Hello, all--

A friend is looking to import a 2001 S-type from France to California, where she lives...part of an inheritance she has received.

Question: are Euro S-types different than US models in any way, specifically when it comes to smog? Will a Euro-spec S-type present any special challenges being smogged for California driving?

Thanks very much for all your expertise! Forums like this are invaluable for such questions...

Chris

 

I think you need to contact the california DMV before doing anything.

The car has so little value at this point I can't see any reason to do it unless it's because of sentimental value?
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Or you could get in touch with Jaguar or Jaguar Heritage. I have found them to be really helpful when it comes to this sort of problem

 

That's kind of what is being researched, clubairth1. Personally, I know how-to and how much it costs to get a car shipped to California (not much...about $1500)...but I am researching import taxes and trying to figure out if there would be any nasty surprises if the car was to be smogged here.

 

Sell it there. Buy one here. They are dirt cheap. Nothing else makes sense.

 

California smog regs are the least of your worries. The cost of bringing the car into compliance with other US federal regulations, (lighting, bumpers, gauges, etc.) make the exercise sheer folly.

 

Surely the car that was constructed to drive on the same side of the road would conform to US standards because I have not seen in the parts catalogue bits marked for the American market. I would have thought as the only variant that was not sold in America was the diesel engined cars.

 

Ducmon and Mikey, that's exactly what I'm trying to find out--if there are any significant differences--if any--between US and European spec cars.

I just found out they have an S-type and Sovereign (XJ40) both, so I'm trying to find out if there are any differences for both those models.

 

Even if the hardware is the same, you may find differences in the software due to possible differences in emissions standards. When your local emissions test center plugs in their scanner, if the software doesn't jibe (to be expected), that's when the fun really starts.

Also, you may have asked a question that is very difficult for us mere mortals to answer. Assuming there are some differences under the skin, a forum member in Europe isn't going to know much about the US spec version, and visa versa.

And you still haven't answered if these particular cars have sentimental value. I'd have to think even if the cars meet US standards, just the shipping expense alone is going to be spendy. That's in addition to the joy factor of dealing with a Customs or DMV bureaucrat with a big red DENIED stamp. I wouldn't be surprised if Customs makes you go through an import brokerage service.

 

The cars don't have sentimental value. Though I haven't shipped cars myself, I have good leads from classic car owners about their experiences, and have sat down and talked with a shipping agent before about all the details. That aspect of the conundrum doesn't worry me...

...the aspect you speak of--possible different settings in software? That is scary, and exactly the kind of nasty surprise I was trying to sniff out...

...but honestly, it seems the two cars are simply not worth enough to warrant any hassle beyond selling them locally in France, or handing them over to an estate broker.

 

Our cars here in the UK don't have side markers. Neither do French cars. I would question if lighting modules are different due to bulb failure module resistance readings???

 

Now THAT could be a major issue...

 

Here's my expensive experience with software. A previous owner pulled a fast one with my '02 V6. Both cats had failed, so the "fix" was to replace the software in the PCM.

Curiously, the car passed state emissions testing in Washington, where I used to live. The test center plugged their machine into the OBD II port and all appeared good. Later I moved to Oregon, which I'd imagine has very similar testing. Only this time the test machine rejected the car because it said the PCM software was unsupported, or something like that.

I took it to a local independent Jag specialist. As near as they could figure, the software present was for a car sold in places without emissions testing, not Europe or North America. Their hunch was the previous owner deliberately purchased a PCM from Africa or who knows where, instead of replacing the cats. Since some countries don't test emissions, the software logic never turned on the CEL after the cats failed.

The fix was to replace the cats and then load US spec software. It's been a while, but I think just the software load was around $400. Other than replacing the failed cats, no hardware was changed. The car then passed Oregon testing without any trouble.

 

+1 on not being financially viable

Also, if you would like an S-Type then buy one that's a bit newer (2003 or later) as they've got many improvements.

 

Around 10 years ago we Imported several xj40's and 2 xjs's from HongKong to New Zealand ,
Jaguar heritage suplyed all of the origenal dereg and chassis papers , admittedly it took some time, but we were dealing with 9or so differant cars at the time . The cost was surprisingly low !
And the paper work was nesersery for NZ vining . All those cars made it on to our roads legally !

However in one cars case the wipers were left hand drive in a right hand drive car ( sweeped the wrong way )and could not pass the requirements . With no parts available to rectifythe issue . this car was dismantled for parts ,

 

Yup, Datsports, I actually have a feeling that importing the car wouldn't be too much of a hassle....

...but in the end, it's what JagV8 says--it just makes more financial sense to sell it there.

Thanks, everyone!