Buying to sell?
Running a dealership instead?
Dealership plans add a hunt per customer, digests from your mailbox, team seats and profit per car.
See it for dealersPlans from $199 a month
個Import my own
Bring home your own JDM car or truck, with every step laid out.
Never imported a car before? Right Hand DMS walks you from opening an exporter account to the car in your driveway: what the auction sheet says, what to bid, what customs needs and what it all cost. Signing up is $149 and covers your first car.
規則The 25-year rule
Why a 1990s Japanese car can come in at all.
Japanese-market vehicles weren’t built to US safety and emissions standards. A vehicle 25 years or older — counted from its month of manufacture — is exempt from those federal standards, so it can be imported. In 2026 that’s most 2001-and-older vehicles; a late-2001 build clears in its 25th anniversary month.
The broker files the EPA and DOT forms that declare the exemption. Getting it titled and on the road is a separate, state question — ask your state DMV or title office before you bid.
Which cars qualify in 2026 →CBP: Importing a motor vehicle ↗
手順How the app holds your hand
Seven steps, and the app knows which one you’re on.
A setup guide written for first-timers starts it off — about you, your email, your exporter account, the car you want, budget, customs and shipping — then each car shows its next step until it’s home.
壱
Open an exporter accountJapan Car Direct or Pacific Coast JDM buys the car at auction for you. The setup guide links their sign-up and has you send the deposit before you find a car — a bank transfer takes days, and exporters won’t take a bid until it lands.
弐
Tell it the car you wantMake, model, years and grade — with what each grade means and how many lots match right now. Up to 3 hunts then search the auctions for you, free: we check on a schedule — as often as every 3 hours — and email you when a match turns up.
参
Read the auction sheetEach lot’s Japanese inspection sheet in plain English: grades, mileage, damage, the inspector’s notes and the frame number, with a Bid, Caution or Avoid call.
肆
Bid with a number you can trustA bid range from what the same model sold for — same generation, same grade — with each sale linked. Your bid goes to your exporter as an email from your own mailbox, and you see it before it goes.
伍
Clear customs with a licensed brokerKappa Customs Brokers is built in (or use your own). With Kappa you sign their Power of Attorney in the app; either way it prepares the ISF, drafts every email to the broker and warns you before the ISF deadline.
陸
Get it home from the portOnce customs releases it, book a carrier: email a dispatcher, or get quotes from uShip or Super Dispatch side by side.
漆
Keep every paper, and the real totalInvoices, the bill of lading, the customs entry and title receipts in one place, each read into your landed cost.
評価Auction grades
One number, one inspector’s summary of the car.
Every lot is inspected by the auction house and given an overall grade, plus a letter for the interior (A is as new, C is normal wear). Mileage caps the grade, so a clean high-mileage car can be a 3.5. The app explains each grade where you pick one, and reads the damage map and notes behind it for you.
Every grade, explained →- 4.5Excellent: low miles for its age, only the smallest marks.
- 4Good: minor scratches or dents a detailer can deal with.
- 3.5Average: visible marks, often higher miles. Budget for some work.
- 3Below average: obvious wear or damage, or very high miles.
- RRepair history: it has had structural repair. Read the sheet closely.
算What it really costs
The auction price is only part of it.
JDM cars sell for very different money: an everyday 1990s van or sedan can go for $4,000 at auction, a clean sports car or Land Cruiser for $25,000 or more. This rough illustration spans that, using the same typical ranges as the app’s budget step. Import duty is shown as a range — recently 12.5–25% — because US tariffs on Japanese vehicles change often; your broker confirms the rate for your car before you bid. Most of it goes to the people who do the work — your exporter, the shipping line, US Customs, the broker and the trucker — not to us.
Illustration only: typical ranges, not a quote. Duty depends on how your broker classifies the vehicle and the tariffs in force the day it enters, and fees and freight change all the time — ask your exporter and broker before you bid.
Try the import cost calculator →Illustration · a car at $4,000–$25,000
The car at auction$4,000–$25,000
Auction and agent fees$500–$900the auction house’s fee and your agent’s
Ocean freight to a US port$1,500–$2,200
Import duty — recently 12.5–25%$500–$6,250tariffs change often; your broker confirms the rate for your car
Customs broker, bond and port fees$450–$900Kappa’s fee is $150 a car
Trucking from the port$300–$1,200depends on the distance
Right Hand DMS car pass$149per car you win — signing up covers your first
Landed, roughly$7,399–$36,599
保証
$149 to sign up. Your first car included.
