Buying used, authentic parts for your sick JDM rides just got a little easier.
If you’re familiar at all with modifying imports, you probably know Up Garage, a chain of Japanese stores that buy and sell used car and motorcycle parts and supplies.
Earlier yesterday (Feb 2, 2024) they announced on social media they’re about to open their first US based store later this March (Spring 2024) in Garden Grove, CA.
Check out their announcement below.
For the longest time, if you wanted used car parts from JDM cars, you’d have to go through Crooober, UP Garage’s online website.
While prices for popular JDM parts like wheels are reasonable, shipping costs and waiting up to several months was unavoidable.
Now, if you live in and around Garden Grove, CA (southern California) shopping for sick JDM wheels is as easy as going to Walmart.
And, if you need customer service and support, a US based Up Garage makes it that much easier.
Here’s the kind of selection you can expect to find at a UP Garage retail location.
Online chatter around the announcement was mostly praiseworthy, congratulating Up Garage on committing to a US based store.
Logistically, it makes sense to open a home base in the state closest to Japan with one of the largest ports in the United States (Long Beach.)
However, there are many commenters/car enthusiasts upset they chose California instead of their respective states, citing increasingly hostile, anti-car legislation and one of the nation’s strictest emissions standards.
“Why California??? Worst place in the USA!,” @loz_A80 commented.
“Seriously, the worst place to open one, but I’m glad to see it’s coming to the US.,” @sdrats added.
Regardless of the ban in California on the sale of gas powered cars by 2035, California remains one of the best markets (not to mention home to one of the largest and well off Asian American communities in the nation) for the sale of aftermarket car parts.
California has a rich, car culture history and continues to have one of the largest (if not the largest) import tuner scene in the United States.
In addition, there’s been a noticeable increase in demand for JDM cars that are legal to import (25 years and older.)
The increasing complexity of new cars, not to mention their electrification, means that these slightly less complicated and tunable JDM cars from the ’80s,’90s, and ’00s are even more desirable.
Simply put, there’s a lot of people in and around the Garden Grove area who are willing to spend fistfuls of money on car parts.
Up Garage’s Garden Grove location will be poised to supply those owners and their cars with authentic JDM car parts and accessories for years to come.
As for the rest of the nation, buying from Up Garage’s Garden Grove location means slightly cheaper shipping and wait time.
And, who knows, this California store’s success might mean more locations in other states.
