[ashink]

I have a 2006 BMW 325i and was wondering if I can take it back overseas with me to Belgium. Does anyone know how to go about doing this and if it is possible (due to difference in specs etc). Also, is the the answer BMW-specific or is it the same for all cars? Any information would greatly help. If you could reply back to me via email at ashin.kothari@gmail.com that would really help!

Ashin

[nmulax]

I'm curious about this as well.
Looking at taking a job in Europe. Either stick with my company and head to France, or switch companies and go to Germany. Obviously the beauty of buying a car there is access to all the models we don't have available in the states. But the downside is the higher purchase cost.

Would it be advantages to ship a US-spec car over there?

[Bikerjoy]

I know quite a bit about this when it comes to Sweden. A lot of these rules are the same across europe but please take my information for what it is (about Sweden).

Importing cars to Sweden can be done tax and customs free IF the following conditions are met.
1. You are moving to Sweden and will have your permanent residence there.
2. You have owned the vehicle in question for a minimum of 12 months before importing it to the country.

As far as regulations go, as long as the same make and model are approved and for sale on the European market, you only have to go through a "registration inspection". Basically the inspection will check for major deviations from the Euro spec model. In the case of BMWs no blocking differences are present to the best of my knowledge. You must have km/h on the speedometer (secondary scale is fine). Other minor differences like color of turn indicators, reflectors and so on are exempt from this inspection. Total cost from leaving the car in a US port to picking it up, titled, tagged, inspected and street leagal in Sweden will run you between 1500-2000 USD depending on if you ship on a Roll on Roll off ship or in a container of your own. This is a one stop shop kind of deal, they will handle everything for you, shipping, insurance, export, import, inspection, and so on.

If the car is not available on the Swedish market like Acura for example, one of two things can happen.
1. You will have to go through a full technical certification just like the manufacturers have to do when launching a new model in the country. Needless to say this is an expensive and long process. It would have to be one special car for it to make sense to do this.
2. If you are lucky someone else has imported the same model before you, and you can simply "tag on" to their certification.

As far as Belgium goes, I actually work for a Belgian company and have several Belgian co-workers. If you are interested I can ask around and see if they would know were to find more info specific for Belgium.

[nmulax]

Thanks for the info.

I really want to pick up a Z4 M Coupe, and given the crazy cost of one over there ($90k USD), I was thinking it might be best to get it here and ship it over. Since it's a car available in Germany, I figure the cost of shipping and bringing it to Euro spec will definitely be under what I would spend buying it there.

Then the question is do I purchase here (take advantage of the 1.9% rate) and take it with me. Or do I do a lease, and worry about a car situation once I've gotten settled in there. I have to figure out if moving out of the country allows me to break the lease.

[Bikerjoy]

Originally Posted by nmulax

Thanks for the info.

I really want to pick up a Z4 M Coupe, and given the crazy cost of one over there ($90k USD), I was thinking it might be best to get it here and ship it over. Since it's a car available in Germany, I figure the cost of shipping and bringing it to Euro spec will definitely be under what I would spend buying it there.

Then the question is do I purchase here (take advantage of the 1.9% rate) and take it with me. Or do I do a lease, and worry about a car situation once I've gotten settled in there. I have to figure out if moving out of the country allows me to break the lease.

Keep in mind that most financing companies will not release the Title to you before the car is fully paid off. Same goes for a lease, they will not let you move out of the country with a car under lease. In fact I believe even the US customs will not let the car leave state side unless you have a free and clear title. Basically all european countries require you to register your car in the country if you take up residence there. No title in hand, you can't register the car in the country you are going to.

Of course there is probably some work around for this if you are in the service.

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by jkyards

If you want a good selection id try a parts locator. One place that can find you a good short or long block is "Texas Wrecking Yards".

No.

[Meeni]

For France, the taxation rules are the same as the one exposed for Sweden above, maybe these are harmonized for the european market (?)

Usually you have to have the car homologation for the european market redone. It's a lenghty and annoying process that's not really worth it for a car that's also available locally. It's more interesting for a very special model, especially if a similar road legal model exist.

Typical problem items are tires. You have DOT approved tires, you need to buy the exact same tires with the ECE stamp on them. Emissions are strict too, if you can pass cali, you are good, but if you are in southeast US with no emission control you may have a bad surprise.

[fischer]

Hi Ashin,

My advice: Don´t do it.

I live in Austria and Germany and I know some informations about importing of US Cars. Some people import Cars from the US to Europe, that is not the big deal. You have to take care and change some things of the cars, it is possible but it is too much work and bullshit for a man who is not familar with this process and also not suitable for a BMW 325i.



Only some concerns (Belgium, Germany, Austria they all have similar regulations and rules, so I think if it is necessary for Germany for Belgium too):

Change the orange side lights
Maybe problems with your Navigation
Mile / Kilometers speedometer
a lot of Paper work (paper work sucks in Europe much more than in US - in my opinion)

Resell-price of your car, well a Corvette or a Dodge US-cars you can sell them at a lower price in Belgium or Germany but a BMW will be much tougher to sell.

Anyway at least you also have to pay a lot of fees and taxes when you import the car. I estimate around of 30% to 50%(depends on final destination country, for example Germany about 30%, Austria about 45%) of taxes of the current car worth. Also the transportation will be around 1000 or 2000USD from the US to Europe.

Here you can check out what a BMW 325i costs at the moment from a BMW Dealer in Germany(Belgium will be a similar price maybe some percents more):

http://www.bmw.de/de/topics/gebrauch...genboerse.html

I have gave you the direct link, because everything in German.

And here also a direct link for Z4M

http://www.bmw.de/de/topics/gebrauch...genboerse.html

Of course only four cars, because a seven or eight year cars are not popular for dealers, because they are committed to give warranties - private sellers aren´t so the most of the cars will be offered from private sellers, for example:

http://fahrzeuge.autoscout24.de/?aty...rchmask-Button


One more estimate of mine: A 10000USD priced used car in US will cost at the end about 13000 to 14000Euro in Germany. 10000USD are about 8000Euro.

Please mind for Oldtimers there are much easier rules.

Anyway I would recommed to buy a car at a local BMW dealer in Germany. Or rent a BMW for several month.

Best luck.