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Carbarn United States FAQs
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The listed price covers the car and ocean freight from Japan. Customs duty and the two federal fees are paid in the United States when the vehicle arrives and are quoted separately. Your state then charges its own sales or use tax, title and registration fees, and your customs broker charges a commercial fee for the entry, the bond and port handling.
Right-hand drive is legal at the federal level and no state refuses a car for that reason alone. Registration is run by each state on the customs entry documents and a certified translation of the Export Certificate. Georgia is the exception: it does not title a vehicle without a 17-character VIN, which Japanese-market cars do not carry.
No. The United States does not require an inspection in Japan, and a car that is 25 years old or more is not inspected by DOT or EPA when it arrives. Customs checks the documents, and your state may run a VIN verification when you register it.
Vehicles are driven on and off the ship — RoRo (Roll-on/Roll-off) — and unloaded at Los Angeles/Long Beach, Tacoma, Houston, Jacksonville or Baltimore. Choose the port closest to you; the West Coast is the shortest crossing.
Every listing carries photographs, the auction sheet and grade, the Carbarn inspection comments and the full inspection report, so you can check the condition before you buy.
Duty is 12.5% of the price paid for a passenger car, SUV or passenger van, worked out on the vehicle price without ocean freight. Two small federal fees are added: the Merchandise Processing Fee of 0.3464% and the Harbor Maintenance Fee of 0.125%. There is no federal VAT or sales tax. Light trucks and pickups carry 25% duty.
Sailing from Japan takes 14-45 days, depending on the port and the ship schedule. West Coast ports are the quickest, East Coast ports the longest.
Carbarn supplies the original Export Certificate, the invoice showing the chassis number and price, the bill of lading and the condition report. Your customs broker files the HS-7 declaration, the EPA form and the entry summary with those documents.
The United States sets a minimum age rather than a maximum: a car must be at least 25 years old when it enters the country, counted from the month and year it was built. Anything younger cannot be imported for road use. There is no upper age limit.
Vehicles arrive at Los Angeles/Long Beach, Tacoma, Houston, Jacksonville or Baltimore, whichever you choose when you confirm the quote.
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