I bought a very nice 1996 4WD Daihatsu Hijet mini truck from Japan for $2380 shipped to Newport News, but it needed a new clutch and there are many fees to import it. On the road it was $4500. I'll dump another $2000 in it for some awesome upgrades, but I'm daily driving it now and it's awesome.
@@chriso1373 - There are crosses for most common maintenance parts such as oil filters and air filters. The Mini Truck Talk forum and TH-cam can be a big help but there is some contradictory information as well. Once I found an oil filter that fit, I bought a case of 12 WIX Gold oil filters so I'm good for another 12 years. For common repair parts, there are places in the US such as G&R Imports that sell brakes, etc. For everything else, there is eBay in Japan and some Japanese auto parts companies that specialize in exporting JDM parts around the world by air freight. The kei car parts are fairly inexpensive but the shipping is expensive so get everything you need in a single order. That's a good time to order a new plastic lens for the dome light, turn signals, etc. It's fairly difficult to buy tires in the US. I bought four Yokohama Geolander tires from Japan for $374 including air shipping to the US. I wanted a fifth for a new spare but that one extra tire added $202 to the cost. Apparently, there is a steep hike in air shipping for a little more weight or volume, but I can buy one in the US for $149 delivered, which isn't horrible. Many people want to put bigger tires on a mini truck because it looks cool but it doesn't do much better off road, it usually requires the body panels and wheel wells to be trimmed, wider tires throw mud over the outside of the truck and aren't legal without adding fender flares to contain them in many if not most states, fuel economy is significantly worse, and larger diameter tires increase the effective gear ratio so the little 660 cc engine can't rev high enough in high gear to produce max RPM so the top speed suffers a lot, and it's already not great. I'd avoid the temptation to use large wheels on a mini truck unless it's only for off road use. On the plus side, the little kei trucks are simple vehicles and are easy to maintain and repair. They're also super fun to drive, and to restore/upgrade.
@@unkono - Japanese vehicles have a thorough inspection every two years and any issues are corrected. Older trucks will often have black paint on the frame that scares off American buyers who are accustomed to used car weasels spraying black undercoating or black paint on thick bubbling and flaking rust. This is not that. If there is light surface rust on a Japanese truck frame, it'll be wire brushed and painted to prevent further rust. I think it's rare to see a Japanese used vehicle for sale with anything more than light surface corrosion. Some Japanese farm trucks might get a ding and the farmer won't try to repair it but he'll spray the area with rattle can paint to prevent it from rusting as a functional repair that is not an aesthetic repair. However, I wouldn't buy any vehicle online without pictures showing the frame and undercarriage to ensure there isn't substantial corrosion. The bigger rust issue with JDM trucks is importing them into the US and driving them on salted roads in the rust belt. Those trucks survived 25+ years in Japan and rust to pieces in a few years of that abuse in the US. I'm spraying my mini truck frame and suspension components with Surface Shield to help prevent corrosion if I drive on salted roads.
Be careful a lot of states are banning them for “safety reasons” but I think it’s because they are so much cheaper and can do what a 40,000 new single cab truck can do so it’s killing the market
As long as they are over 25 to they bypass most states regulations/ rules and can be registered no problem. There are only a couple of states that go beyond that, like California
“Safety reasons” include the engine block not being in the front to take the brunt of force from a head on collision. Also some of them don’t have air bags.
Safety regulations.... so why haven't they just banned motorcycles if safety is such a big concern. If a geo metro is allowed on the road I don't see how these wouldn't be. They should be banning the bigger trucks that are actually more dangerous and also kill pedestrians. But we all know the climate emergency is a lie and the unions making cars are the major priority for politicians.
I work in international container logistics. I’d recommend letting a broker file your customs paperwork. If you screw up you could easily be in for 5x the price of the truck.
I expected my 4WD Hijet kei truck to be practical, and I was still shocked at how awesome and practical it is. It's not good for highway miles or heavy towing, but it's a 4WD truck with a slightly larger than full size bed that gets 31 MPG in town. These little trucks punch well above their weight class.
I like you, a person that understands they don't need a truck so they don't get one, even a kei truck. I do support you getting a kei truck though or even an old small American market truck like a S-10 or old Ranger, old Mazda B series, old Toyota Pick Up and Tacomas.
My 1995 mustang GTS (yes, they really existed and were super rare) with a supercharger was way less practical than a tiny kei truck.. Doesn't mean I didn't drive the shit out of it every day... Just buy one and drive it around to see the combination of weird looks and thumbs ups you get...
@@AdrianMcDaid speak for yourself.. I constantly have something to move, whether in the bed or on a trailer.... Trucks are awesome... Now, could I also use a kei truck to do some of the stuff? Absolutely.. I have wanted one since I was in Iraq and knew them only as "bongo trucks".. and some day I will have one for smaller stuff around the property.. but I'm never getting rid of my big trucks
@@applesauce4389they are so any imported car over 25 years old is road legal and can have plates in almost every state except maybe cali Washington state and like Oregon
@@abrahamlincoln3607yeah pretty sure Cali it’ll be almost impossible to register it cause the Facebook ads for k trucks here are crazy 😂way too many . Makes me think people bought them without knowing what they’d have to go through just to register
People in the comments bitching about a reliable, good fuel economy, 4wd, easy to work on truck being ~$3,000 after coming from another country to your door. I hate to break it to you but the dealership wouldn’t do that for $60,000 so boo hoo.
It shouldn't even be street legal. The thing is basically a golf cart with 4wd. Not to mention that THE STEERING WHEEL ISN'T IN THE PROPER PLACE FOR AN AMERICAN VEHICLE. So yeah, I am gonna keep bitching about it. Just because something is Japanese doesn't make it good.
