The Fiat 500 and 600 are exempt from US regulations because they were over twenty-five years old when imported. The Mercedes-Benz and the Chevrolet Astra must have slipped through the net, which seems to happen sometimes. I once read about a Peugeot 206 cabriolet which was used to smuggle drugs from Mexico to the US. It was seized by the DEA and put up for auction, and in the process managed to acquire Texas (I think) license plates. I suppose that it got through because it never went through the official importation process and so was never examined to determine whether it complied with US regulations.

Exactly i'd love to buy an american car and bring it to Spain too, its easy since you can import any car you want.

It would be fun to see people reactions when seing a european car driving around




I dont understand it, what's to "slip through the net" ? both cases seem to be normal, in the case of the Astra the owner said he had bought it and sued it for his company or something like that, no? and in the case of the Mercedes it is said to had been imported, where's the strange thing?

What do you mean?

Ive changed it, it makes more sense now i guess.

Well I still do not get it: you can't register so easily a US car, no? In France I know that it is quite difficult.

In Belgium I think that you can bring your car and register easily if you lived in USA for some time (3 or 6 months) and that it was your car, but that's the only exception as far as I remember. Maybe it was that thing that you were meaning?

No i mean that i dotn think yuo would have any problems to register an american car in Spain, but now you say that and you make me doubt, perhaps there's some kind of regulation, i dont think so though, but youve made me think.

Although an individual import wouldn't be subject to type approval as such, I imagine you'ld have to alter lights etc. to conform with European regulations?

Hmmmm, what would I do if I (hypothetically) moved to Europe?

#1: Before moving (besides selling my home here and other miscellaneous stuff) I would probably sell the Expedition (being that it’s a Limited) and buy a lower, less upscale trim Expedition to take over with me once I made the journey. Or see about importing one from Saudi (whichever would be the cheaper method)

#2 Once settled, I would make a beeline to the nearest Peugeot dealership and purchase a 307. Or maybe a 1007 (I know its sort of like a minivan, but it looks neat with the two sliding main access doors) It doesn’t look like a traditional American minivan, which I like.

If I moved to Germany (which I actually have considered in the past – I also have distant blood family there) I would certainly buy me another Bimmer.

The 307 is not sold anymore new, it would be second-hand

It is still sold, the 307 hatchback, the one that Neptune likes is still available in Spain and Italy, not in Belgium, France, Germany or the United Kingdom apparently, only the cabrio and the Station Wagon versions are available in a few countries.



Neptune the 1007 is too far from being a minivan! its just a small two seater hatchback with sliding doors, not much you can do with it, and depending in where city you would stay you could perhaps keep your Expedition and leave pedestrians like if you'd go to a city like Madrid or Barcelona with its big avenues you wouldnt have a problem

Well, in reality, if I were to ever move to Europe (for whatever reason) I most likely would not bring my Expedition over with me. I don’t think it’s worth the hassle, I’m sure it would be really expensive to do so. I know it can be done, but still ...

Also there is the maintenance issue, I do most of the basic maintenance myself to the Expedition already (changing the oil, keeping fluids filled, etc.) But major mechanical problems (which could possibly occur as the Expy gained some age and wear) would pose some difficulty I’m sure. I know European Ford dealerships don’t keep Expedition parts in stock. I can only imagine the bewilderment that would ensue if I drove my Expedition up to a Ford dealership and told them I needed a part replaced (!) I doubt there are any Ford mechanics qualified to work on an Expedition in Europe?

Is it really worth the trouble? I would probably be better off to buy a native vehicle that’s sold in Europe.

Also, sorry for saying the 1007 is like a minivan, I suppose it is very different, but I still like it.

@Neptune: there are some American Ford's on the European market, even a few Expedition, see the actuall offers:
http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/search.html?isSearchRequest=true&switchScenario=- &sortOption.sortBy=price.consumerGrossEuro&sortOption.sortOrder=ASCENDING&lang=d- e&scopeId=C&_features=on&negativeFeatures=EXPORT&bodyStyleRadio=&makeModelVariant1.- makeId=9000&makeModelVariant1.modelId=13&makeModelVariant1.modelDescription=&makeModelVariant2.- makeId=&makeModelVariant2.modelDescription=&makeModelVariant3.makeId=&makeModelVariant3.- modelDescription=&minFirstRegistrationDate=&maxFirstRegistrationDate=&minMileage=- &maxMileage=&minPowerAsArray=&minPowerAsArray=KW&maxPowerAsArray=&maxPowerAsArray=- KW&minPrice=&maxPrice=&fuel=&transmission=&damageUnrepaired=NO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED- &ambitCountry=&zipcode=&climatisation=&emissionClass=&adLimitation=&daysAfterCreation=- &usageType=&doorCount=

So there shall be a few bigger Ford-garages have a bit knowledge about such cars.
It may be sound nationalistic, but it's a fact, that US-made cars, vans and SUV's aren't high-tech-vehicles, so every car-mechanic with an at least mediocre education should be able to handle the technic of them.

My dream is to travel around the USA -especially along the Route 66- with my VW K 70. The shipping should be possible, also possible to pay, but I think, I would be the whole time over there quite nervous about a crash or a breakdown. So I should pack a set of important spare-parts into the car. I always do it, when I make trips with my car, here in Germany, or in other European countries.
Over here in Europe I know all other K 0-freaks and I have their phone-numbers in my mobile-phone, for the case of a breakdown or other problems (or just for a short visit) - but in the USA I wouldn't have that possibility. Actually there are only 3 single car known over there.
About the spare-part-problem: recently 2 of the 3 K 70 in the USA had broken windshield. Can you imagine, what a drama we had, to transport a set of 5 new windscreens to the USA?
This is the point, which makes me afraid of my dream-trip, with my K 70 along the Route 66.

It's an ugly problem, that cars, you want to ship across the ocean, have to be totally empty (except exports to Black Africa, they are full with od washing-machines, furniture and other garbage), which means, that you have to send all the parts extra by airmail.

And last, but not least: here in Europe you will not have a good use for big SUV's like an Expedition.
The fuel-prices are extreme high (ca.100% more than in the US), the streets and the parking-lots are smaller and so on.

Indeed, that would be another good reason not to bring one over. I am surprise that anyone in Europe would want one anyway.

>> CCF: So when will the hatchback 307 get replaced in Spain?

The 308 is already sold there, but sometimes they keep the old model as cheaper one.

For example the 206 is still available with basic engines & trim here in Belgium despite the launch of the 207.

To come back to the 307, on peugeot.es they do not list it anymore: only the CC and SW versions are listed.

Oh I see. So it’s existence is temporarily prolonged as a base (cheap) model, no?
When will that stop being offered (if that is info is known) ?

Well, as I said it seems that it is not even on Peugeot Spain website anymore, so I do not know where Ccf got the info that it was still sold.
And in Italy they only have the CC.

Hmm i was wrong im afraid, i entered the following link and saw the picture of it so i thought it was still being sold, but now ive just realize that on the info they list the several models with "CC" or "SW" depending on the type of model, but nothing about the hatchback model, Antoine is right, i dont know why they keep the picture for the hatchback model if its no longer in production

http://www.peugeot.es/gama/307-turismo-sport-gt.htm

And the same for Italy, if you click on 307 you get the picture of the hatchback but then if you ask for more information they jsut show you the convertible.

http://www.peugeot.it/configure/Showrooms/src.php?id=peugeot-307-cc

Sorry then, i was wrong.

If something that big like Escalades are sold why not an Expy? i woudlnt find it that rare honestly.