> Ummm...yes it can. There were at least six imported in 1984,
> one of which I sold a few months ago....
> In addition, any Vanagon can be imported through a registered
> importer. Or sometimes without, depends on your connections
> and how well worded your requests and convincing stories to
> the folks in charge.

Okay, let me rephrase that. On a practical basis, it cannot be AFFORDABLY
and LEGALLY imported under current regulations. This has been covered on the
list before. The only Vanagons approved by the U.S. government for import
from Europe - even via a registered importer - are the 1988-90 Transporter.
And even then, paying a registered importer to modify it to meet the
standards and get it approved is extremely expensive; more than anyone is
likely to pay. The feds are picky, so the model has to be exact; i.e. even
if a 1988 Transporter is on the list they will reject a 1987 Transporter, or
a 1988 Transporter Syncro, unless it is deemed "substantially similar" - a
designation that can require the auto manufacturer's cooperation (which as a
private indiviual you will not get). A registered importer can get other
years/models added to the approved list, but it is lengthy and hideously
expensive process. Once you get it approved by the NHTSA, you then have to
get it through the EPA, which has similarly stringent requirements for
emissions standards. The end result is that it costs many thousands of
dollars, plus the cost of actually transporting it, if you are successful at
all. That is pocket change if you're importing a $200k Lambroghini, or ten
identical vehicles where the exemption to one can be applied to all of them.
But if you're importing a single Vanagon worth maybe $10k to begin with, it
is simply not economically feasible if you follow the law.

So without the use of a registered importer and the model and year being
specifically approved by the DOT, there is no LEGAL way to bring the vehicle
in unless it is 25+ years old. Of course there are plenty of of utterly
ILLEGAL ways, like switching VIN numbers, etc.

Once the vehicle is 25 years old, however, it is exempt from all import
restrictions, so anything goes.

See http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/rules/import/

This has been covered ad nauseum on the list so there's plenty of info in
the archives (and also on the vanagon.com f.a.q.'s). Yes, there are a
handful vehicles that have slipped through under unique conditions, or at
times when the law was different (and others that slipped through because
the importer skirted the law - basically akin to smuggling). But the bottom
line is, there is a good reason why people don't do this all the time.
Don't believe me? Call one of the registered importers and ask about
importing a year/model not specifically on the government's approved list.
Be prepared for sticker shock and/or laughter on the other and of the phone
line.

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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