jonomo

Hello,

A brief intro... I'm originally from California and was transfered to Seoul, Korea about 2 years ago... Back in about 2003 I use to drive a 95 miata.. absolutely loved it... but ended up selling it...

Now i'm in Korea.. I was driving a S2000... Sold it, now I have a Saab... but I'm really longing for another Miata... only problem is that most Miata's in Korea are automatic and Right Hand Drive (RHD) from Japan... RARELY... do you see a LHD manual Miata...

I've been looking for about 1/2 a year now... should I just bite the bullet and buy a RHD???? RHD in a LHD world CAN be a bit frustrating...

J
Adding some pics of my old cars...

Wrabbit

Bite it hard, then bring it back to the states.

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jonomo

Just out of curiousity, why would I bring it back to the states? Just as a novelty?

Wrabbit

I don't know, figured you would come back or just sell it again. I know I would like a RHD in the states, guess it's just me.

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jonomo

Oh.. and another reason I'm getting a bit rushed to buy is that my brother in law is moving from the States to Korea and is getting 2 containers worth of his stuff shipped here.. I wanted to piggy back a few things on his shipment, which would save me a TON of money... wheels, suspension, supercharger.. the whole lot

jonomo

Yeah I would eventually come back to the states.. but I'm wondering if anyone would want to buy a RHD Eunos in the US... I've had a RHD drive car in a LHD world.. and it can be annoying and a bit combersome to drive at first...

iddiot

there an idea. buy a RHD version of a car you can get for cheap in LHD.

#-o

roadsternut

Hmm, didn't know you ca get used Roadsters in Korea; I thought there was some ban on Japanese cars..

If you're in Korea, a more interesting car would be the Kia Elan; Kia's licence built version of the Lotus Elan M100. Kia changed the suspension settings a bit, and used their version of the Miata 1.8 engine, instead of the Isuzu turbo lump Lotus used. My uncle had an Elan turbo SE for a while; superb handling car. You'd be hard pushed to know it was a fwd car. I couldn't induce torque steer at all; Lotus employed an advanced floating front subframe. Probably the finest handling FWD car ever.

The Lotus Elan was type approved for the US, but sold poorly. It was launched at the same time. The downsides were some of the trim was a bit low rent; symptoms of the financial troubles Lotus had. Kia might have actually got this right. The body is plastic, so panel gaps are huge. The roof has a built in hard boot, that leaves a mark on the bodywork.

Kia Elan:





Lotus Elan:




The Elan used a lot of borrowed parts; the rear lights are Haichi Roku lights. Bits of the dash are clearly GM in origin.

As the Elan was federalised, it might be possible to get the Kia to the US. All of them are LHD, and should be a lot cheaper to buy in Korea than other cars, as there is no import tax. Some found their way over to Canada.

The Koreans even have their own Elan club; clearly very enthusiastic with the car. Adding more power to the car should be straightforward considering the Mazda origins of the engine.

Mr.Woolery

The answer is simple: Buy a LHD manual Miata in the states, import it to Korea and be a baller there. Just before you come back, TRADE the LHD Miata for a RHD Eunos and bring it back to the states and be a baller here...or sell it to someone else for $$$ (there is a demand for RHD cars in the states).

The only complication is the tranny. Once you bring the RHD Eunos back, convert it to manual (easy) and you're done. =D>

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rockahardtop

RHD = PIMP!
if your brother inlaw ever has to containers going the other way make sure that you put a rack and pinion, dash, and what ever else i would need to convert my car from LHD over to RHD.
or better yet you buy a RHD and i'll swap you bits so we can both have what we want!

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roadsternut

I hope you guys realise Korea drives on the right.

Presumably, although a US serviceman can imports cars from the US tax free, if they sell them on in Korea, they could be subject to the 36% import tax..... Everyone else has to pay the tax at time of import.

I guess the reason South Korea is awash with automatic Eunos Roadsters is because these are comparatively worthless in Japan, and hence attract less import duty.

Only auto Roadster thats "easy" to convert to manual is the 1.8. On the 1.6, unless you like the idea of a detuned car, you need to either change the motor as well, or do some headwork.

Taiwan imports a ton of lhd European MX5s (it looks like most come from Holland); get one from there for Korea......

I don't get it; rhd Roadsters are (mostly) no quicker than Seppo Miatas. When it breaks, you're going to have an awful time getting parts (as Miata owners are finding in the UK). Plus you'll probably have a car of dubious legality, and in all likelyhood, impossible to sell on (unless you're in a State that allows bending of the crash test rules).

