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Thread: Importing e46 from Germany

  1. #26
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    Yeah I've made a few calls. From what I've been told if the car is on the exempt list and carries a US EPA sticker I'm essentially good to go.

    Absent a EPA certification sticker I if I can get a letter of conformity from the oem I'm also good to go and all I'll need to do is swap the gauge cluster.

    If I can't get a letter of conformity it becomes prohibitively expensive given the value of the car.

    Quote Originally Posted by BMWoW
    With all due respect, I think importing a car(doesn't have to be BMW) into usa would be stupid! You guys are exaggerating. Used cars in USA are ridiculously cheap! Turkey, still Europe, our cars worth over $30000!!! Most European countries, the same. If it was cheap and hassle free, I would be importing cars to turkey in the first place.

    Sent from my iPhone using BF.com

    This is factually incorrect. Patently false. Used cars in the us are outrageously overpriced given the cash for clunkers disaster artificially deflating the supply, as well as no one was leasing cars 3 years ago just post Lehman collapse, thus putting upward pressure on prices of used cars when the demand for used vehicles is still roughly the same and supply has shrunk dramatically.

    Go to mobile.de and there are over 400 e46s for under €5000 at the moment.

    To the individual who imported his 5. How was it working with the EPA or did you use your military exemption?
    Last edited by ggg05a; 02-25-2012 at 12:14 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  2. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by dworthy View Post
    Sound like somebody tattled on you is all.

    As for importing, I imported the 535i in my sig and paid 6.5k for everything.
    As the differance between the us and euro E-46 there isn't really much, you could import a 318i and would get maybe the same for a Canadan 320i.

    Sorry TerraPhatam, but alot of your info is wrong, you are correct for the older say pre 1990's but not afterwards. BMW figured that it costed more to make two different cars, American/International and Europen versions so they just make one: International. Some slight modification have to be made, like side marker lights and MPH put into the dash, but other than than, there is no differance.
    US and Europe have different regulations - parts corresponding to where the standards differ are going to vary. There's more different than what you think - I've been looking into what it'd take to turn my car into a completely euro spec vehicle and there's a decent bit of expense, especially if I can't get the parts used.

    In the case of the E46, the headlights are different - US and European regulations specify different cutoff patterns. US dashes are thicker (and are also missing the driverside glovebox; it's similar to the E39 differences, but not as drastic). The exhaust systems are fairly different (less restrictive cats and no SAP on Euro models). Most of the electronic parts are the same, but they come programmed differently - dealer would charge a fair bit to reprogram every single module. There may be more differences that aren't coming to mind, but the point is they are *not* identical. And if the E46 he gets happens be one of the ones with the rear booster seats built in, I"m not sure if that'd meet US safety standards (since those seats were never sold here to the best of my knowledge... unless it was a priority 1 option)

    Quote Originally Posted by ggg05a View Post
    Yeah I've made a few calls. From what I've been told if the car is on the exempt list and carries a US EPA sticker I'm essentially good to go.

    Absent a EPA certification sticker I if I can get a letter of conformity from the oem I'm also good to go and all I'll need to do is swap the gauge cluster.

    If I can't get a letter of conformity it becomes prohibitively expensive given the value of the car.




    This is factually incorrect. Patently false. Used cars in the us are outrageously overpriced given the cash for clunkers disaster artificially deflating the supply, as well as no one was leasing cars 3 years ago just post Lehman collapse, thus putting upward pressure on prices of used cars when the demand for used vehicles is still roughly the same and supply has shrunk dramatically.

    Go to mobile.de and there are over 400 e46s for under €5000 at the moment.

    To the individual who imported his 5. How was it working with the EPA or did you use your military exemption?
    There are plenty of E46s in the US that are cheaper than 5k Euro too (~7k USD). Won't be high end models, but I doubt they're all high-end models at that price over there. The couple E46 330s I found over there are a bit more expensive than what they sell for here (especially once KMs are taken into account).

    http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/sh...l?id=157062427
    http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/sh...l?id=157763671
    http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/sh...l?id=157187392

    Cash for clunkers didn't do much to inflate the E46's value or effect its supply. E46s were going for well above the cutoff of $4k at the time of cash for clunkers. The only prices effected by cash for clunkers would've been extremely old and extremely crappy cars.Cash for clunkers also hasn't been relevant for some time now. Values have stabilized in general. In recent times used car prices have gone up slightly simply due to the economy here, but not to the extent you seem to think.

