General Need help want a fiat 126 in USA

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General Need help want a fiat 126 in USA

Dtmbacon88

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I know that the car was never available in the united states but i've seen a few pop up every now and then. does anyone on this forum have a fiat they imported to the states or have any info that could help me in my search for one of these cars. I know there are many for sale in Poland but i am just confused on if the car would be old enough where I an just import it. Or if anyone knows fiat shops or anyone that might have one. Any help would be appreciated.(y)
 
I brought my Lada Niva in from Canada as a parts car, just a thought, check in Canada to see if any are up there.
 
I think Poland is your best bet. There are thousands there and historically they have all been kept runnning because of availability (or lack of )of new cars . However they will not be around forever.
Secondhand German cars flood into Poland and as affluence increases, then the smaller, older cars are disappearing, and folks are starting to buy new cars.
 
It would cost a fortune to import a Niki from Poland I think. Australia has very strict customs laws too they try and make you jump through hoops before you can get something in. Not sure what its like in the USA.
 
Trust me, you do NOT want to do this.

You would have to have the car modified to meet all USDOT safety regs and all USEPA emissions laws that were in effect for the year it was built in. That likely will include replacing all the glass.

Even if you could find someone who could do this and had the money to make it happen, where you buy parts for it when necessary? The 126 wasn't sold in the USA and no one has any parts for it there.

Even if the car is a 1967 or earlier model (easier to convert because there were fewer rules to follow back then), You'll still end up later wishing you hadn't gone through the bother. If the car had a collector's following or was otherwise in demand in the USA, that's one thing but it's not the case here.
 
which color would you like? :D

If you buy it in Poland and it's yours you can drive it as long, as it has Polish technical check-up (one year), what happens next- I don't know.
 
Hey, not too sound rude, but half these guys dont even live in the US. Your biggest potential problem is finding a mechanic, the parts are cake. you can buy anything off ebay. I have three Fiats, and i am a big fan of european cars. i have a fiat x1/9, and fiat 500l 69'.

there are no emissions testing in US, since the car is older than 20years, old. you just simply have to pass the inspection, inwhich the mechanic determines if the engine is strong and if everything is working ok.
 
I own a 1973 FIAT 126, oddly enough, I bought in Germany, took it to Japan, now it's in California. The parts are easy to find, and the car is easy to work on. Finding one for sale though, that would be tough.
 
If you should buy one I would recomend that you bought a serie 1 and make sure it is an Italian made one, as they are much rarer than the Polish one! Buy one directly from Italia, you can Get one there in rather good shape for around 3000€. A mint one will cost you about 5-6000€! I bought mine from Sweden in acceptable shape, with plates and fresh MOT for about 1200€. For me it was no problem to import it in to Norway, I just pater tax and checked it in on "goods to declare" when I arrived at the border:) So the next challenge is to Get it through norwegian MOT before putting new licence plates on it:) My car is a 1975 series 1, Italian made with sunroof(y) Hopefully I will have it ready for the big 500/126 meeting in northern Germany in late July:slayer:
 
I have 126 in Miami .Cost me about 10 G to bring from Poland .It is a lot of fun.Runs very good .Ease to fix .Plenty of parts from MRFIAT.com.I can use same contacts to bring one for You.
 
I am in the process of bringing one to the USA. Total cost would be less then $5 000

Car has to be 25 years old to skip all the NHTSA, DOT and EPA regulations.

Fiatito, Wojtek, can you tell me more about your Fiats? Do you have pictures/video of your cars?
 
Hello, new to the forum, found someone inquiring about wanting a 126. I'm in Pensacola, Florida, and I'm looking to sell mine (1983) for $5000. The interior was completely redone with pretty leather and the engine and transmission are in excellent condition. The engine was rebuilt from the ground up in 2011. I brought it home from Italy. She's been good to me, but it's time for me to move on to, sadly, something a little bigger.

It is completely American registered in the state of Florida with plates and everything. I still even have the registration paperwork from the shipping.
 
Hello, new to the forum, found someone inquiring about wanting a 126. I'm in Pensacola, Florida, and I'm looking to sell mine (1983) for $5000. The interior was completely redone with pretty leather and the engine and transmission are in excellent condition. The engine was rebuilt from the ground up in 2011. I brought it home from Italy. She's been good to me, but it's time for me to move on to, sadly, something a little bigger.

It is completely American registered in the state of Florida with plates and everything. I still even have the registration paperwork from the shipping.

Great car! There is another 126p for sale on ebay now, but is more expensive and not as nice as yours. Someone recently offered me 7000 US$ for mine, so I thing 5K is a very good price for that car.

BTW I'm not selling mine, I drive it every day. :D
 
If you pointed that inquiry my way I would certainly appreciate it :D. I'd take 7 grand for mine. I'd be okay with anything over 5k being a finders fee...:idea::D
 
If you pointed that inquiry my way I would certainly appreciate it :D. I'd take 7 grand for mine. I'd be okay with anything over 5k being a finders fee...:idea::D

I'd be glad to do it, however I have no idea how to find that guy now. I met him at auto parts store and he told me he is a shop owner and love to have a car like that as an advertisement for his business.

Did you try to offer it at your local Fiat dealer? Maybe they will buy it, if you explain that it is "the original 500 Nuova after face lifting", or great grandfather of present day 500. (126 was replaced by Cinquecento, which was replaced by Seicento, and next was the new 500).

Are you going to sell it in other places, on ebay, cars.com, autotrader.com etc? I'd love to buy that car from you, but it is hard to explain to my wife I need two. :D

How is the body of that car? Any rust? Fiats are known for poor panels, however some of them are holding very well. Mine is rust free. Yours is importet from Italy, so very likely didn't see harsh winters.

I would also advertise it in Polish radio/newspapers. Nor only in Chicago and New York. There is a lot of Poles living in Fla, especially near St Petersburg area and I'm sure they have in Florida their own radio programs and some Polish language magazines or websites. Some of wealthy, nostalgic Polish (or Italian) baby boomers gladly would buy car like that.

And this is mine 126p:

 
The Fiat dealership here offered me a thousand. They won't be getting my business after that. They even used it in an advertisement. The car was rust free when I purchased it initially but the boat ride across the pond put a little surface corrosion on it, nothing major. I can't get the new paint job so I'm pretty much keeping it the way it is right now until it's sold or I can afford to paint it. I was probably going to put it on ebay at some point.

I have no earthly idea how to market it directly at the Polish-Americans or Italian-Americans outside of Craigslist NYC.

Your Maluch (Polish nickname for the 126) looks great! (y) My insurance won't let me use it as a daily driver but I take it in once in a while. Mine used to have those bumpers but I bought the chrome ones the older 126s had. It's great to see more out there.
 
I have no earthly idea how to market it directly at the Polish-Americans or Italian-Americans outside of Craigslist NYC.

I will do a video about your car and the other one. My channel on YT is in Polish and is quite popular. Usually about a week after publishing new video I have few thousand viewers. Most of them are in Poland, but I have also viewers in the USA. Who knows, maybe someone will be interested in it. Also check the http://bringatrailer.com/ website. It may help.
 
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