Japanese Import?
 

I'm looking at an ' 00 S car with 60k miles. The seller imported it from Japan a couple of years ago. I have no idea what the implications are other than the fact that there will be some stigma when I resell down the road. At least they didn't come with ambers :) Anything to know before I think about moving forward with it?

If it was a Japanese market car to begin with, it will be right hand drive, so that alone would be rather hard to hide.............

No kidding. :) Its LHD but has Japanese stickers inside the door. I have the import docs. I can check the VIN out which I haven't done yet.

I would check the VIN to see what market it was originally built for, which would tell you more about what you have.

Yeah I'll get the country code tonight

Will it have to meet Canada standards?
To bring it into the US, it must meet federal standards

I'm in Canada and its already been through the process.

I recall reading that Japanese cars have the DRL active, so that's one less thing you need to do. Hold on. The seller has imported it already and it's been here for 2 years? All the government standards are good. Not sure what you're concerned with ... think of it as a collectible with those rare Japanese stickers! Post some pics in case it's one of those Miata's dressed up as a Porsche. :p

WPOZZZ Europe/ROW - I guess I knew that already. I'll post pics if I get it. I also drove an 03 base with 50k miles on it. Its nice but needs new headlights and the top is showing wear. Both cars have had the IMS bearing done.

What were your impressions about the differences between the base and the S (understanding that you're on a 'test' drive:) )?

The base was quite a bit slower than my old Cayman S. Other than that its hard to tell. I drove the S in the city and the base out on the highway as the guy lived outside of the city. The base had 18s and the S had 17s but the base seemed like it had a softer ride.

Is the ROW suspension the same as the North American cars?

It appears to depend on the suspension option. M090 (?) is ~1cm lower ROW vs US. Stands to reason that if the US is vigilant about bumpers lining up, then all US Pcars would sit a fraction higher than ROW Pcars. Canada would just fall in line with the US .... 'cause that's what we do :rolleyes:

Finally bought it. 60k miles, LN bearing, silver with blue interior, HID,new top. No leaks. It needs a cv boot, headlight spray nozzle and rear brakes soon.

Congratulations! A unique model too!!