Import into the US

Hi all,

maybe a bit of an unusual question for this forum but I am going to ask it anyway.

My son and his wife are going to be transferred from Europe to Michigan by his employer in a couple of months. They will stay for at least 4 years.

He has been in Michigan this winter and found it a good idea to get a awd for winter. As I have a Legacy 4th generation (3.0R SW) in mint condition but which I hardly use anymore, he is thinking of taking that car in a container (together with furniture etc...) and legally import the car.

I have been looking around in internet to find out about what is needed to get the import done and to see if it is vene economically worthwile doing it.

He spoke with someone who told him it is not so complex as many others are trying to make us believe. I myself are a bit sceptical and think it is a lot of paperworks and orbably not worthwile the effort.

Can anyone orientate us?

Thanks in advance for your assistance

I don't think emissions would be the issue as the standards over here are as tough.

Crashbars. hmm I don0t know what the difference is and with all modern active safety devices and airbags, honestly crashbars seems a bit odd. Anyhow thanks all for the input, I will advices him to get a decent Sub once he is in the US. I must say that prices are a bit cheaper over here (Spain).

rhd cars were allowed into canada provided there 10 years old or older. but this has changed no more rhd cars are allowed to be imported in quebec at least. ( several accidents caused this .. imagine trying to pass a truck on a country road )

the big bumper beams in north america are for 5 mph or less no damage rules. that doesn't affect overall safety.

you should be able to find more info on us government sites.

but its probable with shipping going to cost about 4000$ and then fees and inspections and this and that.

how much would your car sell for in spain ? subarus in europe seam to be very rare, i have been in germany for 2 weeks and have seen 3! and those were 99 impreza, and 2 04 foresters.

Well Germany is probably the exception together with France, but you will find Subaru's in Switzerland, Austria, Nordic Countries, UK and in Spain. In N. Spain, specially in this areas were you might need AWD we have an increasing number of users. We have not tons of snow in Spain but in the Pyrenees mountain areas and ski resorts it is a good thing to have an AWD. You can't be putting snow chains on and off very 20 miles or so and snow tyres won't last outside the mountain roads were they get too hot, so AWD with intermediates is fine. The mayor obstacle is that it is a heavily underrated vehicle. Not a lot of publicity, no TV spots, hardly any special discount actions etc.. In addition I think Subaru's designers weren't really inspired with the 5th generation Legacy and specially the Tribeca's are in my opinion plain ugly. For the price of a Legacy you can have a BMW 3 series or even 5 series an Audi 4 or 6 and for many people status and "what the neighgbours might think" is more important then driving quality, and state of the art AWD drive etc...

a 2004 Legacy 3.0R (4th generation in the US) ,full equip with all whistles and bells, with 110.000 miles and in very good condition will sell for around 7.000,-Euros which is some 9.225,-$

The most popular Subaru in Europe is the Forester with mannual gear box and with 2.0l. diesel engine. I don't like the automatic gear box myself and ordered a 3.0 R Spec B wagon with mannual gear box, however then they told me they would not import the Spec. B to Spain. So I ordered the automatic gear box. 4 months after delivery (six months waiting list!) they imported the Spec B!!!!

Looking at the newer 5th.generation pictures on the Subaru US website, and comparing with European models, the mayor difference I can see is the orange coloured front indicator lights which are integrated within the headlight sets. In Europe they are white in the front and orange in the rear.

Haven´t seen any difference with the crashbars/bumpers. Huge bars would be handy in Spanish cities were people on the street will park by "ear" and reverse untill they hit you. Some will even push around a bit to get more space.....

About the transport, the shipping would be paid by the company he works for. I got a look at the US government website and it seems a hell of a job.

I myself had some nasty experiences 30 years ago when I imported my own car from the Netherlands into Spain and it took about a year to get all done, and that was through a customs agency. Without that it would have been just mission impossible. Rules were so tight to protect the inner markets.

Maybe a good experienced custom clearance company might do?

my work collegue imported a 2002 jetta (bora in europe ) from canada to portugal.

it cost about 2000$ they drove it with canadian plates for about 6 months ( aprently this is legal ) then they switch it over with a simple inspection.

I assume it has to be. Because in NC I see all kinds of Ontario, Canada tags on interstate 77 quite frequently.

That's the snowbirds.

That's the snowbirds.

yea old people go to die in florida..

or get some weird ass american busting in with a gun and starts shooting !

yea old people go to die in florida..

 

or get some weird ass american busting in with a gun and starts shooting !

The end result is the same

USDM legacies/outback do not have a rear fog light compared to EDM but that should not be a problem.

They do however have different headlights (beam and number of bulbs are different--i.e. the turn signal and parking light is combined into one bulb in the states while there are two separate bulbs for EDM).

You don't have to have a third turn signal bulb (on the side of the car) in the U.S. either.

Furthermore, I'd believe that DOT would check a bunch of parts on your car (such as tires, glass, etc..) and search for the 'DOT' logo to show that these parts meet U.S. specs.

In my opinion, it is neither hard nor expensive to bring the car to the U.S. but it may be a bit difficult/expensive to get it to meet the local DOT requirements.

I am sure if you take the time to find the local websites (from the state of Michigan) where people sell used cars, you will find awesome deals.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/

List of allowed imports (page 5). If it's not on the list then it needs to be crash tested.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/elig100111.pdf

Thank you everybody for your input. Finally and following a bit the advice of the guidelines we will contact a RI in the Michigan area and see what is needed and what the costs/fees are.

Cheers

You know, I'd believe that if you intend to bring your car into the U.S. temporarily (e.g. your son will have a work visa for instance), I would think that the rules may be different and they may let you drive your car. But in that case, they'll probably expect you to bring your car back to your country afterwards.

Getting the car converted and meet all U.S. standards must be for people intending to leave the car in the U.S. until its end of life. Do some research on that.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/

 

List of allowed imports (page 5). If it's not on the list then it needs to be crash tested.

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/elig100111.pdf

Bingo.

I know an importer, and the cost to get a non-approved car legally imported, is typically around $25k not including the cost of the 3 cars you need to buy and crash to prove their worthiness.

You can have a professional importer do the DOT reg. modifications to the car, submit all paperwork, and have them handle everything. A Subaru won't be as expensive as, say, a Ferrari, but it won't be free.

I'd sell the car in Spain, and buy something here.

If importing were easy, people would do it more often.

You know, I'd believe that if you intend to bring your car into the U.S. temporarily (e.g. your son will have a work visa for instance), I would think that the rules may be different and they may let you drive your car. But in that case, they'll probably expect you to bring your car back to your country afterwards.

Getting the car converted and meet all U.S. standards must be for people intending to leave the car in the U.S. until its end of life. Do some research on that.

Fourth link on the NHTSA page. You can only register a car temporarily for one year.