Nice! What glass did you use? OEM?
The Pursuit of Personalizing Perfection - Track Addict's build thread
- Thread starter Track Addict
- Start date
Yessir. OEM all the way.
Aside from transportation costs and import fees. There were some things that needed to be addressed on my car to fit Japanese road-going standards;
-Turn signals needed to show orange, not red like USDM lights. This is a non-issue for me because I already have JDM tails on my car.
-headlights, mine are aimed for LHD and might require more adjustment than can be found to fit RHD spec so I purchased new headlights (not cheap!) and will install once my car clears customs/inspection.
I couldn’t have an exhaust. Well I COULD have one, but between strict emissions standards, and even worse NOISE limitations it was just easier to put stock pieces back on. Will eventually get another exhaust setup on my car at some point.
-Turn signals needed to show orange, not red like USDM lights. This is a non-issue for me because I already have JDM tails on my car.
-headlights, mine are aimed for LHD and might require more adjustment than can be found to fit RHD spec so I purchased new headlights (not cheap!) and will install once my car clears customs/inspection.
I couldn’t have an exhaust. Well I COULD have one, but between strict emissions standards, and even worse NOISE limitations it was just easier to put stock pieces back on. Will eventually get another exhaust setup on my car at some point.
Hi, is there a Porsche number for that heat shield tape? Or is that only available through Porsche Motorsport?
Great build by the way.
Great build by the way.
Porsche Motorsport part. I can get some for you, but be warned…it is NOT cheap.
Made it to Tokyo bay! Well, still not done as my car is scheduled to be unloaded at Osaka.
So…close… it’s gonna basically pass right by my place (Wakayama)…
Landed in the destination port. Now time to go inspect it.
to my joy, the car was in the container!! Now let’s unload this old girl and stretch her legs after the long journey.
Needed to reconnect the battery, but she fired right up no issue!
Can’t believe she is finally home.
Still a long way to go, but she is here and no worse for the wear.
…
Now…to pass inspection and customs…
Nothing new to update at the moment, car has been waiting for inspection and emissions testing. Hopefully I’ll hear something soon and be able to take delivery of my car.
So good to read this, this morning. Good luck!
Hey everyone, a kind of update;
Currently going through the registration process and GOOD LORD is it a lot (especially with my limited Japanese)
So the car passed initial inspection, both noise and emissions so I have “temporary registration” that’s good for 90 days (pretty common to the US and CA smog)
What IS different is the process of registration. There lots to the process and I’m going through as I type this, but I wanted to let people know what “it” consists of;
- providing proof of residence:
An official document with my current address where the car will need to be stored within 2km (just under 1.5 miles for those metrically challenged). This was easy enough to get and pretty standard for most processes in Japan, I was able to print a copy at the local convenience store (convenient isn’t it?)
-seal certificate:
This one is pretty unique to Japan (possibly other Eastern cultures…idk). Here instead of a handwritten signature most people “sign” official documents with a custom stamp or “Hanko” that shows your surname (usually a Chinese character for Japanese) but since I am NOT Japanese (in case you were curious) my name doesn’t have a Chinese character, so they use the alphabet for “foreign” words (Katakana). Thankfully I had a stamp made back when I first moved to Japan (see my off-topic thread for some more info there). However, I needed to register my STAMP with the local city hall in order to have the “power” to stamp official documents with any validity. so needed to stop by city hall to finish THAT particular process.
-Garage/Parking certificate:
Japan being super awesome with their public transportation they don’t really want a bunch of cars to begin with, BUT they do understand that cars are an inescapable part of modern life. Real estate here is a hot commodity and before you can buy a car you have to have proof that you have a place to park your car BEFORE you can register it. This means you have a registered parking spot, either at your home/apartment or at a monthly rental parking lot. There are some stipulations to this, like you can’t own a car if you don’t have parking closer than 2km away from your residence. Procuring this certificate requires a trip to the police station (not the little Koban corner stations you see everywhere in big cities). Submission for this certificate requires that you draw a map of your home and specifically where you will be parking your car (location on the property) with measurements of the parking space, nearby street, and proximity to your local train station with all surrounding roads. This certificate also requires all of the information of the car (make, model, VIN, etc)
*Edit.*
I also forgot to mention the last piece(s) of the “car owning” puzzle (aside from actually buying the car itself)
-Proof of insurance: Can’t register anything until you already prove you have (at least) liability insurance and policies are sold over long terms (36 months) so upfront costs are kinda huge.
Japanese drivers license - this one seemed obvious to me and I completely forgot to mention it, but I realized this little detail is super important for anyone thinking of coming to Japan and buying/importing a car. Can’t buy/own a car in Japan without a domestic driver’s license, typically most foreigners have an international drivers license (IDL) which is ok to drive, but not to own. It’s easier to own a house in Japan than a car! ^___^
As you can see, there is A LOT to registering a car in Japan and I haven’t even started driving yet.
Stay tuned.
Currently going through the registration process and GOOD LORD is it a lot (especially with my limited Japanese)
So the car passed initial inspection, both noise and emissions so I have “temporary registration” that’s good for 90 days (pretty common to the US and CA smog)
What IS different is the process of registration. There lots to the process and I’m going through as I type this, but I wanted to let people know what “it” consists of;
- providing proof of residence:
An official document with my current address where the car will need to be stored within 2km (just under 1.5 miles for those metrically challenged). This was easy enough to get and pretty standard for most processes in Japan, I was able to print a copy at the local convenience store (convenient isn’t it?)
-seal certificate:
This one is pretty unique to Japan (possibly other Eastern cultures…idk). Here instead of a handwritten signature most people “sign” official documents with a custom stamp or “Hanko” that shows your surname (usually a Chinese character for Japanese) but since I am NOT Japanese (in case you were curious) my name doesn’t have a Chinese character, so they use the alphabet for “foreign” words (Katakana). Thankfully I had a stamp made back when I first moved to Japan (see my off-topic thread for some more info there). However, I needed to register my STAMP with the local city hall in order to have the “power” to stamp official documents with any validity. so needed to stop by city hall to finish THAT particular process.
-Garage/Parking certificate:
Japan being super awesome with their public transportation they don’t really want a bunch of cars to begin with, BUT they do understand that cars are an inescapable part of modern life. Real estate here is a hot commodity and before you can buy a car you have to have proof that you have a place to park your car BEFORE you can register it. This means you have a registered parking spot, either at your home/apartment or at a monthly rental parking lot. There are some stipulations to this, like you can’t own a car if you don’t have parking closer than 2km away from your residence. Procuring this certificate requires a trip to the police station (not the little Koban corner stations you see everywhere in big cities). Submission for this certificate requires that you draw a map of your home and specifically where you will be parking your car (location on the property) with measurements of the parking space, nearby street, and proximity to your local train station with all surrounding roads. This certificate also requires all of the information of the car (make, model, VIN, etc)
*Edit.*
I also forgot to mention the last piece(s) of the “car owning” puzzle (aside from actually buying the car itself)
-Proof of insurance: Can’t register anything until you already prove you have (at least) liability insurance and policies are sold over long terms (36 months) so upfront costs are kinda huge.
Japanese drivers license - this one seemed obvious to me and I completely forgot to mention it, but I realized this little detail is super important for anyone thinking of coming to Japan and buying/importing a car. Can’t buy/own a car in Japan without a domestic driver’s license, typically most foreigners have an international drivers license (IDL) which is ok to drive, but not to own. It’s easier to own a house in Japan than a car! ^___^
As you can see, there is A LOT to registering a car in Japan and I haven’t even started driving yet.
Stay tuned.
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