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Worth shipping right hand drive diesel to USA?

Calvin87

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Hello. I am new to this, but I have a 1996 Land Cruiser Prado diesel from New Zealand. This is a right hand drive. I am moving back to the United States and I am wondering if it is worth it to ship back? There are 200,000 kilometers on it and runs great (looks great too!). I love the car and would love to rive it for a few more years, but I was wondering if there might be any resale value back in the USA? Any thoughts on the matter? I think it will cost me around $6-7,000 to ship back. Thanks in advance for all your input.
 
200kkm is not much for this motor, there are plenty with 500+ around. But spares and stuff might be harder over there and tbh the shipping cost is a fair proportion of the value.

Might be worth checking if RHD cars are legal in your destination state, I know some places only allow them over a certain age. Resale value will likely be limited because of that alone especially in a country full of large 4WDs and trucks.

But if you have the money and love the car then why not. I don't think I'd move back to England but if I did if have to take my Prado.
 
Hello. I am new to this, but I have a 1996 Land Cruiser Prado diesel from New Zealand. This is a right hand drive. I am moving back to the United States and I am wondering if it is worth it to ship back? There are 200,000 kilometers on it and runs great (looks great too!). I love the car and would love to rive it for a few more years, but I was wondering if there might be any resale value back in the USA? Any thoughts on the matter? I think it will cost me around $6-7,000 to ship back. Thanks in advance for all your input.
Hi Calvin,

I think you'd better off selling it in NZ, I agree with everything AW said, but with regard to the resale value in the States, I think it would be almost worthless in the US just because it's RHD.

Good Luck, Stay Safe.
 
Novelty value for Toyota Diesels in the USA (outside of California) is madness; they're paying really solid money for them, add in the perception that Toyota diesels are unbreakable is still solid in the USA.

In terms of whether it's worth doing? I know of a couple of people who have JDM HiLux Surfs (via the Surf groups on Farcebook) over there with the diesel engines, and have found it harder to get parts for it.

@Beau will be able to advise more as he has his 90 in the USA.
 
The US love any Land Cruiser model they didn’t get. But it has to be 25yrs old if I remember right so you would need to wait a year on a 1996 car. Check out ih8Mud.com as their the US LC guys
 
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There would be a good bit of interchange on drivetrain parts with the 4-Runner/Tacoma of the same vintage over there, it's mainly engine parts that are hard come by I would imagine. The 3.0 Toyota diesel was never marketed there. As PaddlerEd mentioned, Beau on here brought the same truck as yours over to the US and it seems to be working out well.

You can always get parts shipped over from Partsouq or the likes.
 
I brought mine over from the UK and it went relatively smoothly. I did however get a agent to do the paperwork for me. I don't want to get too much into that as it involves somewhat of a loophole but it worked for me and my case of immigrating to the US.

Cost wise was $3000 USD for the agent that did the paperwork and fought my case to the DOT/EPA. RORO shipping was a little over $1200. Customs/port fees about $1000. 5 years ago with the stronger pound, it came up to about 3500 british pounds which was reasonable considering 80 series cruisers in good shape are around $7000+ anyway.

An insurance agent has valued mine around $25,000 given the rarity of it, and it's condition. I reckon it would easily sell tomorrow for $20,000 as well if I listed it. Not that I ever plan on parting ways with it anyway.

Parts wise, the engine is pretty sound. But most things can get shipped anyway. Plenty of sites/sources. There's actually more suspensions parts here as it's a similar platform to the 3rd gen 4Runner. Just don't crack your windscreen. I'm not sure how the insurance company would deal with that :fearscream:

P.S - Still very thankful of @Trevor who helped my dad in taking the cruiser down to the port! :clap:
 
Shipping a right hand drive diesel Land Cruiser Prado from New Zealand to the USA is definitely a big decision. It's great that the car is in good condition and runs well, but resale value in the US can be tricky with right hand drive vehicles.
 
Thanks for all your input in this thread! I just wanted to add that if you love the car and want to keep driving it, then it may be worth it to you to pay the cost of shipping. $6-7,000 may seem like a lot, but it could be a worthwhile investment if it means being able to keep and drive the car you love. When it comes to door to door vehicle shipping, there are a number of companies that specialize in international car transport. I would recommend doing some research and getting quotes from a few different companies to compare costs and services. Make sure to ask about insurance and any other fees or charges that may be involved.
 
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If i just keep digging im bound to escape .

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