My U.S. 2008 XJ Vanden Plas (X358) will soon move to Germany.
Of course, it will have to be registered there, and therefore go through TÜV technical inspections, and therefore get a couple of changes done to comply with EU/German regulations...

I know/have heard of the following. Has anybody done these, knows about prices, knows whether they are actually needed, etc. pp.?

1. Headlights. I can't find a "type label" on the headlights, so TÜV Nord told me they'll have to be replaced.
The HIDs aren't the brightest bulbs in the stable (...), but they're fine enough not to need replacement IMHO.

2. Engine Type label. I can't find an "engine label" in the engine compartment, but they're looking for something that starts with "SB" or "TB". Any ideas?

3. Side marking lights. I found a thread around the Interwebs showing how EU X350 (I don't know about X358) have "dummy" reflectors on the bumper sides, instead of the lit orange/red lights in the U.S.

4. What else?

Really looking forward to driving it for a couple years more!

Thanks!
Philipp

 

I know nothing of this so take my comments with a grain of salt. I can't imagine the shipping costs alone are worth it. You might best contact Jaguar to understand the differences in order to meet compliance. If you're only going to keep her a couple more years, money must not be an object?

I would think it would be less expensive to sell your car and buy one in Germany.

I did once try to buy a Canadian VDP (older model) and the costs to get it certified here were too much of a hassle.

 

Hi Sean W,
thanks for the feedback!

You'd be surprised re: the shipping costs. Once you have a container going overseas anyway, adding a car to it makes it maybe ~$1200 more expensive.

You'd also be surprised re: the cost of a Jaguar in Germany. They run about 2x of the prices in the U.S., so there's a good reason to think about shipping it. Besides, I'm not sure I'd find anybody easily who would take care of my Jag as well as they should...

Where is "here" where you wanted to get the Canadian VDP certified?

 

I've been through the conversion process, but with a motorcycle not a car. The TUEV guys know their stuff and frequently choose to apply the EU rules to a degree that may seem excessive and pedantic. You want them on your side, not as adversaries.

If you are not 100% fluent in German and understand techno talk, take someone who is.

 

I fully expect that. Luckily, I am a German native-speaker engineering PhD, so at least the technobabble won't be the main issue. Bureaucracy may be, though.

Right now I'm trying to find the Vehicle Emissions Information label in the engine compartment. Is it true that in the X358 it's hidden behind the engine block?

 

Sure. Bear with me as I'm just trying to learn. What port are you going to? When you get there, how do you get the car through customs? Once through customs, do you drive to Germany or is the container moved from port and the driven to Germany, then you deal with customs?

I was looking at a car in Canada and I live in Minnesota. The paperwork is a nightmare and not much help in terms of resources to get it over the border. There was a risk of not allowing it in the US if I were to drive it, due in large part to not having all papers in order with no clear direction on how to get them in order. I don't recall if there were any emissions issues (differences in Canada v.s. US.) I think the lighting was the same but this was an 86 model year. If it was a dealer, I probably would have moved on it as I would expect they have experience shipping international. Private shippers were too sketchy on the details. I didn't want to fly up, rent a car to drive a few hundred miles, test drive, arrange shipping from the town of Winnipeg, etc. Cost prohibitive for me. Anyway, that was my brief experience and not related to yours.

 

Clearing customs has no connection to obtaining TUEV approval. Best not mix the topics.

 

Hi Philipp.
It will be a bit difficult.
1. ALL ligths cover (head, tail, side, fogs, etc) MUST have on the surface marker "E" in circle. It means, that this car is possible to use in Europe. You must change all lamps.
2. Engine labels are on the picture.
3. Side marker (end of chrome bar - reflection bar) must not have bulb in EU.
4. Only lamps are about 2700 GBP (new from dealer). Hm.


Good luck, Roman

 

I didn't suggest that it did. Best for who? I have a customs question. If it's too complex, feel free to ignore the thread.

 

Turns out it was actually quite easy.
1. None of the light covers had anything “E”-like there.
2. Neither engine nor emissions nor other engine compartment labels could not be found.
3. Side markers have bulbs.
4. No lamps were changed or modified.

End result: TÜV cleared the car for ~EUR 1000, it got a special permit from Bremen’s senator (their DOT), and I got a call to pick it up. All courtesy of a local car import/export dealer.
The key aspect was that I had previously owned the car in the U.S. for more than 12 months, which made it protected under a “household goods” clause in the German customs regulations

It had been more trouble to register the car in Maryland back when it originally came from FL via VA.