Like the title says, does anyone know the differences between EU and US models? In the not quite distant future I may be in for a move, and I may consider bringing the LS430 with me. However, Europe has extra requirements that the US doesn't have, like folding mirrors and amber turn signals instead of flashing brake lights for signals. The LS430 satisfies both of those. Another requirement is for a rear fog light, but there is an easy solution for that. I won't be going to the UK or Ireland so no messing with RHD vs LHD stuff, thankfully.

Unfortunately, all of the places I've contacted so far have said "ship the car over, we'll inspect it and tell you what needs to be changed," which is absolutely ridiculous. I've read reports of people saying they were made to change the tires, headlights, mirrors and even all of the window glass in France, while in other countries they only needed to add a rear fog light. So I'm not about to spend a couple grand to ship the car and then potentially have them tell me that I need 10 grand in modifications. But if I can find out all of the differences between EU and US cars, then I can get an idea of what I might need to change.

So far, I haven't been able to find information on any differences at all except a KM/h speedometer instead of MPH. They must have a rear fog light as well, but I haven't seen where it's located. For the LS400 I read that EU versions came with almost all of the UL options as standard, and there were no "base" models. Not sure if that's the same with the LS430, but those types of options wouldn't matter for the purposes of being street legal in Europe.

As for whether or not I should, that's a topic for a different thread. For now I'm just trying to figure out any technical hurdles with potential changes that might need to be made to the car. Any information is greatly appreciated.

 

im in Germany and have a Japan import Celsior. I had to change:

- fog light
- Headlight conversion
- headlight washer jets (required for xenon here)
- car had to undergo inspection that if it has aftermarket parts, that they are all legal (here most bits like wheels, lights, bumpers etc if aftermarket have to have factory approval documents)
- had to have and pass emissions test.

If your LS is heavily moded, say Bad *** wheels, full bodykit and exhaust, if you dont have the Tuv approved paperwork, you get to tear it all off and replace it with either OEM or parts that have paperwork. for an LS, parts are hard to come by here, especially with said paperwork. I am going through this process now with my Wald bodykit and wheels.
If yours is stock, or close to, then i see no problem with importing it.

You can find early models here for cheapish (6-10k EUR) and facelift models are hard to come by and if, are often with damages or shady history (hence why i imported mine) and are often 10-15k+ EUR

Here we had base models and president versions. I think to the US this would compare to the CL and UL? i might be wrong. You had quiet a few options when buying new.

Otherwise things that would be different, i think is only the tach with MPH and KMH, as well as the infotainment unit being a different language / more language options.

Having a US import here isnt that difficult if all paperwork and changes are made and met, we have a large Muscle car scene with more than half being us imports.

Which country are you going to? Some countries are easier with the import/necessary mods. Netherlands i think you only have to pass emissions and they dont give a glance at the tuning. Also not sure if it is a permanent move or limited time. Every now and then is see a car on US plates here, people leave them registered over there and just get the right insurance and drive them through europe. I think this is legal up to 6 months but maybe check what would work for you. If you are military, then you also have many more optiosn to legally drive a US registered car here.

Hope this info helps

 

Why bother to ship? At least I saw UK prices are a lot cheaper. The shipping cost will get you one in UK. Not sure about Europe though.

 

@LJ500 Wow, thank you very much! This helps tremendously. My car is an 01 ML version so it doesn't have xenons and wasn't optioned with headlight washers. It only has the ML/Nav system and heated seats. It doesn't have any modifications at all. The only issue is that the previous owner replaced the center section of the exhaust and removed the two front catalytic converters. I had planned on putting in Magnaflow cats, but Magnaflow parts are not Tuv certified. New OEM Toyota cats are prohibitively expensive, and it's illegal to buy used ones where I live, so I will see if I can find a brand here in the US that is Tuv certified. Even if an inspector didn't notice the straight pipes in place of the front cats, I doubt it would pass emissions with only the 3rd/middle cat. It's also good to know about wheels needing to be Tuv certified as I had planned to get some summer wheels and use the OEM ones for winter tires.

I haven't decided exactly which country I will be moving to yet, but it will be a permanent move and not military related. Germany is high on the list, so are France and Scandinavia. Netherlands could be an option as well. The shipping companies I contacted said the same thing, that I can drive on US plates with EU insurance for a little while before I have to fully import the car. I have another non-Lexus car that I will also be bringing and it will have to go through the same process, so this helps give me an idea for that car as well.

As a side note, you may have ruined me by mentioning the Wald body kit... I really, really like the look of that.

UK cars are right hand drive while the rest of Europe (excluding Ireland) is left hand drive just like the US. Driving a right hand drive car in Europe is not a huge problem, but it's inconvenient and often your insurance is higher because it's slightly more dangerous driving a right hand drive car in a left hand drive world. Shipping costs aren't as high as most people imagine. It's not cheap, but I definitely can't buy another LS430 for the price of shipping from Miami to Bremerhaven. I got a very good deal on my car, it's first owner bought it new and kept it until 2023. He had it serviced at a local Lexus specialty shop, which I verified with the shop. He had an actual binder full of service records for the car, so it was very well maintained and garage kept too. The second owner had it for about six months. He had planed to do a VIP build with it but then changed his mind. Cars like that aren't impossible to find, but it's not easy either, and usually not cheap. On the flip side, it isn't anything extraordinary or super rare so I may not bring it. Like I said, I'm considering it.