Thread Page - Alfa Romeo Owners Club USA

2012-04-11 11:42:42

Bringing a UK Spec MiTo Cloverleaf to live in NYC

Daniel Lee
registered 2012-04-11
AROC - New York (Long Island AROC) *

Hi All,

Im new here so, mostly to hear about your fantastic community, but to get some help.

I will be moving to Brooklyn in the next 12 months and want to being my MiTo with me, need some advice on insurance etc. Really cant live without my Alfa and the thought of selling it makes me very sad.

Are there insurance companies that will let me insure an RHD car, and an import.

Any help would be awesome !

2012-04-19 19:02:31

Bringing a UK Spec MiTo Cloverleaf to live in NYC

Bob Abhalter
registered 2010-06-08
AROC St Louis *

Daniel,
Welcome. I hope you have received some off-line responses as I see nothing was posted to this forum. If you haven't received anything else, may I suggest you try the Alfa Bulletin Board - alfabb.com ? That board is more active and you are more likely to receive a range of opinions and some more specific responses than any I can offer.

There are some things you should consider while planning your move. There are specific government rules on the importation of non-conforming vehicles, i.e. vehicles not built to current U.S. regulations. Will your stay in the U.S. be long-term or short term? If your stay will be for a year or less, you are probably okay importing your MiTo. If you intend to stay longer, you may have a problem.

You probably know that Alfas aren't currently sold in the U.S. and haven't been since 1995. Unless you are planning to do the work by yourself, you may have trouble finding service. Plan on having any marque-specific parts you need shipped from Europe. Most likely, the only place you'll find another MiTo in the U.S. is the Chrysler/Fiat headquarters in Detroit.

You'll probably be able to find insurance but it's likely to take some work to track down a carrier and expesive, to boot. Most likely you'll be able to get liability insurance, only. There are other RHD cars on the road here, but relatively few besides some postal delivery trucks. Driving on our freeways could certainly be an adventure but you'll scare others on the road more than you'll scare yourself. We expect to see the driver sitting in the left front seat.

Anyway, I hope I didn't discourage you too much. I know there are people on the BBoard who are more knowledgeable about this than I. They should be able to point you in the right direction.
Best,
Bob A.