American cars

[Macker]

With the strength of the euro against the dollar and the fact that American cars are much cheaper than European cars it seems to me that it might not be a bad idea to buy your car over there and get it shipped to France. There are several websites where you can do this. My only worry would be the famous French beuracracy so my question is does anyone have any experience of doing this and how much would it cost in import duties etc and would the amount of work required for a non-fluent French speaker make it not worth the effort.

[Iceni]

Unless the US built car is manufactured specifically for the French/European market I could imagine many differences over "construction and use" regulations.

I seem to recall seeing postings about difficulties re-registering US and Far Eastern cars in France but perhaps they were not insurmountable.

Best of luck

John

not

[Val_2]

There is a large American Car club in our nearest town and two weeks ago they held an exhibition on a Sunday afternoon in the middle of the town for all the public to see their pride and joy. From looking at the photos in the press, there were many old 50's types and more modern ones like Corvettes, so I would think there is a possibility of getting a vehicle imported but would be inclined to get as much info from the authorities first to save any later heartache if they turn round and refuse entry. You could start at your local customs, TVA office and then the DRIRE themselves.

[Mpprh]

Hi

Essentially the car must have a French certificate of conformity. As EU countries have harmonised, there is now a common EU conformity. However there are still odd models / specs that have not been sold in France which can be a problem.

Equally, imported cars are liable to duty and VAT.

US, Japanese and EU specifications are very different (Ever noticed the little E numbers on everything from glove box lids to light bulbs ?).

There are exemptions on VAT and spec if the car has been registered to you in another country.

Importing a car from US therefore requires payment of import taxes and meeting the EU conformity. The cost of getting individual conformity can be very high and time consuming. You will get to know new friends at the DDE !

But there is a ray of hope. Other EU countries have easier arrangements. There are specialists who import US cars into Belgium. And once registered in Belgium, they will meet EU conformity.

Search google for +us +car +import +belgium to find prices.

Bonne chance

Peter