I have an 03 cooper S and a car dealership (not mini) told me that the car is a grey market car meaning euro spec!!!! What are some ways to tell if this is true and if it is how does that affect the value in the US?? I purchased this car last year for my daughter and this was not revealed to me if it is true Thanks for the help, Jeremy
RealOEM.com will identify whether it is Euro or USA spec. Enter the last 7 letters/digits of the VIN here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/select.do
I just checked it out and in the region it said USA!! The other option was of course Europe and I am assuming that means it is in fact US spec and the dealer is a moron!! Thanks for the help guys!
Ha..... Yep, there is nothing in the law that says a dealer can't be a moron. Some of them have been known to be very successful at that capability.:cryin:
I would have been very surprised to see a Euro spec car in the states, it's not expensive enough to warrant the shipping cost, importation fees etc, not to mention getting it compliant would be big bux.....and frankly I doubt it would ever clear customs.
The dealer gave my daughter a sheet of the car history. Apparently a soldier purchased the car while oversees. When he returned to the states the DMV labeled the car as grey just based on were it was purchased so it appears I will have to clear this up at the DMV!!!!
I've seen a few MINI's with this happen. They have all been US spec cars that soldiers bought while overseas then shipped them back after their tour was up. Not a big deal. But I can tell you they have no warranty in the US.