[BCG_Amsterdam]

Also late to the party here.... Has anyone found a resource in the NL to update the Nav and get it working?

Answers to previous questions:

Is it worth it and would you bring your car from the US? 100 percent yes! My car can be purchased in the US new for around 40k. We planned ahead and bought used from dealer w/less than 10k miles. It was 65k in the NL when we checked. Import was 5k door to door w/paperwork AND we were exempt from tax under the household goods exemption in the NL. (You cannot sell the vehicle in the first year after import but no big deal there.) Insurance before registering was a pain. Also, appointments for inspection/reg were booking one month out. Highly recommend booking while car is still on boat and then cancelling if it doesn't arrive on time. It is not like the MDV in the US.

Dealership in Amsterdam wouldn't touch the required changes but recommended a BMW specialist in Leiden. About 20 clicks west of us. Radio worked right off the boat and I don't care about satellite radio. SOS -- who cares, just pick up a cheap auto club membership with your insurance if you're in to that. Fog lamps were $600. They tried to jack us for a new speedometer and I just changed the digital one to kilometers. Have not been able to figure out Nav software update -- need help with that one!

[LRW70]

Just want to update my previous post, my 340i is now sporting Portuguese plates. It took 8 months but its done. Importing a US car to the EU is possible, but patience is required.

[LRW70]

Originally Posted by BCG_Amsterdam

Also late to the party here.... Has anyone found a resource in the NL to update the Nav and get it working?

Answers to previous questions:

Is it worth it and would you bring your car from the US? 100 percent yes! My car can be purchased in the US new for around 40k. We planned ahead and bought used from dealer w/less than 10k miles. It was 65k in the NL when we checked. Import was 5k door to door w/paperwork AND we were exempt from tax under the household goods exemption in the NL. (You cannot sell the vehicle in the first year after import but no big deal there.) Insurance before registering was a pain. Also, appointments for inspection/reg were booking one month out. Highly recommend booking while car is still on boat and then cancelling if it doesn't arrive on time. It is not like the MDV in the US.

Dealership in Amsterdam wouldn't touch the required changes but recommended a BMW specialist in Leiden. About 20 clicks west of us. Radio worked right off the boat and I don't care about satellite radio. SOS -- who cares, just pick up a cheap auto club membership with your insurance if you're in to that. Fog lamps were $600. They tried to jack us for a new speedometer and I just changed the digital one to kilometers. Have not been able to figure out Nav software update -- need help with that one!

Do you still need help with the Nav?

[440i6MT]

Originally Posted by LRW70

Just want to update my previous post, my 340i is now sporting Portuguese plates. It took 8 months but its done. Importing a US car to the EU is possible, but patience is required.

Show us pictures

[LRW70]

Originally Posted by 440i6MT

Show us pictures

Here you go!

[jerrychuang]

Originally Posted by LRW70

Here you go!

Sharp! This post is interesting and I have recently shipped my car from US to Sweden too. Would share some information once the whole process is completed. Just wondering, how did you get the bracket for the european plate? I found some OEM plate brackets and it seems to me from the legends that, the plate holder is a modular component and once I dismount the US one I can install the EU plate bracket and simply slip the plates in. Is this what you did?

Thanks and regards,
JZ

[LRW70]

Originally Posted by jerrychuang

Sharp! This post is interesting and I have recently shipped my car from US to Sweden too. Would share some information once the whole process is completed. Just wondering, how did you get the bracket for the european plate? I found some OEM plate brackets and it seems to me from the legends that, the plate holder is a modular component and once I dismount the US one I can install the EU plate bracket and simply slip the plates in. Is this what you did?

Thanks and regards,
JZ

I got the front mount from the dealer, it was like €45. It was an AZ car so there was no front plate the dealership installed the bracket and the plates. For the rear the just took the US bracket off and installed the plate using the holes where the US bracket was mounted. It was actually very simple.

[Wulfman_78]

Originally Posted by LRW70

Just want to update my previous post, my 340i is now sporting Portuguese plates. It took 8 months but its done. Importing a US car to the EU is possible, but patience is required.

