Hello -

I'd settle for one of these models :

https://page13.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/r33477231
https://img265.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/u...0332129049.jpg

CarloSW2

okay... here's the question of the day.

If I get a GA/FL title, can I then transfer it to another state?

I've heard of people doing this with a few different models of cars, but I'm unsure.

not that I want a Beat... well, I want one, but I really can't justify it.

That is sick. $32,000 is WAY too much money though. The guy I'm buying mine from is prototyping a B-series swap kit for the Beat - he's nearly done with his personal car.

Matt -

As I understand it, yes you can.

You probably already know about this, but here's the UK Honda Beat Club forum: https://www.u-ukhbc.co.uk/vbb/index.php

Is there a North American one yet?

Thanks for the link. I don't think there's one for the US yet. I'm going to register on that board...just saw a thread that's about a week old - some guy in San Francisco just got a Beat - says he heard he's the 3rd Beat owner in the US...I heard I'm the 11th, who knows?

Damn it... you're really making me want one now.

I told my wife that if she saw one she'd want to sell her CRX for it. If $8k suddenly fell on my lap, I'd get it in a heartbeat.

Is there any way you can contact the guy in SF and ask him if he had any problems transfering the title to California?

I'll ask him once I my membership gets accepted on the UKHBC board.

Matt - am I understanding correctly that this car will be emission exempt? Isn't engine displacement below 660cc the cutoff for not needing to pass emissions? :)

Has anyone seen the guy's other auction? I've never heard of a Nissan Figaro - 1.0L Turbo!

https://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Other...ayphotohosting

I knew about the figaro, but that doesn't make it any less cool.

So apparently Beat owners aren't reporting THAT great of gas mileage...

https://www.u-ukhbc.co.uk/vbb/showthread.php?t=1636

Most are saying mid to high 30's. I'm hoping for WAY more than that...

I suspect most Beat drivers beat the snot out of them. :)

And with good reason - I've read one mainstream auto journalist claim they're about the most automotive fun you can have within legal speed limits.

One person mentioned 3.7L/100 km at 62 km/h from the brochure. If that's right, it's about 64 mpg (US) (probably in ideal conditions).

For comparison: in ideal conditions, the monster Suzukiclone 1.0L gets roughly 75 mpg (US) at that speed.

Get in, sit down and hold on! That looks like something you and your wife should have a lot of fun with and get great mileage, as well. That look's to be a win-win purchase. Congratulations.

perhaps the beat engine will more easily fit inside the n600?

https://www.fuelly.com/attachments/fo...b02fb529ca.jpg

Maybe...there are some mint ones on the Japhoo auctions for around $2K US.

Also - I went ahead and bought new tires for the Beat. Didn't shop for LRR tires, just went with stock replacements - Bridgestone Potenza RE92's.

...and then there are comments like this that give me hope:

"I'm doing just short of 100 miles a day in my Beat and filling up every 2 days. It costs between ?14 and ?17 and my last tank got me 56.6mpg
And I tend not to dawdle ;)"

damn it dax. You're making me want one...

but I require LHD. :P

Wow. This is great. I would rather have a beat then a smart car any day. dax, You will turn a few heads with that car :D

Have you talked to your insurance people? Is it going to be hard to get or $$$?

I'm still waiting to see if the guy doing the title is going to issue the Beat a 17-digit VIN...the Beat only has a 10-digit code. The seller has asked the titler what insurance company he recommends, as he also titles Skylines in the US. If I get a 17-digit VIN, I'm going to try to use Liberty Mutual - my current company. If not, I may have to go with Hagerty's or something like that - a classic/exotic car insurance company. Either way is fine with me. I got a quote from Hagerty's - only about $650/yr.

Just wait Matt - Erik will have LHD's available, but probably not for as cheap as I got mine.

Ok,

I don't think I'm going to be getting a 17-digit VIN issued, so I'm not even going to try getting Liberty Mutual to look at insuring me. I spoke to another US Beat owner last night (CA), and he said that State Farm wouldn't touch the car. He's using Hagerty's, a classic/exotic insurance company. I tried getting insured with them today but did not have good luck. They were all fired up to offer me insurance, and then all of a sudden they said since it was not 25+ years old, I would have to have an insured daily driver vehicle that is 5 years old or newer. That's bull crap. I called back the fellow Beat owner and his is registered as a 1980 Beat. I am awaiting contact info from yet another US Beat owner (FL) tonight so that I can ask him what he did for insurance. I probably blew my chances with Hagerty's, but there are still a few other companies out there I'm going to try. If I have to, I'm going to ask the titler to write it up as a 1981 Beat. I guess everything hinges on what the guy in FL tells me.

