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The key is some European Manufacturers will sell a US Specification vehicle for European Delivery with all stateside warranties in place.
Military and Diplomats can make the purchase in Europe and the rest of us do it mostly through a US Dealer as is the case with Mercedes, Porsche, Volvo, Audi, BMW, etc.
I did import a 1939 motorcycle I picked up in Austria without any difficultlies because none of the safety or emission requirements apply to a vehicle so old.
For late model, non US spec vehicles the compliance costs can quickly make the venture a no go...
To import a car less than 25 years old there are many limitations and other than factory european manufacturer delivery programs that allow you to pick up a US spec vehicle, drive it around europe a bit and then send it home to your local dealer or buying a car that is not going to be licensed for the street, your options are very limited or non existent and costly.
Probably if you said what you wanted to import, that would make it easier to help you.
For late model, non US spec vehicles the compliance costs can quickly make the venture a no go...
I imported a car during the Gray Market days. During that time the cost of coversion, shipping ,import taxes and the car were less than buying the actual car in the US. The biggest problem was parts.
I imported a car during the Gray Market days. During that time the cost of coversion, shipping ,import taxes and the car were less than buying the actual car in the US. The biggest problem was parts.
I knew people that did it successfully in the mid 80's with Mercedes vehicles.
Maybe, you can answer this... is it true that the imported is now responsible for California Smog compliance just like regular importers?
The grey market vehicles I see have data plates stating the name of the importer certifying compliance...
Nope. I brought in a Porsche, amongst other cars for a friends business, in the early 80's into NY and it was a few thousand to convert it. As far as I remember a NYS rep came to us once we finished all the cars conversions and gave us notices of compliance so they could be registered. But yes most of the cars imported were Mercs and Beemers during that time since the laws had so many holes in them. The only thing I remember about CA is that I knew that some people had to install manual adjusters on their dashboards due to driving at different altitudes.
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Yes... my military friends do it often...
Yes. It is one of the fringe benefits of being present or past military. I have numerous baked goods come in nearly freshly baked to the base nearby.
I live in a city with a NATO Air Force training base, so there are a lot of Europeans here and I see quite a few non-US cars running around here. I don't know if they're bringing them over on some sort of temporary agreement or what. Just yesterday I saw a Seat minivan and I used to see a Smart car running around here a couple years before it was even announced they were going to sell them here.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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In Bellevue, WA the dealerships selling Mercedes and Volvo offer this service.
You can go and pick up your vehicle at the factory, drive it while on vacation
there in Europe and then when you fly back the car is shipped over to be here soon after you return. They take care of all the details.
In Bellevue, WA the dealerships selling Mercedes and Volvo offer this service.
You can go and pick up your vehicle at the factory, drive it while on vacation
there in Europe and then when you fly back the car is shipped over to be here soon after you return. They take care of all the details.
But you're not importing a European-spec car. You're still buying a US-spec car that was built for the US market. There's a HUGE difference.
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