Buying one

Buying a mini truck, start to finish.

Six steps, in the order they happen, each with the tool for it. Not legal advice, and every rule is your state’s own.

  1. 1

    Know the one you want

    Find its generation and its chassis code, the code a seller lists it under.

    The directory
  2. 2

    Check that it is 25

    A road truck comes in on its age. The frame number and the month made tell you when.

    Is it 25?
  3. 3

    Check your state

    Your state decides the title and the road, and your county can add its own rules.

    Your state
  4. 4

    Ask for the papers first

    Before any money moves, the papers below, with one chassis number on all of them.

    The papers
  5. 5

    Look it over

    Ask the seller to show you the five things below, in photographs and on video.

    What to see
  6. 6

    Bring it home

    The import itself, from the export certificate to your title, is on Mini Truck Guide.

    The import

Step 4

The papers to ask for.

  1. 01The Japanese export certificateFor a kei truck it comes from the Light Motor Vehicle Inspection Organization. Its chassis number should be the truck in front of you.
  2. 02A certified English translationOf the export certificate, so a state office can read it.
  3. 03The bill of ladingFrom the ship, with the same chassis number on it.
  4. 04The bill of sale and the invoiceNaming you, or the person selling to you, as the buyer.
  5. 05The customs entry papersCBP Forms 7501 and 3461, from the entry at the port.
  6. 06The DOT and EPA import formsThe HS-7 and the EPA form filed at entry. Many states ask for them with the title.

Step 5

What to ask a seller to show you.

The papers and the truckThe export certificate, the bill of lading and the invoice, with one chassis number on all three, and the same number on the truck itself.
The frameUnder the bed and along both rails. Surface rust is usual on an old truck. Rust through the frame is a different truck.
The wheelsEach corner, the tire, the wheel and the brake behind it. Ask for a photograph of all four.
Four wheel driveOn a 4WD, the lever or the switch into four wheel drive and into low, with the truck moving, on video.
The dumpOn a mini dump, the bed raised and lowered under its own power, and the hinge and the ram at the top.

The photographs are illustrations of what to look at, not trucks for sale.

Walk away when

Six signs to stop.

  • The seller wants the full price before you see any of the papers. Pay against the documents where the seller will take it.
  • The account you are told to pay is not in the seller's own registered company name.
  • The chassis number on the truck does not match the export certificate and the bill of lading.
  • You are told a payment receipt is all it takes to release a truck from the port. It is not.
  • A road truck under 25 years old is offered as road legal. Federal law admits a road truck on its age only at 25.
  • A known exporter's name reaches you from an address that is not its own. Exporters warn of people using their names.

From the federal import record and Japan’s export rules, read 28 October 2026. Not legal advice.