The Car - My 21 YO Son is looking to purchase a JDM Vehicle, specifically a 1997 Toyota Celsior, which is basically the JDM version of a Lexus LS 400, and as such, a RHD (Right Hand Drive) vehicle. The car has 71,800 KM on the odometer (44.6K Miles), and the odometer is JEVIC Certified (Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Center). All indications are that this car is in exceptional condition, and looks on par with most CPO vehicles you’d find at your local high end dealer. It appears to be in excellent condition, both inside and out, as well as mechanically. I’ve got 60+ pics of the car, thoroughly showing all aspects of the interior, as well as every exterior body panel of the car, some from multiple angles, including 15 pics of the underside of the car/chassis. I’ve also seen a 16+ minute walk around/test drive video on YouTube that thoroughly details all aspects of the interior & exterior of the car. It comes with a pile of service records/receipts (in Japanese obviously!), and I've obtained the CarCheck (CarVX.com - Basically CarFax in Japan ) Vehicle History Report for the car, and everything looks good. I’ve had multiple conversations with owner/sales guy, as well as the business manager of the dealer, and they both seem honest and professional. I cannot find a negative review of the dealer anywhere, and they seem to be genuinely interested in going above & beyond for their customers, which are primarily enthusiasts of the JDM Vehicle market. My gut tells me these are good guys and I’ve got no reservations whatsoever, but we’re not gonna buy this thing over the internet.

The Plan - We are flying to FL next week on 4/1 to see/drive the car, and if everything is as we expect, purchase this vehicle. It will already be costing us approx. $1K between flights, hotel (2 nights) and the rental car for the trip, so the dealer is holding the car for us on a verbal handshake (this was his unsolicited offer!) considering our upfront commitment/travel costs to check out this car. Our flight arrangements are currently round trip, though I think it would be an epic road trip to drive it back to NH…But of course, I’m a 'gearhead' so it's right up my alley, plus it would be an opportunity for us to share what I think would be a truly memorable experience together. That said, my son is currently leaning towards paying the $1K and having the car shipped back to the Granite State.

First Question - Long Distance (FL-NH) Vehicle Transport Recommendations?

I've been researching Vehicle Transport Companies and that industry seems to be fraught with unknowns and unscrupulous actors. I'd prefer to deal directly with a carrier on this, but it seems that brokers dominate this space, and it would seem difficult to filter out to who’s ‘really’ good, and who’s not, as well as when or if you’re actually dealing with the carrier/transporter. I do have a $950-$1000 estimate for Open Transport from the broker that the dealer recommended, which is not necessarily ‘their guy’, just someone that came recommended by a good customer who uses them regularly, and they’ve subsequently recommended to a number of their customers.

One consideration is that this vehicle in on lowering springs (~2” drop) and has aftermarket wheels/tires, which drops the car an add’l half inch, so 2.5” lower than a stock LS 400. I mention the height of the car as one on the underbody pics shows that the resonator (between the front & rear wheels) has some evidence of contact that appears somewhat recent (the car was imported to the US in December), and was likely a one-time occurrence. IMO, it likely occurred during transport (loading/unloading?) on the car carrier. The car is low, but not Corvette low, however it is still a consideration/concern when selecting the shipping method. Enclosed Transport is not in the budget, so I’m looking for the best/preferred type of Open Transporter option for this car while keeping the cost a low as I can, or at least close to the estimate we already have in hand. Anyone have any experience and/or recommendations regarding long distance vehicle transport?

Second Question - Options for Insuring a JDM Vehicle?

My son is looking for full coverage on this car and wants it insured for an agreed to value to protect his investment (Approx. $17.5K), which is likely 3X the Blue Book Value of the majority of Lexus LS 400’s of that vintage. He would also prefer to insure it for ‘pleasure use’ but would like to have the option of driving this car whenever he wants, so potentially ‘daily driving’, though only occasionally driving it to work. My insurer, which is Amica, will only offer Liability Coverage on this car, so they’re out.

