I took my 2010 Prius with me when I moved to Europe. This means that the GPS no longer works due to incompatibility of the hardware system of Prius models made for the North American market. Does anyone know of an adaptation that makes the GPS work in Europe (short of replacing the GPS system which is prohibitively costly)?
I know it's not what you want to hear but....... Buy a stand along GPS designed for Europe. I think the problem might really be just with the map. If you know what company actually supplies the maps you might inquire with them directly. I assume that you have checked with more than one Toyota dealer near your present location ??
I don't believe it is a hardware problem. As long as the GPS unit can receive signals from enough satellites it will calculate a position. The problem is that you sailed off the edge of the map. Before spending a lot on a Toyota DVD I'd buy a Garmin with European maps and save some money.
Make friends with a local Prius owner. At minimum you can test their map disk in your unit before spending the $$ on a disk. A really good friend 'might' make you a copy.
I don't know about Europe but living in China a car has a 100-300% tax. Percentage depends on a lot of things like number of cylinders and foreign or domestic made. Price also raises bested on standard marketing, for example. Since all Asian men have, particularly Chinese men, a Napoleon complex, the Jeep Wrangler, a relatively cheap vehicle in the US, has a sale price of over $100,000 for a small engine base model that might cost $30,000 in the US. Just because it makes them feel more manly. Everything is about looks in China. So they are running around with nice Mercedes but small engines a lot of the times. Shipping the car itself is very cheap, about $3,000. I never did but almost did for a friend in Thailand. Even if you import into China you have to pay the taxes. BUT, Chinese law says that your business can import one car for the business tax free. Even if the business is a WFOE, Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise. That shipping container will save you lots of money in taxes. A supplier I work with just imported his suv from the states.
If the car is a personal import and you're staying here more than about 18/24 months, then there is no import duty to pay. If you're importing the car for a short trip then fine, but you can't legally sell it - nobody will buy a car on US registration plates without proof the duty has been paid, and if you're importing the car as a business then yes you will pay duty of around 10%.
