Right now there are two late-model Alfa Romeo Type 916 Spider/GTV's on eBay in the USA. Neither are US-legal, but they have very different stories, which I can't help but write about. The first was brought to my attention by Dave over at
Just A Car Geek. It's a 1997 GTV in Dallas, TX, listed
here.
This car is not approved for import into the USA except under special temporary circumstances which don't allow for it to be sold and re-registered in the US. The owner actually states in the auction that it's "For Export Only" and "has until October 26 2010 before it needs to be exported." Unfortunately he goes on to say, "However for the car collectors among you it can be registered in the US as a show car which will limit the owner to 2500 miles annually. It might take a while to do but it is doable." Not sure what would make him say that, but it's very doubtful that it could be accomplished, and it may be against eBay's terms to even offer such this car in this way (so the ad may not last long).
Here are the only three scenarios in which this car can legally arrive here and be driven on American roads (according to
NHTSA):
- A vehicle registered in a foreign country can be imported by a nonresident of the United States for up to one year.
- A foreign diplomat, member of the armed forces of a foreign country, or a member of a foreign organization on official government-related business is permitted to import a car for the duration of their tour of duty.
- A vehicle may be imported for research, investigation, demonstrations or training, or competitive racing events, but the importer must be granted permission based on the purpose and duration of importation and has to specifically state their expected on-road driving routes.
All three of these options require the vehicle to be exported or destroyed at the end of it's allotted time. Under no circumstances can the cars be sold in the US for the purpose of re-registering them in the US. When the owner says it may be possible to register it if it's driven less than 2500 miles per year, he is probably referring to "Show and Display" rules (which I'll describe in greater detail in a later post), but this car isn't eligible for "Show and Display" and stands no chance of being granted eligibility based on any of the program's criteria. Looks like he just imported the car less than a month ago and is trying to illegally sell it right away, since it's got just over 11 months left until it has to be exported. If he sells it, he'll probably face no consequences since he's not a US resident, but the buyer could have their car confiscated.
So now that that's done, here's ANOTHER Alfa Romeo of the same type, this time a Spider, also in the US and
on eBay.
This car is being sold by a Toronto-area importer who is usually offering Lancia Delta Integrales and Nissan Figaros on US eBay, which while legal in Canada are not in the US. The creative importer of this car has gotten it registered in California as a 1992 Alfa Romeo Spider, which the ad also describes it as. The car isn't a 1992, the body style and engine tell that it was made from 1995 to 1997. The 1992 was an entirely different model which was officially sold in the US, and this car was probably re-VINed, as I wrote about last Thursday in the
Mini post. That means that TECHNICALLY while this car is illegal in a few different ways, it's probably registerable and there's a good chance the new owner will not have any trouble. But there is always a chance that you could be "found out" and the car will need to be exported or destroyed. So be careful out there.
Find the ad for the 1997 GTV
here, the "1992" Spider
here, and some basic info about the 916 Spider/GTV
here.
Update: The "1992" was removed from eBay's system... It should be mentioned that even if all the rules are followed and cars are legally imported and registered, it can still be tough to sell grey market cars. Cars.com, eBay, even Manheim Auto Auction makes it hard or impossible to sell imported cars. Of course this car isn't exactly legitimate, so just remember that you can get away with some things most of the time, but when it catches up to you, you stand to lose it all...
The car importation rules are so damn complicated, at times your never sure what is and what is not legal (I guess any doubt and its not legal). The non-resident part is interesting, as you mentioned its only suitable for up to one year, I did not know this. I had some email communication with a guy who imported a TVR Chim a few years a go, living in CA and was driving the car legally, his way around the law was that he is a non-resident, however I do believe he still has the car, probably hiding it from the EPA.
ReplyDeleteNever seen so many new Alfa's at one time in the US! One thing I cannot work out, the last one is registered as a 1992 Alfa in CA, fair enough, however I have no clue how you could get that car to pass the smog regulations. California would have been the last place that would allow such a vehicle.
It is really complicated, it seems like it's all designed to discourage people from importing cars at all. I worked for two companies to try and set up importation channels from the Netherlands to the USA (with Donkervoort and with a Fiat specialist), and neither got off the ground. I had the opportunity to learn a lot about it, though, so I'm trying to put it down in the blog rather than keep it clogging up my brain.
ReplyDeleteAs for the "92," I'm pretty surprised about it being in CA, too. I'm not sure how their emmissions testing works, but in MD they don't actually make you get it done for a few months after you title a car there, so maybe it's only been there a short time, or maybe they waved it through since it's not in their system - that's happened to me with my grey market Smart.
I should say that I tried calling the 1997 seller before writing about it, but got no answer, so I had to speculate a little based on what I know about the laws.
There are so many ways around the laws, though, that it can be hard to pin down a car's exact story (like the TVR), but the obvious rule of thumb is if it's illegal and you can get away with it, you could still eventually get caught and lose the car...
As far as I believe you need to smog a car before you can get a California registration certificate. All sounds very suspicious to me!
ReplyDeleteWith all your car importation knowledge its pity you couldn't put it to good use (well, apart from writing the blog!). Always thought there could be good money to be made importing Mini's and Land Rover Defenders from Europe. I tried to get a 1983 Mini over but gave up with the paperwork involved, might revisit it again, down to one car and the empty spot in the garage needs to be filled!