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What should you watch out for when converting to right-hand drive / left-hand drive?

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Recently updated on December 31, 2021 at 09:20 am

What should you watch out for when converting to right-hand drive / left-hand drive?

Anyone who, for whatever reason, owns a right-hand drive in this country may sooner or later consider converting the vehicle to a left-hand drive. Such a conversion could make sense, especially with a rare classic or a very cheaply imported vehicle. Before undertaking such a complex conversion, however, a few important and fundamental things should be observed.

Check whether a conversion is possible

What should you watch out for when converting to right-hand drive / left-hand drive?

The automobile manufacturers actually all have right-hand and left-hand drive vehicles in their range. No wonder, because many vehicles from German automobile manufacturers, such as BMW, enjoy great popularity and demand, especially in England and Japan. On the other hand, car models from Toyota and Lexus are also very popular and in demand in Germany. However, there are also one or two exceptions in the vehicle trade. This comes into effect especially for older vehicles from Great Britain.

Tip: Bought a left-hand drive? It is important to pay attention to this during admission!

Because, for example, the well-known Nissan Skyline is only available in one version. So it is by no means possible to say in general that there is a right-hand and left-hand drive version of every type. If you want to buy a right-hand drive, you should check carefully in advance whether a conversion to a left-hand drive is even possible. If this is not the case, a custom-made product would probably be the last resort. However, this is also associated with very high costs.

Is it worth the financial effort?

What should you watch out for when converting to right-hand drive / left-hand drive?

First and foremost, of course, it depends on your own wallet, the vehicle and the technical know-how. It is important to know that all the necessary spare parts must be imported. In addition, of course, there are high costs for the conversion, i.e. the work itself. As a layperson, such conversion work on a vehicle cannot actually be carried out. The help of a professional workshop is therefore necessary.

These parts are usually needed:

What should you watch out for when converting to right-hand drive / left-hand drive?

  1. dashboard
  2. Transmission
  3. pedals
  4. handlebars
  5. side panels
  6. Front
  7. Hoses and cables

If it is an automatic transmission, it can usually still be used in the event of a conversion and does not have to be replaced. In theory, manual gearshift can also be left as it is. It should then only be considered that the gears must be engaged in mirror image. So there are a lot of things to consider. Before thinking about the conversion, it should be checked whether all the necessary replacement conversion parts for the respective vehicle are available. A visit to a specialist workshop or the popular online exchanges is definitely recommended.

What are the costs for the conversion?

In general, this question is not easy to answer. The cost of converting from a right-hand drive to a left-hand drive vehicle or vice versa depends on many different factors. Conversion is usually not a problem for older vehicles. Here, however, vehicle owners have to reckon with costs of up to 6.000 euros. If it is a newer vehicle, the conversion is sometimes much more difficult. One of the main reasons is that current vehicles tend to have a lack of space in the engine compartment. Moving the handlebars is usually the biggest problem here. In addition, of course, components such as various sensors, control units and fan motors have to be relocated. When converting from a right-hand drive to a left-hand drive or vice versa, an extremely large number of parts usually have to be exchanged and sometimes new positions have to be sought. The exact prices are difficult to determine. In addition, the testing organization must give its consent after the renovation. In some cases, such a conversion conceals high costs and an enormous amount of work and time.

What should you watch out for when converting to right-hand drive / left-hand drive?

We hope that you have read the info report on the topic / term Right-hand drive conversion, left-hand drive conversion (Further designations / keywords: right-hand drive, left-hand drive, RHD conversion, LHD conversion, right-hand drive conversion, left-hand drive conversion, steering wheel conversion (right / left), re-handlebar conversion, Li-handlebar conversion) from the field of autotuning. Our goal is that the largest German-language tuning dictionary (Tuning Wikipedia) and to explain tuning terms from A to Z easily and understandably. Almost every day we expand this lexicon and how far we are, you can HERE see. Soon the next one will be Tuning scene concept be illuminated by us. By the way, you will be informed about new topics if you have ours Feed subscribed. With an expensive classic / a one-off, it might make sense, with a common vehicle from the current era, it is certainly senseless.

What should you watch out for when converting to right-hand drive / left-hand drive?

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What should you watch out for when converting to right-hand drive / left-hand drive?

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About Thomas Wachsmuth

Thomas Wachsmuth - He has been an integral part of tuningblog.eu since 2013. His passion for cars is so intense that he invests every available penny in them. While he dreams of a BMW E31 850CSI and a Hennessey 6x6 Ford F-150, he currently drives a rather inconspicuous BMW 540i (G31/LCI). His collection of books, magazines and brochures on the subject of car tuning has now reached such proportions that he himself has become a walking reference work for the tuning scene.  More about Thomas

6 comments

  1. "In theory, manual gearshift can also be left as it is. It should then only be considered that the gears must be engaged in mirror image. "

    Either I didn't understand what the author meant, or the author has gained their knowledge of mechanics from a box of cereals. I drove cars in both Canada and Australia, and as far as I can tell, the first gear is always on the top left, no matter what side the steering wheel is.

    • This is a Fiat 500x with a guide to the model, automatic from 2018.
      Mi be sembrato positivo. Sai a chi potrei chiedere un preventivo?
      Thanks for your suggestions.

      • Qualcuno conosce qualche officially che fa queste conversioni and poi deve essere fatto un collaudo alla motorizzazione?

  2. Simone Bramati

    Ho anche io piu' o meno lo stesso problema solo all'opposto , vorrei cambiare la guida della mia Velar da sinistra a destra perche' mi trasferisco in Sud Africa e li le auto come la mia costano di piu' ma se devo spendere piu' di 6000 euro non penso di andare avanti la vendero' e ne comprero' una giu' appunto , se qualcuno mi indica dove posso chiedere mi farebbe una cortesia.

  3. algun taller specially designed in Spain for Mercedes?

  4. COSA BISOGNA TENERE IN CONSIDERAZIONE PER L'IMMATRICOLAZIONE DI UN VEICOLO CHE ABBIAMO CAMBIATO LA GUIDA DA DESTRA A SINISTRA IN ITALY.
    SI PUÒ FARE SU QUALSIASI VEICOLO?
    DEVI AVERE UN PERMESSO SPECIAL?
    DEVE ANCHE OMOLOGARE OGNI PEZZO CHE VIENE MONTATO?
    THANK YOU

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