Anyone any idea if it would be legal to import a car from Europe & drive it in the USA? The steering wheel would be on the other side & the headlights would shine in the wrong direction. Anyone any ideas?

 

have to separate parts i believe. headlights, taillights, engine, car. All in separate crates. Then build it when it gets here. Have to do this because they dont have DOT and other safety people to regulate OE parts

 

I'm sure its possible. There's lots of right hand drive cars in the US.

http://www.money-zine.com/Financial-...mporting-Cars/

 

While I was searching for an Austin Mini Cooper, I came across an article that detailed how many enthusiast were importing cars that didn't meet US legal requirements. Evidently they re-VIN them as pre-emission models. (25+ years or older)

"Despite this, a small band of enthusiasts keep the legacy of the original car alive in the U.S., where cars more than 25 years old are generally exempt from emissions regulations. Minis that were originally sold in the U.S. are becoming hard to find, so most of the restored Minis now running in the U.S. have been imported by individual enthusiasts – typically from Australia or New Zealand where the climate has limited the amount of rust formation and cars are available for relatively low prices. There is increasing difficulty in finding cars that are old enough to meet the 25 year emissions exemption and yet are still in a reasonable condition. This has led some importers to place the vehicle identification number (VIN) plates from older cars onto Minis that are less than 25 years old – claiming that the car was "repaired" by replacing every single part with the exception of the VIN plate. Such vehicles are termed "re-VINs" and are surprisingly common."

 

Worst advice ever

Yes, you can import a car from Europe. The steering wheel will only be on the "wrong" side (as will the headlamp aim) if the car is from Britain.
All other European countries drive in the right, just like you and unless it's some super rare British model, you can probably find a LHD version.

The emmisions will have to fall within your state law for the age of the vehicle.

 

If you are in a state that does safety inspections that include headlight aim, you will have to replace the headlights with US-spec if you have a RHD.

 

And don't forget bumpers.

Not sure what it's like in some parts of the country, but in California that is the other major concern. However, in Los Angeles, there were a lot of grey-market exotics that rich dudes with more money than taste and common sense had brought over. Don't know how they did it, but it wasn't cheap. It is doable, however.

 

The only thing that is required is the vehicle must meet the federal DOT and EPA requirements. Headlight aim can be adjusted. Catalytic converters can be added. Just about anything lacking can be brought up to US standards without too many problems.

 

A lot of it will depend on the car you are looking at importing. Some cars are much easier because there is a US and EU spec version. These will just require the parts being changed out. I know of several people who have brought cars from over here to there and there are import companies that will do the work for you for a fee. I would guess the same thing exists here. The biggest changes will be the emissions and exterior lighting. EU lighting requirements are much different than DOT turn signals, marker lights etc will all need to be changed.