Is it worth it to move my CX-5 to Europe?

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San Francisco
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2016 CX-5
I'm planning a move to Portugal and am wondering whether it's better to move my 2016 CX-5 or buy a new car when I get there. Anyone know whether there are differences between US and European models that would make it difficult to get the car serviced? Are there emissions and/or fuel consumption standards in Europe that would make it difficult to register a US car (I'm in CA, so it meets fairly tough standards already) or expensive to own long term? Those are my main concerns. In terms of up-front cost I know I'd lose a lot of money selling in USD and then having to buy again in euros, and then as I understand it cars are more expensive to buy in Europe even before taking the exchange rate into account.
 
I drove my canadian 2010 mazda 3 in the UK without too much issues. Regulations are different but they are global cars so they are mostly the same than the european models. I had to change front parking light from amber to white to meet UK regulations and also had to add a rear fog light.

Make sure your model and engine combination is also sold in Portugal to avoid part and maintenance problem. For example, cx-5 with a 2.5l engine may not be available over there (could only be available with the 2.0 l or a diesel version, just make sure to check first.

Getting insurance was a pain for my mazda 3 because the combination of a 2.0l mazda 3 with automatic transmission did not exist in europe. So none of the insurance companies had my specific car model listed in their database. That lead to most of the insurance quotes being through the roof.

Shipping your car from CA will also take a while, so factor that in.

If you are there for only a few years, I would potentially bring the cx-5. If you are going long term, I would buy there.
 
I'm planning a move to Portugal and am wondering whether it's better to move my 2016 CX-5 or buy a new car when I get there. Anyone know whether there are differences between US and European models that would make it difficult to get the car serviced? Are there emissions and/or fuel consumption standards in Europe that would make it difficult to register a US car (I'm in CA, so it meets fairly tough standards already) or expensive to own long term? Those are my main concerns. In terms of up-front cost I know I'd lose a lot of money selling in USD and then having to buy again in euros, and then as I understand it cars are more expensive to buy in Europe even before taking the exchange rate into account.
There’s a member here that shipped his gen-1 CX-5 to Netherlands then bought a new US gen-2 CX-5 remotely and shipped it over for a couple of years and brought the gen-2 CX-5 back when his European assignment was over. He’s with military so his car could have some privileges and exemptions for emission control standards and lighting standards (EU approved headlights、rear fog light、stand-alone front turn signals, etc.). IMO, although the car in Europe is more expensive, it’s not worth it to ship your US CX-5 to Europe with many unknowns unless you’re a military personnel.
 
I'd do some research on conversion rates, with whatever your car budget is over there, and because of registration, any government sales tax etc...Might result in a overall loss.
 
here is what I know.
Not sure about 2016 but gen-2 is almost the same body parts and they have same engine and auto trans. the engine has different compression though and ecu and infitainment is different soft. radio from usa doesnt work too.
us models have orange lamp in the side of the headlamps vs eu which doesnt have orange. US models do not have rear fog lamps in the bumper. just reflectors.
emissions are ok.
Requirements for imports (if you plan to register the car there) in most Eu is to have km on dash, headlamps if hid/led to have washers and driver lamp to not be high to blind oposite traffic, all blinkers have to be orange.
but the big but..you have to pay import duty and vat most of the time. which adds to the cost.
All that if you want to register the car in eu. if you want to drive it with US plates its different story. You can but may have to go out and in the country at certain periods.
you can order parts which are drastically different from US and ship to Eu. servicing is not a problem if you have the parts.
And if its worth it..thats up to you.
Mazdas are generally bit more expensive in EU as it is considered in the semi-lixury class there.
I have seen US Cx5s registered in Europe so it is possible.
Shipping somewehere in the 2-3k usd, may be cheaper if you are near big port. Need insurance for the shipping and the car has to be paid off - i.e no lien. And some ither papers but whoever you pick for shipping and then importing will let you know.

process is more or less:
shipping + export of usa, customs papers
import , pay whatever taxes, customs release.
local test for the specific eu country compliance,
sometimes need emissions certificate from the local Mazda office,
local registration, insurance, etc.
 
