therood wrote:MHarrell is the guy to ask. He'll be around here eventually.
I've only done this myself for the permanent import of a car over 25 years old, which is the magical age for the waiver of all EPA and NHTSA (DOT) import regulations. Still, I've looked into the rest of the process:
A nonresident may bring in a vehicle for personal use for one year (no extensions possible) without import duty. The vehicle must "accompany" your arrival (I assume you're the owner) but I don't know precisely how simultaneous the two arrivals must be. For road use you'll need US insurance but you can use your UK registration. Getting US registration would be a needlessly painful experience. Besides, running the UK plates would look cooler. Assuming you're keeping the UK plates (trust me, keep the UK plates), the vehicle must display a "GB" registration code either as a separate plate or as part of its EU-formatted registration plate, if that's what you've got on it. (Vehicles from Canada and Mexico don't need to display their codes, so we almost never see country codes on vehicles over here. Still, it's a requirement.)
If the vehicle is less than 25 years old (referring to the actual day, month, and year of manufacture of the one you own, not "model year" or "registration date" or such), it must be exported at the end of the year. You may not sell it. The Feds are quite serious about this. Yes, there's a procedure for bringing a newer vehicle into US compliance but you've got to commit to this process before importing it. Also it's prohibitively expensive and time-consuming to do so.
It's probably possible to scrap the vehicle instead of exporting it but you'd better get permission from the Feds before scrapping it and make sure you document the whole process through a licensed scrap dealer, as otherwise the Feds may not believe you. They know quite well that people want to take advantage of the system to "permanently" bring in noncompliant vehicles. I would advise making it clear to everyone that you fully intend to export it before the end of its year here. Don't even mention the possibility of scrapping it, as that's something you can work out if necessary should the car become wrecked or otherwise inoperable after it's here.
You'll need to arrange the import paperwork in advance, so dealing with a professional import broker is probably a good idea. I suggest reading this as a good starting point:
https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import- … orting-car
1982 MG Metro 1300: IOE 2015 Pacific Northworst GP, Longest Distance 2010 Cd'L Box Wine Country Classic
1980 KV Mini 1: Worst of Show and Fright Pig Supremo 2009 Concours d'Lemons
1978 H Special: Second-Round Elimination 2010 Lemons Pinewood Derby at Sears Pointless
1967 SAAB 96: IOE 2012 Pacific Northworst GP, Organizer's Choice 2022 Hell on Wheels California Rally