Hi LRW70, and belated congrats to the move to Portugal! We're in the process of moving from the US to Portugal, too. We would like to bring along our '22 G26 430i, considering how insanely expensive the very same car is in Portugal (€80k vs. $60k).
I was wondering if I could ask you what you actually had to change to get the car "legalized" in Portugal? I understand the taillights need separation of brakelights, and driving lights, as well as amber indicators. So basically new taillights plus some coding and new light control switch.

What about the front lights? I researched a bit and found out that the parts numbers for Europe/ RoW and the US are different. European headlights have an ECE number and US headlights have a DOT number. Were you able to pass inspection without replacing the headlights?
Did the Portuguese authorities cause any issues due to different emission standards for US cars vs. European cars?

Thank you in advance, we're excited for our move!

[prei1978]

Hi folks, resurrecting this thread as I'm planning a move from the US to the NL in summer 2025.

Given the price of new cars in the NL I plan to take a car with me. That will either be my current G23 M440xi or I'm considering getting a G80 M3. Obviously with either option I'm trying to understand what I'd have to do to get the car ready for local inspection, which of those changes are doable via Bimmercode, any hardware changes needed, and if anyone managed to get iDrive to work fully in Europe how that worked.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks folks.

[Marcocb88]

Originally Posted by prei1978

Hi folks, resurrecting this thread as I'm planning a move from the US to the NL in summer 2025.

Given the price of new cars in the NL I plan to take a car with me. That will either be my current G23 M440xi or I'm considering getting a G80 M3. Obviously with either option I'm trying to understand what I'd have to do to get the car ready for local inspection, which of those changes are doable via Bimmercode, any hardware changes needed, and if anyone managed to get iDrive to work fully in Europe how that worked.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks folks.

Interesting, I am also planning to move to NL next year from the US.
I want to buy a BMW X3 to take with me but I am not sure yet if it would be worth it.
I called BMW in the Netherlands and of course they advised against it and told me to order one there, order time was 6-9 months and about 40k more then here.
They said it is would be very hard to get it serviced and repaired there since they use a different system.

So still undecided for now.

[Electronics]

Originally Posted by prei1978

Hi folks, resurrecting this thread as I'm planning a move from the US to the NL in summer 2025.

Given the price of new cars in the NL I plan to take a car with me. That will either be my current G23 M440xi or I'm considering getting a G80 M3. Obviously with either option I'm trying to understand what I'd have to do to get the car ready for local inspection, which of those changes are doable via Bimmercode, any hardware changes needed, and if anyone managed to get iDrive to work fully in Europe how that worked.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks folks.

Hey, am from the Netherlands, and doing small time imports for myself. Get the G80 M3 (stock), and take it with you. The changes via bimmercode is easy, only hardware change mainly is headlight configuration. iDrive will work mostly. Connecttedrive will work partly. Maps will work. The car is here almost double the price, so it wouldn't make sense to buy it here. Cost for importing of the car will be around 2k, and will take some time (few months) because of long waiting times. However, it definitely is worth it. Take the highest worth car with you that you can, because Europe's car market is too high at the moment.

[Electronics]

Originally Posted by Marcocb88

Interesting, I am also planning to move to NL next year from the US.
I want to buy a BMW X3 to take with me but I am not sure yet if it would be worth it.
I called BMW in the Netherlands and of course they advised against it and told me to order one there, order time was 6-9 months and about 40k more then here.
They said it is would be very hard to get it serviced and repaired there since they use a different system.

So still undecided for now.

Just reacted to the person that you reacted as well. ofcourse the dealer will say no, because he will make money if you buy it off him. The person you cited gave for example an g80 m3, which starts in Europe on 130k, and in USA around 70k. It would be stupid to not take your car with you. My advice; definitly get your car with you. I know the importing system, and because you are moving, there are some measures that you can use to lower your total costs. However; it isn't worth to come with an old car. Getting a 320i 2010 with you will just be a waste of time and energy. If you have the means and really want to move, take a nice new fast car. Costs will be around 2k.

About the repairing: sounds like grade A bullshit. It's the same mechanics. I'm driving Japanese imported cars here lol. Worst case scenario; we change that part with an europe one. This is not a problem.

[Matik380]

What model is best to look for so as not to lose money?