Relocating from USA to Germany with my M4

[oldschooler80s]

Hello BMW enthusiasts,


I am relocating from USA to Germany and sending my car with me, as a enthusiast I just can't let it go.

I had some questions about registration and N/A Spec with EU spec and registrations.

Well of course, first question would be has anyone done it? and second question would be what changes has to be done?

The N/A specs have the all red tail lights and the European specs have the orange markers, so do I need to change my tail lights? or can some DIY can be done?

I have read online that the car needs to pass thru TUV, are they difficult? according to them what changes should be done? and does any one have any contacts of a reasonable TUV?

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[LOW4LYF]

You need definitely Amber blinker and rear fog light,
also km/h cluster.

What lights do you have? If Xenon, the washers are required! You also need to code out your side markers.

To be honest... I would think about it taking a German Car to Germany, makes no sense in my eyes.

Do you have any mods?

[maniz]

OP, just wanted to say it's pretty cool to see the M4 going back to its motherland and the roads it was designed for. Best wishes on the relocation. I have seen this topic re: conversion come up from time to time; I am sure you won't need to do anything too extensive. Above poster is on the right track. Others will likely assist as well.

[oldschooler80s]

I have the head light washers.

No the car is absolutely stock... is there any bezel I can replace the MPH to KMH? instead of changing the whole cluster? and also the same for the Amber rear blinkers, there is any other way then to change the whole assembly?

Thanks for your help!

[LOW4LYF]

Originally Posted by oldschooler80s

I have the head light washers.

No the car is absolutely stock... is there any bezel I can replace the MPH to KMH? instead of changing the whole cluster? and also the same for the Amber rear blinkers, there is any other way then to change the whole assembly?

Thanks for your help!

Yes, you need to change the cluster and taillights, headlights can be coded (FEM).

It's not impossible but for the money you spend you can buy a ECE spec M4 without headache.

Also very important, some dealership gonna have hard time to maintaining your car due US spec.

[FlyingLow78]

Originally Posted by oldschooler80s

Hello BMW enthusiasts,


I am relocating from USA to Germany and sending my car with me, as a enthusiast I just can't let it go.

I had some questions about registration and N/A Spec with EU spec and registrations.

Well of course, first question would be has anyone done it? and second question would be what changes has to be done?

The N/A specs have the all red tail lights and the European specs have the orange markers, so do I need to change my tail lights? or can some DIY can be done?

I have read online that the car needs to pass thru TUV, are they difficult? according to them what changes should be done? and does any one have any contacts of a reasonable TUV?

Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Are you moving with the military? If so, they will help you with the process and you may get special provisions to keep the cost reasonable.

The cluster may not need to be switched since your M4 should be able to display kph digitally and on the inner ring of the speedo. Taillight swaps are no big deal, costing a few hundred euros, and I recall being charged only .5 hours labor for mine.

[TT1351]

Taillights are an DIY, rear fogs are easily coded to work.

[SpaceCowboy]

They are going to charge you 25% of their appraisal of your cars worth as an import duty. It's just not worth it. I tried to do this with my E92 when I moved to Starnberg near Munich.

[mrgicm]

You dont have to change the cluster, just code euro spec to vehiicle order. You can buy the background in kmh for your cluster it costs around 70euros. As for the blinkers you can buy just the bulb in orange color and you can pass the inspection.

For service if you are near BMW Bitburg that is a US spec friendly dealership as US military base is near by so they deal quite a lot with US spec cars.

[MSport_Jon]

Originally Posted by Figurka

Yes, you need to change the cluster and taillights, headlights can be coded (FEM).

It's not impossible but for the money you spend you can buy a ECE spec M4 without headache.

Also very important, some dealership gonna have hard time to maintaining your car due US spec.

In regards to the tail lamps, you can buy used unit on eBay and add them to you car. If you have an LCI model it might by a little harder to add them to the car but i suspect not.

If will cost you significantly more money to replace your M4 granted that specs, year, mileage and conditions are all the same than to covert the car to meet European safety standards. You will become a ordinary resident then you will have to pay import fees as well as VAT on the car. You will have to pay VAT anyways on a ECE car if you buy from a reputable AutoHaus. This is 19% by the way. an M4 here in Germany with the same equipment, mileage and conditions will cost much more that a US spec one.

Im not sure if Kombi will be a problem since it is only in mph on the m4 but you i am sure you can compensate with a digital km/h speedometer built in.

also your statement about dealership incompatibility is flat out not true. I have 2 US Spec cars in Germany and they all have the ability to service your vehicle 100 percent when it comes to maintenance. They can even order all US Spec market parts here and will maintain it as per BMW recommendations which are different from ECE cars. The only thing they cannot help you with is with connected drive unless you agree to buy a the necessary equipment for ECE operation if they are even willing to convert it.

[MSport_Jon]

Originally Posted by FlyingLow78

Are you moving with the military? If so, they will help you with the process and you may get special provisions to keep the cost reasonable.

The cluster may not need to be switched since your M4 should be able to display kph digitally and on the inner ring of the speedo. Taillight swaps are no big deal, costing a few hundred euros, and I recall being charged only .5 hours labor for mine.

for military personnel or civilians under SOFA status they do not have to do anything to their cars to register them through USAREUR for european operation.

[LOW4LYF]

Originally Posted by MSport_Jon

In regards to the tail lamps, you can buy used unit on eBay and add them to you car. If you have an LCI model it might by a little harder to add them to the car but i suspect not.

If will cost you significantly more money to replace your M4 granted that specs, year, mileage and conditions are all the same than to covert the car to meet European safety standards. You will become a ordinary resident then you will have to pay import fees as well as VAT on the car. You will have to pay VAT anyways on a ECE car if you buy from a reputable AutoHaus. This is 19% by the way. an M4 here in Germany with the same equipment, mileage and conditions will cost much more that a US spec one.

Im not sure if Kombi will be a problem since it is only in mph on the m4 but you i am sure you can compensate with a digital km/h speedometer built in.

also your statement about dealership incompatibility is flat out not true. I have 2 US Spec cars in Germany and they all have the ability to service your vehicle 100 percent when it comes to maintenance. They can even order all US Spec market parts here and will maintain it as per BMW recommendations which are different from ECE cars. The only thing they cannot help you with is with connected drive unless you agree to buy a the necessary equipment for ECE operation if they are even willing to convert it.

It's like buying a Mustang in Germany and bringing back to the states

I would consider to take a american classic with me and make some nice money on the side.

Anyway @OP Good luck and let us know.

[Zero_Cool]

Originally Posted by MSport_Jon

for military personnel or civilians under SOFA status they do not have to do anything to their cars to register them through USAREUR for european operation.

This is accurate.. if you’re not in a position under SOFA idk if I would bother shipping the M4..

[Bubu88]

What area are you moving to? If there is a military base nearby the dealerships are used to US cars and know what to do.
For example in Kaiserslautern is a huge BMW Dealership specialized on US / Military sales because of nearby Ramstein / Landstuhl.

A „normal“ dealer might have never done the conversion process before.

greetings from germany and welcome