Shipping the M5 from the US to Europe for a few months. - Page 3

Cemessi · 23rd November 2011, 18:19

Here is your answer

Driving in the UK with non-UK number plates : Directgov - Motoring

Buying a 'Euro only car' isn't so bad as there are lots of FWD pocket rockets about which are faster than you'd think

You could try something like a Lupo GTI which is just 11.5ft long but re-defines the word 'nippy'. Things like this can be alot of fun

JohnAnthony · 23rd November 2011, 18:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cemessi

Here is your answer

Driving in the UK with non-UK number plates : Directgov - Motoring

Buying a 'Euro only car' isn't so bad as there are lots of FWD pocket rockets about which are faster than you'd think

You could try something like a Lupo GTI which is just 11.5ft long but re-defines the word 'nippy'. Things like this can be alot of fun

everything seems fast when driven in a tight space

instead of importing you car to europe why not sell it - buy a euro car - dump the difference in sale-vs-purchase into it then import that one back to the U.S. this way in the future all you have to worry about is simply shipping back and forth

it sounds so much easier to ship a euro car back to the U.S. than hassle with a U.S. car going to Europe

you could even buy a euro car here - although it seems like it will have to pass a safety inspection to be released either way
http://www.m5board.com/vbulletin/sal...tz-m5-68k.html

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DesiOC · 29th November 2011, 17:54

I can always buy a car in Europe, but selling it may pose a problem to someone that does not live there, but the point of this exercise is to drive my own car in Europe. And BTW if i was in Europe for two months, I would also have to factor in the cost of renting a car for the same period of time, which may cost a significant amount.

As with many of these threads, this one seems to have taken on a life of its own, I have now shifted to dreaming about what Euro cars, i could bring back to the US.

SodeM5 · 29th November 2011, 21:21

I think this thread is a bit weird in terms of the answers. If you want to ship your car to europe and you´re ready to spend the money needed for it, why not just do it like you first thought about it! Don´t let anyone else make the decision for you..

We only live once and You gotta live your dreams! Think of it this way. in 10 years when you think back about this, would you be happier if you didn´t do it?

Cheers,

SodeM5

Cemessi · 29th November 2011, 22:40

If you wanted to buy something over here I can certainly help you out with it (I'm sure others could too). To purchase a car here you only need money. You could technically buy a car without a drivers licence, you just couldn't drive it away.

The registration document is sent to the DVLA (our DMV) and after about 3-4 weeks you get a document back called the V5. That is the registration document. Thats it. All cars over 3 years old need to be MOT'd each year but most cars come with some MOT left when you buy them. All cars need a road tax disc which also lasts a year. These vary in cost from £0 (Prius) to £445 (anything that you would consider a 'gas guzzler'). But most cars fall somewhere in between. My M5 is £215. You can send the disc back and get the remaining months left refunded. Then its just insurance.

Once all of that is taken care of (which isn't as hard as it sounds), you can drive the car in Europe. No border control or checks. Plus, LHD (left hand drive) cars are normally cheaper in the UK as they arn't as popular but would obviously be useful in Europe and if you were to import it back to the US.

We do have lots of interesting things here and anything with a large engine depreciates very quickly indeed. For example, a 2002/2003 BMW 760i can be had for about $15,000 here from a dealership. New they were ten times that price.

DesiOC · 30th November 2011, 05:56

Thanks for all the input, guys. It nice to be apart of such an active and close nit community.