Searching is free. Up to 3 hunts at a time, with 100 auction sheets and 15 bid estimates every 90 days. After your first car, $149 per car you win.
The guarantee: no win within 90 days of signing up, and we refund your sign-up minus what you used, at retail prices that follow the top-up packs and can change. Your exact amount is shown in the app before you ask.
道The whole trip
Five stops, same as the dealers make.
- 01
Find
A hunt searches the auctions through your own exporter accounts on a schedule — as often as every 3 hours — reads each auction sheet, and emails you when a match turns up.
- 02
Bid
A bid range from sold lots of the same generation and grade. You bid through your exporter; the app writes the email and you see it before it goes.
- 03
Customs
A licensed broker clears the car — Kappa Customs is built in, or use your own. The app prepares the ISF and drafts every email to them.
- 04
Ship
Released at the port, it needs a truck: email your dispatcher, or get quotes from uShip or Super Dispatch, side by side.
- 05
Landed cost
Drop in the invoices and receipts. Each cost line is read from its document for you to check, and added up per car.
Screens from the app, filled with made-up demo data.
First-timer questions
Do I need a dealer license?+
Not for Right Hand DMS: Import my own is for bringing in a car for yourself, in your own name or through your LLC. Whether you need a license to import, register or later sell one isn’t ours to say — ask your state DMV or title office, your customs broker and your exporter, and see the official sources below.
Can I register and drive it on the road?+
Getting a car into the country and getting it titled and on the road are separate questions. Ask your state DMV or title office what it needs before you bid. For the federal side, see CBP, EPA and NHTSA.
How long does it take?+
It depends on the auction calendar, your exporter’s shipping schedule, the ship and the port, so we don’t promise a date. Ask your exporter how long they usually take from a win to sailing. The app keeps track of each step, and Today shows what’s next.
What if I don’t win a car?+
Searching stays free. And if you don’t win one within 90 days of signing up, ask within the next 30 days and we refund your sign-up minus what you used, at retail prices — currently $0.198 per auction sheet and $0.98 per bid estimate. Those follow the top-up prices, so they can change; the app shows your exact amount before you ask.
Who files customs?+
A licensed customs broker — Kappa Customs Brokers is built in, or use your own. You sign their Power of Attorney and they file the ISF and the entry. The app fills in their forms and drafts each email; you send it. Which duty applies to your vehicle — currently 2.5% for a car, 25% for a truck — is the broker’s call, so ask them before you bid.
Do I buy the car from you?+
No. You buy through your own exporter account and pay them directly. Right Hand DMS finds and reads the lots, writes your bid email and keeps track of everything after the win.
What does the car pass cover?+
Each car you win gets a pass: its customs, US shipping, documents and costs in the app for 90 days from the win. Signing up covers your first car; after that it’s $149 per car you win.
Where to check the rules
The rules are the government’s, not ours. Start with your state’s motor vehicle office and your customs broker, and these official pages:
安心Why it’s safe to hand it the car
Your accounts, your mailbox, your say.
Your own exporter accounts
Searches and bids go through the accounts you open with Japan Car Direct, JDM Auc or Pacific Coast JDM. Right Hand DMS isn’t an exporter: it doesn’t buy cars or take your deposit.
Nothing goes out unseen
Emails to your exporter, your broker and your customers are written for you and shown before they go, from your own mailbox. Automatic sheet requests only run on hunts where you switch them on.
A licensed broker, built in
Kappa Customs Brokers, a licensed customs broker, is built in at a flat fee per vehicle that covers the ISF, the entry and the EPA/DOT forms. Prefer your own broker? Use them.
Your data stays in your shop
Each shop’s cars, documents and customers are walled off from every other shop. Exporter logins and mailbox tokens are encrypted at rest and used only for your own work.
招待 · Invite only
Bring your own car home, one clear step at a time.
Import my own is opening in small groups. Tell us what you’re after and we’ll set up your account — the setup guide takes it from there.