Importing a JDM car in 2024? Here's what to expect

Here's what we learned from our recent experience importing a car from Japan. What did we miss? Let us know in the comments!
/ backseets
/ backseets
0:00 Intro
0:22 Parts?
0:47 Our new import
1:00 Japanese Yen
1:18 What's the Problem?
1:30 Parts Shortage
1:48 Disposable Income
2:05 Backlogged Orders
2:26 Problematic Cycle
3:09 Old JDM cars
3:26 Damaged cars
3:50 Is this a bad time?
4:09 Our advice
4:18 Alternatives
4:38 In a hurry? Buy Local
Music: Antihero (prod. chais)
Tags: JDM cars, importing JDM, Japanese imports, Japanese Domestic Market

[@noahbeaton9195]

Fantastic video. First and only video I have been able to find on importing JDM to Canada. Not only was it great and informative, it’s always amazing to find blossoming channels that are making good content from the start. You officially have a new loyal subscriber! keep up the good work you guys!

[@Backseets]

Thank you so much! We really appreciate that!

[@bcatz454]

Dannnnggggg, thats a clean 1jz-gte piece you got with the 4.5 grade. Waiting on a 1jz blit myself right now, and heard Vancouver port fee increased to $385.

[@mavaearnest6369]

Sure bro I wanna ask about the whole process of importing, especially the auctions how do you get to that, brokers and websites included

[@ichki.xotirjamlik]

thank you guys great content

[@Backseets]

Thanks! Really appreciate that!

[@impulsefox3569]

Bought my chaser back in October, still waiting for a boat to ship it.

[@Backseets]

Congrats on the chaser! Hopefully you aren’t waiting too much longer.

[@no_sleep_yx3]

yup, i ordered my honda in october. if you ordered from bpro our cars might be sharing a boat this month! haha

[@604crown]

I do want to mention that shipping times can vary greatly depending on when and what company you go through. Ive imported 3 cars so far this year: first was bought in march and arrived in june, second was bought in august and arrived november, third was bought in late november and just arrived at port. And none of these cars sat for long enough to accumulate any sun damage or other damage. Best to do your research and choose a good exporter/importer

[@Backseets]

Thanks for the input, good to know that it’s still possible to have an easier experience than we experienced.

[@noahbeaton9195]

Thanks for this info. What export company? I am seriously considering “car from Japan”. Best reviewed I could find.

[@psilisimon6344]

wonderfully done video.

[@Backseets]

Thank you!

[@mikhilmuhuthan6903]

Don't forget about the reccent earthquake and impending tsunami that's happening atm in Japan. That's def gonna put a BIG halt on importing for a while. Not just cars but also car parts.

[@Backseets]

Great point thanks for adding that! Definitely going to slow things down

[@Whateva67]

I was looking at buying a Honda odyssey awd van because they look so different than the ones here in Canada but I changed my mind because of parts availability. I live in British Columbia but work in northern Alberta a lot and broken windshields are a thing,getting one for a JDM Odyssey would be,well, an odyssey in itself. 😊

[@extraclips7441]

Much love from New Zealand boys 🤙

[@Backseets]

That’s awesome, really appreciate you! Much love 🤙

[@MrMarCars]

I like the crown. Probably the best luxury car built from Japan. Crazy how they put both a 1jz and 2jz in a luxury car but I am guessing it was built for hundreds of thousands of miles, that's why they put the engine there.

[@Backseets]

Thanks! It’s even crazier that the crown got every single varient of the 1JZ and 2JZ except the 2JZ-GTE. Toyota gave their customers a lot of options.

[@no_sleep_yx3]

shipping was my biggest hurdle. my DC5 type s was ordered in october. it’s only now supposed to leave japan at the end of this month and arrive in vancouver sometime in april. which means 6-7-8 months will have gone by before i drive the car. but as long as it shows up when all the snow melts, i’ll be a happy camper

[@mavaearnest6369]

How do you do the process of buying cars from Japan? Websites of auctions and brokers

[@cyrexity72]

great video man

[@Backseets]

Thank you!

