This dealer is trying to sell me a European RX-8 it seems from his dealership in California. He sent me pics that show the steering wheel on the right side...opposite of where it should be in the US.

Is this even legal to drive in the US??

 

if i remember correctly, only british (uk) and japanaese vehicles are right hand drive. everything else is left hand drive.

yes, it is legal to drive right hand drive in the us.

 

Yes, legal to drive, but is it registerable? Is it federalised and can he give you a certificate to that effect? Most cars brought from Europe and sold here are more than 25 years old making them exempt from Federal standards as collectors cars. This car isn't exempt so it must comply with all Federal import laws as well as state registration laws. Just make sure that it meets all requirements. It could.

 

If all the proper paperwork isn't done for the car it will cost you big money to take care of it, so I would generally avoid it unless you can verify with 100% certainty that everything is fine and good in that respect.

 

If it originally had the long license plates (like in the UK and Europe), then it has a less powerful ECU tune in it... I would just stay away from that. If it has the square plates (Like the States and Japan) then it might be one from Japan...

 

Im gonna stay away, I was just curious. That would be pretty weird, driving one of those out here...probably would get some strange looks!

Car looks immaculate btw...leather/nav/etc. Still lookin!!

 

stay away from it when you can have a left hand drive one. i have personally driven skyline R32 in canada. it is a dangerous to drive right handed in any left hand country.

 

Nah....heaps of LHD cars on the roads here and we're RHD. Just gotta get used to driving in the gutter. Parking is easy, and you step out onto the kerb....

Gotta watch one thing though, the headlights shine into the oncoming lane, not off to the RHS. The cutoff is all wrong.

 

In the UK you have to get your headlights adjusted so that ^ doesn't happen....

I think I prefer RHD though. You shift with your left, and get to hang on with your right... If you are right handed it's better anyways....

But then again, I have been driving over here just about as much as I did in the States.

 

It's not dangerous to drive the opposite, LDH in RHD or RHD in LHD. I've done both over here, in the UK and in Japan. It's not dangerous, just difficult sometimes. Especially toll roads when you're the only one in the car. You have to hit the hand brake and either lean or get out and get the ticket/pay. It just depends on what you want to put up with.

I had no choice in Japan/UK as the LHD vehicles were both military owned. Though a friend did have a yellow '98 mustang that was quite fun to tear up the back country roads in the UK. If you lived in N Yorks and were nearly run off the road by some damn fool yank..., my bad.

 

Just remember to drive on the left side of the road and everything will be fine.

 

I would be on that car like white on rice....if everything was 100% legal and registered.

Given the choice between a LHD or a RHD car I will choose RHD.

 

Well, it seems that the dealer was using a camera phone and had accidentily inverted the pictures so it seems it was a LHD the whole time!! Geeez.

 

uuuuhh... O M G

 

Lol

 

omg...is there no limit to how dumb some of these car salesmen can be?!

 

Yeah it's pretty unbeleivable...like I will REALLY be buying a car from someone who can't even take pictures...

Here's his response for ***** and Giggles:

"I am so sorry about that! The pictures got inversed on my camera somehow! The car is a regular USDM car, it is NOT right hand drive. I'm sorry about that, oops! Let me know if you have any more questions!"

 

lol