Tell me about moving abroad/Europe with your American car
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Anonymous
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We may be moving overseas this year for a 2-3 year stint. Cars and gas are quite expensive in this country and I'm allowed to ship one personal vehicle for free (plus I am exempted from any import taxes).
It's a 2019 Subaru. I've found a dealership near the city where we would live, plus a couple authorized mechanics in our city that are listed on that country's official Subaru website. Will I have any issues doing routine maintenance? What issues have you had with shipping, registering the vehicle locally, etc.? Obviously I will get advice from local staff. Also, one benefit of bringing my car is that I can then resell it while overseas tax-free. Since cars are so expensive, there's a very good chance I will be able to sell it for close to our purchase price even if the vehicle has 30-40K miles by that point. Any tips on the selling process? |
Anonymous
| Which country? |
Anonymous
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Make sure that your car can handle multi-fuels. A lot of fuel overseas has a high ethanol content. Make sure that it won't gum up your catalytic converter.
Call Subaru. that's where you'll get you best advice. |
Anonymous
I think Europe actually has less ethanol than the US altho I don’t know all of their fuel specs. |
Anonymous
PP. You may be right. That's why I said overseas. But that would be my concern is that the engine isn't compatible with the available fuel. |
Anonymous
| Most of Europe has workable public transit options and bike infrastructure. You don’t need a car. |
Anonymous
| I worked in Switzerland for a while and some people did this. Are you sure about selling it? That does not sound right to me. I think I remember that you had to take the car when you left the country. If you have an American car you stand out in traffic and you may even have a special license plate. I prefer to be inconspicuous. None of my colleagues had issues with gas or maintenance though. |
Anonymous
| USG employees do this all of the time. There may be some modifications needed depending on the country - ie. turn signal light color. |
Anonymous
Most people find it more convenient to have a car, especially families with children. |
Anonymous
This is true. And not all of Europe is city, the ability to freely explore is much easier with a car. Renting is possible but comes with a set of hassles as well. I don’t think you’d stand out that much in an American car unless your in a country that droves on the opposite side. Unless you’re in a massive SUV, which doesn’t seem to be the case. |
Anonymous
| Where are you going? We were in England with a Subaru and it was sometimes difficult to get parts because the American version of our car used different parts than the British version. Also, some people are not comfortable driving an American car on the wrong side of the road. |
Anonymous
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USA is a car culture. Europe and Asia are rail and public transportation. People do drive but not as much as using public transportation.
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Anonymous
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Has anyone moved abroad with electric car? I'm wondering if a Tesla or PHEV made for the US market is even compatible with charging if you take it to Europe or Asia.
Massive issues doing this? |
Anonymous
You're assuming that they aren't living the a suburb. Europe has those too now. |
Anonymous
| If any modifications are required, don’t do it. The car will never be right again, Also, your car will be HUGE on the road. I had what was considered a mid-sized car in the US and it was too wide for some streets in the UK. Euro models are generally narrower than ours. If I had to do it again, I’d sell and get something else there. And I’d also be surprised if you could sell it. |