Attention All Car Collectors: Are you familiar with the 25-Year Rule? The 25-Year Rule allows older vehicles to be imported into the U.S. without needing to meet current safety and emissions standards. Essentially this rule exempts vehicles that are 25 years old or older from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) regulations — so each year brings about a new wave of options for auto collectors. Learn more about the impact on 2025 car purchases.
If you’re a car collector, you need to know about the 25-Year Rule. Officially introduced in 1988 as part of the Imported Vehicle Safety Compliance Act, the 25-Year Rule allows older vehicles to be imported into the U.S. without needing to meet current safety and emissions standards. This rule essentially exempts vehicles that are 25 years old or older from Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) regulations.
The rule has three basic parts:
- If a vehicle isn’t produced for the North American (NA) market it must attain 25 years of age from the date of manufacture until it is eligible for importation;
- Vehicles over the age of 25 become exempt from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety regulations; and
- Vehicles over the age of 21 become exempt from the EPA emissions requirements.
So for this year (2025), vehicles built in 2000 or earlier became eligible for import under this rule.
Why does the 25-Year Rule exist?
This act was designed to set safety standards for vehicles using North American roads, while also warding off further competition from international auto manufacturers who were gaining valuable U.S. market share, especially during the “Malaise period” of the early 1970s to mid-1980s. This was a period in the U.S. automotive industry characterized by poor products and a generalized industry unease — an era of profound adjustment as the U.S. automotive industry adapted to meet wholly new demands for more fuel-efficiency.
During this time, domestic automakers were known for larger displacements —the total volume of the cylinders in an engine — leading to high gasoline consumption. During the Malaise era, international vehicles, which were much more likely to have greater fuel efficiency gaining a significant amount of market share.
What is the impact on Auto Collections?
Each year brings about a new wave of options for auto collectors. Some may entertain speculative purchases with the hopes of price appreciation. Others looking to fulfill a sentimental attachment may face challenges to acquiring a certain car due to high demand. For example, Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) variants may be scarce among collectors with an affinity for old racing arcade games or early tv console video games, like Ridge Racer, Tokyo Xtreme Racer, and Sega GT.
Additionally, there may be a significant impact on the pricing of existing collections as certain buyers’ budgets may now be able to expand into lower-mileage options. That means, instead of buying a higher mileage muscle car from the 70’s, collectors may now see low-mileage JDM options become available.
What cars are we looking forward to this year?
2025 brings about many newly eligible vehicles that can now be imported:
- Ruf RGT: Extremely limited quantity, not many made it to the U.S. originally.
- VU Holden Ute: Widely available in its domestic market of Australia. The sporty Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) Maloo variant is more desirable for collectors of which 784 units were produced for the 2000 model year.
- Morgan Aero8: A car inspired by classic British vehicles; there were only 210 units produced for the entirety of its model run. As these become available to import, U.S. buyers are drawn to the unique driving experience they offer.
For more information about car collections, family heirlooms, or other illiquid assets that you own and the role they play in your investment portfolio, reach out to your McKinley Carter advisor.