Hello All,

I am moving back to Germany and would like to know if this is a hassel with my old mercedes. What needs to be done to get through the German Inspection?

Do I have to change something on the car?

Thanks,

cK

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1972 w108 4.5L & Schiebedach.

Dunno the specs, but seems ther's some kinda conspiracy of Vintage MB's being exported from the USA to Europe. Norway fellow here bought a 108 4.5 USA Export and claimed they have nothing like it in Europe. Holland and Portuguese MB fans have visited this board looking for American export agents too.

Nothing different regarding headlights and bumpers circa 1972, but it will probly be the only 4.5 w108 in town, thats all i know if it helps.

I've heard that German auto inspections are pretty tough. It used to be that cars failing inspection in Germany often had to be shipped outside the country before they could be sold. As long as your car is rust-free and the suspension is still tight, you may be OK. Would the Mercedes Classic Center know more? Or maybe you could contact the German Embassy in Washington.
Also keep in mind that gas is over $6 per gallon over there!

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

Yes,

I would be the only one in town.

How much would a complete paint job cost on my car. Not a 100, but 85?

Cambridge, MA. Anybody knows a good one?

cK

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1972 w108 4.5L & Schiebedach.

cost is a factor of how much prep. Are you prepared to remove everything, absolutely everything from the outside of the car so that the painter need only sand it down? Or do you want them to do that? Do you want them to paint around it?

From what little I know of the german inspections, they are precise and here in the US, that would mean ruthless. Rust will have to be fixed with steel welding. Lights would have to be euro-spec, not those weak US sealed beams. All controls and glass would have to be functional.

-CTH

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- cth350@gmail.com
http://www.111lakeside.com/

Importing a car into the EU is pretty straight forward if the car was originally built in the EU. You don't even have to pay import tax.

For the car to be road legal, you would have to make it pass the inspection. In the UK, that would be the MOT.

People who buy from the US are generally looking for rust free (dry state) cars. Mechanical parts are generally plentiful in the UK as the body expires way before the engine becomes tired.

When I lived in the UK, the big thing was to import cars from Japan to the UK. You would get 5 year old Japanese cars with seriously low mileage for next to nothing.

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With best regards

Al

CTH is correct. The German TUV inspection is rigorous. So is the Dutch APK inspection and British MOT. And they are annual for all cars older than a certain age. I have personally brought 3 old cars from US to Europe and 3 from EU to US. From a customs point of view you need a "bill of sale" or some kind of statement of value upon which they base the import duty and sales tax that you would have to pay. Sales tax is high: Dutch is 19%, not sure what German is. I always used a rule of thumb that it would cost 25% of the value of the car in addition to the shipping (whish used to be about $1000-$1500 for RoRo ship from East Coast to EU depending on car length). It does not really matter whether your car was build in Germany. But, if it has been on the road there (with German license) you MAY be able to avoid import, but I know the Dutch purge DOT records after 3-5 years of inactivity and consider a car a "new" import (i.e., pay sales tax) again after that. For getting through inspection, IF it is a type that NEVER was type approved in Germany, you may be in for hassles (I know folks trying to import MGBGT V8s from UK to Holland had to pass new vehicle noise and emission levels at one point). But I am pretty sure that 4.5 liter MBs ran there. If that is the case, you just have to go for regular TUV inspection. Headlights must be changed for sure to EU specs (and make sure there is absolutely no rust in reflector). Everything else should be fine, PROVIDED it is in full working condition. They will put the car on a shock and brake test stand. Suspension play will be checked and cars will fail is any of it is outside the margins. Make sure all brake hoses are new (they love to check for cracks), no cracks in front window, and NO rust in the structural parts. You will have to weld those and althought some rules state that only visual inspectios are allowed, I have seen them use screwdrivers and hammers on suspicious parts (and breaking through metal). A lot depends on the individual inspector. If he/she likes old cars and you have a good looking one with a story, you are often halfway there. Ask the MB club Germany for some tips. I bet some folks there have imported MBs from the US. A good freight forwarder and importer is also key to avoid hassles on the other end. Also, hang on to your US title even though US customs may want you to turn it in (I remember needing it in Holland for customs). If you ever want to bring your car back with you to the US. and if you have the old title, your car is simply labeled "returned goods" and free of US duties.

Good luck!

Bert
111 '70 280SE/c 3.5 (4 spd) + '63 MGB + '73 MGBGT V8 (imported from EU)

So how hard was it to import the MGB GT V8 from the UK to the US? I ask because I wouldnt mind one of these. They are one of the 200 or so cars in my top 10.

I have a lead on another top 10 car. I triumph stag that has been converted to run a Chevy 327 (missing the engine and transmission). Solid body and hardtop included.

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With best regards

Al

There is nothing conspiratorial about it, just the Europeans understand there is a good supply of old models that haven't suffered the ravages of European rust, winters and salt.

Several years ago I kept in touch with a German fellow from Berlin on ebay who I bought parts from. He came to the USA in search of a good W111 convertible for his father. He eventually found a beautiful nice yellow cabrio 220SEb, with a dead engine, in Texas, and shipped it back to Germany for the engine rebuild.

There is no longer a plentiful supply of good vintage Mercedes in Europe now.

Many of these cars failed the strictGerman TUV, or English MOT inspections and were parted out, or the cars were purchased cheaply and exported to Africa, east Europe, or the Middle East. You could buy a running German W123 that failed the TUV for $50 - $200, drive it to Spain, then through North Africa, then to Nigeria, and resell it for $1500 in Lagos, and have had an interesting vacation, as some people (University students) sometimes did. It involved some fiddling at the borders though, as this sort of thing is frowned upon by customs officials though

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1991 560 SEC AMG, 199k <---- 300 hp 10:1 ECE euro HV ...

1995 E 420, 170k "The Red Plum" (sold)

2015 BMW 535i xdrive awd Stage 1 DINAN, 6k, <----364 hp

1967 Mercury Cougar, 49k

2013 Jaguar XF, 20k <----340 hp Supercharged, All Wheel Drive (sold)

Easy. As long as the car is older than 25 years, you are exempt from federal emission and safety tests/standards. (I read somewhere that the few who imported those cars in the 1980s had to add side lights and door+bumper reinforcements, but that is all finished because of the age limit). Georgia does not require a title for cars older than 19(?) years, and has no inspection either. I had a good freight forwarder in Jacksonville, FL, who handled the whole import side ($150 fee then, plus 10% import duty on stated value - couple of hundred bucks) and put it on a trailer to be delivered at my house in Atlanta (about $250). I went to Dekalb county tag office, showed them the import papers, paid the ad valorem tax and tag fee, and got a tag right there. Insured it with State Farm and started driving it. I didn't even change the headlights... The car was converted from RHD to LHD before shipping it, but nobody asked about that. I exported it from The Netherlands. My father delivered teh car to Amsterdam, gave paperwork to customs, paid shipping and car was put behind the fence and three days later on the boat. You would need a good contact in UK to make sure export is done right, but US side is easy.

Bert
111 '70 280SE/c 3.5 (4 spd) + '63 MGB + '73 MGBGT V8