Ever since the new Mercedes SL (facelift) came out my dad has been toying with the idea of getting an SL350 with the 315-hp V6. However, here you're easily paying close to 90,000 Euros for the car. So he's thinking of reimporting one from America.

I really don't want to do this project for him because I know he won't get the car. I see this little task as a waste of my time because once I compile all the information and show it to him he'll look at it for a minute or two and say "not worth it" or "nice car but I really don't need it". Seriously my dad is like that.


Anyway, I need some help here. My dad is considering two options:


Option 1: Reimporting a US-spec SL550 into Germany as you can get them for about the same price (or even cheaper) as a European SL350 here.

So I have no idea how it works from this point on. Who can ship the car across the Atlantic back to Europe? Does the car need to be registered for a day in the US? Is there anything I need to know here? Is there a website that deals with reimporting a car from the US into Europe? I couldn't find any good ones.




Option 2: My father wants to know if it is possible if someone in America can go to their local Mercedes dealership and order a European SL350 (315-hp) and have it shipped to America. I am pretty sure it is possible, but will the dealership support this?

Basically, my father is interested in the SL350 and wants to have it ordered from America, shipped to America and then re-shipped back to Europe. He thinks that an SL350 will be "cheaper" because the SL350 might be priced in "US Mercedes prices". I think this isn't possible since there are no US prices for an SL350 and a European dealership will most likely ask the full asking price for an SL350.


And here is something I thought about: European Delivery Program. I might need to ask the local MB dealership about this but do you guys think it possible for a European citizen to order a US-spec SL550 for Europe? I have a feeling it won't be, but it doesn't hurt to ask.



Sorry if I sound pissed, I am not in the best of moods right now because I am very busy with translations for the Stadtarchiv and had a little cheek operation behind me yesterday and this project from my dad is something I do not need at the moment, especially since I know my father won't get the car. I view it as a waste of my time and I think he should do this himself but he doesn't know how to use a computer or the Internet and he refuses to learn it. Heck, he can't even use a Nokia cellhone: the most user friendly stuff on the market.

It is possible, but from what I know it's usually not worth it. You usually have to pay the taxes and in the end, the price usually comes out to the same price as buying the car new. For example, we were thinking about importing our trusty Civic from South Africa to Thailand (just to see how much it would cost). But I think the tax was like something outrageous like 30%. Hope that helped.

Also you have to realize that American cars and European cars are different. So you might have to do something to it to pass inspection.

Many people take advantage of the low valued dollar and import from the US. There are handful of agents who specialize is cross Atlantic important and can take care of the shipping and paper work for you. Naturally that comes at a cost off course.

After shipping, taxes and registration my guess is that you would have saved 15% or so. But with an expensive car like an SL550 it's not worth it since you loose out on all the warranties which can be a regret if your car happens to be a lemon. Not only that but your car will be worth significantly less on the resale market than a domestic car. So in the end you loose more than you have saved.

Very interesting Wimmer.

Shipping is the least part you should be worried about. You just get a container at a port, stuff the car in and ship it. Friends of mine have shipped cars in cargo containers to the Middle East many times.

Option 1 is probably the best for you. Option 2 is not possible because everyone would be importing SL/S/CLS 350's if they could.

But what you need to do is find out what you need to do to a U.S. spec car. From what I've read of importing U.S. cars to Canada, they need to make that car meet Canadian regulations .... such as changing the speedo to KM from MPH . This might be the case with Germany as well.

You also need to find out how much it set you back in taxes and registration fees. Sometimes it's not worth it, sometimes it is (in my friends' cases).

The European Delivery Program option sounds veryyyy interesting. If I ordered the car from the U.S., went to Germany to take delivery and then sell the car there. I wonder if it works? I'm welling to do it if it works

Thanks for the response.

I think in this case an actual import will be cheaper than buying the car here. I went to the customs department here yesterday and they said importing a US-spec car that was made in the EU shouldn't be a problem. It will have to pass the standard TÜV and emissions test and the headlights might have to be changed but other than that it is possible.

I have told my dad to forget about this and just consider a used SL350 once they start appearing after 3-4 months, especially since US-spec Mercedes' tend to get different final drive ratios biased towards acceleration at the expense of fuel economy. Still, he wants me to check this out for him.

Good points, good points.

I need to tell my father this about the resale value. He probably hasn't thought about this yet.

Thanks for the info.

I figured as much that the SL350 can't be imported. Over on Carspin I was told:

Based on my experience of working at a Volvo dealer, US dealers can only order US-spec cars. Since the SL350 isn't available here, a US Merc dealer can't order one. Bear in mind that every engine/transmission combination sold here has to be individually certified for emissions and fuel economy (CAFE) compliance. As a result, a US dealer ordering a non EPA and CAFE certified car is strictly verbotten!

When the first generation S40/V40 came out, it was only available in the US with an automatic transmission. We had a few customers who wanted to special order the car with a manual but Volvo said no because the engine/manual transmission combination wasn't US certified. We even had a rural postal carrier who wanted to order a right hand drive XC70 to use on his delivery route. Incredibly, Volvo said no! I don't understand that one, either.

Re-importing a US spec car to Germany would be much easier. In researching my eventual move to the UK, I discovered that if you imported a car that was made in the European Union you didn't have to pay import duty. In Germany, you may have to change the headlights and you will certainly need to change the speedometer (unless he buys a Canadian spec car with a KPH speedo) but it shouldn't be too difficult.


Cheers,
Madman of the People


So yep, no SL350. I was reading on a German BMW Forum of how a few people there imported 6-cylinder X5 3.0i's and how the shipping costs were generally around $ 1,000. The speed and fuel economy readouts were still in mph and mpg respectively, there's no rule here apparently that specifies a change.


Let's do it!

Seriously, I need to consider the EDP and see if this could work. It probably won't work for EU citizens because otherwise everyone would be doing it. But it would be interesting to find out if someone from America orders and pays for the car and then decides to sell it in Europe. Might be difficult with MB having arranged a ship at a seaport to ship the car across the Atlantic...

Christian,

Another point to note is that when you take delivery of your car from the factory in this case the European delivery programme, the car does not actually belong to you, you act as an agent transporting the car on behalf of the importing agent. In my case when I collected my car from Stuttgart, all the documentation was in the name of Daimler UK. I signed an undertaking to the effect that the car was destined for the UK.

The car had to be given to the dealer the same day I arrived in the UK, ownership was then transferred over to me after local taxes were paid for by MB UK

The interesting point is that if the unfortunate happens just after collection, a write-off for example, the car still belongs to MB, you get to do it all over again.

Thanks for the helpful information.

The good news is that once I told my father about Option 2 being a no-no and that the US-spec SL550 is thirstier than the Euro SL500, he said "Good work" and told me I could can the project. It's over!




Thread Closed


But thanks for all the help, guys.