@@BaslightBatekeepBoyboss what's wrong with RHD? ps, I've seen tons of these in Japan and they're fucking awesome. US would be a better place if people drove more kei trucks
My dad's job is- no joke- arranging international shipping, customs paperwork etc.specializing in between the US and Japan. Guess the algorithm knows what it's doing. Aire Plan International if anyone is curious.
plus the only Kei trucks that go for $900~ were salvaged from a bog that was on fire. But that site is sitting on hundreds of skylines waiting a few more months to be released to the US
I saw this short for the first time about 6 weeks ago and had never seen a kei truck before. It was late and I had consumed several adult beverages… fast forward to now and I have 2 of them in my garage from this site 😂
Yes!! My partner and I have been talking about getting one and I'm adamant that we have to get one with space behind the seats instead of the seats up against the back.
Tbh I've been looking into buying one of these trucks for awhile and can say that it's so much better to just pay $400 to let the company handle everything so that way you can just show up to the port and go home without any hassle. One guy screwed up his import paperwork and got a 2 grand fine plus a holding fee while he got his paperwork redone.
I found this website in grade 9 (10 years ago), and I remember seeing bug a lightly dented Toyota altezza with the 3.0L NA 2JZ, and a 6 speed manual for $500 CAD. After shipping I think the price was just over $2000.
@@amadonbeanz9631 well, I'm 6 foot tall, but if you've got a longer torso and shorter legs, then 6' might not be a deal-breaker. I know a guy who's 6'2 and drives a Suzuki Carry with no problem. Heck, fitting in the truck wasn't the issue, and if it was an automatic, I'd have been fine. But my knee was basically at a right angle over the clutch, so I had to push down on it, not out like in a normal car, so it caused extreme fatigue on that leg after only a few traffic lights.
@@musewolfman - I'm 6'2" tall and fit OK in my Hijet kei truck, although most of my height is in the torso and fortunately there is plenty of headroom in a kei truck. It was awkward at first to push down on the pedals instead of out but I became accustomed to it. The biggest ergonomic issue for me is turning my size 13 hiking boots to get in and out of the little truck but I've grown accustomed to that as well. I love my Hijet. It's my daily driver. I only drive my 4Runner once a week to keep the battery charged.
I never understood american pickup trucks. Massive, very fuel inefficient, very expensive yet has a smaller bed size than a farmer's moped you see in Asia. Quite the opposite of a working man's vehicle.
My nieces dads neighbor has a few of them and they were like 2.5k for clean ones. Super dope little trucks i have to say. Plus it fits there honda groms perfect 🤣
since you're not going to save much on shipping, go for a hiace or townace. kei's are very nice, very utilitarian, but 660 cc's is hard to deal with on American roads.
The customs paperwork is stupid easy, 3 forms, fill them out, if you do them wrong customs will fix them for you, pay the "duty fee" (2.4% for cars, 25% for trucks) schedule your pick up date with the port, provide the stamped customs forms, pick up your vehicle, take all the forms received from the seller in Japan and your customs forms to the dmv to get it tagged and titled, easy. BTW, brokers in Virginia charge $2k to do the paperwork, not sure who's doing it for $200.
Thank you for making this video. I want to get one of those little trucks they’re damn handy and I don’t understand we don’t use them for commercial yards and so on and they can go on the road.
They get great gas mileage but their emissions are atrocious which is the main reason they aren't sold here new. You can really only have one in the US if it's over 25 years old
@@Iranoutofideasforachannelname sorting price low to high doesn’t make this false claim accurate. Like you and I both said the lowest is under 3,000, with the cheapest being 2500. This video advertises $900.
@@lorip5925the first thing he says is that its 900 *before shipping* Thats like complaining that you bought something on amazon for 5 dollars, but then got mad that you had to pay 10 dollars in shipping "tHeY sAiD iT wAs $5"
@@callsignapollo_ read the comment again genius. Yes he said it’s 900 before customs and fees, but like I said it’s actually 2500 *customs and fees*, idk why you’re acting like I said that’s after taxes and fees.
Thanks for reminding me of this website, about half a year one of my buddies from Germany hooked me up with a link to this site and I forgot to bookmark it, not now!
I dont know how far that is (im from australia) but they dont like the freeway much, they will do 65-75mph, but theyre sort of designed for travelling at lower speeds, 50mph is their comfortable cruising speed
@@Colt45hatchback Really meant for the content creator who's from my area but for the uninitiated it's roughly just over a mile with no freeway in between.
Why not try buying those in the Philippines. It's pretty common here. They're a tiny little workhorse and they're great for businesses. The best thing about getting it in the Philippines is because they are Left-hand drive. We drive on the right side of the road here too, unlike Japan.
So you looke and seen the first car on the website ya me too..... But i also dug a little and found the same vehicle he was talking about for the same price so maybe you just didn't look hard enough before you started complaining. I understand my 3 year old has the same problem
@@muttsnuts5849 my child is with gramma for the weekend so she will be ok. And i have been on the website for an hour or so now looking to get one. There is many different price ranges starting at about 800 after shipping and handling and import fees they are about 2500. Like i said you just didn't look hard enough
I just went on the site and you can click the top right corner and search price lower to higher and they are around $2,400 for the four-wheel-drive and $2,200 for the two-wheel drive. the price shown is the other thousand for shipping it and ensuring it if you choose to do so. I think you can opt out of the insurance.
cheapest is over 2k total price and id have to ship it across country from vancover to NL so ill continue to use my golfcart its paid off built how i want and only has a 240cc smaller engine i golfcart 420cc, k truck 660cc. now the bus would be a thought for my plan to create a small bus line to connect smaller towns that arnt on a transit network
Yeah no. I was stationed in Japan, and while sitting in a convenience store parking lot I watched a kei truck pull into the parking lot and just barely hit the curb causing those little tires to POP like balloons. Not safe at all.
look up the bad wolf and register as a US national not a citizen, private plates or even club plates using a private trust or car membership that hand insurance
I've actually done international shipping a couple times It is a process but if you write it down it is a step one through whatever amount there's no weirdness about it
The only FOB I've heard of is Free On Board which means there is no insurance while it's being shipped. Meaning if it's lost at sea, or otherwise damaged in shipping you've lost your money.
