Buying a new Truck for import to europe

carsonj493 · April 26, 2019

1 hour ago, movario said:

Well you just have to pay attention to your driving, and you won't find a parking spot everywhere, but these are not the only problems. The much bigger one is the costs for fuel, as the Gallon costs around 6-7$. Thats the reason why most of the european drive small vehicles with air pumps as engines. But as many countries and cities in europe are already planning to ban vehicles with combustion engines and the individual motor car traffic is nowadays some kind of "worst thing mankind ever created", i thought now is the last moment to get such a truck.

I remember that the 2018 Tahoe i had as a rental last year when i went to Texas was also able to change between metric and US. And as they're basically the same, i hoped that there wouldn't be an issue changing this in the silverado. But i ask the dealer if it really works.

My truck is a 2014 model (Texas truck), and I can assure you it allows me to easily switch between US and Metric systems for the speedometer. Unless they changed it on newer model trucks, but I highly doubt that.

I can take some pictures later today of my trucks display switching between the two if you want me to.

movario · April 26, 2019

Thank you very much, but thats not necessary as the dealer just told me that it also works on the truck he want`s to sell me.

As the Truck is going to be shipped in a container, i`m thinking of buying some wheels for the winter and a tonneau cover, and packing these into the container to save some money.

Any Adress where i can get some good quality stock (looking) wheels for the silverado? 18" Should be sufficient for winter.

And where i can get a good cover?

Edited April 26, 2019 by movario

movario · April 27, 2019

Ah and is there a possibility to get the stock headlight Parking light into white/yellow(ish), like on european cars? Or do i need to go for some aftermarket lights?

Because it is required by law that the front parkinglight is white/yellow, and not that US amber.

MikeNH · April 27, 2019

The US is weird with emissions equipment. California has been able to set their own emissions standards since the 1960s or 1970s and over time, several other states have decided to follow their standards. California, Oregon, Washington and all of the northeast with the exception of New Hampshire use California emissions so any truck from those states should meet CA standards. If you are buying new I believe for 2019 all the trucks are 50-state compliant but I am not completely sure. The rest of the states used the less restrictive federal emissions standards.

The cluster can switch between MPH and km/h on the speedometer but I do not think you can change the odometer or secondary gauges and displays (transmission temp, oil pressure and so on) to metric units as easily (I am not sure how important that is).

For lighting you may have some luck with a GM dealer in your area to see if they have lighting systems that meets European regulations as I think you may have to change the tail lamps too. US and Canadian trucks have red for both the brake lamp and the turn signal and I think European regulations say the rear turn signal needs to be amber.

For bed covers I assume you mean tonneau covers. There are many types. I have a soft "roll-up" cover from Extang called the Revolution. I am quite happy with it. Truxedo is the other major maker of the soft type. Bak makes many nice hard covers but they are more expensive. There are lots of vendors out there for these but I do not know how buying from overseas would work.

movario · April 28, 2019

14 hours ago, MikeNH said:

The cluster can switch between MPH and km/h on the speedometer but I do not think you can change the odometer or secondary gauges and displays (transmission temp, oil pressure and so on) to metric units as easily (I am not sure how important that is).

For lighting you may have some luck with a GM dealer in your area to see if they have lighting systems that meets European regulations as I think you may have to change the tail lamps too. US and Canadian trucks have red for both the brake lamp and the turn signal and I think European regulations say the rear turn signal needs to be amber.

Thanks, the truck i am buying is from Tennessee and it meets the californian regulations (one of the few dealers who were able to send me the emissions label via e-mail). And all of the other trucks that i had a look on were 50-state compliant. I know some people who bought trucks from canada, and those had also the californian emissions label.

Unfortunately, there aren't any GM dealers in europe (at least no US Chevrolet dealers), so i have to look for something in the states. But as long as there ar DOT Numbers on the Glass of the Headlights, there will be no problem. And may be the inspector has a good day and let's me keep my amber headlights :D. Otherwise, i will have to look for some aftermarket ones with white parking lights, or i need to modify the original ones.

Thankfully, i live in switzerland, which is not a part of the european union, so we have our own regulations, and we can keep the red turnsignal, so no problem with that. Also the 2" receiver isn't legal in the european union, but in switzerland it is

For the tonneau covers, i think i will go for a trifold one, is there a possibility to find out if i got the 5ft 8in bed or the 6.5ft bed? I have a Crewcab Truck, and the VIN decoder from chevroletforum.com says it's a "standard bed". How relailable is this decoder?

And for some 18" wheels, is there a possibility to find out if i got 6 or 8 lugnuts? as i can't look at the truck right now, because it is already stored in a container.

carsonj493 · April 28, 2019

2 hours ago, movario said:

Thanks, the truck i am buying is from Tennessee and it meets the californian regulations (one of the few dealers who were able to send me the emissions label via e-mail). And all of the other trucks that i had a look on were 50-state compliant. I know some people who bought trucks from canada, and those had also the californian emissions label.