Cheaper to spend $500 on a Roadster front clip, and fit that to a Miata.

jonomo

I had a cousin with a Kia Elan.. it's the car that first got me interested in Roadsters.. the cars great.. but I'd rather have a rear wheel drive car...

I don't think I'd bring the RHD Eunos to the states.. i'd probably sell it off when I leave.. right now there isn't much on the market.. i'm thinking of just committing myself to buying all the parts now.. even though I don't have a car purchased yet~

The thing is you look pretty lame driving a RHD in a LHD world.. hehe IMO...

but I don't have much choice at the moment

rockahardtop

edit^^^

The thing is you look pretty BALLER driving a RHD in a LHD world.. hehe IMO...

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roadsternut

I don't get it. If I see a LHD 911 in the UK, I don't think "cool". I think "cheapskate, he couldn't afford a rhd".

iddiot

you must be 16

klutchmaster

I honestly think that a RHD car is extremely cool to have in the states. It is unique and exclusive.

jonomo

That's what exactly most Koreans think if you have a RHD car...

I don't get it. If I see a LHD 911 in the UK, I don't think "cool". I think "cheapskate, he couldn't afford a rhd".

fwdtamiya

Question! It's cheaper in the UK to import a 911 from another country, than it is to buy one that's been in the area since it's conception?

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rockahardtop

"you must be 16"

close iddiot, im 26.

when all you lucky folk with right hand drive cars post on here it cool cause that was the way the car was meant to be. its like the roadster was save from being americanized puting in LHD and making it miles instead of Km. puting the lame safety equipment to make it pass regulations here in the states. i just think its cool when you can actualy get something the way it was supposed to be.

so yeah jump down my throat and say im just a dumb teen ricer, i wouldnt care. you'll still be ignorant and i'll still be trying to see things from other point of views.

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roadsternut

Different markets, different exchange rates. Strangely. most 911s from Japan are LHD. The Japanese used car market is rigged by the government (by use of the Shaken system) to force people to keep changing their car, thereby creating reliable home market for new cars. The results are that used cars are cheap by British standards. A decent 92-93 911 in the UK will cost £13-15k. A similar one from Japan, albeit a left hooker, will be £7-9k, depending on how much profit the importer puts on it. Shipping a car from Japan is about £3-400. LDH ex-German and US Porsches will be a little more than the Japanese cars, but mainly because they'll have a better service history. It used to be that US-spec European cars were frowned upon due to the smog kit on them, and the extra large bumpers, but for the last 10 years or so, they've been pretty much the same.

roadsternut

Well, we're not the ones with a broken shift key...

But on the other hand, those Roadsters will have a nanny speed limiter at 180kph, hard, non-grippy tyres (first things to be changed on a Roadster entering the UK are the tyres). They'll be covered in fag burns as the Japanese smoke like chimneys. The "safety" changes made to Miatas entering the US amounts to I think an airbag, which was an option in Japan as well. And many will argue that the Miata MX5 was specifically designed first for the American markets, and that others were an afterthought.

The whole reason used Roadsters sell so well in the UK is because they're really not any different from a MX5.

We get Mustangs imported as brand new left hand drive cars. The only guys to keep them as LHD are the types who like to wear Western gear (we have them) and listen to Lynard Skinnard. Everyone else gets a custom rhd dashboard put in.

boogie van

"the grass is always greener on the other side."

I think the point here is that theres nothing to gain by getting a XHD miata in a -XHD country. Other than "looking cool" and thats really just a matter of opinion. Kinda pointless IMO considering the additional pain in the ass to track down parts if they need replacing.

But thats just me. Everyone should just do what they want.

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93 miata (sold)
waiting for my next miata.....

reckless_abandon

rhd is a breeze man. most of my friends drive rhd FDs, skylines, roadsters, 180s, whatever. so i've had my fair share of rhd time on north american roads and i can tell you its no big deal.

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tuned

Well in Canada you gain a lot by buying RHD.

a. You get a well maintained low mileage car... something very hard to find in our domestic market
b. You get damn good deal... I've never had someone call me a cheapskate for driving on the wrong side of the road but I'll get a good laugh if/when I do. These are miatas... they are all cheap!
c. 16 year old kids think your cool... that's all I'm looking for in life!

And reckless is right... rhd takes, maybe, an hour to pick up and that's being very generous. The only pain is passing on single lane highway but even that's minor.

jonomo

I think the hardest thing to get use to is the indicator and windshield wiper controls being crossed... Change lanes.. and you accidently wash your windows instead