Buying VW TDI Golf in Germany and ship it to states

I am not having good luck locating '99 TDI Golf with sunroof. I'll be in Germany on vacation end of June. Is it possible to buy a TDI Golf from there and get it shipped to states. I wonder whether this is expensive to do. Can I get better selection in Germany? Any information on this?

Did you ever hear the Johnny Cash song "One Piece at a Time"?

Forget it. You have to impound the car, fill out EPA and customs forms, hire a lawyer, take off EuroParts and install American Parts, etc, etc.... And you are right the selection in Europe is better. Check out the VW of Germany site and look at the motors, drivetrains and other stuff available. You can literally check the boxes and order about any combination. Makes me sick. I want a TDI, 4 wheeldrive, manual transmission Golf with black cloth and silver paint. Ain't gonna happen.

Hey Bonnie, why not buy a base Golf TDI and then have an aftermarket guy hack a hole in the top. It costs about the same for a quality aftermarket roof as it does for a factory one. You might like the extra headroom of a non-roof car if you are tall.

Fred V.

How do you pull up all the old entries? I think this very topic was on the older version of your page, about 7 months ago. It had listed some web pages, that stated exactly what had to be done to import foreign cars. I cannot find the web pages...I'll look for them, and post them if found.
derrik

This may or may not help:
http://www.customs.ustreas.gov/imp-exp2/informal/car.htm

Fred. Thanks...found it.

Bonnie:

Look under the old messages, from the 24th to the 26th of June, 1998. There you will find a quick discussion of the importation topic, as well as links to various web pages that will help explain exactly how that works.
good luck,
derrik

Bonnie,

I agree with RabbitGTI, just have an aftermarket unit plugged in. My NB has a wabasto sunroof and I am very pleased with its operation. It is more expensive than the factory unit, but the dealership guarantees it for life. In other respects, it looks and functions very much like the factory unit.

where can i find more information on the web concerning the european delivery program??

I was told by the people at VW HQ in Wolfsburg that there is no European Delivery Plan for a US spec VW with a final destination of the US. And for the reasons described in previous replies on this subject, importing a European spec VW into the US is nearly impossible. One US importer on the East Coast told me they have had a European spec Golf sitting on their lot for a year and a half and they are no where near getting it cleared through customs, with several thousand dollars having been spent by the owner in the process, SO FAR. They would not even consider any other requests to do the same, obviously. The European delivery plan seems to be available for other countries depending on the Factory/Local Distributor relationship as well as import regulations in the country of destination. The telephone number for the direct export office at VW HQ in Wolfsburg as dialed direct from the US is 011-49-536-197-1036. The number for the main switchboard is 011-49-536-190. Good Luck. If you can get any different or more accurate information out of the direct export office, please post it.

And assuming you CAN import the VW of your dreams... What happens if it brakes down and needs service?

From the horror stories I hear from people on here and Vortex, Domestic VW Mechanics are having a hard enough time as it is just fixing the Domestic Models

I responding to this article now simply to resurface the interest of ordering cars to NA on overseas delivery plan.
Some good references provided herein...thanks to dedicated participants.

------------------

Originally posted by mickey:
"My brother is in the Air Force and will be shipped out to Italy soon. He's talked to some experienced people about the possibility of buying a European car and importing it. They've all told him "Forget it!" WAY too much red tape and hassle."

Mickey -

I understand that the only exception to the normal rules is the situation of Services Personnel, based abroad, who may wish to import a vehicle. Don't know any details (my info related to Canada, but the position re the US is probably similar).

Perhaps it's a bit of a cynical attitude, but if the "rules" are set in the name of that bogus red herring "Environmental Considerations", then quite why a given car owned by a member of the Armed Services should be one iota different environmentally from anyone else's is beyond belief....

Originally posted by DavidFromDallas:"Fortunately, the Golf IV is imported from Germany..."

According to my latest information as of 2 weeks ago, the latest Golfs, other than the GTi, I understand, are coming from VW's Brazilian factory. This seems to be more-or-less coincidental with the change to 2001 MY models.