I’ve searched on line and it seems the both Progressive and State Farm are known to insure JDM Vehicles and I’ve already been in touch with both of them. As my son is just 21, even though he’s got a spotless driving record, the coverage seems likely to be somewhat expensive. Progressive sent me a quote (over $3K), but we need to adjust the annual mileage/usage, as it’s not the specific to the terms/usage I had originally indicated, so I don’t have a final number from them. State Farm has indicated they’ll insure it with the coverage we’re requesting, but I don’t have a number just yet. For reference, my son is on my family auto insurance policy (full coverage for three 10+ YO vehicles w/ three drivers) and he represents half of the annual premium, so $1600/year.

I know Hagerty and American Collectors will insure it, but I’m not sure the usage restrictions for their policies fit with our usage case. Anyone have experience with Hagarty and American Collectors, or any other similar insurer and can advise what to expect re: how they verify mileage/usage of the cars they insure? Any suggestions re: other auto insurance companies that I’m not aware of here that will insure a JDM Vehicle?

So SIGforum, what say you? I’m all ears, so please do share your thoughts. If there’s anything I should consider re: these two questions, or any other consideration(s) re: JDM Vehicle ownership, please let me know. Thanks!


ETA - Sorry for the 'Wall of Text'...Thanks for reading

I'm assuming driving it home on paper/temp tags isn't an option?
Have you looked at the cost difference to drive down & u-haul trailer it back? Adds a lot more time to the task, but could potentially come out cheaper & you know it's not being mishandled.

Ins: Will your carrier not insure it?
Obviously it's a car that was never sold in the US, so might not be in their system. But at least with the inquiry.

^^ I already checked w/ my insurance company, which is Amica, but they're offering Liability Coverage only, and Full Coverage is what we're after. I do have the 'Chassis #' and have provided it to all of the insurance companies I've been in touch with. They've been made aware that the Chassis # is 5-digits shorter that a typical VIN #, as well as the origin of the car.

Regarding the trip, it's 1500 miles one way and our schedules won't permit driving both ways anyway, so unfortunately your suggestion isn't an option in this case. I'd be up for driving it back, and the dealer indicates many of their customers do just that, but my son would need to be convinced to make that trip. He'd rather pay the approx. $1K to have it shipped, unless I can somehow convince him otherwise.

Can you get a volunteer to drive it for you, that might be cheaper. Best if someone knows RHD. Just a thought...

I have used Haggerty on several classic/unique vehicles including my current Alfa Spider. They allow pleasure use of the vehicle but don't insure daily drivers. I would definitely contact them personally and ask any pertinent questions.
I recently bought this Alfa and although I wanted to drive it home (It was in upstate NY and I'm in south Florida) the logistics didn't work out and I had it shipped. The dealer I bought it from set it up with a company they recommended and use. I paid $1775 to have it shipped in an enclosed trailer/transport. There was a Singer 911 ( sold for $966,000 from same dealer to someone else in my area) on the truck with it so I know they are obviously well trusted. I can send you their contact info if you are interested.

quote:

Originally posted by Alyron:
I recently bought this Alfa and although I wanted to drive it home (It was in upstate NY and I'm in south Florida) the logistics didn't work out and I had it shipped. The dealer I bought it from set it up with a company they recommended and use. I paid $1775 to have it shipped in an enclosed trailer/transport. There was a Singer 911 ( sold for $966,000 from same dealer to someone else in my area) on the truck with it so I know they are obviously well trusted. I can send you their contact info if you are interested.

Please do send me their contact info...Email in profile. While 'Enclosed Transport' is not in our budget, they may offer other services, or have a recommendation, and I'm open to all 'well trusted' recommended options. Thanks!

Regarding Hagerty, what is their renewal process like? Are they asking for updated pics of the car, odometer, etc? This wouldn't be a 'daily driver', but we're not exactly sure what to estimate as the annual mileage either? I got a quote from them based on 7500 miles/year (my WAG estimate of 150/week) and I'm aware that's at the upper end of what they'll consider for acceptable use.

Can't help with the questions, but am wondering the reasons for being willing to deal with the added cost (3x Blue Book of analogous US model? + transportation) and complexity - JDM, right-hand drive, distance, insurance complications, etc. vs just getting the US model and calling it good.

I've bought several JDM engines adn they have been stellar.

That's all I can add.

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
Can't help with the questions, but am wondering the reasons for being willing to deal with the added cost (3x Blue Book of analogous US model? + transportation) and complexity - JDM, right-hand drive, distance, insurance complications, etc. vs just getting the US model and calling it good.

