Right Hand Drive Cars

[4X4]

Has anyone else noticed that there are tons of these things around lately? I swear in the last year it's gone from seeing one every so often, to pretty much daily.

What's the deal? Why would anyone want one of these? It's got to make turning left a nightmare, shifting would be all weird, are the pedals reversed too?

And the cost associated with it. I'm noticing that they're mostly older (at least 5 years old) cars, so why would you pay to import an older car when you can buy one here?Are these cars something special? I notice that they're not the same brands as here, but there's got to be comparable vehicles. And not just cars, I've seen a bunch of Isuzu/LandRover type trucks booting around as well. Did you come from Australia and bring your vehicle? That must have cost a fortune.

So? Anyone here drive one? Why? What's the advantage?

[missdpuck]

I have no idea why you are seeing so many of these. However my mail truck is a right hand drive, of course. It was very easy to get used to, although it is automatic. Making lefts aren't a nightmare unless you speculate about the dangers of oncoming traffic too much. They actually arrange mailroutes to eliminate as many left turns as possible.

[Bobblehead]

A lot of the ones I see are Nissan Skyline. Apparently there is a model that was only available in Japan that some car enthusiasts really like.

Although if I recall, a few years ago a thread on here someone mentioned that there a lot of the cars he sees are not the "good" model.

I would think passing would be a nightmare.

[socktape]

Most of these cars are coming from Japan or Asia in general. They are models not usually available in Canada or North America for that matter. They have to be at least 10 or 15 years old I can't remember which to pass Transportation Canada's guidelines. A lot of people have brought Skylines and similar cars over to mod. I had a neighbour down the street who must have modded about 7-10 of these over the last 5 years.

[Barnes]

Why? Imported from Japan because cars in some cities can't be older than 5 yrs IIRC so they sell them online cheap.

The pedals are the right way round and shifting is the same (Top left 1, down 2...)

[habernac]

I was under the impression that vehicles imported from off the continent had to be 15 years old before they were legal here.

[Bill Bumface]

Yup, 15 years old.

Lots are cars that were never sold here. The rest are just cheaper than buying one here.

For example, and FD RX-7 is pretty expensive here (over $20K still probably for a nice one) but those ones are cheap. The reason? I think because of emissions laws/taxes or something funny in Japan these all end up in a junk yard before they are even 15 years old. Someone hauls them out of the junk yard, gets them running, profits.

They are almost entirely giant pieces of S.

[Cliche]

Note that most of RHD cars that I've seen have been the JDM types that were never released to north america, or sold so poorly that it's incredibly rare to see them as a LHD. (Supra's, RX-7 FD's, Soarer's, R32/R33 skylines, not too sure if the r34's are importable yet, MR2's I find are the most likely cars to be RHD)

Also some of them may have been 15 years or more older and able to be imported into canada. Not too sure about the love for the SUV's though.

If I had the cash and wherewithal, definitely I'd have an obscure RHD as a fun/weekend type car.

Also consider the demographic, and these are your replacement for fun cheap vehicles, as most of the 90's domestic stuff is crap, or will set you on fire(Fiero).

[Nuje]

They have to be 15 years old to be imported. Why do people import such old cars? Several reasons.

Price/Condition: It's actually cheaper to import many models, than to buy them used here in the same shape. Due to the climate and short distances in Japan, many of the cars are in very good shape.

Differences in Japan's market: Many cars look the same (save the side the steering wheel's on) but come with better engines. Some people would rather simply import one, than transplant the engine into a North American model

Knobbishness: Some people just think that Right Hand Drive is cool. It's not....but there are certainly good reasons to buy them.

I notice that they're not the same brands as here, but there's got to be comparable vehicles.

I believe we should have a choice. There shouldn't even be a BS 15 year old rule.....I've wanted to import a car from Europe for a while, and it's illegal, and I think it's unfair.

[valo403]

Driving them isn't really an issue at all. It takes a bit of getting your head around it, but after that it's not an issue.

