As I am considering a job offer in the bay area, I have looked, briefly, at moving my two MBs there from Switzerland. Swiss and Californian emissions standards have been the same for a long time, generally stricter than the rest of Europe, though they relaxed this a couple of years ago.

However, I still feel I would not do it. The reason is that Kelley Blue Book prices suggest I can sell both cars here and pick up identical cars for 30% less over there. (Yes, I know the E280 is not available, so I compared with the 320.) Swiss prices are among the lowest in Europe, so it should be safe to generalize.

Now, for collectors' items, I suppose the story might be different. New car price differences will depend on currency. The program already mentioned works for some people.

__________________
1990 500SL 65k km - until May 11 2004
2004 E320 4-Matic wagon
2004 CLK500 Cabrio from May 11 2004