Importing European Spec Ferrari's to the USA once they pass the 25y mark?

Several recent threads covering 25+ year imports eg 348 355 F40 - there is a preference for lhd cars however

 

Doubtful that many cars will get exported from the US to Europe. In some special cases sure, but not en masse. Either the car needs to not have been available in the US or it needs to be a smoking deal to justify all of this.

Paperwork. In the us I need a title and possibly a bill of sale if the sale price is not listed on that state's title. From Europe you need to deal with different paperwork depending on the country. Then you need to deal with import paperwork.

Language barriers, the uk is rhd which is less desirable in the us. What are the chances the buyer speakers or reads the language in the country they want to buy from. Having lived in Europe some country's are more likely to also speak english, but it is not a given. Also trying to discuss condition/mechanicals with a non-native speaker means things can be missed. More likely to find an English speaker at a dealership, but a private party sale would probably be a better deal albeit less likely to speak english.

Costs, 2.5% tax for importing. Cost of shipping. Cost of transport to wherever it is leaving the country. Dealing with getting it off the transport and through customs and then loaded on transport to my home. If I want to make this easier cost of dealing with an importer that does this for a living.

Risk, it is far easier for someone to buy a car in the us, even out of state. Cost of a flight out to look at the car or if you opt to just have it shipped it is far easier to sue if something goes wrong. Multiple companies handling it for transport.

Work. All of this is extra work, time, and stress.

I have looked at importing pinball machines (spinball), guns (Mateba) and a few cars. Specifically a lhd Celica GT-4, but in the us Japanese imports are far more common, easier, and cheaper. Considered importing a Venturi, but the lack of documentation and parts availability make it unlikely that I would be able to maintain it. Everytime I crunch numbers it ends up being not that much savings and a whole lot less of a headache to just buy what is already in the country.

Still considering importing a TVR Cerebra or Tuscan. The Tuscan is too new. The Cerb would be stuck with an early one which I wanted to avoid due to issues with the crank. The reason is there simply are not many here to buy.

 

The only buyers for RHD cars in the USA are rural mail carriers.

 

I respectfully disagree


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Hey you're on the wrong side of the road. No distracted driving!

 

Canada's rule is 15 years or older VS the state's 25-year rule. Several dealers here deal in JDM cars and will import anything for you from Japan. Most JDM European cars even Rolls Royces are LHD there for some reason. In both the US and Canada, buyers unless it is a model not offered here new, discount these cars in the marketplace. RHD, is not popular.

 

I've been told that LHD cars are a status symbol in Japan.

 

yes

 

matter of perspective.
first off, there are plenty of special cars 25 years old or older in the uk that are LHD.
secondly, the issues to bring them to the usa are relatively easy, especially if you have somebody like CARS to do the paperwork.
thirdly at the moment the dollar is strong vs the pound and the euro, and the economic situation there is worse than here and people are selling.

the upside is there.

 

Having lived in the UK, yeah there are some lhd cars, but most are rhd. You can have someone like CARS do the paperwork, they charge for it. The more it costs the more it eats into that upside you are talking about. You still have the extra time/stress/headache which means that upside has to be big enough to justify.

 

yea, sure, there is hassle.
and yes i lived in the uk for a long time so i am quite familiar.
also have moved 3 ferraris, 2 mercedes, and a porsche to the usa from the uk and europe over the years.
when the math works it is worth it.

 

Lots of Ferraris and other cars are coming over from Europe to the US. The weakness of the Euro (and UKP) has created arbitrage opportunities. And there are just super cool cars that we never got here that you can now bring over. (My personal obsession right now is the 208 Turbos and GTS/GTB Turbos...)

And it's pretty easy to bring them over if you know what you're doing.

Cons are that shipping costs are high right now. And unless you have someone over there to inspect the car for you (or you send someone over there), you're taking a big risk buying sight unseen. Europeans generally drive the cars harder and for more miles than US drivers, and weather conditions over there mean many are crusted up.

Caveat emptor.

 

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Beautiful euro 355 manual just imported by a local expat in hard to find swaters blu.
Had an agent who coordinated. Hassle free but time consuming and slow shipping.

No risk no reward.
@m.Brandon is right. It’s happening frequently. @Fastrisky just got what many would consider a steal for an amazing 208.

I’ve looked especially for the 208 turbo and others as costs skyrocket in Europe and the exchange rate became favorable.


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