Right hand drive cars

[greyshep]

Originally Posted by habernac

all over the place. The guy Dad was talking to mentioned a very fast Mercedes, some japanese models, etc. I forget the specifics. But there are literally hundreds of these cars waiting in Montana to come into Alberta, BC and Saskatchewan.

Are they right hand drive vehicles? Or the regular left hand drive cars you see in North America normally?

My outsider guess is that these are vehicles that dont meet some red tape regulations or are not part of the free trade agmt but are still left hand drive vehicles.

[habernac]

here's the transport canada website link:

http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/impxus_e.htm

Vehicles manufactured for sale in countries other than Canada and the United States do not comply with the requirements of the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Act, CANNOT be altered to comply and CANNOT be imported into Canada. The only exceptions to this rule are vehicles fifteen (15) years old or older as determined by the month and year in which the vehicle was manufactured and buses manufactured before January 1, 1971.

Looks like it applies to anything not made in Canada or the US.

[Burninator]

Most of the people that buy Skylines are getting ripped off. Paying around $6000 for a 15 year beater is hilarious. Especially considering the largest market of these cars are high school kids that lack the money to get them fixed up.

And don't get my wrong, I love the Skylines, but I don't like beat up junkers no matter the make. I would love to have an import project car sometime in the future. I have always been found of the Silvia's.

[arsenal]

Originally Posted by habernac

here's the transport canada website link:

http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/importation/impxus_e.htm

Vehicles manufactured for sale in countries other than Canada and the United States do not comply with the requirements of the Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Act, CANNOT be altered to comply and CANNOT be imported into Canada. The only exceptions to this rule are vehicles fifteen (15) years old or older as determined by the month and year in which the vehicle was manufactured and buses manufactured before January 1, 1971.

Looks like it applies to anything not made in Canada or the US.

It's meant for anything not made for the Canadian or US market. As mazdas are still made in Japan. Also Ferrari's are only made in Italy if I am correct, but they conform to Canadian and US DoT standards so can be sold here.

[Madman]

Is it just me, or should RHD cars not even be allowed on the roads? Our entire road network and traffic law system are based on a LHD vehicle, yet we are allowing all these foreign cars flood the streets. The government forces imported cars to conform to Canada's safety laws in regards to bumpers and daytime running lights, but if you can't see around traffic to make a left hand turn...that's ok??

[arsenal]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Most of the people that buy Skylines are getting ripped off. Paying around $6000 for a 15 year beater is hilarious. Especially considering the largest market of these cars are high school kids that lack the money to get them fixed up.

And don't get my wrong, I love the Skylines, but I don't like beat up junkers no matter the make. I would love to have an import project car sometime in the future. I have always been found of the Silvia's.

How are they junkers? What 15yr old car can you buy in Canada or the US that has under 100,000 kms on it?
A lot of the expense is in shipping costs, duty, converting it to conform to Canadian DoT standards.
Hell, there is a Skyline GTS-T for sale in Edmonton that has 28,000km on it. It would be hard to find a vehicle with that low km's in Canada that is 2 or 3 years old, let alone 15. Just because it is 15yrs old, doesn't mean it's a PoS. Not to mention, to buy anything in Canada that has to the potential to make the power that a Skyline has, for the same price, you would have to look very very hard. So why would you bother when there are JDM vehicles readily available to you, for a bit of a premium.

I guess it is all depends on your taste as well. I personally prefer imports, and I prefer rear-wheel drive vehicles. As far as Canadian Domestic Market goes, I am looking at the the 350z, G35, Mustang, BMW or Mercedes. For about the same price of late 90's model of one of those cars, with about 100,000 more km, I could a nice Skyline or a Silvia, and an engine swap, and have something a little different.

To me it makes more sense.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Madman

Is it just me, or should RHD cars not even be allowed on the roads? Our entire road network and traffic law system are based on a LHD vehicle, yet we are allowing all these foreign cars flood the streets.

A lot of delivery companies use RHD vehicles, so that the driver is not exposed to traffic as he gets in and out of the vehicle all day. I don't know if you could allow one while prohibitting another.

[Burninator]

Originally Posted by arsenal

How are they junkers? What 15yr old car can you buy in Canada or the US that has under 100,000 kms on it?
A lot of the expense is in shipping costs, duty, converting it to conform to Canadian DoT standards.
Hell, there is a Skyline GTS-T for sale in Edmonton that has 28,000km on it. It would be hard to find a vehicle with that low km's in Canada that is 2 or 3 years old, let alone 15. Just because it is 15yrs old, doesn't mean it's a PoS. Not to mention, to buy anything in Canada that has to the potential to make the power that a Skyline has, for the same price, you would have to look very very hard. So why would you bother when there are JDM vehicles readily available to you, for a bit of a premium.

I guess it is all depends on your taste as well. I personally prefer imports, and I prefer rear-wheel drive vehicles. As far as Canadian Domestic Market goes, I am looking at the the 350z, G35, Mustang, BMW or Mercedes. For about the same price of late 90's model of one of those cars, with about 100,000 more km, I could a nice Skyline or a Silvia, and an engine swap, and have something a little different.

To me it makes more sense.

