Quote:
Originally Posted by SilberUrS6
Because sometimes the "federalization" was nothing more than a broom-job. Fraud, IOW.
Cars that have had half-@ssed work done to them are suspect, and enough of those suspect cars are on the market to cause concern.
I agree that the better, higher-compression motors make for more fun on the road, but it's the rest of the car that could be a problem.
I don't think I'd have any problems owning a properly-federalized car with good records, but all else being equal, I would choose a North American market car over a ROW car. And I think that is a prevaling sentiment, which drives the ROW cars' values down.
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I resemble that remark!
I bought a car in Germany and brought it over in 1984. The car was more than 5 years old and as such it got an EPA exemption, so the only changes to "federalize" the car were to meet the DOT requirements. Most of those changes fell into the category that Jeremy Clarkson refers to as "things to remind Americans that they are in a car." Buzzers for keys, buzzers and lights for seat belts, appropriate symbols for the turn signals, etc. So I guess one could describe what I did as "fraud" because none of the changes stayed on the car. I prefer to think of it as exercising restraint and good taste.
The U.S. dealers were royally pissed about all of these cars coming in that were bypassing their lots. They did a great marketing job spreading the claim that the cars were bastardized and unsafe, and ultimately got Congress to pass a bill that essentially ended the practice. Their lobbying effort was so good that the stigma hasn't completely worn off, even though it's now 25 years later.
I agree with the posters who say the grey market cars are actually preferable to the neutered, over-buzzered U.S. versions. The one caveat would be cars that had changes to the emission controls to meet EPA requirements. I'd be more wary of those.