DIY: How to Import an E30 Touring

[potshot]

Good to know. If I land one in time I'd like to have my turbo on it in time for The Vintage. If not we'll just come in the IX. I'm curious, once the deal has been struck, how long does transport to the US take?

[roguetoaster]

Depends on the method, shipper, route and destination. You should be given at least two choices of shipment times/cost/departures. When you pick one you'll already know the approx ETAs and you can then use any vessel tracker site to check in on your ship and shipment.

[crash n' burn]

Depends on the season.

This was in December, for my F30, I used a company that handles the shipping contract for the big three German manufacturers as well as quite a few others. Mine was probably one of the last cars on the boat because it took right at about 20 days to get here. My friend dropped his off like 2 weeks before me and they were on the same boat out of Bremerhaven.

I Shipped my E30 to another port like 2 weeks prior and it cleared customs like 3 days after my F30. That was a fun 48hrs of picking up cars from Chesapeake and Charleston.

[roguetoaster]

Any recent importers have any updates on the process, costs or tips?

I think I finally worked the touring bug out of my system after 4 tries.

[djjerme]

I just picked one up from a guy in Vermont. It's a Japanese market car, and he said it was pretty painless. He does it as a side job, but says he thinking about doing more and charging a flat 10% on top of import fees and what not.

I can try and press him for more info if interested.


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[roguetoaster]

I just picked one up from a guy in Vermont. It's a Japanese market car, and he said it was pretty painless. He does it as a side job, but says he thinking about doing more and charging a flat 10% on top of import fees and what not.

I can try and press him for more info if interested.


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If you'd like to ask him for any new steps in the process or how he goes about buying a car in Japan/preparing it for shipment/shipping I feel it would make a great addition to the thread.

[djjerme]

K. I'll see if I can get some more info from him.

[James Crivellone]

K. I'll see if I can get some more info from him.

Welcome to the e30 touring club?

[roguetoaster]

I still really want a touring. Its honestly hard to build my 325i because I know I'd rather have a touring instead. However I don't have the money to buy one already imported and don't have the balls to import one myself. Just some first world problems I guess.

Enjoy the E30 you have, get a touring later, they're not going anywhere, but they might get more expensive overseas.

[MPLFoster]

Just for reference, Tourings go for about 1,000 euros more than the comparable coupe/sedan models here in Germany right now. Found a clean 318i coupe for 3,500 and a 318i Touring for 4,750 recently. The Germans know how cool the Touring is...

[roguetoaster]

Yes, rising European prices are part of the reason I haven't purchased another, 318ti acquisition is another.

[stonea]

Enjoy the E30 you have, get a touring later, they're not going anywhere, but they might get more expensive overseas.

My biggest problem is the next e30 I build (my current one) is going to be my forever e30. So right now I'm in the situation of sucking it up and build my coupe or sell it and try my hand at importing a touring.

[BimmerDocA7X]

Importers / Broker Info?

Hello all, I'm Active duty Navy Looking to ship my touring in the next 6 months when I transfer to San Diego... I d like to ship from Spain to East Coast most likely then drive across the states. I've talked to the folks here that ship cars for the military and they said due to it being my 2nd car, it'd be $3-4K right off the jump and that seems excessive! Any recommended brokers/ importers who could help me out at a reasonable price? Also plan to register the vehicle in my home state of Indiana. Vic do you have any advise on getting this done quickly? TIA for your help...

[roguetoaster]

NMT is the go to when I ship, but any reputable RORO carrier will take care of you.

Vic simply needed stamped original import docs to register the car. He was able to get them (stamped) from CBP after his importer failed to provide other that electronic copies.

Brokers seem to be hit or miss, and you don't actually need one to fill out the paperwork as long as you can visit CBP twice in the span of a week.

[BimmerDocA7X]

Thanks RogueToaster... I searched NMT but couldn't find a way to contact them for a quote. Google helped w/ a RORO search and I got a quote within minutes from Ship Overseas.com for approx $1300...Seem reasonable to you? Also why would I need to go to the port multiple days to pick it up?