Unfortunately, there aren't any GM dealers in europe (at least no US Chevrolet dealers), so i have to look for something in the states. But as long as there ar DOT Numbers on the Glass of the Headlights, there will be no problem. And may be the inspector has a good day and let's me keep my amber headlights :D. Otherwise, i will have to look for some aftermarket ones with white parking lights, or i need to modify the original ones.

Thankfully, i live in switzerland, which is not a part of the european union, so we have our own regulations, and we can keep the red turnsignal, so no problem with that. Also the 2" receiver isn't legal in the european union, but in switzerland it is

For the tonneau covers, i think i will go for a trifold one, is there a possibility to find out if i got the 5ft 8in bed or the 6.5ft bed? I have a Crewcab Truck, and the VIN decoder from chevroletforum.com says it's a "standard bed". How relailable is this decoder?

And for some 18" wheels, is there a possibility to find out if i got 6 or 8 lugnuts? as i can't look at the truck right now, because it is already stored in a container.

Do you have any pictures of the truck, such as from the dealership? Do you know for sure if it’s a crew cab or a double cab? Crew cab is the big cabin with large backseat room, while double cab is still four doors but a smaller backseat than a crew cab.

Crew cab trucks usually have the shorter 5ft 8in bed, while the double cabs usually have the standard (6.5ft) bed. However, it is possible a crew cab can have the longer 6.5ft bed, but it’s somewhat rare. If you have a picture of the truck from the dealership, you can easily tell based on where the fuel door is on the bed.

Look at where the fuel door is located in contrast with the fender lines on the bed of the truck. A standard bed will have the fuel door located between the cab/start of bed and the fender line on the bed. While a short bed will have the fuel door pushed closer to the rear wheel located on the actual rear fender. If that makes any sense, it’s a easy way to tell the difference.

Chevy 1500’s use 6 lug wheels.

movario · April 28, 2019

So this would be a Short Bed (5ft 8in) ?

Because the VIN Decoder says it`s a Standard Bed. (6.5ft)

And for the wheels, are these Keystone Alloys any good?

Edited April 28, 2019 by movario

carsonj493 · April 28, 2019

15 minutes ago, movario said:

So this would be a Short Bed (5ft 8in) ?

Because the VIN Decoder says it`s a Standard Bed. (6.5ft)

That is a standard bed (6.5ft).

movario · April 28, 2019

Thanks a lot, i searched for some pictures and now i see it to.

Anything for the wheels? As they`re only for winter, i look for a stock look on these. Will these "Keystone" or "Replikaz" do the job? I often heard bad things about replica wheels.

Wiggums · April 28, 2019

The problem with Canadian vehicles is that they don't have California emissions.

The OP said Switzerland requires California emissions so that means a sticker under the hood. Chevrolet will ask for the VIN and verify it. If the vehicle does have California emissions, Chevrolet will send it to you.

It's pretty easy to set up the American speedometer in metric but it only goes up to 140 km/h. The Mexican speedometer (all in metric) goes up to 220 km/h. The speed limit in Switzerland is 120 km/h while there is none in neighboring Germany. I've seen speed limit signs go up to 140 km/h in Germany, that would max out the speedometer.

But the Canadian version is not California-compliant. I know that the Mexican version is not either so I cannot buy it in Mexico and bring it back here.

I have looked into that because I travel to Germany very frequently and brought my cars three times. All three times, I kept my California or Baja California plates on the car so there were not many requirements - just insurance and proof the vehicle is mine.

I'm not sure about the 2019 models, but can somebody in Texas or another state confirm there is a California emissions sticker under the hood? According to California law, if there is no sticker, it CANNOT be registered.

Wiggums · April 28, 2019

20 hours ago, MikeNH said:

For lighting you may have some luck with a GM dealer in your area to see if they have lighting systems that meets European regulations as I think you may have to change the tail lamps too. US and Canadian trucks have red for both the brake lamp and the turn signal and I think European regulations say the rear turn signal needs to be amber.

That seems to be the case with UK. The American limousines are popular in London and I see ugly amber turn signals attached to them because none of the stretch limousines have amber turn signals. However, I do see quite a few American-spec trucks in Germany and Netherlands and I've never seen one with amber turn signals. I guess some are more stringent than others.

movario · April 29, 2019

Are there any factory tinted front windows, or is it always just a foil i can simply remove? Because tinted front windows are prohibited over here.

Anything about Keystone 18" Wheels? Quality?

Anything about BAK Industries TriFold Tonneau Covers?

MikeNH · April 30, 2019

11 hours ago, movario said:

Are there any factory tinted front windows, or is it always just a foil i can simply remove? Because tinted front windows are prohibited over here.

Anything about Keystone 18" Wheels? Quality?

Anything about BAK Industries TriFold Tonneau Covers?

No factory tint in the front. The dealer may have added a film (front tint is legal in some states here but not others). Rear windows the glass has the tint built in. The Bak tonneau are nice. I am not familiar with those wheels. Lots of people here just buy steel wheels for winter use.