[alfa] Re: Purchasing an Alfa or BMW in Europe

[George Graves <gmgraves@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

But, Chip, you CAN buy a new Alfa and bring it back to the USA. If you 
are an American citizen, living abroad, and you buy a car not certified 
by the D.O.T. for sale in the USA, you may bring it home with you as 
personal property. You may exercise this exemption ONCE in a lifetime, 
as I understand it. The car does NOT have to meet US safety standards, 
nor are you under any requirement to make it comply. The only thing 
that the car MUST do is pass the smog requirements for that year 
vehicle set by the state where it will be registered. Any modern 
gasoline-powered Alfa will pass even California's strict 
dynamometer-based "Smog II" standards. I know of several V-6 156 
sedans, one from 1997 and the other from 2002, which easily pass CA 
emissions tests with absolutely NO modifications.

Check with the US Consulate to find out the particulars and go for it!

George Graves
'86 GTV-6 3.0 'S'




On Nov 12, 2004, at 7:34 AM, alfa-digest wrote:

>
> Date: Fri, 12 Nov 2004 02:59:23 -0800 (PST)
> From: Schuga <schuga@domain.elided>
> Subject: [alfa] Purchasing an Alfa or BMW in Europe
>
> Alfisti,
>
> As I sit looking outside of my office window at the Daytona like 
> banking of the test track above the old Lingotto FIAT plant in Torino 
> and being shocked about long term rental car prices, I cannot help to 
> wonder if purchasing a vehicle is feasible.
>
> Before I go too far and to avoid a million questions asking the same 
> thing, NO I do not work for FIAT.  I am a consultant to the Torino 
> Olympic Committee for the upcoming 2006 Olympic Winter Games.
>
> Therefore, since I am a avid Alfa enthusiast I am considering 
> purchasing a used late model 147 GTA or 2.0 TS.  More than likely 
> since I cannot take the Alfa back with to the US, I will probably 
> purchase a new US spec BMW X5, X3 or 5 series but will strongly 
> consider the Alfa route.
>
> Therefore, does anyone out there know or have had dealings with the 
> following:
> 1) know a reputable dealer or place that I can buy a good used Alfa 
> from in the Northern part of Italy.
> 2) have any European BMW contact information (English speaking, of 
> course) so I can investigate the possibility of purchasing a BMW.
> 3) know of a good rental agency that will not charge me 600 Euros for 
> a two-door FIAT diesel Punto (which actually drives quite nice)!
>
> I will report back once I have made my final decision and have 
> purchased a vehicle.
>
> Grazie mille,
> Chip
> Torino, Italy
> (formerly of Columbus, Indiana)
> t +39 011 11 55 458
> mbl +30 697 440 7199
>  Check out the new Yahoo! Front Page. www.yahoo.com
--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided