That Estima I didn't win

Recently, a JDM right-hand drive 1989 Toyota Estima with 19,000 miles came up for auction on Bring A Trailer. I got excited. It was in great condition and was the exact color scheme of what my wife's family had in the 1990s. Without really thinking it through, I bid $3500 on it. Then, I stopped.

The minivan was imported here by Pacific Coast Auto. Here is a detailed video they made at the dock.

Then, in July 2016, it was sold by a Las Vegan for $7300. It ended up in Washington state and was sold at the last auction for $6000.

Why did I stop at $3500? The biggest issue was registration. Although the van was more than 25 years old, I could not register it in California. Under state smog rules, the van had to be a make and model sold here at the time it was new. Though it is essentially a Previa, it is still nevertheless an Estima. The Estima was never sold here. I could not register it legitimately.

A minor issue that may have become a bigger issue is the placement of the steering wheel and sliding door. If this was going to be a family hauler, a steering wheel on the other side would have made passing unsafe. In addition, loading and unloading the Golden Boy(tm) on the opposite side of the van-- where he would be exposed to traffic if we parked it on the street-- would also be inconvenient/hazardous.

Hence, no Estima.

Postscript: It looks more and more likely that we're getting the i3. I just have not had the time to sign up for an extended two-day test drive.