F-Body Europe

My Z28 originally came from Germany via a UK importer and one option for the future is to travel over and buy a WS6 from Germany. The prices seem very reasonable compared to the UK - for example a low-mileage 2002 WS6 pans out at £16000 compared to at least £20000 over here in the UK and a 2001 Z28 pans out at £10800 (at least 15k in the UK)

Am I right in presuming that Germany has a similar Single Vehicle Type Approval (SVA) test for imports? I am assuming this is the case as the SVA test in the UK can be by-passed by way of an approval certificate provided it's been SVA'd by a comparable standards EU country. In that event, does anyone know whether LS1 Firebirds have LT1 rear lights fitted to have orange rear indicators? (As they do in the UK before being converted back!)

Secondly, dealers in the UK pay VAT at 17.5% on any PROFIT they make on a used car. Does Germany have a similar system where this cost could be deducted from the purchase price (I appreciate that this can't be relevant to private sales).

Finally, I suspect I could insure the car to drive back to the UK on it's VIN but could a German dealer arrange temporary insurance cover to drive the car back to the UK?

The reason I ask all this is that I suspect that Germany is pretty tough on SVA and TUV tests so even if the car required another UK SVA test, it should fly through with the possible exception of fitting UK left dip front lights and it would be a lot cheaper than importing from the States as the SVA work would be a lot more and the cars aren't that cheap in the States either (eg 2002 WS6 at $26000 and a 2002 TA at $33000).

Any information appreciated. I'm not planning any immediate change of vehicle but if the right car came up....

Hi Wayne,
you should try to contact Seemeyer & Schmidt at Hannover.
Homepage is http://www.us-importe.com
They are specialised in imports from US and make the cars conform to German regulations.
A friend recommended them when it comes to emission certificates.

They should know about VAT and SVA.

Cheers
Gunnar