[@thecutlemon8101]

nice

[@FracturedGoblin]

I too imported a GTE Crown (Estate) this year, purchased it mid Feb 2023 and it got to BC second week of June. May have just been unfortunate circumstances for your long wait. Though thankfully it came over in even better shape than I anticipated (sheet showed 2 small dents and 2 small scratches which I cannot find for the life of me) except for a broken grill which is common for Crowns due to where you lift them from if you pull too hard. Probably was a port worker, grill looked fine in auction photos. 4.0 B grade, definitely 4.5 worthy if it had less KM's (113k) and interior looks brand new except a little wear on the steering wheel. I push everybody I know to import instead of buying junk Canadian cars with rust and high KM's!

[@Backseets]

Glad to hear you had a good experience. That’s unfortunate that the grill was broken during transport, but good to hear it’s cleaner than you anticipated!

[@FracturedGoblin]

@@Backseets For sure, could be worse than the grill, can't even notice its broke unless pointed out! Put nearly 30k KM's on it so far and not one issue. Lovin it

[@peeweebus6829]

How has your experience been so far? What did you pay? Any other common issues I should know about? I plan to import a crown estate as soon as they become legal here in the US.

[@FracturedGoblin]

@@peeweebus6829 I paid roughly 11.5k USD landed for mine, which is on the higher end, but that's including taxes, shipping, car itself ofc, and a broker fee with who I went through for $1k. You could get these for a bit less but I wanted an immaculate one. They're pretty much the same story as any other Toyota, very dependable reliable, so far I've only replaced for maintenance: AC compressor (not necessary but I wanted AC), front lower control arm bushings (1 each side, these are a common weakpoint, will crack and fail) front pads & rotors (due to a vibration) and recently the front right upper control arm (was knocking/bad bushing) and soon I'm going to buy a O-ring gasket for the VVTi gears and valve cover gaskets. I seem to have oil seep from the front of the cover only which indicates the gear gasket usually. Not major but on my radar. Otherwise the usual oil/spark plugs/other fluids Otherwise the car has been awesome, always starts has always been smooth haven't had any issues. Some crown owners have cold start problems with low/dying idle which usually ends up being related to their VVTi solenoid being dirty or another issue in that area but mines been fine. I drive it over my 2009 Civic the majority of the time even with crazy gas prices!

[@peeweebus6829]

@@FracturedGoblin So at the moment I have a GS300 so I'm familiar with the family of chassis etc, I've heard the suspension and front clip components basically all retrofit off of an IS300 so figured thats where most of my expendable chassis parts would come from, and if the bottom end ever blew I could replace it with a 2J block. Had the same issue with my vvti solenoid and wish I had the same 4 speed a340e (might be the a341e) as yours instead of my a650e. Just overall a weaker transmission for roughly the same gas mileage as the final drive is the same. Could you recommend any brokers or even sellers that may operate from canada? Was thinking it may be easier to potentially ship it across the border rather than import one from japan. Easier for me to see it in person that was as well before I make my purchase. Then after that comes the hassle of trying to register it in California... I either find a loophole to register it out of state or pay a state endorsed shop 5-15k to make it emissions legal. Ugh. Anyways thanks so much for your input and feedback involving what it's been like to own the car because it's been so hard to find other owners who are willing to talk about their experience, especially an estate at that.

[@lilremesses5418]

What’s the white Acuras model name looks so cool

[@Backseets]

It’s a Honda Accord Wagon! But it does look a lot like an Acura

[@theSWBFman]

Looking to import a Toyota Century one day. Did you guys import through a company/broker, or do all the paperwork yourselves?

[@Backseets]

We used a company based in Alberta called JDM Connection, Will is the owner and does a fantastic job. He also has a contact in Japan to go check the cars for rust and mechanical issues.

[@theSWBFman]

@@Backseets Thank you. I'll add him to my list of importers to research. Having someone on the ground in Japan is definitely a huge plus

[@x91s55]

Only thing im scared of is sending money and getting scammed.

[@Backseets]

As long as you work with a importer who has a good reputation and lots of customers you’ll be totally fine. Velocity, B-Pro, and, JDM connection are all well known importers with solid reputations that import to the lower main land!

[@x91s55]

@@Backseets Thanks for the recommendation. Do you know how much the ocean importing cost? Or is that an included price for B-pro?