Emissions on a Vauxhall 1600 to export to Germany

[donaldosaurus]

Hi, I need a little assistance here.
I own a 1999 1600 Vauxhall Caterham and have it for sale.
Someone in Germany is interested in the car but has queries about registration there.
Which emission standard did these cars reach i.e E2 etc?
I sold a TVR Griffth 500 to Germany without any problems.
This is my car: http://pistonheads.com/sales/4115871.htm
Any advice much appreciated.

[HustleRussell]

I have no idea what EU rating these received, but I know they're exempt from emissions testing in this country at least and also don't require catalytic converters by law due to the manufacturing date of the engines (Pre-1993). That probably doesn't help though!

[Princeof wheels]

I imported my 1996 non cat equipped BMW to Germany and registered it here. Your buyer may have to pay a higher rate road tax or he can fit a cat to reduce the cost. The results of the emission test when the car goes for it's HU/AU test will determine the level of tax which will be calculated by the Finanzamt. The road tax is calculated from a base rate of Euros 6.75 per 100cc but I paid I think Euros 220 for my 1.6 litre due to it not having a cat.
Just a thought, but I think your buyer may be able to tax the car for just the summer months (special plates with the first and last months the road tax has been paid for which would help with costs. Also he may be able to register the car here as an historic vehicle although I do not know without checking what the criteria for this is.
Hope this helps.

[pipnjones]

The prospective buyer may also be referring to the "Umweltplakette". Depending on the emissions from the car (particulates but also NOx and SOx, i think), the car will get either a red, yellow or green sticker. This affects where you can drive. some cities will only allow cars with a green sticker or at most a yellow sticker. But this is, I think, normally a bigger issue for diesel cars due to particulate emissions.

But I am not sure where you can best get extra information. I am in Germany, but I have anew car with a EU 5 engine and meet the tightest emissions requirements.

Have you tried posting on the Germany area of the Forum?

[iguana]

pipnjones said:

The prospective buyer may also be referring to the "Umweltplakette"?

Yes sounds like it, I got 2 of my UK reg vehicles done by a friendly garage, they just copied my V5s & a short while later after some phone calls =1 green, one yellow.

The buyer if he lives in or goes into cities, he may be a bit stuffed if he can't get a green- which I don't think he would have any hope of getting with no cat, yellow hmm still doubtful, most likely a red if any & as most cities are now green only with even yellow banished let alone reds.


You could maybe try & get it sorted for him on the Uk reg if it would mean you sold it, have a read here-

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[stuI]

I have just imported mine and it is not easy.

The problem you have with a RHD Caterham is it is lacking in the correct paperwork required to get it through the AU (Emissions test). It may "pass" the emissions test, as mine did, however the Tüv requires an EU rating (on paper) for them to compare to and give you the correct paperwork. Günther from Kempten cars helped me get the right paperwork needed.

My VVC 1.8 (EU3 rated) passed the HU section of the Tüv, but not the AU. All down to paperwork.

For reference i didnt need a COC (Certificate of Conformity) to register it either, as that is something that you will not get on a RHD Caterham.

[stuI]

Link to kempten cars http://www.caterham-cars-kempten.de/caterham/start...

It might be worth yourself, or your buyer giving him a call to see if it is possible. There is a fee for the service but worth IMO.

Good luck.

[dino ferrana]

I can't imagine it would be at all easy and fitting a catalyst would be a non-starter as with twin webbers it is likely to foul it almost immediately. As far as I know this car has never been exported (unlike the 2.0 litre Vauxhall), so it will not have a certificate of confirmity, which makes it HARD to get it registered anywhere.

I am relatively confident in saying the emissions will be very high as this is a pre-EU test engine with no catalyst and twin webbers.

Exporting BMWs etc. is much easier as they were sold in Germany and have an equivalent spec they can work with, plus they were fully homologated at the time. A kit-built car, never sold in Germany is not the same in the eyes of the authorities. Probably not the news you wanted I'm afraid.

With all that said, I am not an expert on german exports and I am sure someone will be able to register it some how, but I would not imagine for one second it would be straightforward.