap a VIN from a 202 and run that risk instead.
 

83841

New member
underscore":1cy3cdgc said:
Just a heads up, cars imported to Canada no longer get Canadian VIN's, they keep the JDM VIN. Also if your insurance is anything like ours then once a vehicle has been in a place/out of it's registered area for X amount of time the insurance has to be changed or it's invalid. Finally if the insurance is in one persons name but it is being driven by another person too much, the insurance is invalid. That's how it works in BC anyways (Alberta is close to the same, so a lot of the Albertans driving around here have no insurance...), so unless you want to risk screwing over yourself and whoever the car is registered to in Canada you may as well swap a VIN from a 202 and run that risk instead.

Agree...but how does your insurance know that the vehicle has been out of its registered area for X amount of time??? Unless your getting tickets left and right....And it is illegal to drive around without insurance and liability is dirt cheap. Yes imported cars keep the JDM VIN which makes the car more authentic (thats how i see it) lol...... and if you do have the time to do a swap that would solve your problems, then again will you swap the RHD too and also it wouldnt be true JDM no more......
 
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