Kar98

People did go that route. Specifically, a few dozen Nissan Skyline sports cars were imported from Japan and the importer and the buyers went the route you described. A couple of years down the road, US Customs got wind of it and ordered the cars destroyed.

Michael

I don't know what brand of kool aid you have been drinking but they sell the same cars in the US that they sell in Europe except for minor safety and smog control differences.

Bob

You are looking at the temporary import, for 12 months, you keep it longer than that, it won't be able to be registered, so it won't be road legal and it'll get scrapped if you don't remove it from the country.

There is a reason people don't do personal imports and it's not just because of State emission requirements.

Tarkak9

there are such things as a 335d and X5 Xdrive5d over here... d for diesel. Save your dosh and buy used.

There are some who have retrofitted or converted to a diesel engine etc but that's whole different nightmare. eg get an old Discovery (D1) and throw in a 300tdi imported from the UK.

I think BMW still does it. You're basically going to the dealership and ordering a US spec car and picking it up in Germany; faff about touring around and leave w/in 30 days. Primarily to cater to certain Jones who want bragging rights against their country club buddies or those who hope people will be wowed and impressed by their story...

Scouse Express

.....and along with all the other problems already mentioned, you can kiss going through the Drive-Thru at Mickey Ds "Goodbye."


Jim.

md95065

I don't find any of the OP's reasons for wanting to do import a European vehicle into the US to be particularly compelling but if they are really set on doing so then they might want to try something similar to the way in which Steve Jobs circumvented the California requirement to have a license plate on his car - just import a new one every 9 months or so and send the old one back ...

Of course the expense of doing this might be just a little bit more than the projected savings in fuel costs ...

Steve_

Unless it's a US/Canadian spec vehicle it has to be pre-1976 as I recall. Not really a practical option. It would be worthless once in the US even if it were possible, which it's not. I know people who've imported their cars from Canada and simply having the odometer in km and the speedo in km basically makes the car worthless unless they swap it out.

jackattack

I know of two people who have done this - both bought brand new BMWs from Germany. They went over to Europe and picked up their car, drove it around for a couple of weeks on a road trip around France, Switzerland and Germany. Then handed it back (not sure where, if it was back to the dealer in Germany or to a port) and hopped on a plane back to the US.
Then their car was shipped to them a few weeks later in the US. It's not as crazy as it sounds, and apparently the upscale manufacturers are used to people doing this and can handle the paperwork etc. The cars were specifically designed for Export and as far as I know you'd never be able to tell that these cars were bought in Germany vs the US. One of these buddies shipped it to California and the other one to Philadelphia. I think that the cost was similar if not a teensy bit more than buying direct from the dealer in the US but they wanted the experience and fun of a European road trip.
If you want to ship an already used UK car over there, then I think that is a completely different kettle of fish. This scheme is for new, LHdrive upscale cars for Export.

sir_eccles

The thing with the BMW European Delivery Plan, and this is key to the whole discussion here, is that they are US spec US models ordered in the US. The only difference is the fly drive holiday you have in Europe to pick it up.

ottotheboar

Nothing new there a few years ago I bought a 1963 BSA motorcyle from a chap in California who under a similar scheme flew to the UK picked up a bike rode it round the UK for a month then BSA shipped it home for him. He had photos of him and a some others starting the bikes outside the factory.

md95065

Precisely - so why not just buy the damn thing in the US ...

tonrob

Already answered...

Awesome Welles

Because he wants a diesel - BMW, MB and Audi high-end oil-burners are not offered here - yet.

I did what the OP is suggesting, though it was with a Euro-spec American built car (Chevrolet Corvette). I initially personally imported it for 12 months and then applied to the DMV to permanently import. It was very simple - but involved a US built vehicle - it would have been very complex/not possible with a non-US car that has no equivilant here - so no emissions comparative data.

The suspension set-up is the same. German BMW's don't handle any better than US BMW's.

Hovik

BMW, Mercedes, Volvo and possibly others do "European delivery". you pickup your US spec car at the factory, and drive to the shipping port. (check out your favorite brand forum, and search for ED )

I'd not recommend buying a Euro spec car and bringing it over. Even German cars are cheaper over here than in Europe, but the selection of engines and equipment is poorer. There's also strict regulations regarding import of cars (http://nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import), which in effect bans private import of cars newer than 12(?) years.

N1cky

I'm sure I read somewhere that certain BMW and Mercs that are on sale in the US are German build, where as the more popular ones (3 series...) are US build. So if you buy a certain model in the US it will be a German built car anyway.