My $265 4WD 1996 Hijet kei truck was $4500 on the road, but totally worth it. It's my daily driver and I'm loving it. Very practical and very easy and fun to drive.
@@Liberty4Ever it is actually worth it though? Like to save gas and stuff cause I have a challenger rt and I would like to get one of these just to go to work and back and to run around town or if it’s even good on the highway
@@bobbyberrier8175 - To date, my $265 Hijet Japanese mini truck has cost me $5,511.93. By the time I finish upgrading it (are they ever finished?), I'll probably have $7,500 in it. Worth it? For me, yes. Your mileage may very. They're not good on the highway. Mine will cruise at 75 MPH but it's much happier at 60 MPH. They get noisy at speed because they're not aerodynamic and there's little sound deadening material. They're great for tooling around town at 45 MPH - very maneuverable and super easy to park. The 4WD versions are great on a piece of property to crawl into the woods and haul out firewood, deliver feed to cattle, etc. They're surprisingly capable. I wouldn't hesitate to carry half a ton in mine because I've seen others abuse their kei truck with twice as much in the bed. If you're in the market for a small truck, it's hard to beat a little Japanese mini truck, and given the prices of trucks these days, new or used, you'd have a hard time finding the same capability in a domestic small truck for less money, even after all of the expenses of importing a Japanese keitora (small truck). Hopefully there is an importer near you so you can test drive a few and buy one with the title transferred to you, and without the delays and hassles of importing. Since getting my Hijet, I need to force myself to drive my very comfy 4Runner Limited once a month to keep the battery charged. I love the little Hijet that much.
Okay, pro tip. Doing import shipping paperwork is A LOT harder then he makes it sound. Always, ALWAYS, use a freight forwarding company that handles all the hard paperwork.
A summer camp I used to work at for about 12 years has a black Honda acty, right hand drive, 5spd. They also have this orange, gas utility cart that says “cushman” on the tailgate of it which is also a 5spd but a regular left hand drive and the camp groundskeeper let me and some of the other workers drive them around. The “cushman” looks exactly like those John Deere gator utility carts but I have never seen a “cushman” that looks anything like that anywhere on the internet. When I first seen it back in ‘09 when I was 14, I had no idea they made utility carts with a manual transmission. To this day, I’ve never seen a manual transmission utility cart and they’re both really cool. Btw, after everything with importing these Honda acty’s, you’re spending almost $10k. Which I guess isn’t bad but for $7-8k in the US, I’ll take a ranger or something.
One of these were for sale locally, super cheap. Looked at the interior, speedometer only goes up to 35, and that's kph I assume. I don't know if they're all like this or if you can change the gearing or what, but maybe look into it if you're planning on taking your truck on the highways and byways of America.
The grumman LLV is street legal, right hand drive isnt illegal, just slightly less convenient.for passing people, which you generally shouldnt be doing if youre driving one of these anyway. Not exactly the vehicle for the guy who speeds everywhere lmao
@@jamallabarge2665with vehicles these small there's barely any adjustment period. I test drove one and had zero issue because the lanes are like 2.5 kei trucks wide in the US.
My brother got one of these with a dump bed. It’s really nice and spent a good chunk of money on it. But you can’t “technically” register it in the state we live in so now it’s just sitting on property land. I’ve told him ways he can legally register it but he still hasn’t done anything about it lol
Can you tell me the ways? Especially if they work in MO? I saw a guy on here say he daily drives his and got it done for 5k all in and considering the price of cars I think that's a decent deal.
hahaha, FOB used to mean shipping was free... the default used to be FOBD, then they started treating it as FOBO which means FOB Origin... after the origin was on the buyer.
Parts are available, BUT the catch is you have to pay for shipping from Japan and wait a couple weeks. I kind of wonder if Rockauto has parts for these… On the flip side, they are made in Japan, so chances are you won’t have to replace very many parts.
After those shipping costs you are better off just spending the same on a used truck off a auction site and actually get a full size truck that can do work.
Its a Lie, you cant buy a K Truck for $900. To ship it to the US costs $2000 minimum and thats to Hawaii, $2,500 to Cali and $3,500 to east coast. So already on just shipping your over $900. I paid $10k for my K Truck with 3500 Miles after all said and done. The truck itself was $7,500, shipping to Honolulu was $2000 then i had to ship it to Big Island that was another $300. Registration, title and inspection was $100 and then the Taxes
Lol to the guys thinking 3k is alot for the reliability/capability out of these things. They re literal beasts. as an american japan makes the best vehicles in the world. they are NOT out to rip people off, they are out to literallllllyyyyyy make a useful product for cheap.
Ain't no such thing as free shipping. Someone is gonna be paying for shipping. If it isn't you, then the company will find a way to even out the costs.
My friend is currently in the process of getting one of these. He's just going to use it for things like fishing and farming(orchards specifically). And it's from the same site as well
Instead of shipping it to America, you could fly to Japan and drive it back through Russia, Alaska and Canada. Would just need to take a ferry at a few places.
it would be awesome if American manufacturing 😱 wasn't absolute trash garbage and we could just get these here without paying the insane shipping costs
Sir, you just sent me down a never ending rabbit hole. I came back after 171 pages of cars and that didn't even get through one make year of the available ones🤦♀️
![[Fall car camping] light Kei truck 4x4 trip with mini bikes](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ofKtq8d0i8I/mqdefault.jpg)
I bet customs paperwork is still more streamlined than filing my taxes
Probably
You must be slow😂
@@billlee1724 when you are caring for more than a w-2 it can be complex
Didn't a former president promise to make the tax forms so simple it would be like filling out a postcard.