You didn't understand what I meant by junkers. I am not saying a 15 year old Skyline with under 100,000 kms is a junker. I am saying that same Skyline with it's body pieces that aren't aligned, it's front bumper half on, dents all over, and the engine sounding like crap on it's last leg, is a junker. And what I just described is most of the Skylines that I see on the road. I am not bashing people who buy Skylines, I am bashing people who buy beat up Skylines and leave them that way because they can't afford to get them running properly and looking nice.

Spending $6000 on a 15 year old car that is beat up, is a poor choice in my opinion. And most of the people do it because they can say they drive a Skyline. That money could be much better spent on a local car. It's really not impressive if your car is really fast, but you just blew the motor because it's a beat up drift car.

I have seem my share of nice Skylines. And when I do am I jealous, because they are cool cars. But for every nice one I see, I see another 5 that are POS.

[arsenal]

Hell, anyone that pays $6k for a beat up car is in ID 10 T

[The Yen Man]

I think driving a RHD car would be a big pain. Simple things like going through the drive through or paying for parking would make me annoyed after awhile. And although Skylines are cool, I agree with Burninator. For every one good Skyline I see, I see a ton of other beat up rust buckets that look like crap.

[arsenal]

But there are upsides as well.
1) Parallel parking would be a breeze
2) Not having to get out in traffic when parking downtown.
Umm.. i can't think of any more.. but parallel parking as got be worth at least 2 or 3 points right there

[habernac]

Originally Posted by arsenal

It's meant for anything not made for the Canadian or US market. As mazdas are still made in Japan. Also Ferrari's are only made in Italy if I am correct, but they conform to Canadian and US DoT standards so can be sold here.

Obviously it excludes cars made for NA. This would be for cars you would have to import yourself.

[browna]

BMW's and Mercedes in Japan are still LHD..so bringing those cars over (that are 1991/92 models) wouldn't have that RHD issue.

Given the costs associated with strict upkeep and ownership/registration regulations in Japan, and, because its a small country, most have well under 100K Km's on them, all resulting in a better chance that you're not getting a hunk of junk.

With BMW's and Merecdes, you're still likely to get parts here..a lot more luck then some parts for Skyline or other Japanese imports that never made thier way (at least fully, I am sure some parts are shared amongst Japanese and American models) over here.

[Skyceman]

I just sold my RH drive recently so I can shed some personal experience on them.

Firstly, I find very little difference in driving them compared to a LH drive now that I've owned one for 2 years. When I first bought it, it was definetly a confidence thing as you just dont quite feel right behind the wheel. But like anything else you get used to it. Left turns are not hard either. You are basically lining up your right-side with the middle lane instead of the center lane/boulevard. Two-way highways, you look from the shoulder lane. For passing bikes/things on the shoulder - its FAR easier to see where your car is really lining up.

I also didn't have a bunch of inspections - just one for bringing the vehicle from out of province and even that inspection was pretty standard.

Supposedly the government is looking at raising the age of import to 25 years - just like the States because alot of these vehicles are just being targetted by young "reckless" drivers and they want to put a stop to it.

I have no regrets in owning mine - I had a blast with it but it was an old car even though it had just 30,000+ km on it.

Since the influx of RHD, I've noticed the used car market on LH ZX's has lowered alot which is good for the buyers but not so much the sellers.

[Ironhorse]

I saw a newer RX-7 (bodyshap one generation removed from the current RX-8) RHD drive in Sylvan Lake today. Surely it cannot be 15 years old already?

[arsenal]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

I saw a newer RX-7 (bodyshap one generation removed from the current RX-8) RHD drive in Sylvan Lake today. Surely it cannot be 15 years old already?

They are. They are 15 years as of this year. I think even the first models where legal as of last november. For all you Supra lovers, the Mark IV is legal as of next year.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by Ironhorse

I saw a newer RX-7 (bodyshap one generation removed from the current RX-8) RHD drive in Sylvan Lake today. Surely it cannot be 15 years old already?

If you mean the last bodyshape of RX-7, that is definetely not 15 years old. Series 8 is 1999-2002!



One of the most gorgeous cars. I'd have to wait until around 2015 to own one.

[arsenal]

The FD Series 6 is legal right now. Started production in Nov 91.

[TheCommodoreAfro]

Originally Posted by Burninator

Most of the people that buy Skylines are getting ripped off. Paying around $6000 for a 15 year beater is hilarious. Especially considering the largest market of these cars are high school kids that lack the money to get them fixed up.

And don't get my wrong, I love the Skylines, but I don't like beat up junkers no matter the make. I would love to have an import project car sometime in the future. I have always been found of the Silvia's.

The funny part is that you can pick up a 15 year old Skyline almost for free here in Japan. The bi-annual inspection and other associated out of pocket expenses so high that most of the cars are pretty much given away once they are more than 10 years old. At the most, you might have to pay a couple of thousand for the vehicle.

If you want to get a better deal on an imported Japanese vehicle, why not contact a local overseas dealer (http://www.occidental.co.jp/) and get one directly?

[soulchoice]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

If you mean the last bodyshape of RX-7, that is definetely not 15 years old. Series 8 is 1999-2002!



One of the most gorgeous cars. I'd have to wait until around 2015 to own one.

The newer bodystyle of the RX7 debut was in 1993 for Canada. However in Japan, it was the 1992 model. I agree though, still a great looking car.