importing a G from Germany
Hi All. I'm looking to upgrade on the power front from my super smooth straight 6 to a grunty V8. I've had a look at several cars in germany on my various (biz) travels out there and am trying to find out what it is that I need to do to get the car registered here (UK). I've contacted the DVLA and they've sent me all the forms, but I can't seem to get a straight answer out of ANYONE working for the government as to what physically has to be changed on the G-Wagen in order to get it to comply with whatever regulations we have over here. Does anyone know? Is it just a simply matter of changing the headlights, or is it more complicated than that? I'm looking at the last before-everything-got-electrical versions, so the vehicle will probably be over 10 years old. Pleased to hear your views as always. Thanks/Ph
I've imported many cars from Europe (including Germany) and its very straight forward. In Germany take the car to the local DVLA office and deregister the car for export. They will issue a new Fahrzeugbrief (Reg document). Also you will get a set of Red tag registration plates and insurance for a few days (third party I believe).
Drive the car to the UK and get the car MOT'ed. To pass you will probably need to do the headlights (will pass with headlight stickers if you want), and the read fog will need to be moved. Thats it. No need to pass it through SVA as its a Euro spec car.
Then take all your documents to the DVLA office and you get your UK registration done on the same day. They might say that they will post it to you, but I asked to wait and they gave me the documents to get my plate made after an hour.
My G was from Saudi and that was a lot more complicated!
What year G are you thinking of?
It may be as easy as described above, there may be more paper work.
Either way, you will need a Certificate of Conformity. MB Milton Keynes charge around £110 for a CoC.
The wording of the CoC will tell the DVLA clerk if the speedo reads in KM/H, MPH or both. Luckily it's all in German, so some DVLA clerks miss it, and you will get your registration accepted there and them.
If the G you import only reads in KM/H, and the clerk understands the CoC, you will need to modify the speedo, make a declaration, and get a Ministers approval certificate. 3 years ago, that cost £64 and took a few weeks.
For vehicles over 10 years old you are unlikely to need a CoC. I think from memory it only applies to cars less than 6 years old. However if you did need a CoC (no pun intended), then contact Clive @ Mercedes UK. I've posted his details on here before so just do a search. He will have one to you in a few weeks, but that wont stop you from bringing the car in to the UK.
I needed to get a CoC for my car which came from outside the EU, even though it was originally supplied to EU Spec. I didnt need to mess around with my Speedo as on the electronic display you can subsitute the outside temp for MPH. But when I registered my Ferrari (also came from outside EU) I had to buy a new speedo for about £350! Fitted it in and got the car registered. I've swapped the old one back in now and plan on selling it on ebay.
I personally think if you are buying from Germany and the car is more than 6 years old, you will go down the simple route of my first post.
Also should mention that DVLA wanted to inspect the Ferrari but didnt inspect the G or any other car previously. MOT test was usually sufficient.
Good find Mark. The only thing I will say is different DLVA staff choose to apply the book in different ways!
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Thanks Modifica. First straight answer I've had. Afore to Germany I go......