A few q's - help me please.

[redbaron303]

Hello. My Name is Chris, I'm from Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) and I'm new to your boards. I though I should say "Hello!" and ask for some help...

I'm currently looking for an early model Acura NSX. In all honesty I'll be purchasing a JDM Honda NSX hopefully in just over a year as dictated by our rediculous Canadian import laws.

I've searched this website and various other internet resources which have turned up 0% of the information I'm looking for.

What I need is --->

Production history on the car, something that will tell me by chassis # or serial # what month and year the vehicles was manufactured in. The largest obsticle I'm having is being able to determine the exact age of a vehicle from the chassis #'s I've been looking at so I've almost given up trying to find my dream car.

So a little run down on Canadian foreign Import laws (not usa to Canada).
-Cars must be 15 years old to the month they were manufactured in for admissability.
-age of the car must be determined by it's month/year of manufacture and proven by various documentation

Those are the main points, so in the end I'm missing information that I can rely on to fulfill these obligations to Canada customs. With out this information I will not risk importing my future NSX as if I'm even out by 10 days CCRA will sieze my car and destroy it! At that point I'd surely cry, so can anyone here direct me to the information that I'm looking for and allow me the ability to import my dream car?


Thanks in advance


Chris - enthusiastically searching for an NSX!

 

[docjohn]

All the info you seek can be decoded from the vin,look in the faqs for help.

 

[redbaron303]

In Japan there is NO 17 digit VIN's but instead 10 digit Serial #'s (starts NA********).

For instance Nissan Silvia - KS13-200283 is the chassis # on one of my cars. Versus the VINs on the North American 240sx (ie: VIN Number: JN1MS36P5PW316425 ).

 

[satan_srv]

NSXs are really expensive and highly regarded in Japan...I can't see them being imported over here dirt cheap....you'll probably get better prices here.

 

[redbaron303]

Pricing is about average compared to my local market + all the import tariffs. This is what I do for a living, so I'm purchasing my car from Japan for this reason. I'm not worried about the added costs of bringing one in from Japan to North America

 

[Oyagi]

Chris,

Small world, imagine running into *you* here (psst! ...don't embarrass me!).

Anyhoo, I agree with the above statement about the raiety of the nsx in the motherland. Having travlled there many times I can tell you they are as rare there as they are here. The main diff is that they are more underappreciated in Canada, thus you are likely to find better deals here as they depreciate more.

Check carsensor's site and see for yourself. The resale of the X is very good there. The jdm cars are pretty well identical to the ones here (if you're talking about the early 1990's cars), so unlike the S13 you won't be gaining a better powerplant in the bringing one over.

PM me on GTRC and lets talk more. I'm in the market for a NSX too....

 

[Tom239]

The jdm cars are pretty well identical to the ones here (if you're talking about the early 1990's cars), so unlike the S13 you won't be gaining a better powerplant in the bringing one over.

But don't JDM cars have right hand drive?

 

[Oyagi]

ummm...yeah, except they are rhd

I was referring to the mechanicals, but yes, jdm cars would have the steering wheels on the "wrong" side LOL.

 

[redbaron303]

It's all in the novelty of having something like this isn't it Johnny!

RHD is a lot of fun, this will be a weekend driven car as well, so I'm okay with having it as RHD....

 

[Bram]

The manufacture date should be on the B pillar of the Car...

Also, I believe that Transport Canada, require that the car have a 17 digit VIN.(I'm not sure if this apply to cars outside NA).
Another item would be the 8kph bumper...I don't think JDM cars have this as a requirement.

You may be better off buying something from the States

Last bit of advise...make sure you double/triple check the requirements set out by Transport Canada.

Bram

 

[redbaron303]

As I mentioned this is what I do for a living.

I just need some hard evidence as to HOW I can verify the age of the NSX.

If it's Nissan I have complete manufacturer authorized chassis code/build dates sheets.

I'm simply missing the part of the equation that will allow me to determine from the chassis code (the JDM 10 digit vin) starting with NA1******* as to what month/year the car is made in.

A car first registered in February 1991 in Japan may have been Manufactured in December 1990 which means 3 means early for admissability. Once a car hits 15 years old, it is exempt from current "safety" laws providing it met safety laws where itw as manufactured when it was manufactured.


Chris

 

[nsxtasy]

I just need some hard evidence as to HOW I can verify the age of the NSX.

As Bram already mentioned, there is a sticker on the door jamb of every NSX, with the month and year that the car was manufactured.

 

[redbaron303]

Okay.

The question remains ----> Is that on JDM model NSX's as well?

My experience importing from Japan to Canada is that the cars do not have the build plates on the door jamb like our north american cars; typically when it comes to identification they're very different than in North America.

Has anyone been to Japan and verified this plate exists on the J-Spec NSX? We already know they don't have VIN #'s but if they have this plate that will suffice!


Chris

 

[Oyagi]

Chris,

I can ask a friend in Japan to check out nsx's there and see if this is true...

hang tight

 

[redbaron303]

Thanks a bunch Johnny. That's greatly appreciated!


Chris

 

[Oyagi]

I emailed him this morning, lets see what happens...

 

[Kirthasa]

Actually, used cars depreciate very quickly in Japan (especially after 3-5 years), and unless prices have changed significantly in the past few years, I would be surprised if a 15-year old NSX cost more to purchase in Japan than in the US or Canada. Has there been significant appreciation in the NSX's used going price in Japan lately?

 

[redbaron303]

All of the NSX's I've looked at have been relative to our pricing + import. It's not necessarily cheaper with this make/model of car... it seems to be the one "old" Japanese car that still holds value in Japan.


*thank Johnny!