I purchased a cheap Canadian HID retrofit kit off of ebay for my 97' BMW 528i. They sent me the wrong wiring harness and because I want a refund they are charging a re-stocking fee.
I read in this forum’s FAQ that importing HID kits into the U.S. is illegal. Can somebody tell me what statute or law that statement is in reference to. Xenon Depot adamantly denies it is illegal. I was never warned about this law before I bought the kit and hopefully I can use the law to get them to give me a complete refund and stop selling junk to others.
Also, Xenon Depot requires users to “re-base” bulbs. Is that illegal as well?
i don't remember the regulation number perhaps herman or mr108 could chime in...
but under the highway traffic act, it states that the same type of bulb must be used in replacement for the OEM ones. so, filament bulbs for filament bulbs. in this case, replacing the filament bulb for hid (which does not have filament) is against regulation. furthermore, with make crappy halogen headlamps out there on the road, sticking hid into them would magnify that in glare to other drivers. so this would post a danger to other users on the road.
i've done the hid conversion kit, even with belly shield mod to reduce glare. i'm very glad this forum and others exist, and learnt from them. else alot of users would flood the roads with hid conversion kit due to ignorance.
Xenon depot is among the better kits out there. But then again a kit is a kit... It will never be close to any OEM headlight. Technically, a HID kit can be made to last 10-15 years, but cost would be so high that nooone would buy it. The price gap up to a complete OEM made HID headlight would not be very big.
There are tons of things passing the border that is illegal to import/export, customs catches so little of it, in most cases all customs see is the paperwork. It would not surprise me if u could import car parts as soap as an example...and noone would notice... This may lead people to think that importing hid kits is legal.. I don't know... I am not lawyer, not an importer/exporter... I just have common sense... and writing faq based on trusted sources.
This message has been edited by herman_sho on Jan 18, 2005 1:02 PM This message has been edited by herman_sho on Jan 16, 2005 9:29 AM
i totally agree with herman on the customs thing. just last friday, my workplace received a large crate of a new grinding machine from italy. the crate was untouched! we import quite a few equipment from germany as well, like my 2 new toys (2 CARAT/ABB grinding cell robots). again the crates were untouched. dang i could even be importing drugs and say there were equipment for production and still be OK. not that i would... but it makes me think twice about the security. o_O
The party receiving the imported part is the importer.
January 18 2005, 7:32 AM
The violation is the importation of non-complying lamps. As such, the person who receives the item is violating U.S. law. The parting shipping to the U.S. is not the violator. Thus, you may not have any leverage at getting a replacement.
No, not necessarily. Most taillamps have a rear facing red plastic reflector as part of the lens. Some taillamps on certain models of GM, Toyota and Mazda and others have the red rear reflex reflector mounted elsewhere.
Some taillamps have a red side-facing reflex reflector, also. Sometimes it is mounted separately on the side of the vehicle.
If your OEM taillamp (or front corner lamp) has one or more reflex reflectors in them, so must the replacement lamp. And the reflex reflector must be the same color as the original, especially, not clear.
With all that said, the replacement taillamp may have a clear lens, as long as the lamp assemply complies with all applicble federal motor vehicle safety standards. This means that the intensity and color of light emitted be a required one, and that the lamp meet a host of environmental testing, and have the functions in essentially the same hozontal location, and all the other aspects imposed on the OEM design.
