Hey fellow Jag enthusiasts. I recently moved back to the US from Abu Dhabi and I wanted to bring my Euro spec XJ6 with me. Unfortunately, US Customs and Boarder Control had something to say about that!! I would have never imagined that it would not meet US NHTSA guidelines but they have seized it and are holding it ransom until I can prove that it conforms.

Has anyone ever imported a Euro car? or have any words of advise?? (...other than to leave it in the UAE!)


Thanks in advance

 

You'd need to contact Jaguar Land Rover USA and beg them to endorse it as being "substantially similar" to the US sold model.

I contacted them in January about bringing in my '04 XJ6. I received the following reply:

It's complete BS, really. The 3L duratec is used in the S type and the chassis/equipment is identical to the XJ8 variants. You *might* get help given your circumstances.

There are designated importers who work with US customs to bring cars in. You might want to contact a few and see if they can press your claim. Expect to pay a fee for this.

 

Why would it? It was probably built to meet requirements and standards of another country which might be better/worse/same as the US.

http://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-impor.../importing-car

 

My guess is that that's politically motivated pabulum to protect Detroit, or the pollution concerns were valid decades ago. Some serviceman's BMW from a German posting crushed/seized for lack correct paperwork isn't a smog machine versus a US bought counterpart.

 

Welcome to the world of Kafka!
At least this is what I am struggling with my import of a car (a Portfolio 2006) made for the Emirates, then imported to the EU.
Jaguar Belgium is unable to produce an European Certificate of Conformity that would allow to normally register the car in Belgium, nor JLR in Coventry, UK.
The Certificat of Conformity that was delivered to me by JLR only shows that the vehicle satisfies the numerous relevant standars requested by the Emirates, plus some of Saudi Arabia.
But to have it agreed by Belgium, it would be necessary to check that all the EU standards are also met by my car and JLR does not want to do it.
The Belgian authorities insist then to have me going through a specific process of Belgian national agreement for that vehicle, including a specific technical visit, meaning two months of delay and 500 Euros...
I am curious to see how the US authorities deal with your issue...
Good luck!

 

It doesn't protect anybody's jobs.

OEMs, domestic or imported are required to meet a given countries smog and safety standards. If a car doesn't meet them, the car can't be sold there. This applies around the world.

The OP can import the car if he can get paperwork showing that the car meets the same standards that all other cars had to meet. Jag is telling owners that they're not going to do the legwork to figure out if one country's spec meets that of another. No surprise there. Why should they?

Servicemen returning home know to buy a car (BMW or otherwise) that comes with paperwork from the OEM stating that the car meets US standards.

 

Since I don't believe Jag was offering a V6 engine in 2008 for the NA market, I don't think Jag will have had the engine tested/certified for NA smog standards. Under "safety" there could be differences when it comes to things like lights. The cost of having the car tested/converted to NA spec at a certified conversion shop is likely far in excess of what it would cost to buy a similar age Jag in the US. And then you have to consider the problems of having a car serviced that has a number of very different parts (not just confined to the engine). You will also take a bath on resale.


I imported my 04 XJ from Canada to the US, and it was a rubber stamp process as Jag ensures their NA destined cars comply to both countries standards. I still had to get the certification letters from Jag and show it had the certification stamps on the door frame and under the hood. My ex imported an Acura from Canada to the US, and that was going to be a problem, as they got hung up on the instruments that couldn't show Miles or be converted to do so.

 

The 3.0L duratec was used in the S-type. Its emissions data are a known quantity.

 

The car has to be certified as a unit, not as components.

An OEM might use the same engine in 10 different cars, each has to be certified individually.

 

My advice would be to detail it up and sell the car in UAE. Then buy one when you arrive in the U.S.

At the end of the day, it will be cheaper than the <s>brides</s> fees you will have to pay. and the huge loss in value later trying to sell a car not available in the U.S. (unless you hold on to it for 40-50 years and the rarity gets some attention).

A 2008 XJ8 has a trade-in value of $10-13K (us dollars), so that should give you some idea of values here versus the UAE.

Good Luck

 

Bureaucratic tedium. Have you considered government work?