@@billlee1724as a business owner myself i dont even mess with taxes. I pay my bookkeeper 180$ every 3 months and he takes care of me.
How to get a $900 kei truck...
Spend $3000 after shipping
Still cheaper than Facebook marketplace tbh 😅
I mean a real truck is cheaper than a street legal golf cart
Yep they are not 900
Spend £3000 and spend nothing after shipping if you get a good deal and have new wheels and the previous mods thrown in
WORTH IT
I bought a very nice 1996 4WD Daihatsu Hijet mini truck from Japan for $2380 shipped to Newport News, but it needed a new clutch and there are many fees to import it. On the road it was $4500. I'll dump another $2000 in it for some awesome upgrades, but I'm daily driving it now and it's awesome.
In the modern internet age, are parts pretty easy to come by or do you have to get creative at times?
@@chriso1373 - There are crosses for most common maintenance parts such as oil filters and air filters. The Mini Truck Talk forum and TH-cam can be a big help but there is some contradictory information as well. Once I found an oil filter that fit, I bought a case of 12 WIX Gold oil filters so I'm good for another 12 years.
For common repair parts, there are places in the US such as G&R Imports that sell brakes, etc.
For everything else, there is eBay in Japan and some Japanese auto parts companies that specialize in exporting JDM parts around the world by air freight. The kei car parts are fairly inexpensive but the shipping is expensive so get everything you need in a single order. That's a good time to order a new plastic lens for the dome light, turn signals, etc.
It's fairly difficult to buy tires in the US. I bought four Yokohama Geolander tires from Japan for $374 including air shipping to the US. I wanted a fifth for a new spare but that one extra tire added $202 to the cost. Apparently, there is a steep hike in air shipping for a little more weight or volume, but I can buy one in the US for $149 delivered, which isn't horrible. Many people want to put bigger tires on a mini truck because it looks cool but it doesn't do much better off road, it usually requires the body panels and wheel wells to be trimmed, wider tires throw mud over the outside of the truck and aren't legal without adding fender flares to contain them in many if not most states, fuel economy is significantly worse, and larger diameter tires increase the effective gear ratio so the little 660 cc engine can't rev high enough in high gear to produce max RPM so the top speed suffers a lot, and it's already not great. I'd avoid the temptation to use large wheels on a mini truck unless it's only for off road use.
On the plus side, the little kei trucks are simple vehicles and are easy to maintain and repair. They're also super fun to drive, and to restore/upgrade.
@@chriso1373pretty easy. There are sources locally in the us and Canada, and several places in Japan that will shop direct. (But shipping is killer….)
How is the rust though?
@@unkono - Japanese vehicles have a thorough inspection every two years and any issues are corrected. Older trucks will often have black paint on the frame that scares off American buyers who are accustomed to used car weasels spraying black undercoating or black paint on thick bubbling and flaking rust. This is not that. If there is light surface rust on a Japanese truck frame, it'll be wire brushed and painted to prevent further rust. I think it's rare to see a Japanese used vehicle for sale with anything more than light surface corrosion. Some Japanese farm trucks might get a ding and the farmer won't try to repair it but he'll spray the area with rattle can paint to prevent it from rusting as a functional repair that is not an aesthetic repair. However, I wouldn't buy any vehicle online without pictures showing the frame and undercarriage to ensure there isn't substantial corrosion. The bigger rust issue with JDM trucks is importing them into the US and driving them on salted roads in the rust belt. Those trucks survived 25+ years in Japan and rust to pieces in a few years of that abuse in the US. I'm spraying my mini truck frame and suspension components with Surface Shield to help prevent corrosion if I drive on salted roads.
I like the name of the site, it says what it does
It’s like it’s German…
Someone is gonna get this joke
@The Troop1983 you ruined it with the last sentence by trying to sound smart
I think we could build these better chesper here
@@TheTroop-kl9ki I got you bro
I like the name of the site, it does what it says.
Be careful a lot of states are banning them for “safety reasons” but I think it’s because they are so much cheaper and can do what a 40,000 new single cab truck can do so it’s killing the market
As long as they are over 25 to they bypass most states regulations/ rules and can be registered no problem. There are only a couple of states that go beyond that, like California
If they want you to drive an oversized overpriced SUV instead
“Safety reasons” include the engine block not being in the front to take the brunt of force from a head on collision. Also some of them don’t have air bags.
if you actually looked at what those safety regulations are, you might be less snide about it.
Safety regulations.... so why haven't they just banned motorcycles if safety is such a big concern. If a geo metro is allowed on the road I don't see how these wouldn't be. They should be banning the bigger trucks that are actually more dangerous and also kill pedestrians. But we all know the climate emergency is a lie and the unions making cars are the major priority for politicians.
I work in international container logistics. I’d recommend letting a broker file your customs paperwork. If you screw up you could easily be in for 5x the price of the truck.
Could you please elaborate on that?
@@demeter-the-great fines for improper filing are not cheap. let the website or find a US broker to handle it or you can mess up and be in deep
@@jg2888 but fines for blatant fraud or a simple mistake on the forms?
@@demeter-the-greatthe government often sees those as one in the same, and has no problem adding additional fees.
I’ve wanted one of these my entire adult life even tho I have zero practical use for it. 😂
I expected my 4WD Hijet kei truck to be practical, and I was still shocked at how awesome and practical it is. It's not good for highway miles or heavy towing, but it's a 4WD truck with a slightly larger than full size bed that gets 31 MPG in town. These little trucks punch well above their weight class.
