# Import Car from United States (California)



## LA_Rick (Oct 20, 2008)

I will be moving to Spain in the next few months and I would like to ask if I should import my car (2001 Audi A6) to Spain or buy a new car in Spain. It would cost me approximately $1300 USD to ship from California to Barcelona. I will be living in Madrid.

I understand there is a 16% import tax but how do they determine value? What does a new A6 cost in Spain? How much for insurance? I do not know UK rates so I am unfamiliar with their rates.


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## Stravinsky (Aug 12, 2007)

LA_Rick said:


> I will be moving to Spain in the next few months and I would like to ask if I should import my car (2001 Audi A6) to Spain or buy a new car in Spain. It would cost me approximately $1300 USD to ship from California to Barcelona. I will be living in Madrid.
> 
> I understand there is a 16% import tax but how do they determine value? What does a new A6 cost in Spain? How much for insurance? I do not know UK rates so I am unfamiliar with their rates.


Its gonna be valued at what the Spanish authorities value it at . I heard there is a formulae but no one understands it 

Jeez man, think of the cost. You're going to pay €1300 to ship it. You're going to pay tax on it, and you're going to have to pay €600 - €900 to register it. And for an 8 year old car? Is it worth it?

Closest I could find was a 2004 model
Audi A6, 2.5 TDI, Avant Steptronic, 164 cv,(2004), 5p, Full Equipe, Climatizador Bizona, Faros Xenon. €24k


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## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

Rick - BUY here. I'd also suggest you'll be better off with a diesel - but that's me.

You'll have to pay VAT (16%) and registration duty ("x"% of the fiscal residual value based on SPANISH RETAIL PRICE NEW) - not sure what the "x" is now - it keeps changing (upwards) depending on all sorts of things - But they will not favour 8 year old cars. Add shipping and I think you're onto a loser.

Bear in mind that US cars also have different spec's and you could find that things like lights etc do not have the correct "E" marks. Depending on the guy doing the importation this may get through or may not. What's the cost of swapping them all?

You'll need an engineers report to get it through the preregistration "compliance" tests. The testers test against the engineers report for individual homologations. Any deviation from the European Spec's (this includes wheels/tyres) WILL be included on this document and changing later COULD be an issue. Also at 8/9 years old bear in mind you'll need to have ITV tests done yearly after it hits 10.

You could also find problems with Spares. I know of US cars that have had problems with "blown light" sensors when European bulbs have been fitted. Often as not Euro bulbs are lower wattage. Many US spec cars have engines not generally sold in Europe as well. Is the engine a special California engine? - if so spares WILL be an issue here.

The Costs above are by no means exaggerated - I'd go as far to say they're conservative.

One point - WHERE in Madrid?. The A6 is not a small car - and unless you have parking arranged - a car that big can be an issue to squeeze in. I've had a Jag Sovereign here and currently a Discovery. We tend to use the little Citroen for Madrid city trips. I don't know what road tax is like in Madrid - I know it's considerably higher than where I live (it's a local tax in Spain). 

As an aside - STATISTICALLY - Car's generally are a bit more expensive in Madrid than on the coast - BUT (say the dealers) in general have been better maintained and have less corrosion issues (no salty air).


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## decgraham (Apr 24, 2008)

Hi Rick,

I was looking at bringing my car from Kuwait but after all the advice I got on this forum and others I must concur with Chris, it is not worth it, buy in Spain. Do a google on AutoScout24 (is it ok to say this mods??? if not sorry) and you can find a whole selection of cars for Spain by area, private sales and company. Good luck.


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## LA_Rick (Oct 20, 2008)

*Thanks*

Thanks for all the input! You've made my decision for me. And yes it is a California car which is different that all others (mostly emmissions) in the United States.

What about my furniture? SHould I ship it there or just buy in Spain?


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## chris(madrid) (Mar 23, 2008)

Furniture

OK - One MAJOR factor could be SIZE. US furniture I've seen (East Coast) tends to be BIG.

Naturally it depends on what you have in sight as a future home. We have problems as our furniture came with us from Germany. Germans build STANDARD SIZED rooms and so they have STANDARD GERMAN SIZED furniture. Very visible in Kitchens - it's a joy there - A standard kitchen simply fits. The bed barely entered in the master bedroom here. We still have a complete DIN kitchen in the basement and maybe one day we'll have it fitted. The house we have came with an OK one installed - no it's NOT standard sized.

Also we came with a lot of wardrobes - and it's normal here to find everywhere has them built in. We actually created a dressing room in a bedroom to use the stuff up (we also have a lot of clothes maybe)

I don't know how costly you stuff is - but getting furniture made to measure in Spain is NOT difficult or overly costly - There are LOTS of places just south of Madrid as soon as you cross into Toledo province. There's always flat-pack from IKEA too.

If you don't have a place - think about storage costs.


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## max2argent (Dec 13, 2008)

Excuse me, my question is not related to the topic. I too want to import a car from California to France. I find an importer. LA_Rick you can help me. What importer tell you?


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## LA_Rick (Oct 20, 2008)

*Import car*

I found that importing was relatively cheap BUT meeting Euro specs may be difficult and in my case, it was just not worth it. I'm selling my car.


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

max2argent said:


> Excuse me, my question is not related to the topic. I too want to import a car from California to France. I find an importer. LA_Rick you can help me. What importer tell you?


You may want to post this over in the France section, but you'll probably get the same advice. Importing a car from the US to anywhere in Europe is usually a big mistake.

Most manufacturers make different models for Europe than for the US so finding parts and service can be a nightmare. There are different regulations in different countries - and in France you will have to pass an incoming inspection to make sure your US car is up to French standards.

My boss in Germany imported his US sports car. He got into a minor wreck, but found that the insurance company insisted on "totalling" the car due to the difficulty of finding repair parts. Insurance can be a major hassle.
Cheers,
Bev


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## max2argent (Dec 13, 2008)

I want import a classic car. the laws is different. Can you give me the name of this importer?


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## LA_Rick (Oct 20, 2008)

*Import from California*



max2argent said:


> I want import a classic car. the laws is different. Can you give me the name of this importer?


The quote I received was from ShipMyVehicle.com. $1340 for my Audi A6.


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