    I did notice there were a couple extremely cheap auto/SMG E46s listed on mobile.de... not sure if they were fraudulent listings or if autos just have *that* bad resale over there. If that's the case, that's probably where the difference lies - autos and manuals have roughly equal resale values here
    Last edited by TerraPhantm; 02-25-2012 at 02:18 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

  3. #28
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    dworthy is offline Wagon meister :) BMW Tech Expert
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    No I didn't use the military exemption on my car, the only good thing was that the EPA already had that motor data on hand. Also if you import a 4-Cylinder, you would need to jump thru too many hoops to bring that car in. I get Soldiers who want to import their 20yr old BMW's, and I keep reminding them that if that motor isn't in the states, it will be harder to find some parts.

    The only reason why BMW's go for a higher price in the states, they tend to have more options than most Euro cars. I don't see may 325i's or even 330i, they are mostly owned by the Soldiers here. Also you won't see many M3's for that matter either, unless you get around a larger city like Frankfurt.
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  4. #29
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    Hey thanks for the information all. I am going to rering the EPA on Monday and ask specifically about the 01 325i/xi. Ill also call an ici in maryland. These cars can be had for Less than €3500 and is on the substantial conformity list ergo, when it comes to safety systems it is good to go. No reprogramming/replacing headlight housings/etc.,

  5. #30
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    This is a late posting but there was so much bad info here...
    It was a simple question deserving a simple answer.

    To import a car from overseas
    1st check the NHSTA website for nonconforming vehicles that meet US safety standards. If the vehicle make model and year are shown then the vehicle substantially meets US standards for safety and can be imported as far as safety issues go.

    2nd check to see if the vehicle has an EPA sticker showing it complies to US Federal or US Federal and California Emission Standards, if it has the sticker (under the hood) and it is on the NHSTA list you are all set to import the car.

    3rd. If it does not have the sticker*, you will need to get a letter from the manufacturer stating that the vehicle you have with the VIN complies to US EPA standards prior to shipping the car.

    4th. Without the sticker or letter you will need an ICI (independent Commercial Importer) licensed by the EPA to import the vehicle, you will need a bond on the vehicle to show it is not going to be imported illegally. The ICI will bring the vehicle up to US standards. This option may cost a lot depending on what is needed or may not cost very much it all depends.

    Upon import you would need DOT form HS-7, EPA form 3520-1,
    Customs form 7501, the bill of lading and you need to have the undercarriage steam cleaned prior to leaving the foreign port otherwise you can face a fine on the US side. Finally you would need 2.5% duty tax for import. (Federal).
    You may and or will have other State requirements especially in California.

    *Any vehicle without a CA sticker needs to go to a CA ICI for CA registration, no exceptions! CA will not allow the import of Motorcycles even if they comply. This is true even if the car is coming from another state and had been previously registered in the USA.

    It looks like the OP did figure this out in the end.
    Maybe my answer was not simple but I hope it was complete.
    Last edited by srmoose; 01-07-2013 at 12:02 PM.

  6. #31
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    thanks!

  7. #32
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    didn't cost me nothing to import , I had it made in Germany and shipped over here nyc 2002 bmw 325ci im in the military as soon as I retired I had to pay so I left car in nyc.

  8. #33
    dworthy's Avatar
    dworthy is offline Wagon meister :) BMW Tech Expert
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    Quote Originally Posted by donion View Post
    didn't cost me nothing to import , I had it made in Germany and shipped over here nyc 2002 bmw 325ci im in the military as soon as I retired I had to pay so I left car in nyc.
    Yeah, Military orders are a bit different than an average Civilian importing a Euro spec car as we tend to have more advantages.
    Darin
    Current:
    16 220i Active Tourer Platinsilver MET (C08)/Dakota Black (PDSW), P7ACA, P7LDA, P7LHA, P9BDA, 6sp Manual - Wife's new toy!
    05 325it Electric Red(438)/Gray(N6TT) ZCW, ZSP 5sp Manual Back set cover, trunk mat, Euro Infra-Rot front windshield, and mud flaps! Mr. Wagon My new Winter car.
    05 M3 Imolarot II(405)/Gray(N5TT) ZCW, ZPP 6sp Manual C.F. Lip, CSL diffuser, SSK, Euro Infra-Rot front windshield and a trunk liner! Mr. Go_Fast Stored for the Winter
    Past:
    95 318is Montreal Blue Met (297)/Beige(K1SN) RIP, killed by an Idiot.
    84 M535i gray market Burgandy Rot Met/Black Leather Lowered by Intrax on bilies, poly everywhere, B&B cat back system, K&N, and a hitch! Da Beast - Still running w/400k+!
    91 316i euro Tizianrot/Gray cloth - E-36 w/M-40 RIP, but great on gas! Best was 38 MPG
    82 528i euro Saphire Blue Met/Blue Leather RIP
    79 525 euro Green/Green RIP
    79 318 Silver/Black - The first one that got it all started
    M-Flight Member

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