Importing a WRX (97) from UK - will TÜV **** me ??

[edjza80]

Ive had a good read around the webs on this one, and am still quite lost as to where to start...

Firtly, long story short, im a aussie now living in germany. my german language is average to bad, but getting better. Im looking around at various cars to use as a track day vehicle, but remaining road registered for convenience sake. Of all the 'fast cars' you can buy, it seems the UK used car market has the best bang for buck at the moment, plus the pound/euro conversion is still quite strong.

Anyways, im settling on a 97(ish) wrx sti ra. 1100kg 320bhp 4wd with close ratio box for €7.5k ... hard to say no.

assuming i can get it home to germany from the uk with minimal fuss, what exactly is TÜV going to bend me over for? TÜV themselves have been nearly useless, and my germans not up to scratch to read a lot of german technical documents on the web, so i need a little help!

SO! questions...

• 1997 - being an older car (?pre 2004), i assume doesnt need to meet euro 4 emissions? what benchmark do they use?
• Certificate of European compliance? whats that and where do i get it? (does that state the relevant emissions rather than euro 4?)
• does the vehicle need to be in the TÜV database? whatever that is? and what happens if its not?
• need a letter from flensburg stating the car hasnt been rego'd in germany before?
• swap the headlights to LHD and fit a rear foglight?
• reasonable assumption that any mods are going to be without an ABE? so what does TÜV do with those?
• perhaps better to buy a near stock example with orig engine/exhaust/suspension etc?

thoughts? corrections or additions?

for the price difference between what a 'good' performance car can be bought for from the uk, compared to whats a) available in germany, and b) the much higher prices, im prepared to put in a bit of work to get one through. Im not a turkey with cars, and have built a few of my own in the past, so up for the challenge, just need to figure out what the rules are, and how far the goalposts sit!

cheers
ed

[paul.deitch]

For my '93 UK car I just went along to the local TUV with the "schluesselnummer" european type number, and some photos so they could see what it was like, and they told me everything that I had to do which was basically only headlights as the speedo was in MPH and KPH.

[edjza80]

schlüsselnummer? hmmm, never heard of that before. where do i find that, considering i havent bought a car yet? a european type number...? but if the vehicle is of japanese origin and not normally sold in the EU? I know i CAN do that with a UK delivered P1 STI... but jap import?

i know i cant get an EU COC for the car im looking at (again jap import), so what happens then? does one simply take the car to TÜV and give them lots of money to do a huge inspection on it?

[JMGS4]

edjza80 said:

of japanese origin and not normally sold in the EU?

This will definitely mean you'll have to have an "Einzelfahrzeug Abnahme", a single car inspection, and they will check everything...you'll end up paying a mountain if it is severly modified or a lot of non-standard (i.e. unknown in germany) parts. Why not try and get all the details from the british Subaru rally tuners, who may well be able to give you more info.... mind you I do remember a lot of german rally cars are kept on GB plates and this possibly for a reason....!?!?!
I know a "normal" US pickup requires an individual check and may incur TüV costs of €1400,- PLUS the conversions that have to be made....

BTW the "Schlüsselnummer" is a german insurance/TüV grouping depending on the costs and frequency of repairs on that type of car.. the higher the number the more expensive the insurance....

Edited by JMGS4 on Monday 23 August 07:24

[paul.deitch]

Schluesselnummer is the exact identity of the model type ie ford escort 1.3 diesel with catalytic converter, that is why it is used for insurance classificatin.
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schl%C3%BCsselnummer

[edjza80]

where do you find that number?

whilst i dont have a car at present, i do have access to registration papers and vin etc from the UK such that i can talk to TÜV with sufficient detail

cheers
ed

[paul.deitch]

my understanding is that you get the EU certificate of conformity from the manufacturer (will be a cost) as well as the normal docs (registration and mot) and go visit tuev. they should then be able to classify it and then will do the normal safety and emmissions test certification.
why not try the subaru club germany, i'll bet they'll do their best to help. http://www.impreza-gt-club.de/imp_geschichte.php
more possibilities here
http://www.subaruclub.ch/importeure_clubs.asp

good luck

[edjza80]

Jap Import = no EU COC

my research has found that the UK allows their egistration via 'conformity by similar standards' for cars over 10 years old. ie, they recognise jap certification of standards.

TÜV does not (so it appears)

they can do a full assessment on the car inc emissions and standards testing, but thats likely to run into the €1-2k territory. or i can pay a private company to do it, and thats around €1k

for comparison, i can get a type UK 2004 sti for about the same final money, and that has an EU COC

gah, what a PITA

[Benni]

You may also try DEKRA and GTÜ service stations,
they are allowed the same customer services as the TÜV (who held a monopoly for decades)
but tend to be a little friendlier towards "special cars".

http://www.dekra.de/en/home

http://www.gtue.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=13430
GTÜ sadly has no english version, tick the "Technik" reciever of mail
and type in you personal data and requests, maybe someone answers,
or try [e-mail]

[kukri]

Bump - any updates? I am looking for UK imports as well...

[Richie200]

Sorry guys the above is not true, I have a highly modified Track-based RHD FD3S fully registered for German roads with complete listing of all the modifications in the German equivalent of the V5. Most German Tuv/Dekra facilities do not have the knowhow/experience with imported/modified cars. There are however 2-3 dedicated workshops that that have the ability to help. In general terms, the headlights and rear fog light are all that needs to be sorted (and a speedo if it only reads in MPH; not the case with a Jap import), for German registration. RHD-speedmaster are highly recommended. Here is one of my cars that I have recently registered over here, should give you an idea of what is now possible: