Importing Mexican '82 VW T2 into USA

I think the rule is that the imported vehicle must comply with whatever Federal regulations existed *at the time of manufacture* to be legally imported and titled in the U.S.. Therefore your friend's car would have to comply with U.S. safety and environmental regulations as of 1982 in order to be legally titled in the U.S.

In the case of Mexican Beetles produced after the model was withdrawn from the U.S. - I know that these cars were not able to be legally titled in the U.S. Some companies circumvented this by putting late model Mexican Beetles on older model U.S. pans, thus titling them as the older model year under the pan's VIN number. The company that was doing this is no longer in business I believe.

Go here:

**&p_li=&p_topview=1 And read the section on Requirements for importing a vehicle or vehicle parts

This section answers your question, because it has Mexican registration: It is illegal to bring a car into the U.S. and sell it without first entering it through CBP. If you purchase a vehicle that was brought into the U.S. and sold without being properly entered through CBP, that vehicle is subject to seizure.

NEVER purchase a used vehicle in the U.S. if the owner cannot show that it is currently registered in the U.S. and demonstrate that it conforms to DOT and EPA standards.

Well, one solution is to simply register it in a non-titling state. Yes, technically this it "illegal" as the vehicle shouldn't be in the country in the first place. But, it is already here... As an example, Maine only titles for 15 years. If a vehicle is older than 15 years, all you need to register it is proof of insurance and a hand-written bill of sale. And money, of course. Registration is done at the local town hall, and they don't check ID. :-) Every state has to have a mechanism for transfering registration from non-titling jurisdictions.

I helped a friend from Indiana do this with an English-spec RHD Saab 900 - it came in through Canada, I bought it, registered it in Maine and sold it to him in Indiana.

Of course, this will in no way help you if the vehicle is subject to local emissions tests elsewhere - we voted that crap out in Maine years ago, much to the chagrin of the company the State contracted to run the testing....

Kevin Rhodes Westbrook, Maine

yes it's 25 years. I'm planning to bring my 68 possibly this fall.

Even if you manage to get it titled as you describe above (and I accept that what you propose will work) you have one additional issue - insurance.

Even if all you want is liability insurance I am afraid that most insurance companies will balk at issuing a policy against a car which can not be "legally" driven in the U.S.

I suppose if you live in a state that does not require liability insurance that you could simply drive without it but I think that's irresponsible unless you have the means to cover any damage you might inflict.

You are giving the insurance companies far too much credit for having a clue. As long as it has something resembling a VIN number you won't have any problem with insurance. There are tons of "gray-market" European cars in the country from the 80's (it was far easier then) that have varying degrees of modifications to make them "legal", i.e. from all the i's dotted and t's crossed to no modifications what-so-ever - rarely is there an issue insuring any of them. Same with my friend's RHD Saab 900 - it's an '84 Saab 900 as far as his insurance company is concerned - nobody ever asked him where it came from.

Kevin Rhodes

I'm not saying that it can't be done or it shouldn't be done. I just want this fellow to go into the deal with his eyes wide open.

I'm not giving the insurance companies much credit but they do have access to a database that contains all valid U.S. VIN numbers and it is common to run a vehicle VIN against the database before writing a policy on it. I personally know of someone that purchased a Mexican Beetle and brought it across the border. He did have difficulty getting it titled and when he finally got a title on it his insurance company refused to write a policy on it since the VIN showed up as a non-U.S. vehicle (in fact, the insurance company told him that the format of the VIN on his car wasn't even close to a U.S. VIN).

This fellow solved his problem by getting a set of VIN plates off of a wreck and moving them to his car and re-titling it as an older model year. Aside from being illegal, he is running the risk that should he ever be in a serious accident in this vehicle the insurance adjuster might just figure out what he's done which would give them a completely legal reason not to honor the policy (fraud you see, he represented the car as being a 1969 U.S. spec Bug when it is in fact a mid 1980's Mexican Beetle).

Again, not saying that someone should not do what is being proposed. Just think that they should weigh all the pros and cons before making a decision.

thanks a lot for the knowledge, i wasn't going to jump into a dodgey purchase, thus reason for the post, and i didn't, that sounds far too sketchy for me, plus i might be able to purchase an old 68 van off a friends neighbour in grand junction anyway, but for a bit more than 600$ :)