Importation Laws

[kidrobot]

Anyone know em'? Any loopholes around them?
(Aka: Cars not running, no engine, a wreck job)
Companies recommended?

I heard that if a car is w/o an engine it can be imported
as a parts car/as parts. Anyone know if that's true or
not? Teknic, I know you do a lot of biz with DE/US do
you know the 411?

Thanx

[edit]

Wow.... look what i found, haha ha..... kill me....

http://www.bmwworld.com/bmw/importing.htm

[nando]

what about importing it to canada first, then to the states? that might be easier, as the car only has to be 15 years old in canada and it might be easier to have it federalized once it's there.

I'd love to import an E30 touring.. I bet you could do it for around $10k, they're cheap as hell in europe.

[kidrobot]

That's what i'm getting is an AC S3 Touring for 7k euro.
I'm more worried about how i'll store it in Canada, I do
live close to the border though.

What I was thinking was importing into BC, stripping
it. Then rebuilding it in Washington at my place. Problem
is how would I title it etc etc etc?

Could I consider it a salvage job, or a a wrecker?
could I pass it off as a 325i? (that's what it is) w/o
them realizing it's a euro, an illegal, and a gray mark.
all at once?

Damned tempting no matter HOW you look at it......
There are still ways I can pass EMS/EPS in WA
we have a couple places that EMS/EPS is NOT
required (for your FYI) and if it's registered there,
poof, no emissions. (Did the same to my RX-7)

[nando]

yeah there are no emissions testing here where I live (near the boarder in whatcom county). the laws to get a car imported from canada might be more relaxed than importing from europe, so it might be relatively easy to get it titled in washington. I'm not sure what you'd title it as, my guess would be a 325i, but if you ever wrecked it the insurance company is going to find your car a bit strange.

perhaps you could file for a lost title, the local's won't have a clue that the car is from europe, the only problem is what happens when they look up the vin #.

[GreekDriver]

Crash your E30 into a tree, have in the insurance total it, buy it back, swap the vins with the touring and say you repaired it and get a salvaged title.

[randomtask37]

Crash your E30 into a tree...

arrrg (ouch), please pic somethign other than a tree

[M-technik-3]

Crash your E30 into a tree, have in the insurance total it, buy it back, swap the vins with the touring and say you repaired it and get a salvaged title.

Bad idea. Unless you like jail time. Swapping vins is bad becase A most of US own coupes and a Wagon doesn't look like a Coupe. When you rebuild a slavage title vehcle in some states it is required to be inspected by DOT. Hmm you'd look mighty stupid if you don't swap all the vin numbers, and as we know BMW loved to put a lot on US cars.

Eu cars don't have decals all over them. Their are ways of doing it legally and illegally you decide which route you want to go.

Me, I won't say what route I have decided for my 325iT. And yes I have one, it replaced the M-tech I car.

[Spencer]

There was a touring for sale in vancouver BC a few weeks back - asking 10K CAD. Why don't you check the lower mainland for another.

Spencer