If a 4.2 engine in Mr Smith's XJ8 goes bust, and Mr Smith owner drops in a 3.0 (for whatever reason) from an S/X type, the car is not going to suddenly turn into a non-compliant polluter. This forum might ream him, though.

 

Don't shoot the messenger.

If you don't like your government and their rules, vote them out.

 

It's not just the engine that may not conform. It can be tyres (tires), lights, reflectors, airbags (USA ones go off harder than UK, I gather), underbonnet stickers, door stickers, and the list goes on.

Sell and buy another, as someone helpfully posted.

BTW UAE S-Types (by way of example) have different software in various items. Not suited to EU.

 

DCP,
The real issue is that a man of the world such as yourself would even attempt to import a non US spec car without professional advice.
This is not a new issue in the automotive world and the usual professional advice is "don't try it". Of course the car has been impounded. Get pro held at once and hope you can get out of this mess at minimal cost.
I doubt anyone on the forum can offer much help as this field of "grey mkt." cars is most complicated and technical.

 

You guys are awesome!! Thank you for all the information!


Update: I have been trying to get the DOT agent who flagged the vehicle to give me the specific reasoning for his non-conforming determination but he can't. He finally just said that because the placards in the door frame and under the hood do not clearly note US conformity, it was flagged. No further investigation of actual mechanics. And while i don't like it, i understand their reasoning. However, in 2016, this type of information should be much more accessible. And when I spoke to a guy at Jaguar Corporate, he said that he believed all mid-2000 and newer Jags were manufactured to meed US standards, whether or not they were bound for the US.

And as for those saying that I should have sought professional assistance before undertaking this venture, I did. I hired a freight company, ExShip, who said that they were a "full service" shipper, handling all pre and post-shipping customs paperwork, and they raised no red flags.

So as for my next step, I am contacting Registered Importers to see what the cost will be for them to bring it into compliance (if possible) and file the necessary petition. If that proves cost prohibitive, I guess I will have to ship it back and sell.

But on the bright side, at least I didn't attempt to import a Land Rover!! There were only about 30 cars sitting in the US Customs lot and 20 of them were Defender 90/110s!

Thanks again and I'll provide another update later!
Cheers

 

Your freight company will just handle the import issues, not the registration process, I think.

Regarding conformity, I guess that many of the specs would be similar between different markets, but the original Certificate of Conformity (which is the only one you will get from Jaguar) will only show that your vehicle satifies the standards for the country of first delivery.
The problem then is to demonstrate that the standards of your country are also fulfilled, something that Jaguar will not do for you...

 

There is NO WAY that they will get the 90/110's into the us, as there are no airbags. Thats why LR stopped importing to the US. To much work to put a airbag into a Defender. But everybody in the LR comunity knows that. As posted earlier, the "gray market" is toast.

 

Just re-read this from above. The S-type and XJ8 do NOT share chassis/equipment in any sense of the word. Chalk and cheese.

 

I reached out to a number of Registered Importers and this is the first response I have received:

"This could be expensive as it may need advanced airbags for dot and Obdii computers for EPA. We can petition the car for eligibility and find out but that takes several months and costs 2500-5000 plus 750 per month storage. If we can convert the vehicle we usually charge 12-18,000 US dollars plus parts provided it has a functioning emissions system and correct airbags. Airbags are additional and must be quoted during the petition process as we must get part numbers and engineering and get it approved by dot.

If you want us to clear the car and petition it we can and then if it is too costly we can ship back to Abu Dhabi.

Let us know if we can help as we are licensed by both federal agencies and specialize in conversions.

Thanks,
Lois

J.K. Technologies, LLC
3500 Sweet Air Street
Baltimore, MD 21211
(410) 366-6332
(410) 366-7655 (fax)
email: convert2us@aol.com
website: JK Technologies, LLC | Convert to US Specs

 

You have absolutely no chance of importing any car that was not specifically built for the US market, unless it is 20 years old. The EPA and US customs are absolute ****'s on this.

Despite the fact that many EU spec cars are probably more environmentally friendly than the US spec cars I see on the road everyday, it is an absolute no no.