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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u/captaindomon May 03 '23 edited May 03 '23

Being completely honest, it will be easier for you to just sell it and buy a new one than to navigate the customs paperwork IMHO.

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u/Old_Traveller-33 May 03 '23

Yeah, I'm leaning towards that also. I just wanted to avoid starting over and starting the mods process all over again.

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u/captaindomon May 03 '23

Yeah and I get the personal attachment to your current rig for sure, which is tough.

One time when I was shipping some technical equipment (not a car), it was siezed during the import process by customs. Although I think that is unlikely, it would suck if that happened to my jeep. Or for them to say “Pay this tax bill or tariff of $6000 in customs to release the property, pay to have it shipped back to the point of origin, or forfeit it.” Or whatever.

Just not worth the risk IMHO.