Hello all, anybody know how I could get my Custom from California to my new home in Germany and get it registered? From my understanding I might not be able to because the car is not original and has been altered...yet at Car shows here in Germany I see alot of hotrods/streetrods/and customs with German plates on them. Any help would be great. Thanks Brian
How many modern German customs/vehicle inspectors are going to know what's been modified on a 50+ year old American car, short of something obvious like an early car with no fenders?
Well the car I'd like to move out here is my Avatar. Which looks stock but is a custom that was never built.
Maybe speak to those folks at shows , on the german forums etc. They will be able to give you more info i would have thought if they have already done such things. I know in the UK it's fairly straight forward but you may need a fair bit of paperwork and be prepared to pay alot of taxes dependant on year etc etc. May also want to find out if you can run it at all, i've heard some weird rules over the euroland as regard to using cars in cities etc. It's getting worse here and dreading new laws for 2012. Good luck and hope you can make it happen Dan
Have you checked into this "community" site, for any info? Try here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/group.php?groupid=401
I bet that car looks stock enough to work. Surely German DMV inspectors aren't up on what was made or not back that far. Good luck.
You can try these guys,if you speak/read the lingo!! A friend of mine has sold a 32 & a 29 roadster to a man in Germany from So Calif,this year,they both had small blocks!! & as said try 'James D' & 'mercjurij' on the HAMB http://www.goodguys.info/
Hi Brian I make my living sending sportscars overseas and here is what you need. In order to clear U.S. Customs you need the ***le to the car and a bill of sale stating that you own the car. Your I.D. is required for the export paperwork. When the car arrives in Germany and you have paid your seafreight and your customs broker paid the Import duty and sales tax as per your bill of sale you are handed the most important do***ent. The german Customs release form - Zollunbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung. Up to this point nobody cares what you brought in or what it looks like. When you are ready to register the car you take your Customs release form to the local DMV - Zul***ungsstelle - and buy the blank German ***le. Now comes the dreaded "Baurat" in order to get that blank ***le filled out you need to have your car inspected by a government official. There are two choices TUEV and DEKRA. DEKRA is a private company and much more lenient. The best way to find the most lenient inspector is to ask local car guys for their experiences. The TUEV has its own offices and inspection stations. NEVER GO THERE!!! DEKRA tests at local shops that after a while have a good working relationship. You will not have any problems with your car having Edsel sheetmetal. They will not know about that. Tell 'em it came originally from Canada Or better yet tell 'em nothing I have friends over there who do the inspections if you cannot do it on your own. Hope this helps. Mike
What he said ^^^^^^ Over hear in Dubai it's the same thing. You are not allowed to alter or modify your vehicle. I have had some vehicles here though that were not factory at all you just need someone who doesn't know **** to p*** it.
Yeah the german language is good for those long words. Initially I wanted to put a "Gesundheit" right behind it
Not to hijack the thread, but I'd like to see a survey of countries according to modified-car friendliness. How many forbid all modifications? Which are the most friendly? And how many are technically draconian but don't enforce to the letter of the law, leaving the technical illegality of a non-standard tyre size as something to h***le dissidents with? It'd be worth a thread but there's no way it won't be political.
It is not a great Prob to registre it in Germany with the right papers. And we have some more intresting words than "Zollunbedenklichkeitsbescheinigung" ;-) I'am to far from Munich near Ruhrgebiet. Guido
As said, it comes down to finding the right inspector. Ask around the local guys at shows. The other problem you may have is where exactly you live. If it´s inside the city, then you are really going to need to get historic status on the car (a license plate with an H on the end), because without that you will end up paying a lot of tax every year, or possibly not be allowed to drive the car into the city. (You get a red, yellow or green sticker that shows how "clean" the car is, and with no catalytic converter it may be tough). Getting your historic status can be a PITA too, as in general, the car should be "original", although period modifications are in theory allowed - things done within ten years of the car being new. Although as said - they can´t know everything about every car. Bottom line is - talk to the local car guys and find out where to take the car to get it tested. Once you have H status then you´re home free, and with much reduced yearly tax on a big engined car. These guys may be just who you need. They speak English too... http://www.hotrodgarage.de/
AH!.....the Edselero. I wondered where it went. Really love that car! Tim did a great job on it. Hope you have luck getting it home.
Hey Bob Thanks! Tim did a great job! Was daily driver for 9 months while I lived out on the coast, you should see it now with the interior redone and 58 Edsel dash in it. The last show it was at was the Blowout up in Ventura, that was two days before we flew overseas to here.
My twin brother lives in Germany. He works for the US Govt. He has been there over 30 years, speaks fluent German, built a home, married a german, has two children, etc. He said I can send him my '56 modified Chevy thru american channels. He pays no duty or customs. If he sells it to a german citizen in less than six months then the german must pay customs/duty on the vehicle. I will be seeing him in two weeks andhave printed some of this thread to read and comment on.
@2Hep Thanks, the Car is stripped down to the last screw. And I hope it get in the next 2 month to sandblasting and then to bodywork.
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