Has anybody here ever imported a car? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

eagle-co94 · #1 09-01-2007, 09:59 PM

Lets just say I have access to a company that regularly ships connexes to the US with "enough room for a car."

Any idea on what I will pay to get the car off the ship and registered? It'll meet customs regs I'm sure, but I'm concerned about taxes or tariffs to get it off the boat.

Any insight would be appreciated.

#2 09-01-2007, 10:00 PM

It's emissions controls and safety equipment that will be the biggest PITA for importing.

eagle-co94 · #3 09-01-2007, 10:04 PM

But cars that are 25 years old or more are exempt from those regs I thought.

#4 09-01-2007, 10:06 PM

Ah, you didn't specify what year/model you wanted so I assumed you wanted a new CDI.

TheDon · #5 09-02-2007, 12:32 AM

So.. James... what do you plan on bringing over eh?

eagle-co94 · #6 09-02-2007, 12:03 PM

Oh, nothing much, but this looks pretty freakin' cool:

http://cgi.ebay.de/Bestatter-Leichenwagen-MB-W123-200-E-nur-40582-km_W0QQitemZ270161363289QQihZ017QQcategoryZ9855QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It's too bad this doesn't run:

http://cgi.ebay.de/Mercedes-Benz-W123-Krankenwagen_W0QQitemZ320153419043QQihZ011QQcategoryZ9855QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or something like this:

http://cgi.ebay.de/Mercedes-Benz-230CE-W123_W0QQitemZ330161565212QQihZ014QQcategoryZ9855QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or this:

http://cgi.ebay.de/Merzedes-w123-230ce_W0QQitemZ140153611736QQihZ004QQcategoryZ9855QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

or even this if I sway towards a wagon:

http://cgi.ebay.de/Mercedes-230-TE-Baureihe-W123_W0QQitemZ290156006234QQihZ019QQcategoryZ9855QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I'm not too demanding...I just want all euro options (speedo, bumpers, headlights) and power windows. My neighbor swapped in a TD motor in his 280CE, so I'm confident I can handle that too. I'm just tired of all the overpriced cars (low mile CD's in excess of $10k, like the $14k one last week on ebay) and cancer (rust).

ImBroke · #7 09-02-2007, 11:54 AM

I brought a 74 Bronco over from Iceland, but it was a military move, and pretty much hassle free. I had to pay a small fee to import, and then the normal taxes, tags, etc.. Really not much of a hassle at all. I'd talk to your state's DMV to get the paperwork ahead of time.

TheDon · #8 09-02-2007, 12:12 PM

I remember a story here about a guy in the air force that tried to bring over some vintage Ferrari he bought for a song.. The AF found out halfway over the Atlantic. They said if they didn't dump it he would be given a court martial or something like that. So... They opened the rear cargo door in flight and rolled it off and into the deep blue from 100ft.

eagle-co94 · #9 09-02-2007, 12:33 PM

That sounds hilarious honestly. Never heard of such a thing. Having gone to Germany twice with the family, the American military pays for 1 car per family to ship it over...that's it. They don't specify which car though, so lots of soldiers ship over a cheap car (but clean enough to clear customs) and come back with beemers & benzes like they were going out of style.

I'm kind of partial to the Citroen XM:

but they're too new and weren't tested to come here as far as I know.

and my wife's first car was a goat:

but their prices on ebay are a bit out of whack too.

eagle-co94 · #10 09-02-2007, 12:40 PM

Wasn't thinking straight about the AF story. I don't doubt some loadmaster tried to slip somehting on an empty plane heading back stateside. All military vehicles go by boat, so it takes about 3-6 weeks, or atleast used to.

eagle-co94 · #11 09-02-2007, 12:42 PM

Yeah, but she had the car back home though so it was a cheap car. Getting one here will run $5k plus for the most part. Her 6-speed LT1-wagon cost us under $4k.

#12 09-02-2007, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eagle-co94

That sounds hilarious honestly. Never heard of such a thing. Having gone to Germany twice with the family, the American military pays for 1 car per family to ship it over...that's it. They don't specify which car though, so lots of soldiers ship over a cheap car (but clean enough to clear customs) and come back with beemers & benzes like they were going out of style.

I'm kind of partial to the Citroen XM:

but they're too new and weren't tested to come here as far as I know.

and my wife's first car was a goat:

but their prices on ebay are a bit out of whack too.

awesome cars! the XM is a real pita to work on though

TheDon · #13 09-02-2007, 12:39 PM

she had one of those... lmao... jeeeeze the Impala probably displaces 10x as much as one of those

jshadows · #14 09-02-2007, 12:44 PM

I was going to import a motorcycle to the US a few years back. Even if the vehicle was tested for the market, as I understood it, it would still have to go through the same BS testing. Basically, the importer told me to forget it, sell the bike and buy one stateside. Otherwise I was looking at $5K in costs.

The only difference between the bike I was importing and the US model was the friggin lawyer stickers, like "don't try and stick head in gas tank", "motorcycles are dangerous", "engine gets hot", etc...importer said didn't matter. 25 years old though..that changes everything.

I've been trying to find a 300GD that's old enough, but they seem to fetch a premium on both sides of the pond and are equally as rare.

eagle-co94 · #15 09-02-2007, 12:46 PM

True. On my trips over to Belgium I rarely see them. Too bad you couldn't show up at a German gov't auction or something.