So my trip back to the US has been delayed til December. I recently sold my car and a colleague of mine suggested I get a cheap R8 here and ship it back to the US.

Second hand exotics are pretty cheap here because those who can afford it new dont usually keep them for long because they tend to change cars every year. I found a 2009 Audi R8 with carbon fiber, etc with 18k KM (about 11k miles) for AED 280k (probably get it down do 260). That's about US 70k. These cars go for much more than that in the US even second hand.

I haven't imported a car into the US before or known anyone who has, so I'm not aware of the taxes involved or regulations that I would have to comply with to import this car. I'm looking to see if anyone here has done so to determine whether it's worth it.

The one main risk that I can think off assuming the import is sorted is that it would be difficult to sell an imported car in the states as most people (me included) would be hesitant to buy one. However, there would always be someone who's interested in a bargain. Assuming I keep the car for a year or two, would it be fair to say that I could sell it for 40-50k?

What do you guys think?

 

not to thrilled to come back to your TL?

sorry couldnt help out with your question.

 

I want to say there was a pretty good topic in here about importing a car to the US which outlined all of the expense and headaches involved with it. I believe the outcome was that it was more trouble and much more cost then it was worth...

 

Found it. It talks about importing from Japan... but unless you're importing it from Canada it's pretty much the same anywhere else in the world.

Bottom line, unless it's an older car on the exemption list of cars 25 years and older... be prepared to fork over a ton of cash to make it happen:

https://acurazine.com/forums/car-talk-5/how-import-car-japan-751951/

 

There must be a reason if people don't do it all the time IMO

 

yeah i figured, but being that i'm a returning resident (not just importing a car while living in the US), i thought maybe there would be some different rules. thanks guys

 

you would want a car with the steering wheel on the wrong side?

 

It's JDM yo

Wait...

FWIW my friend imported a Mustang GT from the US into Canada. All he had to change were the DRLs, he got away with the different speedo and everything. I think if the car is mechanically the same to the one sold here, it's a hell of a lot easier. RHD will give you a challenge though i think.

FWIW I remember someone importing a TSX wagon into the US a while ago. I don't know if it's the thread that was linked, I didn't check.

Best of luck R8 for 70k is a hell of a steal

 

Honestly wouldn't see the point. Too much of a hassle for a car that you know in advance you don't even want to keep for more than a year.

 

If it was RHD, i wouldnt have even thought about it. However, it's left hand drive and has everything the US spec R8 has. In addition, it has a stronger cooling system to handle the extreme heat here.

 

If you only plan on keeping it for a year or two, the hassle to import it wouldn't be worth it IMO.

 

Having everything the US spec R8 has and being up to US specs are two different animals. And that is where a bulk of the expense will come in...

 

How much different could an R8 imported to the ME be from one that is imported to the US? Would Audi make them vastly different for a non-mass-produced car? Safey and emissions are the biggies for car imports to the US.

 

Not worth it

 

They are likely very different. That is why they are so much cheaper over there. The US safety and emission regulations add a ton of cost to a car. Other countries to not have those requirements, hence it's much cheaper to produce, and that is why they sell for so much less over there. If you want to bring it to the US... you then assume those costs to bring it up to spec... and this is where a bulk of the expense comes from.

 

Read the thread that was posted, but there is a way to slightly get around this:

If you contact the manufacturer, they might give you a document that attest to the vehicle being up to US standards, Or extremely similar to USDM vehicles. It's worth a shot for an exotic.