derBayerische July /August 2022 - 32

T O U R I N G T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S
Evidently, E30 Touring prices
tend to skyrocket as soon as they
touch American soil; it was clear
that we had to look into purchasing
one overseas instead. After seeing
how much they were going for in
Europe and getting general shipping
quotes from a few different
companies, importing one ourselves
seemed even more like the
obvious choice. After weeks of
mindlessly browsing through what
seemed like thousands of E30
Tourings on a plethora of different
European used car market sites, we
finally landed upon a promising
advertisement for a 1993 Mauritiusblau
Metallic 316i Design Edition
Touring in Gütersloh, Germany. The
Design Editions were equipped with
the highly sought-after 15-inch BBS
wheels and given a special interior
meant to appeal to a younger crowd.
The sport seats and door cards on
the Design Editions had special
upholstery with colors that match
the exterior of the car; this example
had blue fabric to go with the blue
paint. It was a " last send-off " of
sorts by BMW to signify the end of
the E30, as only around 200 316i
Touring Design Editions were built
during its short production run
between April 1993 and June 1994.
Promptly, we messaged the owner.
The next day came and went,
and we had received no response
back. Two days later, still no
response. We messaged the seller
again on the third day, and to
our surprise, he finally replied. He
seemed very skeptical that someone
from America wanted to buy his car;
we were surely scamming him.
Reluctantly, he agreed to send
additional photos and information
about the car - all of which were
very promising. Zero rust, just over
170,000 kilometers (roughly
106,000 miles), and extremely wellkept.
After some more convincing,
he insisted the only way he would
be willing to make a deal was if he
was handed money for the car in
person, cash in hand. Our hearts
sank. We were so certain this would
32
be the car. My dad called up the
shipping company as a last attempt
to make it work. As luck would grant
it, the shipping company happened
to have an agent in Germany who
was able to accompany the trailer to
the seller's house for payment and
pickup. We gave the shipping company
the amount for the car, then the
agent was able to hand that money
over to the seller.
Once the transaction went
■ (Above) With the Capitol in the background, the E30 flaunts its newly
obtained American plates. (Below) Touring's windows frame the Capitol
building.
through, the car was loaded up on a
trailer and made its way to the
German port of Bremerhaven, where
it would be put on a boat headed for
Baltimore on a two-week journey
across the Atlantic. The whole shipping
process took around three
weeks, though it felt like an eternity.
From there, all that was left was to
drive up to the port with a trailer and
sign a few papers before we were the
official owners of our dream car.
Though we had the car, it still needed
to be registered, which was a
whole process in and of itself.
Documents had to be translated,
papers needed to be mailed from
Germany, and the car itself needed to
pass inspection - which it didn't...
three times. Three months later, we
had a fully registered, road-legal car.
Since October 2020, we've put
a few thousand spirited kilometers
on the odometer and have attended
lots of car shows and meets.
Whether it means putting the hatch
to good use with frequent trips to the
grocery store or long drives through
curvy country roads, at the end of
the day, these cars are meant to
be driven.
Though acquiring a foreign car
by going through an importer is
easier, you'll end up paying much
more when all is said and done.
By going through the experience of
importing a car ourselves, we've
learned a whole lot. Once you know
what you're doing, it's far less
daunting and so rewarding.
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derBayerische July /August 2022

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