I like you, a person that understands they don't need a truck so they don't get one, even a kei truck. I do support you getting a kei truck though or even an old small American market truck like a S-10 or old Ranger, old Mazda B series, old Toyota Pick Up and Tacomas.
My 1995 mustang GTS (yes, they really existed and were super rare) with a supercharger was way less practical than a tiny kei truck.. Doesn't mean I didn't drive the shit out of it every day... Just buy one and drive it around to see the combination of weird looks and thumbs ups you get...
Pick up drivers could say the same ...
@@AdrianMcDaid speak for yourself.. I constantly have something to move, whether in the bed or on a trailer.... Trucks are awesome... Now, could I also use a kei truck to do some of the stuff? Absolutely.. I have wanted one since I was in Iraq and knew them only as "bongo trucks".. and some day I will have one for smaller stuff around the property.. but I'm never getting rid of my big trucks
boutta have the drippiest car in my high school🥵🥵
Suzuki 1995 carry truck if you have taste
I just learned about the Suzuki cappuccino and I cured my erectile dusfunction
A lot of these aren't road legal here though. I looked into it a while back. Kind of a bummer
@@applesauce4389they are so any imported car over 25 years old is road legal and can have plates in almost every state except maybe cali Washington state and like Oregon
@@abrahamlincoln3607yeah pretty sure Cali it’ll be almost impossible to register it cause the Facebook ads for k trucks here are crazy 😂way too many . Makes me think people bought them without knowing what they’d have to go through just to register
People in the comments bitching about a reliable, good fuel economy, 4wd, easy to work on truck being ~$3,000 after coming from another country to your door. I hate to break it to you but the dealership wouldn’t do that for $60,000 so boo hoo.
It shouldn't even be street legal. The thing is basically a golf cart with 4wd. Not to mention that THE STEERING WHEEL ISN'T IN THE PROPER PLACE FOR AN AMERICAN VEHICLE. So yeah, I am gonna keep bitching about it. Just because something is Japanese doesn't make it good.
@@BaslightBatekeepBoyboss what's wrong with RHD? ps, I've seen tons of these in Japan and they're fucking awesome. US would be a better place if people drove more kei trucks
@@BaslightBatekeepBoybossbut they're cool
@@BaslightBatekeepBoyboss the steering wheel is on the right oh boo hoo
It's the fact that he advertises it as a $900 truck when in reality it's well over triple that
My dad's job is- no joke- arranging international shipping, customs paperwork etc.specializing in between the US and Japan. Guess the algorithm knows what it's doing. Aire Plan International if anyone is curious.
So how would it work for one of these bad boys? (if that's something he can arrange (: )
Would we get a "TH-cam friend referral discount" if we use your dad's company? 😁
My friends have shipped 4 now. Ends up around 4k and pick it up in Florida
Does the site help you send it out. Or do you still have to do the paperwork.
@@ashs5710 they did the paperwork themselves following another video they found here on youtube.
"it'll only save a couple hundred bucks" bro says casually like that ain't half the cost of the truck 😂
plus the only Kei trucks that go for $900~ were salvaged from a bog that was on fire. But that site is sitting on hundreds of skylines waiting a few more months to be released to the US
I saw this short for the first time about 6 weeks ago and had never seen a kei truck before. It was late and I had consumed several adult beverages… fast forward to now and I have 2 of them in my garage from this site 😂
I'm 6'5" and over 300lb. I would have to get one for each foot. :grin:
If u dont mind me asking whats the price all in by the time its in the garage
Does their "Total C&F" cost cover import and customs fees?
Spend a bit more and get a larger cab so you can adjust the seat. They are a tight fit for larger drivers.
Yes!! My partner and I have been talking about getting one and I'm adamant that we have to get one with space behind the seats instead of the seats up against the back.
“it would only save you a couple hundred bucks if you could do it yourself”
*insert youtube mechanics*
I’ve saved literally thousands of dollars by being too poor to afford a mechanic so I learned to do their job
Girl math?
Tbh I've been looking into buying one of these trucks for awhile and can say that it's so much better to just pay $400 to let the company handle everything so that way you can just show up to the port and go home without any hassle. One guy screwed up his import paperwork and got a 2 grand fine plus a holding fee while he got his paperwork redone.
He's talking about customs paperwork though.
@@chadcoady9025only took 10 months for someone to get it!! 😂 can’t do much for ya as a stranger, but i hope you have a good week! happy monday gang.
My bank account is gonna be happy that I saw this video
My 2k I've been sitting on now has a use.
Those trucks are 4x that price now.
Yeah you'll need 4k for the truck and shipping now and that's for old ones
@@joshadams2812$2200 for the two-wheel drive and $2400 for four-wheel drive after shipping and that's with insurance if you choose to get it.
@@txfreerider just checked the website, most are under 1k with 2k shipping. Are you checking a different site or something?
@@Iranoutofideasforachannelnamethere's 2 wheel drive and 4 wheel drive just an FYI
I found this website in grade 9 (10 years ago), and I remember seeing bug a lightly dented Toyota altezza with the 3.0L NA 2JZ, and a 6 speed manual for $500 CAD. After shipping I think the price was just over $2000.
This is exactly how my friend got his. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that my legs are too long, I'd have grabbed one, myself.
D Daddy long leg?
How long was to long on the legs?
@@amadonbeanz9631 well, I'm 6 foot tall, but if you've got a longer torso and shorter legs, then 6' might not be a deal-breaker. I know a guy who's 6'2 and drives a Suzuki Carry with no problem.
Heck, fitting in the truck wasn't the issue, and if it was an automatic, I'd have been fine. But my knee was basically at a right angle over the clutch, so I had to push down on it, not out like in a normal car, so it caused extreme fatigue on that leg after only a few traffic lights.
