I am currently stationed in Sicily (military) and I am purchasing a 2002 mini coop- as far as I know everything on the vehicle is stock. I am wondering what would I have to get changed (if anything) and a general ballpark cost of how much for the conversion. Any help on this issue would be greatly appreciated.

 

I'd say about €400-500

You need to change the fog-light: EU it's in the rear-lights, US in the bumper. US has the reverse-light in the bumper. The bumper-thingy will cost about €20-25, but the rest is a little work.
If you insist on having the sidemarkers: that'll set you back about €100-125. Fitting is quite easy, but will cost some time as the lights in the markers need to be wired into something.

That's about all I can think of

BTW: I have a US-spec and live in the Netherlands, it was bought by a US soldier in Germany with US specs. It was sold before he left Germany.

F* me, this thread was old, my apologies

 

Hello,
i have a 2007 Mini Cooper and want it to convert it to US spec also. - they told me you can't ship a EUR spec unless you have the sticker on the hood which EUR Specs don't have - you have to get saftey rails in the door and the bumper and saftey glass unless your car already has saftey glass with the DOT number. if you haven'T registered your mini in the states you'll have to pay sales taxes (depending on where you located at) you'll have to get your title translated.. you need the side mirror that says objects appear closer. and all that together would cost you up to $8000 and alot of paperwork. i've done alot of researching about converting the mini to a us spec . it breaks my heart because i'll have to sell my mini - but i'll get me a mini cooper s in the states. : )

 

This number looks a lot closer to the number i was quoted from when I lived in Germany and wanted to do the same. I was told (can't remember who, either the base mechanic/car guru or the off-base guy i always went to) that it was going to cost roughly $9k to convert my car from Euro to US spec. Needless to say, I opted to just sell the car rather than pay that cost. It wasn't a mini though and was from the 2003 timeframe, so I guess it's possible costs could be lesser now.

 

You must use a vehicle registed importer to bring a non-US Standard vehicle into the US.

Here is the link:

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/impo...t01122006.html

There is no way around this.

The only exemption is :

1) Your on a CARNET
2) Your on a TIB : Temporary Import Bond

Either way, you have to reexport the car within 12 months.

Hope this helps.

 

Way cheaper to sell the car there and buy another one when you get back.