[TheStigE36]

My buddy is taking orders to England from our current command and is looking at what to do with a vehicle once he transfers after he finishes his new command in England. Basically he wants to purchase a BMW 3-something and is looking for the best bang for his buck over seas. Here is a direct quote from him:
"I like the 320, 323, and 330. I don’t care much for the rest. Right now what I am seeing is (as an example) Silver ’04 320 Ci M Sport Coupe 2-door Manual w/ 49K miles is going for almost 15K USD. Too much? Also, do you hear of a lot of people importing these things?"

I know post tour it is possible to transfer a vehicle back stateside. The only thing I was thinking is that it is better to spend his money stateside for a 330i for 15k vice pay for the UK mark-up on the price tag.

The main thing I am looking for is an answer on the idea of reimporting a vehicle that is from England (ie right-hand drive) and how that works? I know there are some people on this forum that are military and have dealt with this situation before, so if someone can help us that would be fantastic! Our biggest obstacle is that right now we are deployed and it makes the whole internet-wide search thing pretty slow... Thanks!!!

 

[bmwhipper]

I don't know about england but I moved from Germany and I owned 4 BMW's while I was overseas and they could not be shipped back to the states due to our safety and emissions regulations.

I would suggest going to England, take the ferry into Belgium or the train into France and picking up a Brand new U.S. Spec BMW from Germany (makes for an interesting road trip). You can probably get it through the base RAF Lakenheath or Alconbury will have a dealer. You will be able to use a VAT and save on sales tax (DE 16%) This will cut the cost of purchasing from the states. You can also pick up a nice used Bimmer to ride around in while over there. Military usually buy a euro spec BM drive while they are stationed there then sell it before returning to the states.

Hope that helps I am still uncertain about british specs.

Oh yeah drink one for me at the local PUB!