Importing a US spec X5 xdrive 35d to Germany
 

I will be relocating to Munich in about 6 months timeframe. I am thinking of buying a X5 xdrive 35d here in US and importing it to Germany. I am wondering if anyone has had such experience and how was the all process of importing and registering a US spec X5 diesel? Did you had any issues? Anything you can share would be useful.

PS: I'm also planing on importing my old 323ic (E36)!

I think there are all sorts of issues.....of course the most obvious being different gauges (miles/kms), you will buy a very $$$ car in the US, take it to Germany and have NO warranty. BMWNA will not pay for repairs in Germany. Just software updates can be very expensive. Radio and Satellite, I think will not work. Parts, ie; blinkers and bulbs are different for US and German models.

I think, IMO, this is a very bad and expensived mistake!!

X5/X6 are popular in Russia, and many have been imported from US. Surprisingly, people manage to get them fixed there under some 'BMW worldwide warranty'.

But even w/o warranty, the price difference will cover a long list of repairs and whatever conversions required (I suspect it's limited to just buying emergency kit and a triangle).

Just the duty at the border will cost you another X5.

I've had a US spec model in Germany for 1.5 years, and have had no service support issues - hardware or firmware under warranty - from the local BMW dealer. The overseas warranty is shorter than what BMW USA offers - two years versus four, IIRC. You'll want to check transferability, but it will be less coverage.

My import was through the US military sales program, which incorporates a reduced customs/duty process. If you're eligible under US government/contract employment, it's worth investigating. For a regular expat, as folks in this thread warn, the import duty could be considerable.

True you have no Sirius/XM satellite radio, except through a smartphone.

If you are relocating you can import it free of tax but you need to prove you have owned and registered it for at least 12 months before you arrive in Germany.

There is some other stuff but it is straight forward. The above is key.

Instrument cluster is no problem and will pass the TÜV requirements since it has km/h and can be user-changed to have metric. You will need new taillights which have amber as the turn signals.

You will need to do some coding to change the radio region, headlights (the front amber turn signal is NOT permitted to stay on with the headlights), and enable the rear foglights and buy a new headlight switch. It would also be useful, but not required to program the cruise control to metric units. However, vehicle coding isn't too hard to find in Germany, much easier than it is here.

BMW Assist and Sirius will not work there. Sat Nav will work, but the hard drive needs to be reloaded with the Europe map. Traffic Info may not work.

You'll also need to pay the 19% VAT on the value of the vehicle upon registration.

I imported US specs X5 to Europe, did exact same changes AZNMpower32 described, no issues except that I am missing headlamp washers that are mandatory with xenons here.

I would suggest to take the "cold weather package" , it solves this issue

Dont forget about Germany's local EPA / Emmission issue...
Critical!

I always thought US emission standards are higher/tougher than EU/Germany, no?

They are for diesels. The European-spec 3.0sd/xDrive35d is a Euro 4, but the BluePerformance system in US-spec vehicles might boost it to the Euro 5. I know that currently, all vehicles sold in the EU must meet the higher Euro 5 standard, part of the reason why BMW switched to the xDrive40d.

Thank you guys for all your answers. I appreciate it very much. Here are some findings on my side.
- Shipping an X5 from from the West coast to Germany cost about $1,200.
- It can be imported tax free, if the three following conditions are meant:
+ I have own the car under my name for at least 6 months before relocating to Germany.
+ I have been leaving outside of Germany for at least 1y before relocating.
+ I keep the car for at least 1y in Germany before I sale it.
- It will need some modifications to front & rear lights and pass all the different technical inspections tests to be able to be registered.

For a bit more clarifications, I am relocating for work to Germany with local German work contract. Buying a car here in US before relocating is for me much easier as I have money here in US, I can easily negotiate with the seller in English (I don't really speak German yet ;-) ) and it is quite cheaper here than in Europe even if the EUR/USD was at parity... The draw backs are that the 4y free maintenance program will be lost and the 4y warranty will either be reduced to 2y or even lost. So, the difference of the cost of the car is ~$66K (~€48.5K) in US vs. ~€72K in Germany, import & registration cost €3,500. Total cost for buying in US and importing is ~€52K vs ~€72K if buying in Germany....

