Importing BMW from USA to Europe

[aker]

Hi,
I'm new at this forum and been trying to find good posts that could answear my questions so instead I'm posting it and hopeing that someone will see it.

I live in Sweden and its not that good of a country to drive backwheel driven cars when you wanna overtake a car on the left lane and its snowy and icy Therefor I've really looked into the BMW 335xi.

Importing a -06 or -07 under 30,000 KM is around $65000 and then its fully equppied with -everything- you could possible choose.

Not knowing the market in USA and the $ being low compared to € I have started to look for cars over there. My knowledge about good dealers etc is extremly limited and only found www.luxurymotors.com/ which I wouldnt give much for.

Anyone who can recommend some good dealers. I dont care if the dealer isnt the absolutly cheapest on the planet, I'm looking for one thats solid and dealing with alot of export to Europe.

Any answear would be most appreciated.

Regards
Lars

[Atny286]

Hi Lars,

Have you already figured out what it will cost you to import the car?
I mean, import taxes, VAT, luxury taxes, transport and insurance for the transport... then shipping from dealer to most likely NJ or NY...

Also try to get info from someone you know about US cars, as there are different settings and regulations for lights, turn signals and tires, etc... Don't go to your local BMW-dealer, he'll tell you that US models cannot be read by the European software that the dealers use... (BS!)

I would start with BMW dealers on the East coast. or maybe Autotrader.com, Zipcode 10001 (100miles).

Good luck!
A.

[aker]

Thanks for the advice.
I have looked up the cost for shipping, vat, reg. the car in sweden etc. I have few friends who dealt with import, however they have no good dealer for BMW. I was suprised that the cost was not more when it comes to the shipping cost, its about $1700 to Sweden and then they take care of everything.

One thing I noticed with US is that the cars has alot more on their standard equippment compared to sweden. So thumbs up for that

[Bikerjoy]

Originally Posted by aker

Thanks for the advice.
I have looked up the cost for shipping, vat, reg. the car in sweden etc. I have few friends who dealt with import, however they have no good dealer for BMW. I was suprised that the cost was not more when it comes to the shipping cost, its about $1700 to Sweden and then they take care of everything.

One thing I noticed with US is that the cars has alot more on their standard equippment compared to sweden. So thumbs up for that

Hi Lars,

I am actually a Swede living in the US. I just bought an 08 M3 a couple of weeks ago. My plan is to bring it back in 12-18 months as "flyttgods" when we move back to Sweden.

Depending on what you are planning to buy (new / used / modell), I would look VERY closely at importing from Germany before committing to importing from the US.

1. NEVER buy a used car without seeing it in person. Cost of travel and stay in the US adds to the price of the car. Cheaper to go to Germany.
2. Cost of transport. Go to Germany, buy your car, drive it back for the price of gas. To ship from the US 2000 USD or more.
3. Buying in Germany everything will be adapted to the metric / Euro standard. A car bought here will have mph, mpg not km/h l/100km and so on. Additional cost to change turn indicators colors and other small stuff also likely. How much is a set of tail lights in Sweden? 500-600 USD??
4. Tax and customs is calculated on the price of the car including US tax, plus any cost for shipping and insurance to get it to Sweden. This is not the case when importing from Germany. I believe you don't pay any tax in Germany or at least it is refunded later. And you really have no shipping cost that they can tax either.
5. Second hand value. The Swedish second hand market is very used to cars imported from Germany by now. They are NOT used to imports from the US. There are ways to trace vehicle history within europe. Most don't know how to do that with a US car. If you decide to sell later, I think you will get a lower second hand price.
6. Is it even possible for a non resident / citizen to purchase a car here? How would they title it?

Point 6 was directed at the people here who may have some insight.

I know it is tempting with the current exchange rate of the USD, but think twice as many small extra costs associated importing from the US adds up quickly.

There is actually a lot of information available on http://www.autopower.se about import both from Germany and the US.

PM me if you have further questions and I can help you out in Swedish.

[Bikerjoy]

Forgot to include a couple of links.

Just search http://www.bmwusa.com for certified preowned vehicles. They have a huge selection of used 3 series available (5200 when I searched 40 of which were 335xi Sedans)

http://www.carmax.com Probably one of the larger used car resellers in the US. Interesting point is that their price is "no haggle". What you see on the sticker is very close to what you will actually be paying for the car.

[elcarajo]

Aker -

Bikerjoy's comments about buying German all sound like good things to consider, and I cannot disagree with any of them.

If you do decide to buy from the US, though, going through bmwusa.com for a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle is definitely your best bet, as each is inspected and has parts replaced to ensure it is up to BMW's standards for resale. Also, you're dealing with BMW, which is a better risk than going through a private seller. The warranty may carry-over to Swedish dealers and service departments as well, but you'd have to ask.

Just my .02 kroners...

[Bikerjoy]

Originally Posted by elcarajo

Aker -

Bikerjoy's comments about buying German all sound like good things to consider, and I cannot disagree with any of them.

