Hi all:

I'm hatching a plan to retrieve a van from from Europe and am wondering if anyone here has gone through the import process. If so can you recommend a good shipping company to start conversations with?

Any other advice would certainly be appreciated...

Many thanks and happy '08!

Hi, I got my UNIMOG from Switzerland through Bill Shima at unimogsales.com. VERY honest guy and still follows up with calls and e-mails to this day, 7 years later! It came in a container with another 'MOG and was delivered to my local area. You just have to have a ramp or a warehouse to unload the vehicle from the truck and a hefty pair of bolt cutters to remove the seal. Bill took care of all the paperwork.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

How new is the van and does it have any comparable counterpart sold in the USA?

The make, model and year will have a large bearing on it all. If the car is from a year that had little safety requirements, emission control and US DOT requirements, there is less to be done. Vehicles from the mid 1960s are much easier to import. I found a great 1968 Alfa several years ago but I couldn't get the paperwork completed before the owner got a full price offer. My requirement would have been a PCV valve, seat belts and lockable doors (all already on the car.) I worked with a guy who kept is mid 80s M6 from when he was stationed in Germany. It needed $1400 (IIRC) in shop work to meet DOT standards (door impact bars, emissions system, non-metric speedometer, different seat belts)

Try to get a full price estimate on the conversion before you sign.

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1987 300D (230,000 mi on a #14 head-watching the temp gauge and keeping the ghost in the machine)
Raleigh NC - Home of deep fried sushi!

It is 25 years old is the magic number. If it is older then 25 years then it is exempt from having to get crap added on! If it is newer then you have to go through the effort to meet US DOT laws!
I having been looking into importing a Trabant into the country so I have been learning the laws. Plus my friend has imported about 5 or 6 cars so I get info from him to.
Cheers

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Cary
Albuquerque
1967 200 Diesel Fintails Rule!

If you get a Trabi, remember to always keep it indoors so the cardboard doesn't mildew!

But seriously, there are 25-year-old Trabis? I thought they decomposed after five or ten.

This is one of those great projects that "someone else" should do. I look forward to seeing your pictures. I don't think you'll have a problem with a 25+ year old car as long as you use a reputable importer known to your DMV people.

BTW, there's a nice 601 "de luxe" Trabi, a 1988 model, ex-VW Museum, in eBay-Deutschland now, 2500 Euros, see this link.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

HA! i drove a Trabi in Berlin once and nearly pissed myself laughing. They are very kitch but I personally would never purchase one. They do last if you take care of them, but it's a whole new world with a 2-cycle gasoline (lawnmower) motor in there.

I suppose if I were to get one though it would HAVE to be the wagon model.

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1982 300TD 210K miles ("The Replacement" aka "The Anvil") - SOLD
1979 300SD 245K miles (never ending project)
2007 Pinarello F3:13
1995 Ducati 916 (SOLD, sniff)
1999 Ducati 900SSie (SOLD)

Trabant? Aren't those the miserable little things that Clarkson and his gang rip on all the time as the worst cars the communists ever pawned off on people?

Old Soviet stuff is junk, be it a T72 or a car.

Compared to that my VW is an S600!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrIH8oE1hzA

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2016 Corvette Stingray 2LT
1969 280SE
2023 Ram 1500
2007 Tiara 3200