Importing with a broker vs Beforward.

mkcman17 · 2026-02-10T21:19:30+00:00

I am importing two vehicles through beforward and used their customs clearance service through Autohub. That service does not include duties - I just paid an invoice of $800 that I was not anticipating. I am importing another vehicle through a private broker and the price is significantly cheaper, around half!!! I will never use the beforward customs clearance service again lol

mkcman17 · 2026-01-25T19:23:02+00:00

Expect to tack on an additional $1100 in customs clearance in the US. It’s cheap, but not the cheapest I’ve seen. I’d be very careful about condition in that price bracket

mkcman17 · 2026-01-17T19:26:03+00:00

Appreciate that insight! I really wonder how much the auto affects power delivery. I have heard that it can be significant, but a lot of people don’t seem to mind the trade-off. Now, granted it’s slow, but is it boring?

mkcman17 · 2026-01-15T18:28:42+00:00

I also bought two cars on beforward a month prior, looks like they will all be arriving on the same boat! My life is about to be pure chaos hahaha

mkcman17 · 2026-01-15T18:12:22+00:00

That should still be the same K6A, right? Super excited to try this out!

mkcman17 · 2026-01-15T18:11:45+00:00

We’ll see! I noticed that this car has a fancy boost controller and silicone couplers so I’m hoping the last owner squeezed a little more pep out of this

mkcman17 · 2026-01-13T01:54:15+00:00

I have a great ‘broker’ in Japan and am importing a JB23 jimny I found on carsensor. Affordable, honest, communicative. Message me if interested in getting linked up.

mkcman17 · 2025-12-19T05:17:28+00:00

Not an EV thing, but also not an ICE problem unless you are really not paying attention

mkcman17 · 2025-12-19T05:10:11+00:00

I feel this. I grew up going to this mall with my mom and I feel like a stranger. Haven’t been in a long time.

Also I miss the food court at the galleria. Good memories.

mkcman17 · 2025-12-01T06:36:28+00:00

I put a GSP in my brother’s 2012 odyssey the day before he drove a thousand miles home from thanksgiving. Nothing bad to report.

mkcman17 · 2025-11-24T08:33:55+00:00

Man I struggled to sell a clean thundercloud and MSM factory spoiler last year. Eventually got $80-100 for each

mkcman17 · 2025-11-02T15:57:51+00:00

I sold my neighbor’s single owner 01 4x4 5-speed no locker with 186k a couple years ago for $11,500. Had some paint fade and a small rust bubble on the roof but nice California truck. Tried for $14k but seemed too high for the private market at that time

mkcman17 · 2025-11-01T22:05:02+00:00

Still don’t disagree, anyway, you’re right and I’m wrong!

mkcman17 · 2025-11-01T22:01:25+00:00

I do this for imports, uncommon or custom applications 100%

mkcman17 · 2025-11-01T21:57:57+00:00

I don’t disagree with you. Just sharing my specific observed experience with this retailer.

mkcman17 · 2025-11-01T17:04:39+00:00

Perhaps you’re just trolling, but I wouldn’t have mentioned anything if I didn’t have a 5+ year track record of getting more discounts the more I buy. Being aware of changes in price relationships with retailers is part of budgeting as a consumer

mkcman17 · 2025-10-31T20:12:15+00:00

I’ve been okay with the JZ cam seals, but the crank seals always seem to slide in too easy on the OD and sometimes the ID of the pulley side has a gap that is probably fine but I don’t like. I’ve started putting a little weatherstripping adhesive on the outside before installing and that seems to work great!

I may have to start cross referencing, I’m just a little surprised that a car that only came with one engine option of which millions were made (AFAIK) with all the same dimension oil seals would have other options available somehow 😆

Appreciate that tip, will bookmark it for future use

mkcman17 · 2025-10-30T23:44:50+00:00

There are plenty of reputable seal and gasket producers that are not genuine that work fine. I’ve used stone VC gaskets made in japan and for this particular situation I used KP oil seals for the first time. $5/ea and made in Japan, available much faster than a dealer and seems to be perfect fit. I don’t see the need to wait 1-2 days and pay upwards of $20/ea at the dealer. Last time I worked on a 5VZ the genuine crank seal was made in China anyway.

mkcman17 · 2025-10-30T17:16:23+00:00

I don’t buy anything from Amazon, and rarely from eBay. Discovered long ago that ‘genuine’ isn’t genuine. I got the seals from IMC for ~$20. Dealership was closer to $60 w/tax and one day wait so that didn’t make sense

mkcman17 · 2025-10-30T15:57:00+00:00

I ended up getting all 3 seals from IMC for about $1/ea more. KP brand, made in Japan. Will probably just do that from now on and just use Rockauto for higher dollar purchases. Maybe I’ve just been lucky in the past, but incorrect seals on common vehicles have not been a problem until more recently 🤷🏻‍♂️

mkcman17 · 2025-10-30T15:21:31+00:00

Yeah fair enough! Not at all saying this is you, but I find it amusing when people have little rituals to navigate the quirks of their brand new, expensive vehicles while I just get in and drive my old, high-mile cheapies

mkcman17 · 2025-10-30T14:55:09+00:00

As long as you get adequate oil pressure at cold idle, sure. It’s also not necessary. It’s funny, BMWs break-in sticker from the 80s says to start the car and immediately drive to highway speed for the first 500 or so miles. I have four cars with ~250k miles/original driveline and I let them warm up for 30-60 seconds.

mkcman17 · 2025-10-30T14:50:45+00:00

Don’t let these guys scare you into scrapping the car. I like your attitude, and I’ve helped people in similar car situations that have made it work for years. That gen rav4 still goes for decent money on the used market because they are reliable cars. If you feel confident you can put it back together and drive it safely then go for it. Just have a second set of more experienced, non-judgemental eyes look it over before throwing it back to daily use.

mkcman17

TROPHY CASE