what? a new patrol in the US on ebay??????!!!!!!!

npca-strausz · Post by **npca-strausz** » Wed Feb 28, 2001 12:31 pm

Go to this ebay link and check this outhttp://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/aw-cgi/ebayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=564754310&r=0&t=0I can't believe it. Some guy in Minnesota with a brand new Nissan Patrol. How the hell did he get that in the country? Even has the steering wheel on the left. Pretty bad ass rig eh? Too bad I don't have bout 30g's burning a hole in my pocket. Let me know what you all think about this.Dave

npca-alex · Post by **npca-alex** » Thu Mar 01, 2001 8:04 pm

Germany, it's a German model, they drive on the left there. I am going to e-mail and ask about titling, I am having a hard time with this because they are not on the import eligibility list, will report back.

npca-strausz · Post by **npca-strausz** » Thu Mar 01, 2001 9:02 pm

I tried emailing the guy and no response yet. He might have seen the .edu at the end of my email and figured nobody from college can afford it!!! That is true, as I can't just drop 30g's like that. Somebody on here might be able to. How does ebay work anyhow. If you actually win the thing and it turns out to be a hoax or something else is wrong, you arn't obligated to purchase right? Because I wouldn't pay for a thing like this without first seeing it in real life. Anyhow this should be interesting.

npca-alex · Post by **npca-alex** » Fri Mar 02, 2001 8:43 am

Hey Dave, If it were a hoax eBay would have shut it down, they do that, like when Elian Gonzalez's raft was up for sale at 10 mil + with people still bidding...they shut it down, same with all the auctions for pictures he supposedly drew. You are obligated to buy, your bid is your contract, however if there is a problem such as the clear title part being not true, then you are not obligated as the auction description was deceiving. I too e-mailed him, let him know I was, that I was interested in the titling aspect, and that I had sent out an e-mail to the entire club about his Patrol, which he ought to thank me for since the price jumped over 4 grand after I did that for him. I knew of at least 2 members who were serious and had in the high 20s to spend to get one, I was really aiming that club e-mail to them as I didn't save their e-mail addresses in my e-mail account. I haven't heard back from him yet either, but then again it was only last night, so who knows, but the auction does close really soon. I am worried that the only way it is in the country legally is that it is for show only and cannot actually be licensed for the road. Vehicles from Canada can be given clear title without any mods if they are gifted to a U.S. citizen by an immediate family member who is a Canadian citizen and living in Canada, they have to have owned the vehicle for at least one year prior to gifting it, but I know of no such provision for vehicles form Germany, so, I hope I hear back from the guy. Later, Alex.

npca-joe w. · Post by **npca-joe w.** » Fri Mar 02, 2001 5:42 pm

Has anybody ever gotten an answer from Nissan as to why they don't import Patrols into the US anymore? Are they content with Pathfinder sales? Maybe being bought by Renault will open the flood gates. By the way, isn't it ironic that I own both a Patrol and an '87 Renault GTA (I doubt there are too many people with just two cars as rare as those two - not that I would consider that Renault collectible). Good luck on the bidding. I know I can barely afford to keep my '67 Patrol going. -Joe W.

npca-belize · Post by **npca-belize** » Sat Mar 03, 2001 10:08 am

When I talked to an importer about bringing in my 1984 Patrol from Canada, they said it was nigh on impossible unless there has been a precident set i.e. similiar vehicle already in the country. Unless you want to sponsor all the safety test which included crash testing. Some patrols have come in when imported by a U.S. goverment employee, but it is rare. My theory on why Nissan doesn't import Patrols to us is that 30 years later people would be driving the same vehicle around instead of replacing them every 5-10 years.

npca-alex · Post by **npca-alex** » Sat Mar 03, 2001 7:44 pm

Even when a government employee imports a vehicle it can only be temporarily, after one year the vehicle must leave U.S. soil. There are serveral reasons why Patrols or HJ70 series Cruisers for example are not imported, first that makes more competition for the existing U.S. models like Pathfinders, second the corporations don't want to go through the expense of getting the vehicles certified and having a whole other production line of a vehicle spec'd differently, and third there are limits as to the number of makes and models and types of vehicles in terms of what class they fall under that foreign car makers are allowed to import. As for the Patrol that closed today, I do not know how it could be legal, the seller claims it is and that the manner in which it was imported legally is a "commercial secret". I do know that German safety and theft protection standards are higher than the U.S. so if any vehicle were closest to importable, it would be a made for the German market model. It is possible for factories to build vehicles to a certain country's specs upon special request by an individual buyer and then the factory sticks their official sticker on it saying it meets U.S. specs and then it is legal, I know this can be done at the Land Rover factory in England but I have never heard of Japanese factories doing this. I guess it's time some one called the NHTSA and asked some questions.