lsher

Hey guys --

Looking for some feedback or some advice on what to do ... I own a 2010 S5 Prestige with 50k miles on the clock. The car is in excellent condition ... I currently live abroad and i'm in the process of moving back to the states (NY) and was thinking of bringing the car home with me. It's not cheap to relocate a car, it will cost me about $4k door-to-door.

What are your thoughts? would you invest $4k in a 5 year old car?

I'm also concerned that it is not a US Spec car ... according to the service manager @ Audi over here the only difference is the AC is strong and the water cooler is enhanced (I'm in a warm weather climate). According to him they can provide a Certificate of Conformity (COC) and no other modifications are required from a EPA or DOT perspective in the States.

Any feedback from someone who has imported a car into the US would be helpful.

Thanks

dseag2

From a financial standpoint, if you already own the car, it is excellent shape and you are having no issues with it, it seems to me the $4,000 to ship it here would be worth it. That is, if you are planning on keeping it for several more years. If you sold it, you would probably lose more than that in what the car is worth to you.

lsher

my thoughts exactly, but i'm still up in the air.

eric strauss

Another consideration with a non-spec car is the eventual resale in the U.S. market. Have you checked on insurance and additional fees from New York to register? I had a great dealer in Massachusetts (Tracy Audi) and when I moved to Los Angeles, we sold the 2009 Cabriolet back to the dealer. Although I still owed money on the car, I was right side up and they wrote me check to take it back. We had it about two years and it was in perfect shape. I started fresh in California. Sold all three of our cars, in fact. With my truck, I had depreciated it completely and it could not longer provide any tax benefit. A portion of the use of the new cars in CA are able to be deducted.

Check all of the costs and you will feel better about your decision either way.

Happy motoring

Eric

Return For Deposit

If you sell it there and have to replace it here...you'll pay a hefty sales tax when you register the new car. I just paid 4k in sales tax on my wife's new S5.