I saw someone on tiktok who's like 6'9 and he fit in one quite well
@@musewolfman - I'm 6'2" tall and fit OK in my Hijet kei truck, although most of my height is in the torso and fortunately there is plenty of headroom in a kei truck. It was awkward at first to push down on the pedals instead of out but I became accustomed to it. The biggest ergonomic issue for me is turning my size 13 hiking boots to get in and out of the little truck but I've grown accustomed to that as well. I love my Hijet. It's my daily driver. I only drive my 4Runner once a week to keep the battery charged.
I never understood american pickup trucks. Massive, very fuel inefficient, very expensive yet has a smaller bed size than a farmer's moped you see in Asia. Quite the opposite of a working man's vehicle.
There's a dealer in North Carolina that sells them for about $5k. TH-camr Jason from the "Sow the Land" channel bought one.
Wait where? I wanna test drive one & I’m in nc
@@reneebear3641 Idk. I told you the guy's channel. Happy hunting
The North Carolina folks prices have gone up if it's the Mayberry place. They also don't get many with a/c like some dealers so ymmv when you check.
Ive been considering buying a Suzuki Cappuccino from that site. So I'm glad to see someone whos had a positive expirence with the process.
My nieces dads neighbor has a few of them and they were like 2.5k for clean ones. Super dope little trucks i have to say. Plus it fits there honda groms perfect 🤣
@The Cleaning Channel is that supposed to be a joke? 🤔
since you're not going to save much on shipping, go for a hiace or townace. kei's are very nice, very utilitarian, but 660 cc's is hard to deal with on American roads.
So the 1st thing ...this is my $2900 truck
The price is cost of car and freight
The customs paperwork is stupid easy, 3 forms, fill them out, if you do them wrong customs will fix them for you, pay the "duty fee" (2.4% for cars, 25% for trucks) schedule your pick up date with the port, provide the stamped customs forms, pick up your vehicle, take all the forms received from the seller in Japan and your customs forms to the dmv to get it tagged and titled, easy. BTW, brokers in Virginia charge $2k to do the paperwork, not sure who's doing it for $200.
Thank you for making this video. I want to get one of those little trucks they’re damn handy and I don’t understand we don’t use them for commercial yards and so on and they can go on the road.
Safety for the most part,
They get great gas mileage but their emissions are atrocious which is the main reason they aren't sold here new. You can really only have one in the US if it's over 25 years old
About a year later the popularity of the trucks blew up, now prices are about $3000.
Thanks for the update!
You bet!
I pass by the place in Jackson,mi on Michigan Ave that imports new ones! And have been wanting one ever since e
@@throttleblip1THERES A PLACE IN JACKSON THAT DOES IT???
....Had The Van Version .... Great to keep old tires and car part in... chickens like it.
The lowest list price for their trucks is over 2,500 before customs and fees
8 mitsubishi mimicabs for under 3k after shipping. Just sort price low to high.
@@Iranoutofideasforachannelname sorting price low to high doesn’t make this false claim accurate. Like you and I both said the lowest is under 3,000, with the cheapest being 2500. This video advertises $900.
@@lorip5925 he explains the shipping price in the video thought
@@lorip5925the first thing he says is that its 900 *before shipping*
Thats like complaining that you bought something on amazon for 5 dollars, but then got mad that you had to pay 10 dollars in shipping "tHeY sAiD iT wAs $5"
@@callsignapollo_ read the comment again genius. Yes he said it’s 900 before customs and fees, but like I said it’s actually 2500 *customs and fees*, idk why you’re acting like I said that’s after taxes and fees.
Note: it only ships to like 10 cities in a country with 50 states and 12,000 miles of coastline
You can drive with someone to the city to pick it up. That also happens w auctions
That’s kind of what happens when you’re only shipping by massive freighters
Thanks for reminding me of this website, about half a year one of my buddies from Germany hooked me up with a link to this site and I forgot to bookmark it, not now!
Honestly very tempting, my work commute is from Pardee to Beech Daly and that thing looks stupid good on gas.
I dont know how far that is (im from australia) but they dont like the freeway much, they will do 65-75mph, but theyre sort of designed for travelling at lower speeds, 50mph is their comfortable cruising speed
@@Colt45hatchback Really meant for the content creator who's from my area but for the uninitiated it's roughly just over a mile with no freeway in between.
@@justin456 oh right, well you should be fine then, it will love it
Why not try buying those in the Philippines. It's pretty common here. They're a tiny little workhorse and they're great for businesses. The best thing about getting it in the Philippines is because they are Left-hand drive. We drive on the right side of the road here too, unlike Japan.
I just checked, 4K for the same truck with more miles on that website
Same here they are not that cheap
So you looke and seen the first car on the website ya me too..... But i also dug a little and found the same vehicle he was talking about for the same price so maybe you just didn't look hard enough before you started complaining. I understand my 3 year old has the same problem
@@justinleonard5002 the prices all went up, you wont find the same. Now go watch your 3 yr old and get off TH-cam
@@muttsnuts5849 my child is with gramma for the weekend so she will be ok. And i have been on the website for an hour or so now looking to get one. There is many different price ranges starting at about 800 after shipping and handling and import fees they are about 2500. Like i said you just didn't look hard enough
I just went on the site and you can click the top right corner and search price lower to higher and they are around $2,400 for the four-wheel-drive and $2,200 for the two-wheel drive. the price shown is the other thousand for shipping it and ensuring it if you choose to do so. I think you can opt out of the insurance.
cheapest is over 2k total price and id have to ship it across country from vancover to NL so ill continue to use my golfcart its paid off built how i want and only has a 240cc smaller engine i golfcart 420cc, k truck 660cc. now the bus would be a thought for my plan to create a small bus line to connect smaller towns that arnt on a transit network
Very cool, until I learned that KEI class vehicles cannot be titled or registered in my state
Because they don’t need to be they don’t go fast enough for most roads anyway
@@deadchannel991 neither does a moped but it still needs a registration
@@Krankie_V not under 50CCs
@@rebeccabennett6557 new York state says otherwise. They rate them by top speed here not by engine size
@@Krankie_V there is a correlation between speed and CCs though.
Yeah no. I was stationed in Japan, and while sitting in a convenience store parking lot I watched a kei truck pull into the parking lot and just barely hit the curb causing those little tires to POP like balloons. Not safe at all.
Not street legal in Georgia. You can buy one but you won’t get a tag.
look up the bad wolf and register as a US national not a citizen, private plates or even club plates using a private trust or car membership that hand insurance
@@altruismfirst6489 can you explain?
Bullshit
@kalebgreening2441 it's just a fun way to go to jail.
@@kalebgreeninghe’s a sovereign citizen. The only way someone can really be a “US National” and not a citizen is if they’re from American Samoa.
I've actually done international shipping a couple times It is a process but if you write it down it is a step one through whatever amount there's no weirdness about it
The only FOB I've heard of is Free On Board which means there is no insurance while it's being shipped. Meaning if it's lost at sea, or otherwise damaged in shipping you've lost your money.
Use a credit card
Sorry but did you guys expect shipping a whole ass car from Japan to be free?
Yes
As soon as I saw this little truck. I had to check this whole thing out the variety of trucks that are on this website is amazing
How to get your 900$ truck. Step one spend like 3000$
My $265 4WD 1996 Hijet kei truck was $4500 on the road, but totally worth it. It's my daily driver and I'm loving it. Very practical and very easy and fun to drive.
@@Liberty4Ever it is actually worth it though? Like to save gas and stuff cause I have a challenger rt and I would like to get one of these just to go to work and back and to run around town or if it’s even good on the highway
@@bobbyberrier8175 - To date, my $265 Hijet Japanese mini truck has cost me $5,511.93. By the time I finish upgrading it (are they ever finished?), I'll probably have $7,500 in it. Worth it? For me, yes. Your mileage may very. They're not good on the highway. Mine will cruise at 75 MPH but it's much happier at 60 MPH. They get noisy at speed because they're not aerodynamic and there's little sound deadening material. They're great for tooling around town at 45 MPH - very maneuverable and super easy to park. The 4WD versions are great on a piece of property to crawl into the woods and haul out firewood, deliver feed to cattle, etc. They're surprisingly capable. I wouldn't hesitate to carry half a ton in mine because I've seen others abuse their kei truck with twice as much in the bed. If you're in the market for a small truck, it's hard to beat a little Japanese mini truck, and given the prices of trucks these days, new or used, you'd have a hard time finding the same capability in a domestic small truck for less money, even after all of the expenses of importing a Japanese keitora (small truck). Hopefully there is an importer near you so you can test drive a few and buy one with the title transferred to you, and without the delays and hassles of importing.
Since getting my Hijet, I need to force myself to drive my very comfy 4Runner Limited once a month to keep the battery charged. I love the little Hijet that much.
@@bobbyberrier8175if saving gas is your goal you might be better off with a motorcycle. These things aren't all that much safer in a crash
@@Liberty4Evercould it do icy roads with that 4wd?
Okay, pro tip. Doing import shipping paperwork is A LOT harder then he makes it sound. Always, ALWAYS, use a freight forwarding company that handles all the hard paperwork.
I just checked, those trucks are going for 3-6k on that exact website
Your checking the price with import fees included they are definitely not that expensive
@@masonberlin5737 check again, they are.
@@thomasmann3560 im literally looking at 3 for under a 1000 and literal pages of them under 3000?
@@thomasmann3560 I just looked and they are 2200 for the two-wheel drive and 2400 for the four-wheel drive after shipping and insurance
Sort by price. The truck will be cheap. Import is pricey.
Legendary advice. Concise and practical. You are a real one
I can't find one under 2k, still dope though
Best short I’ve ever seen except for the tool guy of course. I almost bought one of those a year ago. Thank you for your hard work
There is a guy in fruita colorado that sells these little trucks. I’ll have to get the name of his company.
Can you reply to my comment when you get it?
Yes we need answers man!
What's the company
Colorado mini trucks in Fruita CO.
A summer camp I used to work at for about 12 years has a black Honda acty, right hand drive, 5spd. They also have this orange, gas utility cart that says “cushman” on the tailgate of it which is also a 5spd but a regular left hand drive and the camp groundskeeper let me and some of the other workers drive them around. The “cushman” looks exactly like those John Deere gator utility carts but I have never seen a “cushman” that looks anything like that anywhere on the internet. When I first seen it back in ‘09 when I was 14, I had no idea they made utility carts with a manual transmission. To this day, I’ve never seen a manual transmission utility cart and they’re both really cool. Btw, after everything with importing these Honda acty’s, you’re spending almost $10k. Which I guess isn’t bad but for $7-8k in the US, I’ll take a ranger or something.
yeah think they got hip i just checked the chargin crazy now
Thank you for the help. I plan on buying one next year. Joe
bouta isekai so many pedestrians rn
Notice me truck-kun
@@thatdetroitandy British people be like:
Lori-chaaan! Ohiooo!
These go for about 10k where i live so this is a good deal even after shipping and everything.
Im putting a browning m2 on the back and you can’t stop me
US Mini Truck Sales, they have new ones imported and modified, ready to go.
Only question is where do you get any kei vehicle maintained?
Your driveway.
Perfect for learning to work on stuff. It’s basically an overgrown motorcycle with a bed.
One of these were for sale locally, super cheap. Looked at the interior, speedometer only goes up to 35, and that's kph I assume. I don't know if they're all like this or if you can change the gearing or what, but maybe look into it if you're planning on taking your truck on the highways and byways of America.
