Picking a Kei car
There are quite a few Kei cars available from different car manufacturers. This page will detail what to look for when picking a car, different trims, and other variables.
25-year limitation for street-legal cars
The most important aspect of street-legal Kei cars is that they must be 25 years old. Some websites like CarFromJapan will not even sell you a car that's not 25 years or older. Cars imported to the USA must follow FMVSS (Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards), emissions standards, and bumper standards. However, customs exempts cars 25 years or older from these standards.
Seatbelt tag
The seat belt will have the year when the car was manufactured, sometimes it will have the month. The date it lands in the USA needs to be at least 25 years old.
Example tag
If the date of manufacture is not identified on a label permanently affixed to the vehicle by its original manufacturer, to establish the age of the vehicle, you should have documentation available such as an invoice showing the date the vehicle was first sold or a registration document showing that the vehicle was registered at least 25 years ago.
Vin lookup for date
If you can't find the exact month from the tag, you can search the date from the VIN (also known as chassis number)
Kei cars newer than 25 years
A private individual can’t import a Kei car under 25 years old on their own—you must work through a Registered Importer (RI) to certify that the vehicle meets all federal safety, bumper, and theft-prevention standards. It's generally not recommended to try to import a newer Kei truck yourself, and it will probably have issues with title and registration.
If you would like to buy a Kei car that is newer, please visit a local dealers in USA. Most newer Kei cars are intended for off-road use only.