Does or did Jaguar have a European Delivery? Several car companies have schemes where you can buy a car at a dealer in the U.S. but take delivery of the car either at or next to the factory in Europe, drive a bit, then have the car shipped to the US.

With Jaguar, that might be a bit difference as you'd pick up the car off Europe (in the UK)....ha ha ha....not in Europe. But that's an argument for somewhere else.

Does factory delivery exist for the U.S. customer? Land Rover has a delivery centre in Solihull but maybe only for UK customers?

 

I found only this:

European Delivery Experiences, Advice and Info - Car Forums at Edmunds.com

Last year Jaguar only sold 4 units through
European Delivery! Obviously this is not a very
popular program. Savings through this program
average 2.5% of the car's retail price. However,
these savings are offset by customer fees for
marine freight, insurance, and customs duties.
Jaguar offers a free factory tour to European
Delivery customers.

 

I wonder if you could do a European purchase for the XE and then have the car shipped to the US. Get the car here in the US a year before anyone else? Hmmmmmmmmm. The thoughts...

 

If it wasn't built to US spec you wouldn't be able to register it. Where would you find a left hand drive car with a MPH speedo?

 

Mikey, being right hand drive would not necessarily make it not able to be registered in the US. There are some right hand drive vehicles over here. I think the trick would be proving the safety aspect. I think it would be a matter of whether you can prove that the European market has the same general rules as the US and/or since it will be derived from a lot of the F-Type parts, if the safety ratings of the F-Type would be a factor.

Also, the speedo would not be a factor. I can not see them not allowing the car just because of that. That would be like saying that I can't drive my X-Type because the speedo can possibly be put in the metric system. It is up to the driver to maintain their speed. Had many a first hand experience with vehicles that didn't have a working speedo (always read 0) and the cops were like "I would recommend you fix that, but I am still writing you the ticket".

 

You're talking about importing a brand new car not available here and convincing the feds that they should accept it. Not much point using common sense and logic.

Canada is no different. The car would not be allowed past the dock, never mind sit in your garage.

Have a read:

Considering importing a car into the U.S.? You may want to read this first... - Newark Classic cars | Examiner.com

In part

"If the manufacturer of the vehicle you’re looking to import originally crash certified and sold the same model in the United States, the DOT will usually accept that as prior precedent that your vehicle (now modified to U.S. standards) would be equally safe in an accident.
But if the model of car you want to import was never certified for sale in the U.S., then you will bear the responsibility of proving crashworthiness. Translated, this means you will need to provide three modified subjects for crash testing, and bear agency testing costs (typically $200-$400 thousand). Not practical for an individual at all."




Further:



DO RIGHT-HAND-DRIVE VEHICLES NEED TO BE MODIFIED TO LEFT-HAND DRIVE?
For cars 25 years or older, no. For newer cars, importers feel it is a risky proposition no matter what. One commented, “Modifying right hand drive on newer cars depends. The Office of Vehicle Safety Compliance at NHTSA put out a newsletter for Registered Importers about two years ago that basically said no new petitions for import of a vehicle would be considered if the vehicle was right-hand-drive, or had been converted from right-hand-drive. I’m going to say that if the vehicle was being imported for use by mail carriers, there might be an exemption, but it would be tough.”

 

If someone really wanted to have a XE early, the way to do it would be to somehow get a long term visa from the UK, then bring the car over for less than 12 months as a UK resident.

I saw a story on TV about this a few years ago. A UK resident brought his car to Florida. It was an odd car. A sheriff ticketed the car but the owner got the police to apologize as there's some sort of international treaty.

If there is European delivery, there might only be 4 cars that when through the process since it isn't mentioned in the U.S. website, dealers probably don't know about it, and it takes effort as far as insurance and customs duty (see earlier post). Other car companies make it seamless. You simply order the car from your dealer, receive some information from the head office in the U.S., then show up to pick up the car. Later, you drop it off. Shipping and insurance while driving in the UK and Europe is covered.

The discount is higher than 2.5%. BMW is 7%, except in Canada, where there's no discount. Porsche doesn't have a discount. Saab had a 9% discount plus no shipping charge (saving about $700) and a travel stipend of $2,000.

Land Rover has a new, fancy delivery centre. They should use that for U.K delivery of cars to U.S. customers. Jaguar and Land Rover both give factory tours. Even if they had limited drop off points (say Coventry, London, and Antwerp), that would be enough to attract people.

Popular BMW drop off cities include Munich, Frankfurt, Bremerhaven, Paris, and Nice, though there are others.

 

We often see cars here with foreign plates on them. Germany, France, Sweden- even the United States now and then.

The rules for foreign nationals bringing a car in for a limited time are very different than people importing a car to their own home country.

Worth it?

 

If someone really wants to do research, here's one lead.

WSVN-TV Miami's Help Me Howard late 2005 or possibly early 2006
British subject driving some sort of mini-car with British number plates (license plate)
Ticketed by Monroe County Sheriff
Reporter Howard looked up some Vienna treaty and brought it to the attention of the county, which wrote the guy a letter saying he could continue driving the car.
The reporter said the car could be driven up to 1 year before having to either be exported again or licensed in the U.S., which wouldn't be possible due to safety and emissions regulations.

So if one were extremely motivated to bring a XE to the U.S. early, perhaps they could lease it in the UK and bring it over for less than a year? It may be hard to service, though. One person brought a Saab 9-3 diesel to the U.S., possibly the only Saab diesel car in the country.

 

Random thought though here. Since it would be difficult to prove crash worthiness unless the testing was done already, you could order the car now, import it for just under a year and once it gets released for sale here, then you are golden to get it registered. As for the right hand drive, I am sure there is a way around it. Just a random though.

 

Not so simple. You would have to prove that the car built to UK (or whatever) spec also meets all US lighting, emission and safety standards. That's a gamble to start with and don't expect the manufacturer to help you. The lighting on a right hand drive car is very different that a right hand drive car to start with.

Not all US cars met Canadian spec in years past and were not economical to modify. Many tears were shed on the part of the 'clever' buyers.

 

Post #2 has a link to an article that is from 1998, 16 years ago! Jaguar European delivery may have ended.

As far as bringing a XE to the U.S. a year early, it's really not practical. The only way I can think of doing it is to bring it temporarily and already registered in the UK. However, that would be very complicated. The easiest way is to just wait and be the first one in the U.S. to order one.

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/det...r-personal-use

Nonresidents/visitors may import a vehicle duty-free for personal use up to (1) one year if the vehicle is imported in conjunction with the owner's arrival. Vehicles imported under this provision that do not conform to U.S. safety and emission standards must be exported within one year and may not be sold in the U.S. There is no exemption or extension of the export requirements.

 

Quick note: UK is part of Europe. We really are.

The overall idea looks interesting but frankly not worthwhile. Be cool to hear someone doing it and the pitfalls, though!