Motorized Macchiato

Much has been written on reading Japanese Auction Sheets. Just check out the articles here , here and here . What I am going to do here is summarize the very basics, post an example sheet, and then explain what my criteria will be moving forward. Overall Grades: Each auction sheet will give an overall grade for the exterior and interior of the vehicle. Exterior 2-4, with 2 being poor and 4 being very good. 3 is about average for year and mileage R - This is a special case which can mean repaired or modified. Interior A-D, with A being mint and D avoid. Some auction houses may use the 2-4 scale. Vehicle Diagram Each auction sheet will also include a vehicle diagram, which will show specific types of damage, severity, and location. These can be on a different scale of 1-4, 1 being minor and 4 being major. These can include: A: Scratch U: Dent W: Wavy X: Panel Damage XX: Panel was replaced (sometimes can mean damage) Y: Head/Tail Light Damage C/S: Rust X/G: Windshie...

As I have mention previously, I am embarking on this quest of importing a car from Japan as an adventure. With all adventures, there are highs and lows. While this isn't quite a low, it is a bit unexpected, but I am glad I did my due diligence and got it clarified up front. In my previous post I mentioned that I was going to attempt "informal entry" with my import, which is reserved for imports valued under $2,500. What I thought this meant was my budget for purchase price of the Cappuccino needed to be under $2,500. However, after getting in contact with Mathew Matusiak at Japan Car Direct I learned that the "value" of an import includes all service and exporter fees (but excludes shipping). In the grand scheme, this means a couple of things. First, my purchase will be valued over $2,500 so I will be required to do a "formal entry" for customs import. This requires the use of a customs broker to complete most of the paperwork and submit it a...

When researching how to import a car from Japan, I have come across a couple really great articles summarizing the process. The first article, A beginner’s guide to the world of weird and wonderful Japanese import cars , posted on Ars Technica, i s a great summary and has some great resources on where to begin. The other article I have relied heavily on is Witty Melon's Importing Vehicles into the US . Japan Car Direct even links to this on their website.  Witty Melon spells out two separate customs procedures, Formal and Informal Entry. Formal Entry requires going through a customs broker, which can cost anywhere between $250-500. Informal entry can be used when the value of goods is less than $2,500 (shipping is excluded from this). I have decided to use Informal Entry for the basis of my budget, and do all the Entry paperwork by myself. As an engineer by trade, one of the most useful tools for project management is a Gantt Chart, which plans out a project using Tasks, dur...