The JDM version is 3X the cost/value because the US Models usually have 250K-300K+ miles on them at this point! It's a 1997 model, so it's 27 YO, and vehicles are typically driven a LOT LESS in Japan than they are here! Plus the JDM cars often have very unique options not available here, so to a gearhead/car guy they offer a unique desirability. In my sons case, he likes the RHD for it's uniqueness and is keenly aware of the desirability of this particular model, and especially the 1UZ-FE Engine, which is basically a bulletproof V8 design! That only has 44K miles on it and the fact that it lacks all of the high tech electronics in current cars, means it's easily DIY serviceable for a very long time!

Japanese Domestic Market. I had to look it up.

I use Hagerty for my performance car and I can confirm what Alyron stated above. They are a “pleasure” use insurance company for performance/sports cars, vintage cars, etc. They are NOT in the daily driver business. My car insured through them would be 2X the monthly cost if it was on my main auto policy. It’s not insured for daily driver use and you’ll have a hard time getting insurance for a JDM imported vehicle for that purpose.

Best of luck with all this. I’d love (like millions) a R34.

email sent

I am having a car shipped from CA to Fl using SGT auto transport. They been around about 11 years but came as a solid recommendation.

Waiting now for the car to arrive in a day or two. the price was consistent with some other quotes at just around $1200. My only complaint is no gps tracking.

^^ Thanks for the tip...I will check them out later this AM.

I used Applewood to ship my Ferrari twice. No problems, smart drivers and totally enclosed hard sided trailers. First trip was South Carolina to NH and second trip was NH to Arizona.

I used these guys to ship a pickup truck from Ft Lauderdale to Delaware and was very happy with them. I dealt directly with them after going through the whole broker thing. This truck was an LS swapped Chevy that was my son's prized possession. They took very good care of it.

https://swadautotransporters.com/

Word of caution from experience, how much RHD experience does your son have? The one time I drove a RHD Jaguar sedan (saloon?) in this country, it was pretty intimidating. Couldn't tell how far I was from opposing traffic, shit like that.

For me, RHD would be a hard NO! If I ever won the lottery, the Ford GT-40 I would buy from Shelby American would be LHD.

JMHO, YMMV.

I had a RHD Civic SiR hatchback for a long weekend in college. Friend had connections with a JDM shop & had a couple in his garage [Prelude Type S, R33 GTR Skyline & the Civic].
On the highway it's not much different, but on any 2 lane, you can't see around the car in front of you to know if you can pass. Not a big problem in most of Houston.

The McD's drive-thru was fun, to see the window girl's reaction when there was no one in the car when I pulled up
I had a harder time readjusting to my own Civic afterward. Heavier clutch [hydraulic v cable IIRC], and kept hitting the driver's door reaching for the shifter with my left hand. And the blinkers/wipers were reversed on the RHD car.

quote:

My only complaint is no gps tracking.

Put an Apple Air Tag in the vehicle, that way you can track the car during transport, and, if god forbid something happened you could still track it.

Can't help with shipping the last time I did that was in the 80's to ship a motorcycle from San Francisco to Cincinnati
found a shipper in the city and they boxed it up, had to drain the fuel, so it was bone dry when we went to pick it up but the bike was in perfect shape.

It's been quite a few years now (2002), but we imported a couple of Mitsubishi Evolutions from Spain as they are LHD there. Once the landed on the east coast we had them shipped to California on Intercity Lines which use enclosed trailers. I don't recall the price and it's been years, but the cars arrived unharmed.

A couple years later I sold another of my Evo's, a 2006 IX, to a guy in Kansas. It had less than a thousand miles on it and was in perfect condition. The buyer hired a transport company that had a three car open trailer. Somewhere between California and Kansas another car on the trailer rubbed up on the Evo's rear bumper and completely took the paint off. But before the transport guy dropped of the car to the new owner he had someone spray some color on the bumper cover hoping no one noticed, lol. The new owner was not a happy camper.

I know that is probably an isolated incident, but that's my story

As for insurance I would be careful with State Farm as I have heard that they will push back if there is ever a claim on the car. We had the cars in dealer inventory so our company insurance covered them at the time.