[recerdude]

I am planning on moving to The Netherlands later this year. I am interested in learning if anyone has had experience in converting an 2011 BMW to EU specifications.

I have learned that I can bring a car into NL w/o having to pay import and VAT...only the road tax if I have owned it for at least 6 months. Assuming $5,000 shipping charges I can land a six month old, fully loaded (except Individual exhaust) M3 Cabrio in NL for under 60,000 Euros. The same car would be over 120,000 Euros in NL...so even w/o a warranty this is a no brainer...I think.

I have an E39 M5 which I took European delivery on. When I took it to the dealer in Amsterdam because it had a problem thier computer (DCS) could not talk to the car except for very basic items.

Does anyone have experience having a late model BMW converted from USA to EU spec?

Thanks,

-jeff

[ceb]

PM Roundle, he can give you advice.

[recerdude]

Thanks CEB.

It appears that I have to make 5 posts then wait 24-48 hours after the 5th post for my account to be upgraded so that I can PM anyone.

Unless you wouldn't mind PM'ing Roundle on my behalf.

All the best,

-jeff

[woodpecka]

just post junk in this topic and you are done!

good luck with your project. Let us know how it goes.

[recerdude]

Thanks for the suggestion.

[David9962000]

I converted a 996 from France years ago and Automobile Concept did all the work. Call them at 305 893 1950 and ask for Silvia, they import and export cars.

[Antony_correia11]

Few years back, I had the same thing, except moving to Britain.
There were a few things,
Brake lights had to be fixed so that they were also fog lights(caused a continuous light warning Everytime car turned on. )
Stickers had to be put on Xenon headlights due to the direction.

That was it, besides the pain in the a** registration

Good luck

[Madhouse]

Going through a similar pain getting a Canadian spec delivered from the factory to the UK. Your main issue will be the headlights and the EU requirements for dipped-beam patterns and aiming.

I am assuming that your M3 has the adaptive xenons, so it shouldn't be a big deal. Anything else should be small things to meet inspections.

Watch out on what you will have to pay for road tax. It goes by grams of CO2/km.

[roundle]

I'm driving a US-Spec 328iT in NL. I ordered through BMW diplomatic sales (in NL), and was not required to make any changes.

Will you have BN or CD (diplomatic) plates?

Also, have you identified a dealer?

[Multimodal]

Reviving this topic... I'm transferring from Baltimore to Amsterdam in the fall. I'm considering taking my US-spec 2009 DINAN3 (335i) with me. Here's what I think I know:

* There's a 19% VAT on all sales of new products (i.e., new cars)
* There's an additional car tax (BPM) based on the car's value and CO2 emissions (works out to another ~45% tax)
* There's an annual road tax based on vehicle weight (€820/year for a 335i)
* It will cost €1,500 to ship the car from Baltimore to Amsterdam by sea
* It will cost about €320/month to lease a parking space in a Europarking garage in downtown Amsterdam

* I'm exempt from paying any taxes (VAT or BPM) if I've owned my car for 6 months before importing it
* I can sell my car in the Netherlands without paying any taxes after 12 months in the country

* The US Spec vs. EU Spec differences are minimal - headlights and taillights
* A 335i is worth at least €10,000 more in the Netherlands than in the USA

What do I have right? What do I have wrong? What am I missing? Any additional insight on what is required would be appreciated.

[kelvin2010]

Is there any company can help us to figure out?
I want to convert my car to China, but from what I heard, that was really hard...
Anyone knows?