I've thought about importing a Holden Ute from Australia simply because it's something I've never seen on the road here. The costs are kind of ridiculous though, so it would be something that would depend on some sort of lotto success.

[socktape]

Originally Posted by habernac

I was under the impression that vehicles imported from off the continent had to be 15 years old before they were legal here.

A lot of them are 15 years old. These are the Grey market cars. You can import others they just have to be on Transport Canada's list of admissable cars. A lot of the specialty cars less than 15 years old might need to be modified to TC standards.

you can read about it on http://www.riv.ca under Vehicle admissibility.

[GreenTeaFrapp]

Actually, you're all wrong.

The real reason there's so many RH cars on the roads these days is to tempt 'The Claw'.

[The Yen Man]

I would think it'd be a major pain for parking. You'd have to get out of the car and go to the other side just to punch the button to get a ticket. And Timmies drive thru would also suck.

[burn_this_city]

Hahah claw, who steals a car than drives around like its your own?The reason most of these cars are being sold out of Japan is they need massive overhaul to keep them emissions legal there, so most people skid them for somethign newer. They are all 15 years or older to skirt the import laws here.

[Bill Bumface]

Originally Posted by Nuje

They have to be 15 years old to be imported. Why do people import such old cars? Several reasons.

Price/Condition: It's actually cheaper to import many models, than to buy them used here in the same shape. Due to the climate and short distances in Japan, many of the cars are in very good shape.

Most of them are beat to crap. Not sure which ones you've been looking at. They usually require way more work than the 16 year olds that buy them can afford and end up broken down on the side of the road.

Differences in Japan's market: Many cars look the same (save the side the steering wheel's on) but come with better engines. Some people would rather simply import one, than transplant the engine into a North American model

Knobbishness: Some people just think that Right Hand Drive is cool. It's not....but there are certainly good reasons to buy them.



I believe we should have a choice. There shouldn't even be a BS 15 year old rule.....I've wanted to import a car from Europe for a while, and it's illegal, and I think it's unfair.

There absolutely should be a 15 year old law. I'm glad our government doesn't take Russia, India or China's auto safety standards as gospel and let us import any vehicle they make.

I think the law should be bumped to at least 20 years, as the point of it was to let people bring in collector cars, not piles of crap that would see the road every day.

[burn_this_city]

Im surprised how many junky vans and utility trucks have made the voyage.. Honestly whats the fascination with a hideous 20 year old mitsubishi van?

[valo403]

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

Most of them are beat to crap. Not sure which ones you've been looking at. They usually require way more work than the 16 year olds that buy them can afford and end up broken down on the side of the road.



There absolutely should be a 15 year old law. I'm glad our government doesn't take Russia, India or China's auto safety standards as gospel and let us import any vehicle they make.

I think the law should be bumped to at least 20 years, as the point of it was to let people bring in collector cars, not piles of crap that would see the road every day.

Of course, we just let them make the component parts of the vehicles sold here.

[Lucifer]

Originally Posted by The Yen Man

I would think it'd be a major pain for parking. You'd have to get out of the car and go to the other side just to punch the button to get a ticket. And Timmies drive thru would also suck.

They could always drive backwards through the drive thru. Might be a tad difficult, though.

[GoinAllTheWay]

I don't get them myself. I figured they were just the latest "Hey! Look at me! I've got the latest 'in' thing!"

[Berger_4_]

My buddy bought a right hand drive Skyline...personally I think a lot of it can be attributed to those damn Fast and Furious movies. Everyone got a hard-on for RHD drift cars.

They're a vehicle I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole though. My cousin's a mechanic, and he swears up and down that you should never buy one. Lots of mechanics won't touch them since everything is backwards. Add that to the fact that lots of parts have to be imported and therefore are way more expensive, and it just adds up to be one expensive bill when you have something go wrong. And being as the thing is 15 years old, something is bound to go wrong.