GixxerMarc

I have been searching around for a 930 Turbo - and I know the 80-85 are grey market cars. Reading through Randy Leffingwell's book, he says that he grey market cars are uninsuarable and some state won't register them.

Can anyone shed light on this subject for me, I have seen quite a few grey market cars for sale, they are usually a little cheaper too. I'm assuming the people who own these cars have them registered and insured, do you need to go through any special paperwork, etc?

Any info is appreciated, thanks.

SteveMB

I didn't have any trouble registering or insuring my 85 930. The tag office didn't ask for anything special to register the car. It was imported and titled in the same state, if that makes any difference. It was also imported new. I've heard that some of the older imports suffer a bit of abuse in europe. In my opinion the grey cars have a bit of an advantage due to the better fuel system. I'll let the pro's comment on that though. Do your research and get a PPI. I don't think you can go wrong if it's a solid vehicle.

Good luck in your search!

Sameer

I drive a 1980 turbo and coverted to Ruf BTR, however still a grey market car. Belief it or not the inusrance company wont insure my car for even fire or theft but just third party(the other party's car if i were to get into accident), the only advantage is that i pay less for insurance, a much smaller amount. Now I only dare to park my ride, which i love driving in a hotel, where i park up front or somewhere where they have good security, video cameras. etc etc.

Lomotpk

84 in Mass. No DOT or EPA papers (in my possession). No problems

A930Rocket

My ROW '81 SC registered in NC and SC no problem. Bought it from a guy in GA who registered it no problem. Car was DOT'd and EPA'd.

estrellajon

What you read is probably a myth around that time period and bunch of balony. When a car is imported by a private individual who has money to spend, the car must undergo a DOT & EPA certification to register for the FIRST time in the US. Once it has been registered in the US DMV for the first time, it's considered a legal car and title and registration are able to be transferred with no problems. I do not know of any state that still require the certs especially if the car was on the national DMV database for 20 years.

I had no problems with mine and I was really in search of a euro spec car since it has the best components that it was originally designed for. Better fuel head, larger injectors, better distributor just to name a few.

cobalt

I personally brought over three grey market cars in 1985.

Two cars I sold to individuals and registered the cars as though they imported them. The third I kept for myself. I needed to go to Trenton, NJ to show proof of DOT compliance to register. I was allowed one car as an EPA exemption at the time (car had to be 5 years old) although NJ required that the car still had its yearly smog test. (No problem) Although it never became an issue my insurance company insured the car but valued it at half of a US vehicle.

I recently sold the car after 19 years and the new owner appears to have had no problem registering it. Once it is in the system it should not be a problem registering.

I don't believe it is very easy to tell a grey market from a US model pre 1984. The Vin numbers became standardized in 1984 and are now easier to tell a US model vs. ROW which is very difficult to do prior to 84.

mmasse

I plan to import a 1979 930 in the US pretty soon. I checked the regulation , and I understand that if the car if more than 25 years old it won't need EPA or DOT certification. Is this right?

Lomotpk, why wasn't your 1984 epa'd or DOT'd. any idea?

cobalt

I don't know the new rules. However, back in the 80's you could bring one car in without EPA compliance if it was more than 5 years old but you had to have the car DOT certified. This worked on a federal level to get the car into the country yet each state had its own set of rules regarding meeting their smog and EPA requirements. You may want to see what requirements face you in the state you live in. One other point is that a 25 year old car only has to meet the requirements established for time of manufacture. You will find that this is easy to comply with. Also in some states 25 years allows you to register the car as a Historic vehicle. This may eliminate what you need to comply with but it may limit your ability to drive the car as a daily driver.

BrianKeithSmith

VIN numbers became standardized in 1980.

ZZZ symbolizes ROW.

Brian

BigTurboFan

Also, I have a import tag on the drivers side door jamb. It tells the importer, date, and location. I have never had any problems with insurance or registering the car. I think these are rumors but I know some states are more restrictive as others.

BTW - I would rather purchase a Euro model than US. It does have a better fuel system and in my opinion looks a lot better. I would recommend buying an 84 or later because of the tensioners and rear wheels (went to 9").

omega

why take any unneeded risk for a few bucks have a very nice whit 86 turbo 54,000 all service records for the last 10 years nice upgrades, car fax clean 916 632 7251 ca car. good luck and take your time they expensive if make a mistake c ya steve

WERK-I

GixxerMarc,
The grey market cars of the 80's were a hit and miss proposition when one considered buying them...... IN THE '80's! Today, most of those cars that were imported into the U.S. have had the mods which made them emsissions legal ripped out and replaced with more reliable modifications. Some states even checked to see if the glass had a D.O.T. label. Here is a short list of mods made to make an '80's 930 legit;
Door reinforcements
D.O.T. glass(sometimes)
Emissions mods(air pump and thermo reactors, fuel pressure curve modified)
Ride height (U.S. higher)
5 MPH bumpers(aka bumper shocks)
Passenger restraints(proper type)
Headlight(H4's removed and replaced with H1's)
Taillight and markers(lenses replaced with proper color scheme)

I really think these are wonderful cars. All the bugs have been worked out of them and they have all the right performance features. Just be really thorough when you check the vehicle out as you would with any used high performance vehicle. If you don't feel comfortable checking out the drive train, have a qualified technician do it for you. Transmission and engine problems can break anyone's bank, so be on the side of caution.

cobalt

Work-I

I agree on some items but others no. The H4's were standard in Europe at the time the US had the old sealed beam GE units. The H1's were never legal in the US. SO they would have needed to replace the headlights with the GE style sealed beams with larger headlight surrounds and the euro markers with US colors. They also needed to reinforce the doors, this was usually done by bolting in a cross bar in the door. DOT glass was not needed (maybe in rare occasions as you say) as the glass at the tiime met both US and Euro requirements. This also applied to belt restraints. Emissions mods fell under EPA requirements and most cars were brought in under the 5 year old EPA exemption rulling of the time. I also never saw any car come in that had the ride hight adjusted. Most euro cars were considerably lower than US spec cars but never did I see one raised to meet the 5mph bumper laws.