XSeries-forum

Dear all,

I have been away from this forum since I sold my X5 a few years ago. Now wanting to get back into an X. I love petrol engines and I really like the F25 X3. They are all diesel here in the UK!

Anyone had any experience of importing a BMW from Australia or SA? Would like right hand drive but I want the 28i or 35i!!! What are the chances?

Any advise would be appreciated.
Cheers
Ben

You will need to get it type approved to the correct EU (not just emissions) spec which could prove expensive.  Probably worth talking to DVSA so see what they offer in terms of guidance.

If the differences aren't significant then it shouldn't be an issue, but.......

Thanks X5Sport, appreciate it.

I wonder if there is a way to find out if its been done before. Probably a question for the DVLA.

Cheers

Ben

As long as you talk to DVSA not DVLA.  VOSA and Driving Standards became one last year, hence DVSA.  It may well gave happened in the past.  BMW GB might be another option, though they aren't known for being the brightest, as they really ought to be able to tell you what the differences are.

Australian models may have larger cooling systems as the local temperatures can be a tad warmer than the UK 

Other than that it may be a simple (I can dream) ECU remap?

Is a petrol model of the X3 available anywhere in the EU?  If it is then there should be some way of making a non-UK model be a UK model.....and I doubt if EU emissions are worse than Oz emissions rules and vice versa.

[quote="bwg"]
Dear all,

I have been away from this forum since I sold my X5 a few years ago. Now wanting to get back into an X. I love petrol engines and I really like the F25 X3. They are all diesel here in the UK!

Anyone had any experience of importing a BMW from Australia or SA? Would like right hand drive but I want the 28i or 35i!!! What are the chances?

Any advise would be appreciated.
Cheers

Ben
[/quote]
A friend of mine emigrated to Australia a few years ago, and he ended up shipping his Toyota Hilux out there , as he said the price of cars were a lot more expensive in Oz.
Not sure if it's still the case.

My brother has just come back from there and it is still the case, especially for luxury models.

EDIT:  just found this Guide on UK Gov website.

You can get it down from Singapore... I know someone who bought a Merc S Class (10 yrs old)

I made an enquiry with an uk based motor trader today & specifically discussed matters outlined on this thread.....(importing a RHD F25 X3 petrol). The trader indicated that uk type approval was required for all vehicle's grey under 10 years old & imported from japan, (outside of EU). I discussed japan as source as I am mindful they are all RHD.

I have no idea whether petrol F25's were sold to Japanese Domestic Market (JDM).

Only other option I can think of would be to consider a parallel import. I know that years ago there was a scheme wherby Brithis Forces Germany (BFG) staff could buy discounted RHD cars in german spec....Bear in mind this was in 1980's. My point being some BFG cars ended up resold to owners who were  Non HM Forces.....once the tax benefiting discount qualifying period had expired.

Fwiw I doubt the issue of type approval would be as much of an issue as feared. Kit cars and rebuilds have to undertake certain tests too.

The main technical issue with JDM sourced car would possibly be a lack of EU emission qualification.

The maths issues would obviously be tax, import duty, importation cost & finding someone honest enough to sell you a checked out, accurately graded legit car sourced vehicle.

Prob easier to find a UK F25 diesel & swap engine to a petrol lump found in 3 or 5 series then get it tested if approval needed.

Lots of research needed, plus money & hassles.

For F25 rarity & performance buy an Alpina XD3 & accept that petrol route unlikely to cost effctively  happen.

Hope some of this helps.

I bought a Japanese import in around 2004/5 from a local dealer who used to specialise in cars/4x4 's
Showguns and Pagero's . We bought a Mitsubishi Challenger which was a Shogun Sport with a 2.8 TD.
It was very popular at the time to buy Jap imports and they used to change the speedo displays to MPH ( odometer was still in KM. insurance was more expensive and also meant we had to get a Thatcham 1 alarm, as they didn't fit  alarms to cars sold in Japan. ( as car crime is non existant .)
I don't think it's as popular these days, probably EU legislation has made it unviable., also present exchange rates won't help either.
Try a 35 d it may be enough to satisfy your needs.

Another wrinkle will be if an import has any non-EU market parts fitted then getting replacements could be a mare!  A colleague has a Jap import Mazda and there is only one place to get certain parts from and being special imports it takes weeks and they are expensive.  No UK Mazda supplier will help at all  >:(

Thanks for the info guys. I ended up buying a 2.0d in the end as the spec was so good and I thought, what the hell, this is the family wagon, doesn't need to be quick.

Still interested in importing a high spec beemer from the US.

Here it is:

IMG_0797 by Motion Limited, on Flickr

IMG_0795 by Motion Limited, on Flickr

IMG_0792 by Motion Limited, on Flickr

IMG_0791 by Motion Limited, on Flickr

Bringing one in will need you to bring the emissions (and other systems) into line with current EU regs, which could be simple - or a nightmare!

[quote="X5Sport"]
Bringing one in will need you to bring the emissions (and other systems) into line with current EU regs, which could be simple - or a nightmare!
[/quote]

If the BMW was built in the US is it fair to think the emissions will be the same for US and EU? I guess I need to do some research.

The emissions don’t need to meet the full EU regs on an import. The emissions part of the IVA test is basically the same as the emissions section of the MOT test - i.e. a very small sub-set of the full regulations. On top of that, like the MOT, the emissions targets are based on when the car was manufactured.

On a modern car there should really be very few problem areas. The main one will be the lights, as different countries have/had different regulations for things like rear fogs - hence why a lot of Japanese imports have an ugly aftermarket fog light bolted on under the rear bumper. Much cheaper than trying to retrofit UK light clusters.