It’s quite common to purchase a car from other countries these days. Bringing a car from another country into the United States is called importing. Before now, this was not typical practice for the average person. By carefully researching online though, you can find several vehicles that you might be interested in overseas. Though the actual sale might seem easy, importing the vehicle can get a little complicated.
There are strict laws regarding the importing of motor vehicles into the U.S. These laws include safety, bumper, air pollution and emission requirements. Most cars produced overseas will already meet U.S. requirements. However, you shouldn’t automatically assume this is always the case. Make sure to verify any car you are considering shipping into the U.S. meets all U.S. standards through a reputable source. This will save you grievance down the road since by law, any non-conforming vehicle must be brought up to standards, exported or destroyed. Be aware that importing cars from countries from Korea and/or Cuba is not permitted at all.
You should also know that you may have to pay duty taxes on most foreign-made cars imported into the U.S. This is true even when you are importing a car for personal use. Duty taxes can be high on trucks and as much as three percent more than they would be on motorcycles and automobiles.
