I am currently stationed in Italy and was looking to bring a classic mini back with me. While doing some research I found that importing a vehicle back to the US can be a pain. Especially back to California. Will being in the military help me bypass any of the headache? Or should I just wait till I get back to California and buy a mini that is already registered and has a title?

 

If it's over 25 years old, it falls under the classic. Drain all the liquids and they should she it as house house goods, like a motorcycle

 

getting it into the country falls under the federal rules and so long as the car is 25 yoa or more this is pretty easy. The applicable form is here:
http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/hs799short.pdf
It took longer for my car to pass the required agriculture inspection than it did to clear customs! A decent shipping agent will easily guide you thru the import minefield.

getting it titled and on the road is a state issue and you are correct, California has its own rules on this and they are more strict than most other states. As I recall CA requires a car to be 30+ for special consideration just for starters and even then maintains emissions requirements most other states don't have.

IME military status would only help if you have maintained state residence outside of CA and you bring the car to THAT state and get it titled and tagged. THEN as a military member you can have the car in CA with that state's plates as the assignment to CA is due to orders and you can maintain the vehicle in your state of legal residency. (soldier, sailor, airman's act says legally the car is "in" your state of residence ... not where you are domiciled ... BUT keep the car titled in JUST the military member's name, putting your spouse name on the title in joint ownership can thro this technicality out the window .... guess how I learned this one ..)

(retired after 33 years with a tour in CA while maintaining FL residency)

p.s. my info is old .... my 79 came into the country in 2004 ..... verify!

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buying something that already has a CA title certainly by-passes all these issues.

 

Thanks for all the info. It cleared up a lot for me. I think I may just skip the headache and wait till I go back home to find one. Thanks again!

 

I think you have already settled on this being a less than good idea but would be remiss if I failed to mention another point .....

Italy made Mini's under license. They bear the factory name Innocenti rather than Austin or Morris. Many countries built Mini under licence and how much of the car came from England and how much was locally produced varies widely.

If your Mini has 'vent windows' it is almost certainly an Inno' ...... I mention this cuz while an Inno is a fine classic Mini there ARE part differences (and wiring differences) and few Mini 'sources' speak to anything but an England sourced Mini ..... The Inno club is a subset of the general Mini club ....

just mentioning


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OR .... finding Guido the Mini guy is harder than finding Guido the Fiat guy which is difficult on its own .....

 

@jsam21 I'm in the same situation. I'm buying in the next couple weeks - then I'll ship it home as my primary vehicle. Since it's over 25 years old it shouldn't be a problem, but i'm going through the VPC and not draining it for HHG shipping. I'm pretty sure the local rule for mil members here requires any vehicle you own to be registered.

 

As an added point there are a few great places in CA that can provide a really good supply of parts. (I have gotten a number of parts for my MG)


And you might want to check in with your ITO to make sure you can ship it as either HHG as a recreational vehicle, or if you will have to ship it as a standard POV.


Motor On!

 

I'm pretty sure the local rule for mil members here requires any vehicle you own to be registered.

not sure what you are saying / asking here ......

once you get the car IN it must get titled, then registered. Some states are harder than others for accomplishing this .....

 

hi are you based in sigonella, if so there is a great car place outside the main gate called volcano cars. he had some really nice mini's there when i went. all innocenti mini's will me over 25 years old