PVerspeek Posted September 12, 2003 Report Share Posted September 12, 2003 Hi guys / girls ? I've registered today on this forum. Let me introduce myself a little before we start. I'm Pascal, 27 years old, living in Antwerp, Belgium, Europe. Current drive is a 2001 BMW. I'm thinking of buying a new car, and after several investigations, I came up with Chevy. First of all, GM Belgium only officialy imports Corvette, Tahoe, Transport and TrailBlazer. Cars with a big engine like those are very expensive concerning taxes. So we had to figure out a way around, to avoid the taxes. That's possible when registering the car as a goods carrier, and not as a persons carrier. But this is still legal with 5-persons seatings available. Now the Tahoe's cargo floor is still to small, to get a 100% taxfree result. Only possibility is Suburban, or a truck, who is, by nature created to carry goods. But no cars like that available by GM dealership offcourse. So I came up with a company who imports cars from the States to Belgium, and sells them. I saw the guy yesterday, and after 3 hours of talking, he convinced me, that there are more possibilities for me, then just the Tahoe. Because I also drive a CBR FireBlade (Sports motorcycle) he suggested in getting a bit more sporty ride. And so we ended up with the Silverado SS. I have been searching all possible information today on the internet, and also came up with your site here. But I still have a lot of questions, as nobody can answer me directly overhere, as, if I would buy the car, I would be the one and only in Belgium with a car like that. So that the beginning of my story. questions: is the car really that good? what are the minor parts? where should I pay attention for? Are there options that I should get, or forget for ever? The guy already told me, that I should have an extra oil cooler installed for engine and gearbox. Are there any brochures available? The guy explained me that he will buy the car at a dealership in the states, import it to Belgium, and prepares it for Belgian Road use... seems ok to me, but I don't really have any idea. So, please inform me. I'm willing to spend the money. I still have to get comfortable with the idea I could be driving a truck suddenly. How's the handling? Belgium has lots of small streets. In fact, you drive from border to border in less then 2 hours, that small.. ;) Well, I will follow up this topic a lot. When getting convinced, you'll be speeking to a Belgian happy SS owner... Thanks a lot guys Pascal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rico750sxi Posted September 12, 2003 Report Share Posted September 12, 2003 Truck is a good running truck but it is a truck. Everyone seems to be turning mid to low 15 second 1/4 mile times. It already has an external trnasmission cooler and if you get the heavy duty towing package it comes with an engine oil cooler also. Many people are doing your typical mods with good results. What I mean is typical are Intake kits(K&N, Volant, UPD), exhausts and headers, computer tuning(Westers is popular, DiabloSPort, SPE Proflash, and Superchips are other options), lowering 2"(there is one kit form GroundForce available otherwise make your own by turning the front torsion bars and shacles in the rear), and various exterior mods(wheels, Bed covers, etc.). You have all the inforamtion you need at his site, spend some time browsing. It is a great site and anyone here will help you out answering questions. Good luck on your decision!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rico750sxi Posted September 12, 2003 Report Share Posted September 12, 2003 Forgot to add that we have a few people here that are Supercharged too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcairns Posted September 12, 2003 Report Share Posted September 12, 2003 Yeah, but with the supercharger, he would be at the other end of Belgium before the engine even gets warmed up. One thing you probably ought to think carefully about, is the size of the truck and the size of the available roads. This is a full size truck and is probably 50% wider than most of those little cars that seem to be common in Europe. There is also parking to worry about. Have you looked at the GMC Denali ? It has the Quadrasteer that would make parking in tight spaces easier. Not as sporty as the SS, but might be a better choice for you, depending on your needs. If you can afford all the import stuff, you probably are not concerned about the fuel costs. I seem to recall Europe has gas prices about twice what we pay (gotta love all those taxes ). I am guessing the OnStar and XM options would be useless in Europe as well. I seem to recall those services are US only. And by the way, welcome Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creaker Posted September 12, 2003 Report Share Posted September 12, 2003 I am guessing the OnStar and XM options would be useless in Europe as well. I seem to recall those services are US only. XM is definitely not available in Europe, but I think GM does have an OnStar Europe service (however it probably requires different hardware). Steer clear of both these options. Some other options: 1) ENGINE HEATER: Engine block heater (K05) 2) HVAC SYSTEM Air conditioning, dual-zone, automatic, individual climate settings for driver and right front passenger (CJ2) 3) TRAILER PROVISIONS (get this!) Trailering equipment, heavy-duty, includes trailering hitch platform, 7-wire harness (harness includes wires for: park lamps, backup lamps, right turn, left turn, electric brake lead, battery and ground) with independent fused trailering circuits mated to a 7-way sealed connector, 7-way to 4-way trailer adapter, instrument panel jumper wiring harness for electric trailer brake controller, and 1-way sealed connector for center high-mounted stop/brake lamp. Also includes (K47) Air cleaner, high capacity. (Z82) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capriceowner Posted September 12, 2003 Report Share Posted September 12, 2003 Hello everybody... @PVerspeek The guy explained me that he will buy the car at a dealership in the states, import it to Belgium, and prepares it for Belgian Road use... I suggest you import the car by yourself. I live in Switzerland and my father imported a 89' Chevrolet Blazer (the Full-Size Version before name change) to Switzerland. There are many US-Exporteurs who do their Job very well. You should phone them to the US and talk about the prices available there. The reasen I suggest that is the pricing in Europe. Many dealers in Europe think about the people who buys american cars, that they are very rich and can spend a lot of money for a US-Car. So its smarter to import by yourself. The US-Dealers can make you a offer with shipping and taxes unclusive. You only have to give them your wished destination. For about 6 months my family wanted to buy a Silverado and we were writing the US-Dealer an Email with the type. He returned us an offer per Email with the costs including transport from the States to Zurich (Switzerland) via Rotterdam (Netherlands). So you can save a lot of money, about 10'000 Swiss Francs it was at the time we get the last