Moving Car to Germany
 

Hi everyone,
Might be moving from Los Angeles to Berlin and trying to figure out if I will encounter the insurmountable mountain of bureaucracy when shipping my car in a container. Ive found a company that will ship it, although if anyone has some recommendations would love a Flyertalk suggestion, and want to discern if I am bringing more pain on myself than is good for my grey hair. If it matters I will be moving a 2005 330i BMW which has been CA smogged etc. Will the German equivalent of the DMV make mincemeat of me? Anyone been through this?

You might find a few answers about needed paperwork at the site of the German TÜV covering importing cars: http://www.tuev-sued.de/car_vehicles...vehicle_import. The TÜV - or any similar organization - will be responsible for the technical approval of your car, which is mandatory in Germany.

very helpful, thank you sir

Not sure what you are driving but unless it is a "golden" oldie wouldn't it be cheaper and far less hassle and cheaper selling your vehical in the States and purchasing another here???

Non hybrids arent tearing up the resale market these days, sadly

No need to rent a container, check out http://www.ehharms.com/ EH Harms. Generally around $900 from the West Coast to Germany.

Ooooo..very helpful. Thank you

I second the recommendation for E.H. Harms.

BMW and other German car makers use Harms to ship tourist delivery vehicles over to the States.

The following article (Shipping the 335d) will give you some idea of (if nothing else) where your car will be on the boat.

Regarding TÜV, you will have to make some modifications to the car relative to lighting and a few other things. BMWs are more expensive in Germany than in the U.S. so you are still probably off taking it with you.

Also, if you are only going to stay for a year, you can leave the U.S. registration and number plates on (I believe).

Very helpful. Thank you very much

If you need additional info, please let me know. I'm glad what I posted was helpful.

Haven't read the links, but as an ex-expat in the US, I've done the math on importing a German car bought in the US back into Germany and the numbers don't add up: a used car of the same age is pretty much the same price as the cost of the car and the associated transfer, refit, inspection and registration cost, not to speak of the time wasted on the process.

Of course this doesn't apply if you buy a classic old German car or a high high priced Porsche or other luxury car. The mass produced Audi/BMW/MBs that sell very cheap in the US required quite a bit of a refit when you import them back to Germany,

E.H Harms was very popular with US-NATO personnel shipping "second" vehicles to and from Germany (and Europe in general).

I had my truck shipped to Germany (Schinnen, Netherlands actually, but for use in Germany) by the US gov't so there was little paperwork involved, and with a NATO ID I don't have to worry about full German registration (though must have inspection and green card-insurance, which was also easy). I know some people who brought a "Second" vehicle, which is not authorized by the US/German treaty meaning it would have to be done fully by the German law and system and they did have to jump through hoops. E. H. Harms came up many times as a shipper of choice.

Shipping the vehicle over is actually not that expensive, it is the registrations and sometimes modifications that can add up.

As an aside/anecdote, American trucks were extremely popular near the dreilandpunt where I lived. Farmers there would pay a premium for them, even with extra taxes and other fees due to the German gov't.

If you change your mind and decide to buy in Germany, try and get near a US military location and you can find used car lots with fairly good deals and various vehicles, and get the transactions done in English (not sure if you speak German). Good luck.

Ciao,
FH

thank you, looks like E Harms is the way to go

Does anyone know if it makes sense to buy an old military humvee in the US and export it to Germany? How much should I calculate for shipping, tax duty, ect? Anyone did this before?