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My wife and I are currently planning to move to Germany. I got a couple quotes for shipping the car and was surprised to find out that it's only around $1300. There's only one problem:
The car will have to pass the German TÜV inspection. I've been talking to a company based in Bremerhaven that specializes in that kind of thing and was told that there's no way the car will pass the inspection with the current headlights (DOT).
I've been searching the internet all day for replacement headlights/lenses with the "E" emblem on them, however none of the headlights I found seem to have the "E" on them. I even reached out to Valeo to see if they can help me out...
Long story short: Are European Jags really equipped with different headlights and if so, does anyone have a source for used ones? I hope there's a cost efficient solution for this as paying upwards of 3200€ for new ones is not exactly option.
Headlights may turn our as your smallest concern. They go at local ebay second hand for around 700,-€ a piece. SNG Barret seems to sell new halogen headlamps for 500 LBS, didn‘t see Xenons though.
But it doesn‘t end there: Your sidemaker lamps are not EU-conform, possibly your inidcator lights neither. Your tires may a have an insufficient rating. And then: Your car is most likely electronically limited to 125 mph - which means that little 2 litre Diesels will drive circles around your V8 on the German Autobahn.
But the biggest headache: Import duty and VAT. It sums up to 31% of the value of your car including the shipping charges. Then you need to pay for registration and conformity documents - expect 400€ just for that.
On the other hand - you can pick up a nice second hand X350 for 12.000,-€ or so with low miles. Cars like ours are completely out of fashion this side of the pond.
03-20-2018, 06:59 PM
XJ8 Headlights with "E" Certification (Germany)