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I'm planning to move to Europe as well in the next 2 years (Hungary) and would love to take my CX5, they are crazy expensive there compared to what we paid here and are considered a luxury model.
Having said that, the lowest quote I got for moving it is $5,000 Canadian, that's from house to house. On top, I would need to change the headlights (god knows what's an adaptive headlight cost) and possibly the radio as I was told EU FM radio stations may not work with NA radios but that may be B.S. from the dealer.

I would still do all of this, if it wasn't for the price of fuel... in Hungary the average price per liter is $390HUF roughly $2.00 Canadian. With the 2.5L I would be paying a ton of money for gas alone. Diesel is still the way to go in Eastern Euroland...
 
for gen2
there is a fix for the radio (changing tuner) and yes us radio freq. is different.
the infotainment eu soft can be installed on top of the usa.
the swiveling hid lamps and normal led in North america are very very similar to eu. we dont have the eu fancy adaptive led found on very top.trim in Eu. but the washers are missing on NA models.
I can post a pic up close of the headlamp that are also in the GT level and above in usa.
 
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for gen2
there is a fix for the radio (changing tuner) and yes us radio freq. is different.
the infotainment eu soft can be installed on top of the usa.
the swiveling hid lamps and normal led in North america are very very similar to eu. we dont have the eu fancy adaptive led found on very top.trim in Eu. but the washers are missing on NA models.
I can post a pic up close of the headlamp that are also in the GT level and above in usa.
Yeah, please post a close-up on headlight lens with ECE approval mark. In US, we have DOT mark on the headlight lens.
 
If your headlights are halogen then there won’t be any issues. Only the HID requires the washer. I am not sure about LED, but i don’t think the 2016 cx-5 had LED headlights.
 
From an enthusiast point of view, I'd sell my CX-5 in a heartbeat if I were moving abroad.

Rest of the World gets so many fascinating vehicles that we can never get in the US.

I wouldn't hesitate to try out something French, reliability concerns aside...

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Or even one of those small EVs...
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Have a fun move, and don't let your existing US items restrict you - would you even need such a large vehicle in Europe?
 
for the EU gen2 headlamps

google images search for
KB8N-51041E and KB8P-51-041E

and the lower model headlamp
KB8M-51-041

if you want some other EU oe part numbers let me know. I can get gen1 or gen2 oe part numbers.
 
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for the EU gen2 headlamps

google images search for
KB8N-51041E and KB8P-51-041E

and the lower model headlamp
KB8M-51-041

if you want some other EU oe part numbers let me know. I can get gen1 or gen2 oe part numbers.
Just out of curiosity, would you mind to post Euro part numbers for gen-1 2016 CX-5 LED (without Euro ALH) headlights? TIA.
 
gen1 have so many. Halogen, Xenon HID and LED. Without a Vin there are many variations. nevertheless , here are most common of only the LED ones (left)

w/o adaptive drive beam, w/ auto levelling
KA1F-51-041C
KA1F-51-041D
KA1F-51-041G
KA1F-51-041H (last revision I think)

w/ adaptiive drive beam, w/ auto levelling
KA1L-51-041C
KA1L-51-041D
KA1L-51-041G
KA1L-51-041H
....
KA1L-51-041M (last rev.)
 
gen1 have so many. Halogen, Xenon HID and LED. Without a Vin there are many variations. nevertheless , here are most common of only the LED ones (left)

w/o adaptive drive beam, w/ auto levelling
KA1F-51-041C
KA1F-51-041D
KA1F-51-041G
KA1F-51-041H (last revision I think)

w/ adaptiive drive beam, w/ auto levelling
KA1L-51-041C
KA1L-51-041D
KA1L-51-041G
KA1L-51-041H
....
KA1L-51-041M (last rev.)
Here is part numbers and list prices on latest "J" version on 2016 CX-5 LED headlights with AFS:

UNIT(R) HEAD LAMP - MAZDA CX-5 Right with LED
KA0G-51-031J (Replaces: KA0G-51-031C, KA0G-51-031D, KA0G-51-031G, KA0G-51-031H, KA0G-51-031)
List Price: $1,059.36

UNIT(L) HEAD LAMP - MAZDA CX-5 Left with LED
KA0G-51-041J (Replaces: KA0G-51-041C, KA0G-51-041D, KA0G-51-041G, KA0G-51-041H, KA0G-51-041)
List Price: $1,048.88

So looks like the gen-1 2016 LED headlights are different between US and European CX-5’s.
 
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