Why I love my Figaro by Keith Evans, California USA

I am an ex-pat Brit now living in California. I had never seen, nor even heard of, a Nissan Figaro. Then, on a trip back to the UK, I saw this cool, quirky, retro car passing by, “What on Earth is that?”, I asked my sister. “No idea”, she replied. But I was smitten, and went on a mission to find out what was this mysterious car? Eventually, I discovered it was a Nissan Figaro, and I had to have one.

Of course, the Figaro was never sold in the US, but cars older than 25 years can now legally be imported, so no problem I thought. Wrong! California has the most restrictive vehicle emission controls in the country, and just because a vehicle is Federally legal does not make it so here. In fact, to be road legal in CA, an imported car must not only be more than 25 years old but must also be certified compliant by the CA DMV (the equivalent of the UK DVLA). In the case of the Figaro, this means making some modifications to the vehicle fuel and emissions systems and being inspected by the State Referee.

To further complicate matters, this work can only be carried out by a single certified shop in the whole state, it takes months, and costs $$$. As a result, while Nissan Figaros are popping up more and more in other US states (there is a shop in Virginia with a warehouse full of them!), in CA they are still as rare as hen’s teeth. I decided I was unwilling to endure this frustrating and costly bureaucratic process to import and certify my own car, so I began looking for Figs that were already registered in CA. This was several years ago – but they are so rare here that finding one already legalized and for sale is almost impossible. The car has also now developed something of a fan base in the US, so whenever one did appear it was snapped up before it even hit a listing.

Then, earlier this year, someone posted an ad in one of the Figaro Facebook groups for a CA-legal Fig for sale down in Southern CA (I live in Northern CA), at a very reasonable price (they are still several grand more expensive here than in other states because of the cost of CA certification).

I wasted no time and called on a Sunday. Amazingly, it was still available, although offers had already been made. I hung up, cogitated for 10 minutes, then called back and offered full asking, which was accepted – finally, after all these years I had actually bought a Figaro!!!

I arranged with the seller to have the car transported to my home, and a few days later it arrived. I was so thrilled, there’s just nothing like this car! All the stories about the smiles and the joy it brings to all who see it are true. I have other classic cars, but the Figaro gets more attention than any of them, especially here in CA where most people have never seen one. The Figaro Club and the online community is great too. Definitely, the most fun car I have ever owned, viva Figaro!

Keith Evans

Published on 16th September 2022

Why I love my Figaro by Keith Evans, California USA

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