PRICE DROP TO $4500 54,100 km Automatic 2 WD Gasoline/Petrol 660cc Fuel injection AC Imported straight from Japan. Arrived in NY/NJ and delivered to me in West Boylston, MA, a week ago. Pictures on the Craigslist ad (here it's a pain to upload multiple pictures). https://worcester.craigslist.org/snw/d/west-boylston-1994-daihatsu-hijet-truck/7427638416.html
You might want to mention it also has AC and EFI? And, does "delivered to me" mean still in the NY/NJ area, or in Louisiana (per your avatar location)? I'm guessing NY/NJ area, based on CL ad. Good luck with sell. I just purchased essentially the same vehicle, except 4WD.
Hi, If you don't mind me asking, who did you go through to import it? I've been looking at some on Mitsui co. ltd and trying to find some reviews on their service. I'm looking for a 4wd dump, early to mid 90's. Thanks Rob
Hi Rob, Happy to share my experience - this is my second go-around importing from Japan. I've never gone through an import agency. Instead I've always done the steps on my own, for the most part. In December 2019, I ordered a 92 Honda Acty Van from CarfromJapan. The actual seller was Mitsui, but I believe CarfromJapan and TCV are clearinghouses for old Japanese vehicles (I may be incorrect). Anyway, CarfromJapan arranged for shipping to Galveston and sent me the paperwork. Before the vehicle could be released at the port, I had to pay the shipping company Wallenius & Wilhemsen some money and overnight them the signed original bill of lading. The vehicle disembarked on Feb 14, 2020. I considered handling customs and pickup on my own, but the bureaucracy was too much for me to navigate. I hired a Customs Broker (Horizon Auto Shipping) in Galveston who took care of importation and delivery to my house in New Orleans. My broker Mardy was phenomenal. Worth her weight in gold, truly. The van arrived at my house on Feb 21, 2020. Couple of final notes that may/may not apply to your situation: 1)Registration in Louisiana was a fucker. CarfromJapan did not send a bill of sale. Without that I could not register the vehicle in Louisiana, so I had to swear an affidavit in front of the justice of the peace. Even then, working with the DMV took probably 20 hours. Mercifully, I got this taken care of before COVID. 2)The custom on the van was 2.5%; when I imported my trucks it was 25%. Sticker shock is something to be prepared for. In September 2021, I ordered 3 trucks from Diyata. Their inventory is shit to search on their website, but TCV has an easily searchable database. Using TCV's website, I found the 3 minitrucks I wanted in stock at Diyata and then contacted Diyata to see if they could give me a discount by ordering directly through them. We had to negotiate a little, but once we agreed on a price, it was easy. They were very responsive to emails and shipped the vehicles to the Port of New Jersey/New York. Again I had to get a customs broker. I wasn't thrilled with the company that I used, but they were the only ones who did vehicles at the time - the shipping situation and whatnot. Also, as mentioned, it was much more expensive because I was importing trucks. My total import broker fees cost around $3500. Furthermore, this broker did not offer overland shipping, so I had to figure that out on my own too. I put an ad on uShip and then directly contacted the lowest bidding company. That company was great, but I'm not naming them in case my actions violated their uShip agreement. The cars were unloaded at the port on Nov 12 and delivered to my house in Massachusetts on Nov 16. Again I had the same Wallenius & Wilhelmsen nonsense with fees. Titling the truck I'm keeping is an on-going pain in the ass. I hope this provides some useful information. Jalopnik did an interesting piece on registering these vehicles recently: they seem to be on an import kick lately. Let me know if you have any questions or would like additional information, John
J Paul, Just curious. What is the top speed with the automatics. Wondering if they’re geared differently. $4,500 in this condition is a steal.
Thanks for sharing that article. I realize this could upset many patrons on this site, but I don't think these vehicles should be fully street legal*. I would be COMPLETELY ecstatic if they were 'only' considered off-road vehicles in Texas. Right now, seems Texas doesn't even want to talk about these. Selfishly speaking, I'm glad the AAMVA at least included these in the definition of off-road vehicles. Even with only an off-road designation, there are still certain public roads that legally allow off-road vehicles in Texas. But, to expect these vehicles to safely and reliably handle 75mph interstates across Texas, or elsewhere, is unwise to me. *Realize, there are currently other street legal vehicles that I also feel should not be fully street legal.
I regularly and comfortably drive my 96 Hijet at 95 km/hr (~55mph). Honestly, 2wd instead of 4wd has been the main reason this hasn't sold yet. I'm in no rush, so spring may bring a better market.
In Louisiana mini-trucks could not drive on interstates or controlled-access roads, or roads with speed limits >=55mph but were otherwise fine. Curiously, when I had my 92 Honda Acty Van, it was governed by a different, more generous, set of rules, though it was far less safe at high speeds.
I tend to disagree. Safety is a function of both the vehicle AND the operator. A motorcycle operator requires a special license. A motorcycle operator requires additional skills. And, as odd as this sounds, the motorcycle makes it OBVIOUS that it is not providing you ANY safety. You can't mistakenly drive a motorcycle and be clueless of its lack of safety. Point?: I trust the operator awareness of a motorcycle more. Additionally, I could argue that a motorcycle is more maneuverable and designed for quicker acceleration and quicker braking. Kei trucks are not. Thus, I trust the motorcycle vehicle more. Bottom line: we could go back and forth with various points of logic, but until a Kei truck manufacturer goes through the effort of making our country (USA) comfortable with its vehicle being used as a passenger vehicle, it's all conjecture? I think the best we can hope for are laws that allow Kei trucks to be marketed as UTVs ("off-road vehicles"). I believe UTVs are being increasingly allowed on certain 'lower speed' public roads. This would allow me to comfortably and legally drive my Kei truck in a manner more commensurate to its design.
Comfortably?!?!? That has NOT been a word that comes to mind when driving mine...and I might have maxxed out at only 45mph once. But, mine is 4WD, and I am confident that the bushings holding the front axle are bad...so every little bump sounds more dramatic than it should. Maybe driving faster would help?
@CVP33, ...like I said. Why? Is it because these vehicles are not on par with other vehicles on these 65MPH+ highways? What type of public roads are you comfortable with?
I took mine up to around 70mph when I first got it. (A little over 110-mph on the speedo), and it was surprisingly more stable than I expected. The trucks are very short, and I’m fairly certain that hey could be really twitchy if you did anything sudden and drastic with the steering, such as veer to miss a deer. I drove Bronco’s for years, and they would swap ends in the wet, and tip over in the dry, because the wheel base was so short. I think the Kei trucks would do the same, and if they start to roll, they will come apart rather quickly.
I wouldn't take mine on an 65+ mph interstate around here because the average speed is likely 75+ mph. I once got pulled over in a 65 mph zone ( I thought it was a 70 mph zone) doing 80 mph. When the officer came up to my window to ticket me I told him I thought this was a 70 mph zone. He said "If it was sir, I wouldn't have pulled you over". Anyway, back to the point, my van can't go over 70 mph downhill with a strong wind behind me. Thats why I won't take it on the highway. I drive all over on the county and state roads that are 45 and 55 mph no problem and even on some that are 60 mph. I do agree, these are a lot safer than a motorcycle anyday.
