Mr. Hull bids adieu to the s//S2

[Taka Mizutani]

Chris-
You need an affidavit from Audi of America stating that the S2 that
you're trying to import is basically the same as a Coupe Quattro and
that it meets all DOT safety standards. I seriously doubt you or
anyone else, for that matter, can get that from AoA.

Ferrari won't do it even for the 360 Modena, although they're doing
"world cars" now- all cars conform to the DOT/TUV/etc. standards for
all markets in which the cars are sold- much easier to produce cars
that way.

You think it's easy to pass the EPA emissions test? Have you ever done
this- it's much more involved than a state emissions test and they do
a visual inspection as well- you must have appropriate emissions
equipment installed, regardless of whether you believe or not that the
car will pass without it.

If you haven't done this or at least known someone to do it, you
really don't understand what you're getting into. Having talked to
several people about the process, I would not even attempt to do this
unless I was seriously wealthy and didn't care about the time and
money involved in doing this. The Audi S2 is not a car that you'll
have much success with. I'd rather import a BMW 850CSi, Alpina B10
Biturbo, Porsche 993 3.8RS or something like that.

Taka


On 6/17/05, Chris Hall <badcomrade at gmail.com> wrote:
> Apparently what you need is the following:
> 
> An HS-7 Declaration form (available at ports of entry or online).
> 
> Cars less than 25 years old must comply with all applicable Federal
> motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS) to be imported on a permanent
> basis.
> (Vehicles manufactured to comply with the FMVSS will have a
> certification label affixed by the original manufacturer in the area
> of the driver-side door. )
> 
> A vehicle without a certification label cannot be imported as a
> "conforming" vehicle.
> In this case, the importer must contract with a Registered Importer (RI) to
> 
> ********  modify the vehicle and post a DOT Conformance Bond in an
> amount equivalent to one and a half times the vehicle's dutiable
> value. ********  (ouch!)
> 
> This bond is in addition to the normal Customs entry bond (which is
> what... 3%?).  Copies of the DOT Conformance Bond and the contract
> with an RI must be attached to the HS-7.
> 
> "If the petitioned vehicle is not similar to one sold in the U.S.,
> this process can become very complex and costly."  Well, that S2 is
> "similar"... Doesn't say IDENTICAL... so who cares about the core
> support... lol.
> 
> 
> So that's pretty much it (other than the EPA part, and really... how
> hard is it for a car to pass emissions... my Coupe GT did it with no
> cat  lol.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On 6/17/05, Taka Mizutani <t44tqtro at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Chris-
> > Have you tried to get Audi of America to send you an affidavit stating
> > that the S2 is significantly similar to a US-spec car (forget the
> > official name of the document)? Good luck.
> >
> > The rad support and some other parts are significantly different from the CQ.
> >
> > Cars older than 25 yrs. are now virtually unrestricted.
> >
> > Have you even ever talked to an RI about doing this? It's not as
> > simple as you make it out to be.
> >
> > Taka
> >
> >
> > On 6/17/05, Chris Hall <badcomrade at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > Well like I said, that car is pretty much the exact same body that was
> > > used on the U.S. Coupe Quattro, so as far as that part is concerned
> > > (which is a big part), that shouldn't have stopped it from coming in
> > > since they were approved for U.S. roads.
> > >
> > > The only other 3 things I can think of that can stop a car from being
> > > imported are: #1 the manufacturer decided they don't want to
> > > #2 something was on the car that didn't allow it to meet U.S.
> > > emissions specs (and could be modded / detuned to allow it to pass
> > > inspection...)
> > > #3 there were some DOT safety issues... type of headlights, and all
> > > the other minor stupid crap that has to be changed for the U.S. market
> > > which again, could probably also be taken care of for way way less
> > > than $30,000.
> > >
> > > I've seen TONS of cars here in the Chicago area that were never
> > > imported in to the US for one reason for another, so it's not like
> > > it's a wild idea...  I was behind a right hand drive E type today on
> > > Lake Shore Drive in fact lol.
> > >
> > > Plus like I said, every once in a while one of the Quattro Sports in
> > > this country go up for sale (usually around $90,000-$100,000) so that
> > > would have been easier (and waaay more of an investment) than paying
> > > someone to do all those mods he had done to make a "better than
> > > average" S2.  Not to mention it'd smoke the S2  lol
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On 6/17/05, Taka Mizutani <t44tqtro at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > If the car is not importable, then it really doesn't matter what the
> > > > car costs outside of the US (for people in the US, that is).
> > > >
> > > > Taka
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On 6/17/05, Chris Hall <badcomrade at gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > > So he stopped counting at $60,000 to make a "fake" S2.  If the -real-
> > > > > S2's are going for $10,000 - $15,000 U.S.   What would it cost to
> > > > > import it here and have it made DOT legal?  Certainly not $60,000....
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Chris Hall
> > > badcomrade at gmail.com
> > > "making girls cry since 1974"
> > >
> >
> 
> 
> --
> Chris Hall
> badcomrade at gmail.com
> "making girls cry since 1974"
>