Advice on shipping car from USA to Croatia?

[lulu]

Hi all,

My husband and I are on the fence regarding bringing our 2010 CR-V with us and feedback or experiences of others would be appreciated.

The pros:

• We own the car
• We can ship some belongings inside of it

The cons:

• A CR-V is a behemoth compared to most European cars
• We'd have to modify it for EU use
• Tracking down information on bringing US cars in the EU or Croatia has been challenging thus far (more of an observation than a con)

Any advice for us? I've read throw many posts on this forum and elsewhere but they all seem to be more relevant to the UK or EU. I'm looking for the following type of information:

• Do we need to have our car-related paperwork completed in advance of it arriving in HR? We're aware we need an Int'l Driver's license, proof of ownership and pink slip
• In regards to registering the car in Croatia and obtaining a license plate--where is this typically done and what is the timeframe in which we have to do so?
• In terms of insurance--I assume we need some type of international auto insurance but at what point can we apply for EU/Croatian auto insurance?
• Where are the modifications usually done? I.E., can we just take our car to a Honda dealership or are there state-recognized mechanics?

Thanks in advance for reading and any information is greatly appreciated!

[lulu]

I did a bit more sleuthing and found this thread which brings up great points related to the info I'm looking for.

www.fodors.com/community/europe/an-american-car-in-croatia.cfm

[Ribaric]

Don't do it. Modifications include most or all of the exterior lighting and the windshield. The speedo must show kph and they don't have the emissions information to compare to under test. I love a V8 and drove them for years in the UK, when I investigated bring one to HR it soon became clear it is a bad idea. HAK usually take the view that vehicles not homologated for the EU market cannot be registered. The fact that your CRV is probably near identical to a Japanese/European version make little difference, The VIN and chassis numbers will not appear on the EU homologation list and they'll give it back to you un-registered.

There are American cars here, mostly old models which were registered years ago or were given registration via the old boys' network. Occasionally, a returning US embassy staffer will attempt to sell a US car registered before leaving. There are dozens of garages here containing Tahoes, Suburbans, Explorers and the like, none of which can be registered.

Sorry, like me, you'll have to put up with a small motored under-powered car with extra hard suspension so it can get round European bendy roads without slowing down too much. I'd much prefer a soft-suspended quiet V6 cruiser but no :-(