Now there maybe more things that I don't know about like around the exhaust emission. Does anyone knows more?

Hey Southwold! Do you you know more about German loval EPA? I am too under the impression that the new US diesel with the BluePerformance technology (Urea injection), the exhaust emissions of the US spec X5 35d should be the same or better than the EU version. Is that true??

Hey Whizzo, Thank you for the info. May I ask which US spec car did you imported? Thanks

Hey Vinergy! Thanks for the info regarding the headlight washers. I was going to get the cold winter package. Now, it is not just a nice to have! Any issue with emission standards?
Btw, is your X5 a diesel or a gasoline? Thanks

Hey AzNMpower32! Thank you for your posts and the details info. True, I will also have to have the coding/FW changed. I am little less worry about that as it is probably not needed to get the car registered. I have had the coding of my E36 tuned before here in US (in wanted the climate control temperature reading in ºC instead of ºF). Dinan in Mountain View CA, did for me for free :-)

Hi Alpagad - I have a '08 3.0si, no issues with the emissions, just missing headlamp washers. I am now trying to figure out what to do about it so I can sell the car in EU.

I am considering importing a diesel variant this time, also not sure about emissions, maybe someone has done it already and will share the experience.

Also, PM me if you need a contact in Germany for car coding, I used company in Munich, they were great and very reasonably priced.

2009 X35d - Premium Package as the only option.

While it drives beautifully, in much of Europe the X5 feels pretty big squeezing through the smaller villages!

Hi Vinergy! Thank you for your reply. I will send you a private message to get the contacts of the shop you used for coding in Munich. Btw, how did you deal with the head/tail lights modifications to get the registration? Did you do it yourself or used a shop?

Also, talking to German friends here in US, they mentioned that the yearly registration may be expensive for this type of car and in case of pick pollution days some cars are not allowed to drive based on their CO2 emission. Do you know anything about these points?

Finally, how is your experience with driving an X5 in Europe? Does it fill much bigger compare to the other car around?

Thank you so much.

Hi Whizzo! Thank you for your reply. As you own a X5 35d, i would like to ask you a couple specific questions if you don't mind:
- Do you remember what exactly you had to modify to get it register?
- Did you do it yourself or used a shop?
- How much is the yearly registration on this car?
- Have you heard anything regarding the use of this car on pick pollution day?

Regarding your comment about this car felling a bit big in the small villages. This was also my impression! Do you have any troubles to park it in the towns and bigger cities?
Thank you very much!

Hi Alpagad,

I replaced tail lights myself, got them on ebay together with the lights switch.

Got the lights switch (for rear fog lights) and coding done by the same company.


I use the car mostly for travelling not much around the city, so no issues with the car size, except for parking as many garages are simply too small.

Given that fitting headlamp washers involves a new washer bottle, pipes and two new wings, I would argue that the easiest thing to do is buy two Halogen headlights from EBAY (they are rare but do pop up!) and fit those. I believe it is legal to have halogen headlights without washers - certainly there are thousands (if not millions) of low-end vehicles in Europe with that spec!

And before anyone says you can't get halogens for the X5 - you can in Europe, mine has them!

Thanks StumpyPete,

I was considering this option, just was not sure about the wiring - if there is any difference between xenon and halogen wiring and if any coding would be needed.

No idea on that one, I'm guessing the wiring ain't that different, although clearly you have ballast on the Xenons to get rid of, in some respects the wiriing is simpler with halogens. Re coding.....that is a different question, run it by your friendly coding garage to see what they say.

**EDIT** Looks like you need a different light switch too - real oem has a different one for Xenon=NO **/EDIT**

RealOEM.com * BMW E70 X5 3.0si Control element light

Thanks, will check out this option as well.

Hi, I am trying to import to Germany a 2011 X5 5.0i but I am having trouble with emission test by TUV. Anyone has experience in importing such a car?