Buying a project, importing to the EU

[KaeptnNemo]

Hello mates!

My recent "favourite waste of time" is my (...our ...my wife resists on 😉) '92 SE. It's kind of ok, but a lot of work to do because the PO botched a lot... That is bothering me, but no real big deal but waiting weeks over weeks for parts, ordering new parts, waiting again....

But anyhow, we get addicted... Maybe I like the fun, taking photos of my wife in the Lotus position 😄

The more we work on the car, the more teh idea grows, having and restoring an S3 turbo. BUT....

Mechanically it should be no problem, I think my garage is partly better equipped than a professional garage.

So.. let me come to the core question...

Where to get the project???

I'd love to get a LHD, but they are rare (btw. I live in Germany). In Germany, there is a very thin market (and expensive) for Esprits.

The US is a bit better, but it is too far to jump into the Aircraft and hop over for a quick scan of a "pile of junk".

UK is a bit better, but they are all RHD. I have driven some RHD, but it is not my favourite. I am not sure, if a conversion to LHD is a good idea, and does not bust the budget...

I searched the internet, but I am not sure, what is scam, what is junk and what is worth a look.

Any help or idea appreciated.

 

Patrick

 

[Escape]

I got used to my RHD Esprit very quickly. I wouldn't want it any other way as it adds to the character of a British car. 😉 I would even go as far as to say I regret my Jag isn't RHD, but it was a deal too good to pass. So I certainly wouldn't dismiss a Turbo Esprit from UK. Conversion, while possible, would be quite the project, and you'd run in to the same problems with parts, if not worse because you'll need a lot of less common items.

Importing will take a bit more paperwork than before, but nothing too bad. After all, we've been importing US cars to the EU for years and it's no different. 

I know of one Belgian (so LHD) Turbo Esprit in need of restoration, but I don't think the owner will easily be persuaded to sell her...

Great choice of cars BTW!

Filip

[KaeptnNemo]

unfortunately, GB is no longer EU...

 

so that would haven been the preferable market, but right now, it costs 10%customs plus 19% tax additionally... That makes the import very expensive...

[Escape]

My point was, the tax etc isn't stopping the import of cars from the US to EU. UK now isn't any different, just easier to go have a look and get hings shipped. 😉

[KaeptnNemo]

10 years ago I brought a Mercedes SL500 from Florida over here… that was financially talking similar to German prices… But the cars are more colorful than here. So I bought a red one with tan leather… impossible to get over here   😆

But 2012 the US$ was 1,30€…. Now the Euro is 20% less 😕

I am not scared of customs, but it makes Import expensive!

For a “historic” car (30years old, good condition required) you could save the customs and only pay 7% tax, but a project will never pass customs under these conditions 😆

 

 

[lotus-62]

Patrick, I did my RHD to LHD conversion myself in a small garage with limited tools.  if you go for a full rebuild I'll go that route, get yourself a original LHD rack instead of one from SJ as they are made cheap.  I got an LHD rack and ordered some new parts from the UK, you need a new bracket for the pedals but no need to weld (I did weld because the front needed to be painted anyway), and I used an eps steering column just because. so get one from the UK or contact Bauke on this site he has many contacts and is from Friesland (the dutch one) 

 

[Jbjbjb]

Hey Patrick… please contact Mr Ralf Burk near Ulm/Göppingen. Hes the specialist in Germany and searches cars. 
 

melde dich bei ihm Patrick, so bin ich an meine 2 s3 turbos gekommen.

lg jonas