Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I thoroughly expect to be flamed (probably incinerated) for this question....however I will implore you to 'bear with' me, for what may seem like an outrageously stupid question, but one which I have legitimate reason for asking....
Essentially, working backwards on my question;
1. Is it legal to drive a right hand car in some or all states of the US? Do I need to obtain any form of special exemption or license for this, or is it fair to say some states will allow you to drive specific cars, regardless of whether they are LHD or RHD?
2. Assuming that this is possible, does anyone have knowledge as to the registration and insurance implications of such
3. Does anyone have any knowledge or expertise with regards to the importation of RHD vehicles from locations such as Japan or the UK?
(If I use a hypothetical example, of bringing - say - a 2008/9 BMW M3, or Mercedes SL55, or Audi R8, etc etc?)
I see you are in Oz-the whole question is kind of moot for the vehicles you are mentioning. You may be able to use them as your own vehicle for 1 year if you are temporarily living here, but as for importing them, they must be "federalized" (long and expensive), over 25 years old, or you can let customs dispose of them for you (crusher). The US is really strict on this. And even the 25 year old exemption isn't a given, as people have been having trouble getting Defenders into the US, which annoys me as I was hoping to import one for myself.
The issue isn't RHD, there are plenty of them here, the US mail had RHD Postie Jeeps, but differing safety and emission standards.
I didn't really want to get into this level of detail, lest it confound my more general question but yes, the intent is to;
1. Move to US (cognisant of the many issues that entails, not the scope of this discussion)
2. Import a RHD vehicle into the US (as I doubt I'll easily find what I want readily available in RHD trim)
3. Stay for a year
4. Take vehicle with me to Australia - that is, vehicle is re-exported
GnomadAK - am I correct in interpreting your comment above as meaning that 'it is not possible to import any RHD car under 25 years of age (i.e. post 1989) into the USA?'
You might have a number of problems if you plan on driving on the highway and you have to pass a truck….
Just saying…
That is an entirely valid comment. To which my response is...the car would hardly ever see the light of day. It might get driven around the block. The purpose of the import then export is not to acquire a means of transport - I would use a LHD vehicle for my daily commute - the purpose is entirely 'financial'.
By way of example;
In Australia, a 2010 Audi R8 V10 convertible has an asking price circa $250K AUD
In the UK, this is only 65K GBP. In AUD terms, this is $120K. When inclusive of all import costs, it is app $170K (you see, there's the rub for Aussie cars...the taxes).
However, this is still an appreciable difference between the two, and there are quite a few cars (well known to private importers that can fetch $50-100K AUD tax free upon personal import to Australia). That bit about tax free is also worth considering, given it is about what someone on $175K AUD takes home in a year.
Of course, there are other issues to consider - FX fluctuation, depreciation, etc - however there are methods to treat these risks as well.
In other words, live overseas for a year (UK or US), be largely unconcerned about my income, and focus on bringing back a stable of 2-3 cars (limit is 1 per person, but again...options exist).
I have tried Google - most of the content I found was conjecture and - as you'll appreciate - not being from the US, trying to mine through the various regulatory bodies (when you don't know where to start, and which is responsible for what) is far from easy. A process always looks easier to those most familiar with it.
However, Google Uni is always a great starting point, and you have been kind enough to provide a few valuable starting points - for which you have my sincere thanks.
It's possible (barely) to import non US market cars under 25 years old into the US, but it's time consuming and expensive and if you're only staying a year I'd doubt it be worth it. The US is very protective of the Detroit three, which is why there are two sets of standards for auto makers: FMVSS (US) and UN ECE (everyone else). A lot of parts that meet UN ECE standards also meet or exceed FMVSS standards, but cannot be used because they are not DOT certified. All of those parts must be replaced and the car has to be certified by an approved importer. It's stupid and it's all done in the name of protectionism.
The 25 year old rule is usually pretty cut and dried. Once a car is older that 25 years, the restrictions are waived. The reason Defenders are so hard to import right now is, because their outward appearance changed very little over the years, people are trying to import later versions and faking the age, then reselling them. So they're getting extra scrutiny these days. Here's a good read on the issue...
I see you are in Oz-the whole question is kind of moot for the vehicles you are mentioning. You may be able to use them as your own vehicle for 1 year if you are temporarily living here, but as for importing them, they must be "federalized" (long and expensive), over 25 years old, or you can let customs dispose of them for you (crusher). The US is really strict on this. And even the 25 year old exemption isn't a given, as people have been having trouble getting Defenders into the US, which annoys me as I was hoping to import one for myself.
The issue isn't RHD, there are plenty of them here, the US mail had RHD Postie Jeeps, but differing safety and emission standards.
This is completely incorrect. There would be no trouble to import the cars he is mentioning.
OP, yes, you can drive RHD vehicles here in the states. As was already mentioned, there are some vehicles here that already are RHD like mail trucks and such.
Basically, the rule is that if the LHD version of the same car is sold here, then you can get the RHD version here. All the car needs is to meet the same safety and emission standards we have here. So for a 2008 or 2009 M3 is what you want, we already have those here. The car is almost exactly the same, as far as the chassis is concerned, it's already been crash tested and DOT approved, etc.
A friend of mine went through the process a few years ago to import a 1998 RHD 3000GT VR4. The car was of course already sold here as a LHD, he had no problems importing it because the only difference was that the steering was switched. He used a company in CA to do it, I'm not sure if you have to do it through a Registered Importer or not, but it was a lot easier to do so I'm sure.
Now, bringing a car in that was never sold here can be much more difficult. But for the cars you are asking about, it's not a problem.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
clarification
