What can you import with a $5,000, $10,000, or $15,000 vehicle budget?

Around $5,000

At this level you are usually looking at older kei vehicles, higher-mileage utility vehicles, base-model sedans and wagons, or project cars. Examples appear regularly, but condition and availability vary a great deal, and the cars that look like bargains often carry deferred maintenance or corrosion that shows up later.

Around $10,000

This tier opens up potentially cleaner kei vehicles, compact SUVs, sedans and wagons in better condition, and some enthusiast models that have not been caught up in hype. The main gain over the lower tier is usually condition and documentation rather than a different class of car.

Around $15,000

Here you may reach stronger-condition examples, more desirable trims of practical models, and some enthusiast coupes and sedans. It is not a promise of top-tier icons. Vehicles with the strongest collector demand routinely sell well above this range regardless of what the budget calculator says.

Condition matters more than the headline number

• Auction grade and the auction sheet notes, translated, not summarized by a seller
• Rust, particularly structural and underbody corrosion
• Mileage history and whether the records are internally consistent
• Modifications, especially anything touching engine or emissions configuration
• Running condition and whether the vehicle has sat unused
• Whether an independent inspection is actually available before purchase

Total-budget checklist

1. 1Vehicle purchase price
2. 2Exporter or auction fees and Japan-side inland transport
3. 3Ocean shipping
4. 4Customs duties and any current additional tariffs
5. 5Customs broker fee and any bond or filing costs
6. 6Terminal, release, and examination charges, plus storage risk
7. 7Inland delivery in the United States
8. 8State title, registration, and tax
9. 9Immediate repairs, maintenance, tires, and fluids
10. 10Nexus service fee and a contingency allowance

Use the cost calculator to build a planning estimate across all of those categories. It is a planning tool that helps you see the whole picture before you shop, not a quote and not a commitment.