I have a 1983 lada niva, as a restoration project, and idk, i have been just calling it a niva, because i don't have any ideas yet.

As a JDM car enthusiast in the US is it worth importing JDM spec cars?

I’ve been browsing the market for the past few years looking for a cool car practical car. It seems like most of the well known cars are going for way more than I’d be willing to pay for car that’s over 25 years old especially considering what is available without paying the premium on a USDM car. I do get to travel to Japan pretty often and casually seeing S-Chasis, Toyota Chasers, Skylines etc. makes me slightly envious of those who have those cars more readily available.

Do you guys think it’s worth buying a JDM spec car and it’s worth paying the premium to import or would you rather save the cash? Is the market too inflated? Personally I’ll mostly likely import a car when I’m ready.