I really must get this sorted out by Monday at the latest. I don't want to get the Beat home then not be able to get insured. :(

the ebay seller even lists these as 1980 cars, so yeah maybe that's what you should do too. the title may even say that.

Can you say "hf tranny swap"? :)

Hmmm... I don't know the specifics on the Honda Beat engine, but I somehow doubt it's compatible with d-series transmissions.

It is not.

I got the contact info just now, I'm going to call the guy after I get off work (45 min) and see what's up. I'll report back.

FINALLY got a company to insure me, whew! There are so many stipulations from so many companies. Here are a few reasons some of the companies wouldn't insure me:

1)I'm 25, not 26. Some companies require that you have a minimum of 10 years driving experience.

2)My daily driver is not 10 years old or newer. Lots of companies require that every licensed driver in the house has to have a registered, insured, daily driver that is 10 years old or less. Hagerty's required 5 years or less.

3)The car is not 25 years old or more.

4)The vehicle was determined to not be appreciating (wtf?).

5)Regular insurance companies freak out when you try to insure grey market vehicles. Liberty Mutual wanted TONS of paperwork to even consider insuring the car.

I ended up going with a company called Safeco. They didn't ask about my daily driver, they didn't care that I'm only 25, etc. The bad thing is they do NOT allow pleasure driving, and I have a 5,000 mile/year cap on the car. I'm just happy I'm insured. Maybe I'll switch companies in a year once I'm 26 and get on with one that allows pleasure driving.

Oh, my premium is under $300 / yr. :D

Good news :thumbup: (I'm going to have to jump through similar hoops to get the ForkenSwift insured - as an oddball vehicle - that's what prompted me to ask.)

Weird about the pleasure driving stipulation. Don't most claims happen while commuting to work?

I am not recommending or condoning anything, but I know several people with mileage restrictions on their car. One option is to get a spare gauge cluster to swap in for daily driving.

Shhh, I might have already thought of that, but would NEVER do it because it's not right. ;)

Metro - it is registered as a show only vehicle, and "can not be driven as a daily driver." Do you catch my drift?

Cars like that are only to be test-driven and driven to shows. They may need a lot of test-driving but that's why they cap it at 5k mi.

JW - will you be using classic car insurance on the Austin?

I've gotten collector plates on a few motorcycles, and my moped, and almost got one on my first car (1984 civic hatchback) but for those kinds of plates they require that you have a 2nd vehicle for commuting that doesn't have any use restrictions on it, something like a moped or scooter might fall in to that class, but it's odd that they require it be 5 years old or less, I don't think I know ANYONE with a car that new.

Si Mateo Ako has one. :rolleyes: haha, just kidding Matt! :D

I did have Hagerty ins. as a collector and I need to renew it. They did stipulate that it be for show and test-drive only, and that all other drivers in the household have regular drivers.

RE92's are definately LRR's tho. And fun in that car, easy break of traction! Congrats!

Just noticed an Excel file on my desktop that I made in March 2005 to calculate shipping, exchange & duties to import a Beat from Japan

Guess I never did it. :D

What did it come out to?

I'm up at 4:30AM to make my 7AM flight! Good vibes for good roads! I'll see you guys again on Thursday night with pictures and crappy videos taken with the digital camera!

I think it came to just under $10k CDN total.

Have a safe drive. Can't wait to see & hear about it.

Dax, I thought you already got the beat because you made a garage entry. I was wondering why there was so much snow in Georgia.

Good luck on the roads. Pittsburgh is supposed to get 4"-8" tomorrow.

*yawn* 4:30AM? Crap!

I went ahead and made the garage entry because I'm just so damn excited.

Yeah, it looks like there will be light snow until we get to KY, then mixture of rain and snow. It will be a pain-staking careful drive. I'm out!

I wonder how the Beat did today. That forecast was right - a major winter storm moved into the Great Lakes area. We're supposed to get it tonight/tomorrow.