Buying to sell?
Running a dealership instead?
Dealership plans add a hunt for each customer, digests sent from your mailbox, seats for your team and profit per car.
See it for dealersPlans from $199 a month
個Import my own
Bring home your own JDM car or truck, one step at a time.
Never imported a car before? Right Hand DMS walks you from opening an exporter account to the car sitting in your driveway. It tells you what the auction sheet says and what to bid, then what customs needs and what the whole thing 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. Once a vehicle is 25 years old, counted from its month of manufacture, it’s exempt from those federal standards and can be imported. In 2026 that covers most vehicles from 2001 and earlier. A late-2001 build clears in its 25th anniversary month.
The broker files the EPA and DOT forms that declare the exemption. Titling it and getting it on the road is up to your state, so ask your 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.
It starts with a setup guide written for first-timers. That covers you, your email, your exporter account, the car you want, your budget, customs and shipping. After that, 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, because a bank transfer takes days and exporters won’t take a bid until it lands.
弐
Tell it the car you wantPick the make, model, years and grade. You’ll see 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 sheetYou get each lot’s Japanese inspection sheet in plain English, with the grades, mileage, damage, the inspector’s notes and the frame number. Each one ends in a call of Bid, Caution or Avoid.
肆
Bid with a number you can trustThe bid range comes from what the same model sold for, in the same generation and grade, and each sale is linked. Your bid goes to your exporter as an email from your own mailbox. You see it before it goes.
伍
Clear customs with a licensed brokerKappa Customs Brokers is built in, or you can use your own. With Kappa, you sign their Power of Attorney in the app. Whichever broker you pick, the app prepares the ISF, drafts every email to them and warns you before the ISF deadline.
陸
Get it home from the portOnce customs releases it, book a carrier. Email a dispatcher, or put quotes from uShip and Super Dispatch side by side.
漆
Keep every paper, and the real totalInvoices, the bill of lading, the customs entry and title receipts all live in one place. Each one is read into your landed cost.
評価Auction grades
An inspector sums up the car in one number.
The auction house inspects every lot and gives it an overall grade, plus a letter for the interior (A is as new, C is normal wear). Mileage caps the grade, so a clean car with high miles can still be a 3.5. Wherever you pick a grade, the app explains it. It also 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 covers that spread, with the same typical ranges the app’s budget step uses. Import duty is shown as a range (recently 12.5–25%) because US tariffs on Japanese vehicles change often, and your broker confirms the rate for your car before you bid. Most of the money goes to the people doing the work: your exporter, the shipping line, US Customs, the broker and the trucker. Very little of it comes to us.
Illustration only. These are typical ranges and this isn’t a quote. Duty depends on how your broker classifies the vehicle and on the tariffs in force the day it enters. Fees and freight change all the time, so 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–$900a licensed broker’s fee per car — your broker quotes it
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 included for 90 days from sign-up, and again from each car pass. 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: if you haven’t won a car, we refund your sign-up minus what you used. Usage is charged at retail prices, which follow the top-up packs and can change. We suggest giving it 90 days first. The app shows your exact amount 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. It reads each auction sheet and emails you when a match turns up.
- 02
Bid
You get a bid range from sold lots of the same generation and grade. The bid goes through your exporter, and the app writes the email for you to see before it goes.
- 03
Customs
A licensed broker clears the car. Kappa Customs is built in, or you can bring your own. Either way the app prepares the ISF and drafts every email to them.
- 04
Ship
Once it’s released at the port it needs a truck. Email your dispatcher, or line up quotes from uShip and Super Dispatch side by side.
- 05
Landed cost
Drop in the invoices and receipts. The app reads each cost line off its document for you to check, then adds them 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 is one question. Getting it titled and on the road is another. 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 is included for 90 days from sign-up, and again from each car pass. If you haven’t won one, ask for your sign-up back. We suggest giving it 90 days, and you can ask until 30 days after that. We refund it minus what you used, at retail prices, which are currently $0.198 per auction sheet and $0.98 per bid estimate. Those follow the top-up prices and can change, and the app shows your exact amount before you ask.
Who files customs?+
A licensed customs broker. Kappa Customs Brokers is built in, or you can 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, and you send it. Which duty applies to your vehicle is the broker’s call (it’s currently 2.5% for a car and 25% for a truck), 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 the lots and reads them, writes your bid email, and keeps track of everything once you’ve won.
What does the car pass cover?+
Each car you win gets a pass. It covers that car’s 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 government makes these rules. Start with your state’s motor vehicle office, 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, so it never buys cars or holds your deposit.
Nothing goes out unseen
The app writes the emails to your exporter, your broker and your customers, and shows you each one before it goes out from your own mailbox. Automatic sheet requests run only on hunts where you’ve switched 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. You can use your own broker instead.
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 we use them for your work and nothing else.
始 · Get started
Bring your own car home, one step at a time.
Your sign-up covers your first car. The setup guide handles the rest with you, from the exporter account and the car you want to customs and shipping.