buying and importing car from germany

Does anyone have any experience importing a ferrari from Germany to US. The car I want is a 2014 458. I am buying it used from a dealer in Germany so i will speak to them about it but looking for any advise or suggestions regarding all that is involved. thank you

 

I am planning on buying a 2014 458 from a Dealer in Germany and bringing it into California. I would greatly appreciate any advise or information you have on this process. thanks!

 

I think you'll find it rather difficult primarily due to local smog regulations & certification - then you'll need to get the speedo reprogrammed to mph - try a search here on federalisation and/or federalization for other reasons

 

And you're not buying any of the used 458's in this country because.... ?

 

It pretty much can't be done. To register for road use in the US, it must be certified by the manufacturer to be in compliance with all US federal safety and emissions regulations - that's the DOT plate located on the door jamb of US market Ferraris by Ferrari. Non-US market cars don't have that certification plate - and you won't get it registered without that.

As greyboxer mentioned, California emissions regs are another issue - it's a separate certification, and again if Ferrari doesn't provide it it will be impossible to get for a non-California state specification car.

If you wanted to bring a Ferrari older than 25 years to the US, that could be done - but even then, California is a problem.

 

Its going to cost more in the end. Parts/labour/taxes and time are going to eat you. Rather spend the extra bucks on a car here that you can pay for and get in and leave with it. dont forget that the ecu needs to be remapped for the local gas. I wouldnt fiddle with ecu

 

Sold a US spec 458 to a buyer in Canada - I will never do that again. what a cluster. GST and all of the letter stuff.


Now importing a 458 to the USA - its possible. Not sharing the people I have to contact, as I don't want people sending in pointless dribble e-mails.

1st you need to get written approval ok from DOT & EPA.
next you need to get a bonded RI who does this sort of stuff.
Baltimore technologies or GNK and only if they are in favorable mood.
The guy at Baltimore technologies is a cool dude.
You would need a load of letters that will not be provided to you from FNA.

DO not blindly send over a car with out talking to those guys and getting an import broker who knows cars and knows the protocol over at USCBP.

49 state only. There are some other states making issues now. Read the details on the books and there are legal venues on this. For exotics in California - you can get away with historical plate option in California - issue is subject to the person behind the counter who is the "authority" on whats historical or not. I have a friend who I helped import a 924 "924 Carrera gt" This is the real deal, the rep at DMV said that is not a historical car. that was corrected after alot of argument. The savings on Historical reg - no Smog - no RI importer $15,000 visit to make legal for california. now this isnt a pass for you to daily your car this is for those who have a 288 GTO or something that is post 1974.


Good luck.

 

Btw - dont call USCBP - you will get a 10001+that will come back to "NO" and get a customs broker that knows automotive..............doooooooooooooooo not get anyone.

 

Start here:

Vehicle Importation and Certification Requirements

Matt

 

Much cheaper to just buy a 458 in California. There is zero advantage to importing a mass market car.

 

Just a data point.

It will cost me about EU 7,000 to make my wife's 2009 German Spec BMW X3 street legal for the USA. BMW even sells kits to dealers do it.

But that is not including the work.


That is for a mass produced $48K (What I paid for it) car.

 

forget trying to take a 2014 458 into the usa, let alone ca.

cannot be done at anything remotely economical.

buy one there.

 

thanks guys! i bought a 09 430 Scud in San Diego!
thanks ji

 

Hi John,

Just out of curiosity, why the change of mind from 458 to 430 Scud. I have the same dilemma i.e. 458 vs lare production 430 Spyder or 430 Scud.

I'm also looking to import from Germany however to the UAE.

Sart

 

Good question, Sart.

They're not exactly equivalent Ferraris.

Matt

 

Do you know any dealers in Germany that is able to sell me RHd cars ?
I am looking for a Porsche Macan Turbo and and RS6 .
It's cheaper to buy from Germnay than the UK for export.

Thanks

 

Congrats! you saved yourself a lot of headaches...

 

I wanted a high performance car which left me only 2 options the 458 speciale or the 430 scuderia. first off the speciale if you can find one is going for about 430k and the scuderia which after quite a bit of research i realized is more than enough car at closer to 200k. Also i actually like the look of the scuderia better than the Speciale.

good luck