You are so awesome This is exactly what I need 🤙
I appreciate the honesty about this not being an ad, it seems like influencers forgot about that rule recently
Forgets the steering wheel is opposite side after spending all that
You can get used to it for the quality of the vehicle.
Just like a mail van.
The grumman LLV is street legal, right hand drive isnt illegal, just slightly less convenient.for passing people, which you generally shouldnt be doing if youre driving one of these anyway. Not exactly the vehicle for the guy who speeds everywhere lmao
@@jamallabarge2665with vehicles these small there's barely any adjustment period. I test drove one and had zero issue because the lanes are like 2.5 kei trucks wide in the US.
My brother got one of these with a dump bed. It’s really nice and spent a good chunk of money on it. But you can’t “technically” register it in the state we live in so now it’s just sitting on property land. I’ve told him ways he can legally register it but he still hasn’t done anything about it lol
Can you tell me the ways? Especially if they work in MO? I saw a guy on here say he daily drives his and got it done for 5k all in and considering the price of cars I think that's a decent deal.
hahaha, FOB used to mean shipping was free... the default used to be FOBD, then they started treating it as FOBO which means FOB Origin... after the origin was on the buyer.
In NC there is a whole dealership of these every type they make. So no fee to ship just saying.
FOB is FREIGHT on board. Not FREE on board.
Uh, no...
It's "Free" on board.
Uh, I'm so distracted by those insane canines. Bros a vampire
All vehicles shipped to USA must be manufactured before 1997
legally
98 now, just depends on date manufactured
@@T_gaming28you can import newer ones for off road use. I saw a few brand new ones at Mayberry recently that weren't road legal.
@@Falcodrin neato
Id consider it as a toy for less than 2k but for 3k id rather just get a pt cruiser that I dont have to drive to a port to get to mess around with.
Cool To see someone recommending CarFromJapan, id like to use them some day.
How hard is it to get parts? Seriously thinking about one
Parts are readily available, they’re also pretty easy to wrench on yourself
Parts are available, BUT the catch is you have to pay for shipping from Japan and wait a couple weeks. I kind of wonder if Rockauto has parts for these…
On the flip side, they are made in Japan, so chances are you won’t have to replace very many parts.
After those shipping costs you are better off just spending the same on a used truck off a auction site and actually get a full size truck that can do work.
Been looking at that site for years dreaming of importing a Trueno 86 here since I was like 13
Its a Lie, you cant buy a K Truck for $900. To ship it to the US costs $2000 minimum and thats to Hawaii, $2,500 to Cali and $3,500 to east coast.
So already on just shipping your over $900. I paid $10k for my K Truck with 3500 Miles after all said and done. The truck itself was $7,500, shipping to Honolulu was $2000 then i had to ship it to Big Island that was another $300. Registration, title and inspection was $100 and then the Taxes
Just don't get in a crash lol
I think I read something about the company closing down soon or already has. Something about them forging safety test for several years
So its more like 3k not 900?
Unless you have your own ship, that’s about the size of it.
never met you and unlikely ever well but I like your channel because of your attitude.
When you get Ryan Reynolds from wish
I want a derpy little kei car one day they just seem funny with the silly seat patterns and stuff
i wish i could get one here in cali
There's an LA port
@@kestrelcrumb5581it’s probably a shorter distance from LA to Japan than the east coast to japan
I meant east coast I’m dum
you can gonna save up now lol
You can… I’m currently looking into buying an ef9 civic sir n importing it to LA
These have all been recalled and all factories have been shut down due to living about safety reports for almost 30 years.
"only 850"
Goes to site
Cheapest one is 4k
WTF are you talking about I did a search for an acty and saw one right away for 980
I just looked and their 2k for the cheapest one
I just looked and found a Mitsubishi for $800
You got to look at the total price
Most of them are 3k after shipping
Lol to the guys thinking 3k is alot for the reliability/capability out of these things. They re literal beasts. as an american japan makes the best vehicles in the world. they are NOT out to rip people off, they are out to literallllllyyyyyy make a useful product for cheap.
So it's not 900 $
Shipping exists
@@thatdetroitandy Mfs thought shipping on a massive cargo ship from japan to the Panama canal and then to baltimore would be free💀💀💀
If shipping cost more than the truck then maybe include that in the title jackass LMAO. @@thatdetroitandy
Ain't no such thing as free shipping. Someone is gonna be paying for shipping. If it isn't you, then the company will find a way to even out the costs.
For those of you wondering they have 660cc engines, which is about .6L
Dude imma wait a lil but imma grab me one
They’re gonna go up in value the more you wait
@@e30connoisseur lol not in america
I just saw one of these in Corning NY, and it blew my mind,
Costs 2 times the amount for shipping😂
It’s title,taxes, and importation fee…
I work at a shipping store and I fill out customs... not easy. Very in depth
How to buy a 900$ kei truck ....spend 2500-4000$
Also, be aware that insurance is way higher due to the right hand drive. I know from experience.
The only reason I could see someone getting one of these trucks, is because they wanna help reincarnate or teleport people to other worlds.
Ahhh, good old Truck-kun
That website is goated, so many different cars for really cheap all inclusive. Under $10k for a reliable vehicle, can't go wrong with it
My friend is currently in the process of getting one of these. He's just going to use it for things like fishing and farming(orchards specifically). And it's from the same site as well
Love car from japan. Glad to see it get some love!
Instead of shipping it to America, you could fly to Japan and drive it back through Russia, Alaska and Canada. Would just need to take a ferry at a few places.
it would be awesome if American manufacturing 😱 wasn't absolute trash garbage and we could just get these here without paying the insane shipping costs
Sir, you just sent me down a never ending rabbit hole. I came back after 171 pages of cars and that didn't even get through one make year of the available ones🤦♀️