If you do decide to buy from the US, though, going through bmwusa.com for a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle is definitely your best bet, as each is inspected and has parts replaced to ensure it is up to BMW's standards for resale. Also, you're dealing with BMW, which is a better risk than going through a private seller. The warranty may carry-over to Swedish dealers and service departments as well, but you'd have to ask.

Just my .02 kroners...

As far as warranty goes, I have been told that BMW sweden will honor any warranty according the the standard Swedish limited warranty conditions (2 years not 4).

[Atny286]

Originally Posted by Bikerjoy

As far as warranty goes, I have been told that BMW sweden will honor any warranty according the the standard Swedish limited warranty conditions (2 years not 4).

If you buy a US car, it will have a US VIN which is different from European VIN and the BMW warranty might not even be there at all... BMWNA warranty only applies when the car is registered in the US... European warranty may cover only European VINs...

However, you can 'afford' many reparations (hopefully not needed) before getting to the German cost price... I say: free world market!

Make sure your 'margin of safety' compared to German prices is big enough before buying the car in the US.

Good luck!
A.

[e46e92love]

Originally Posted by aker

Hi,
I'm new at this forum and been trying to find good posts that could answear my questions so instead I'm posting it and hopeing that someone will see it.

I live in Sweden and its not that good of a country to drive backwheel driven cars when you wanna overtake a car on the left lane and its snowy and icy Therefor I've really looked into the BMW 335xi.

Importing a -06 or -07 under 30,000 KM is around $65000 and then its fully equppied with -everything- you could possible choose.

Not knowing the market in USA and the $ being low compared to € I have started to look for cars over there. My knowledge about good dealers etc is extremly limited and only found www.luxurymotors.com/ which I wouldnt give much for.

Anyone who can recommend some good dealers. I dont care if the dealer isnt the absolutly cheapest on the planet, I'm looking for one thats solid and dealing with alot of export to Europe.

Any answear would be most appreciated.

Regards
Lars

Luxury Motors actually isn't bad. Heard many good things from them and have had some minor dealings with them........

[aker]

First just wanna say thanks to all of you for taking your time I'm blown away by the information and knowledge people possess here So really thanks guys.

Originally Posted by Bikerjoy

Hi Lars,

I am actually a Swede living in the US. I just bought an 08 M3 a couple of weeks ago. My plan is to bring it back in 12-18 months as "flyttgods" when we move back to Sweden.

Depending on what you are planning to buy (new / used / modell), I would look VERY closely at importing from Germany before committing to importing from the US.

1. NEVER buy a used car without seeing it in person. Cost of travel and stay in the US adds to the price of the car. Cheaper to go to Germany.
2. Cost of transport. Go to Germany, buy your car, drive it back for the price of gas. To ship from the US 2000 USD or more.
3. Buying in Germany everything will be adapted to the metric / Euro standard. A car bought here will have mph, mpg not km/h l/100km and so on. Additional cost to change turn indicators colors and other small stuff also likely. How much is a set of tail lights in Sweden? 500-600 USD??
4. Tax and customs is calculated on the price of the car including US tax, plus any cost for shipping and insurance to get it to Sweden. This is not the case when importing from Germany. I believe you don't pay any tax in Germany or at least it is refunded later. And you really have no shipping cost that they can tax either.
5. Second hand value. The Swedish second hand market is very used to cars imported from Germany by now. They are NOT used to imports from the US. There are ways to trace vehicle history within europe. Most don't know how to do that with a US car. If you decide to sell later, I think you will get a lower second hand price.
6. Is it even possible for a non resident / citizen to purchase a car here? How would they title it?

Point 6 was directed at the people here who may have some insight.

I know it is tempting with the current exchange rate of the USD, but think twice as many small extra costs associated importing from the US adds up quickly.

There is actually a lot of information available on http://www.autopower.se about import both from Germany and the US.

PM me if you have further questions and I can help you out in Swedish.

I have thought about many of those things that you mentioned except the turn indicator signals. After reading what people wrote here in this thread I'm starting to rethink my course of action. I have to say it is very tempting to buy a car in US with $ being so low. I have found a lot more 335xi in US then on the German Market and will have to calculate if the margin is really worth the extra work by shipping a car from US. Like you said, Germany is close from Gothenburg, just go down and scoop up the car

Again thanks for taking the time.

Regards
Lars

[rmmcdaniel]

Originally Posted by e46e92love

Luxury Motors actually isn't bad. Heard many good things from them and have had some minor dealings with them........

I would second that. I have helped two friends purchase vehicles from them ('05 X5 4.4i in 2006 and '06 A6 3.2 a few months ago) in Chicago. The transactions went very smooth and the vehicles were in excellent condition.

[Dascamel]

What happens if you do ED and never send it over?

[Bikerjoy]

Originally Posted by Dascamel

What happens if you do ED and never send it over?

ED?

[elcarajo]

ED = European Delivery. In the US you can buy a BMW and pick it up in Munich. You get 10 or 14 days with it in Europe, then they ship it to the States for you. Sounds like a good time.

[Atny286]

Originally Posted by Dascamel

What happens if you do ED and never send it over?

Will not work... ED is only for US residents (not citizens) and shipment to US must be scheduled. I asked for that too @ BMW NYC.

A.