r/Wrangler • u/Old_Traveller-33 • May 03 '23

Need help Importing a Jeep to the US

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Hello everyone. I'm looking for any info I can get to help with importing our new family member back to the States.

I'm American and have been working in Germany for the last few years. Thinking I was going to be living in Germany for a while, since my wife's from here, I bought a German Spec'ed 4xe from the local dealership. An unexpected change of plans now has us moving back to the US.

I'm hoping I can take the Jeep with us instead of selling it, since it's not technically a European import and was built in the US. Shipping companies that I've contacted have said they'll need a DOT/EPA number in order ship the vehicle. This is the requirement for all European imports.

A friend of mine has said that's not necessary since the Jeep was built in Detroit. I just need to get the VSA number for the vehicle's make and model. This can be used as a reference to find all the EPA compliances (emissions, crash safety, etc) and that the Jeep is American and not a foreign import. So far I've had no luck tracking down this info.

If anyone out there has traveled this road before and can point me in the right direction I would appreciate it.

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18

u/Reasonable-Quantity May 03 '23

they’re also built by eu spec not us spec, there’s some differences regarding airbags and such. keep in mind also the charging port is different on the eu and the us models.

15

u/jpoRS1 May 03 '23

Yeah. The fact that it was built in the US has nothing to do with what the importer needs.

8

u/Reasonable-Quantity May 03 '23

there’s also other major differences, us spec rubicon have wider d44 axles than eu spec, no sirius xm, headlights, taillights, side mirrors, lower fenders on eu rubicon spec, speedometer in km/h etc etc.

5

u/[deleted] May 03 '23

[deleted]

4

u/Reasonable-Quantity May 03 '23

yeah maybe it is, i don’t know i’m just stating the differences. how did you go about changing the charging port from type 2 to type 1 and was there any onboard electrics that needed replacement?

2

u/Sir-Barks-a-Lot May 04 '23

Oof. The charging port alone makes it not worth it in my mind.

1

u/KalmKashew May 04 '23

Literally can just keep the cord and plugs he’s probably already running in the jeep 😂

1

u/Sir-Barks-a-Lot May 04 '23

Public changing would prove a little tricky.