offer in comparison with "official" dealers here in Switzerland. And don't think about the warnings concerning the preparings for your roaduse. The US-Cars are already very well prepared and all you need is a garage who changes the minor things to demostrate the car. It's worth thinking about that, trust me... I drive a 79' Chevy Caprice here in Switzerland an my father finally drives a 96' Chevy Tahoe. We know a dealer who demonstrates many US-Cars every week to the officials. For your Information: A 03' Silverado SS officially (GM-Website) pricing is 40'195$ that are almost 60'000 Swiss Francs. Here in Switzerland the official Importers from Chevy Trucks sells this 03' SS for 70'900 Swiss Francs that are 47'267 US-Dollars. Now if you get some rebates in the States you can save a lot of money getting your this Truck. Rebates you never get if you import it over an official dealer. I think here in Europe they all are stealing the money from people who wants to buy such a truck. Here the Link to the SS selled in Switzerland (with Pictures) So, please sorry my bad English, I hope the message is clear... I wish I can afford an SS any day... if would had the money I would order it today... *sniiiif* Greetings SPEEDCAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creaker Posted September 12, 2003 Report Share Posted September 12, 2003 So, please sorry my bad English, I hope the message is clear... I wish I can afford an SS any day... if would had the money I would order it today... *sniiiif* Your message is very clear. Wow! Seeing any SS in Switzerland would be a rare treat. I noticed "schwarz" in the description - nice to see they made the right choice on color! I think I may have seen two (count them) extended cab pickup trucks there. And one of those was a big Dodge commercial vehicle. Granted I've only been there for a couple months total, but a friend who lived there for three years said he may have seen a handful of trucks in his time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawk Posted September 12, 2003 Report Share Posted September 12, 2003 So, please sorry my bad English, I hope the message is clear... I wish I can afford an SS any day... if would had the money I would order it today... *sniiiif* Hey your English is pretty good! Have you ever lived in the U.S.?? I wish I could speak fluently in another language; well I do speak fluent “spanglish”… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PVerspeek Posted September 14, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2003 Well, thank you guys for this information. I will start looking for more details. Found out yesterday that a good friend is also looking for a Suburban or something like that. But he was very interested in a Chevy. So that makes 2 of us... I went to another dealership yesterday in Antwerp, and they said they only sell official imported GM cars. So no Silverado via them. @Capriceowner: Can you get me more information about this garage in the States where you had contact with? Pascal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capriceowner Posted September 14, 2003 Report Share Posted September 14, 2003 @Capriceowner: Can you get me more information about this garage in the States where you had contact with? yes no problem, I'm searching already... I put the name and URL into this thread as soon as I found it... Hey your English is pretty good! Have you ever lived in the U.S.?? Nope, I never lived there I was only once for 2 weeks there for vacation. I wish I can emigrate in the future. I learned my English in the school. I think I may have seen two (count them) extended cab pickup trucks there. And one of those was a big Dodge commercial vehicle. Granted I've only been there for a couple months total, but a friend who lived there for three years said he may have seen a handful of trucks in his time. Yeah there are not many US-Trucks in Switzerland. Mostly the buy Toyota-Trucks or other Japanese-Trucks because of the costs. Japanese-Trucks are much cheaper than US-Trucks. And the Japanese-Trucks you can get from every Toyota-Dealer but the US-Trucks you can only get by importing it. Many people won't to import Cars because of the guaranty, pricing and such things... And most of the imported US-Trucks are Dodges. Don't ask me why but I think it's because of their design. They were the first with this "nose" design and the people here liked that... Greetings, SPEEDCAT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawk Posted September 14, 2003 Report Share Posted September 14, 2003 And most of the imported US-Trucks are Dodges. Don't ask me why but I think it's because of their design. They were the first with this "nose" design and the people here liked that... So that’s were all of the dog i mean Dodge trucks go, Switzerland! Well they don’t sell here so someone has to buy them… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capriceowner Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 Hello again... I finally found the Link. But don't be disappointed from the website, just send them a email with your wishes... http://www.autoxportusa.com/ Have fun, the last time I mailed them I was very pleased with their answer/offer. Greetings Speedcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Git_Sum Posted September 20, 2003 Report Share Posted September 20, 2003 Hello. I used to live just outside Antwerp myself. ;) Braaschaat to be exact. ;) The AWD will definately be worth it on the cobblestone streets...........especially if they are wet........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PVerspeek Posted January 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 Hi Guys, I've been very busy with my business lately, so didn't find much time to do anything on the SS information. Today I started reading everything again after making some calculations yesterday. Indeed it will be way more interesting to import it ourselves. Would save me more then 15.000 Euro's. I will contact the export people in the link you provided me this evening, as I my mail doesn't work right now. I also noticed on the forum that a 2005 model will be coming out. Because I've planned the switch of my cars during fall 2004, that would be great. Last thing, my girlfriend is also convinced, so there is definetily an SS coming towards Belgium. Now it's just a matter of finding the best sollution. I've also already found some people who can help me in registering / controlling the car etc, to get a license plate. So yeah guys, the story continues... SS comes to Europe... Greetzz P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PVerspeek Posted January 22, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 Hello. I used to live just outside Antwerp myself. ;) Braaschaat to be exact. ;) The AWD will definately be worth it on the cobblestone streets...........especially if they are wet........ Hi Git-Sum, I'm just living on the other side, Beveren (Waasland) to be exactly. do you have any experience in Importing cars ? Or just Chevy's ? or whatever? Groet Pascal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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