Questions About Bring My BRZ from the USA to Germany
 

Hello/Hallo,

Very simple question I am hoping to get some help with.

Does anyone know if there are any modifications that need to be made to a USDM BRZ in order to meet the vehicle regulations in Germany?

The reason I ask is because my company is planning on permanently relocating me to our Headquarters in Germany and I would really like to bring my BRZ with me. They have stated that they are willing to help as long as I do not need to make any major modifications to the car to get it road legal in Germany. The only thing I can really think of is changing the side markers from orange to clear, but I'm not sure if that is the only difference. Mine is a 2016 limited (higher trim level) MT.

Any help you wonderful people can provide is greatly appreciated.

Do you have the red intake manifold or the old black one? If you are stock and you have the black intake you shouldn't have any issue. In fact, the USDM BRZ cars have better protection for front and rear collision comparing to the European ones. They are a bit better on this area, but also a bit heavier.

Nevertheless, the car should be checked by TÜV and get an approval.

In which area of Germany are you coming?

I have the old black plastic intake manifold and will be moving to Münster this summer. One of the things I just noticed while doing some research is that the European BRZs seem to have a small piece of body matched plastic (or something) right under each head light. I cannot seem to figure out what this is for though. We do not have those here in the US. Here is a link to the newest model year BRZ from the German website https://www.subaru.de/modelle/subaru-brz/ You can see a good picture of it down in the exterior section.

those are just headlight washers

Well, if they pay for all the shipping and you have enough patience to wait for it, sure why not take your car over there.

But.... if they start running the numbers on how much it would actually cost and start backing out or saying meet is half way, might be better to sell it, buy a car over there and not deal with the whole red tape of us it legal and what not.

It is not that complex. I had a friend getting a registration for a UK Forester STi (RHD car). The issues start if you have modded the car. The rules here are much more strict of what you can change and what you cannot.

The only modifications I have made are emblem stickers, mud flaps and rear tail lights. All are easily removable. My initial contract is for 3 years, but my company has said I can make my stay permanent. My tail lights are the Ferrari style intec taillights.

Yes, the howtogermany site is very good for relocation information.

This question has been asked on here many many times so I have the link saved. A lot of guys seem to end up in Germany for one reason or another.
When you read through there are a couple of different scenarios that have different requirements so there is really no one simple answer. I know that at least two of the guys that headed over found it would have been cheaper to just sell the car here and buy a new one there even with the higher prices in Europe.

Well my cost of shipping is $1,900. I d o plan on staying in the country permanently and will have a permanent residence to live in. I've also not been in the countryfor over a year so I should be able to avoid most or all import tariffs and taxes. I've read through the howtogermany link many times, but it doesn't explicitly state what is or isn't allowed in terms of modifications. Unless I missed it dome where. Thanks for all the responses. They have been really helpful.