>gtseng@westworld.com (George Tseng) wrote:
>
>>Does anyone have any information as to importing a car from Europe (i.e.
>>what federal or state --California-- requirements I have to fulfill)?
>>Also, shipping company recommendation would be nice, too.
I'm curious about this, from another angle:
Before 1987, a lot of collectable or special-model cars from Europe came
to the US in the so-called Gray Market. In those days, cars made after
1968 could get a waiver on the EPA emissions requirements, under a rule
which allowed an individual to import a car once in his or her lifetime.
The cars still had to meet Dapartment of Transportation safety
requirements, and so a whole industry developed for converting non-US
cars for importation. The gray market died out as a result of changes
in the currency exchange rates after the stock market crash in 1987.
After that, people were buying cars in the US and sending them to
Europe.
I was involved in that activity, back then, but I'm not up on what the
current regulations are. I believe the once-in-a-lifetime rule is gone,
but I'm not sure. I'd be interested if anyone has information on this.
. . . . . . . . . . .
Now I'll tell another little story. It's not really pertinent to
anything, but it's the ultimate car-importation horror story.
A customer of mine, back in the late '80s, wanted to buy a particular
kind of sports car, and wanted to benefit from the favorable exchange
rates by buying it in Europe. He decided to buy a 1967, so that the EPA
requirements would not be an issue. He arranged the purchase from a
broker in England, and bought it sight-unseen. The car was actually
from Germany.
When the car arrived on these shores, he had about $13,000 in it. A
really good example, in the US, would sell for about $20,000. But
that's when his problems began. First of all, the car was a mess. I
eventually ended up spending about $5,000 on it just to make it usable.
But the worst part was that US Customs claimed it was a 1969 model.
They made criminal charges against him for fraud, and impounded the car.
Luckily, my customer was a lawyer. Months went by, while he tried to
sue the broker in England, and straighten the whole mess out.
Eventually, he ended up with a mediocre car, and having paid more money
than if he had just searched out a really good US example.
I hope your experiences are a little better.
John Dean
Charlottesville, VA USA
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