Costs to import a used car into the UK from the US?

[AMG Merc]

Apologies if this has been done to death before but I need guidance on importing from the US. The motor will be LHD between 15-50 years old so no IVA as I understand. What I need to know is all the charges I should budget for to land and drive a car in the UK. Thanks.

[vaughan watkins]

Im sure others will chip in with better more upto date costs but a few years back it used to roughly work out the cost in dollars would end up translating into cost in pounds, so a $20,000.00 car would end up a £20,000.00 car, this was roll on roll off so would be a bit more if in a container. Like I say this is going back a few years and was the rule of thumb, may be a little different now but as above others will chip in with more upto date info.

[Silver C6]

Is it a Corvette? If so, always worth joining the CCCUK.

http://www.corvetteclub.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=146...

[AMG Merc]

Silver C6 said:

Is it a Corvette? If so, always worth joining the CCCUK.

http://www.corvetteclub.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=146...

Thanks but no, I posted here as someone mentioned a few had imported cars from the US.

[Gixer]

cost of car + cost of shipping (1-2K) + insurance x 10%. thats your Duty taken care of, now X that total by 20% for your VAT (yes, you pay Vat on the Duty, great eh?). Add on some dock handling fees (few hundred) , paying someone to do the light conversion (unless youre doing them) and you pretty much there.

[AMG Merc]

Gixer said:

cost of car + cost of shipping (1-2K) + insurance x 10%. thats your Duty taken care of, now X that total by 20% for your VAT (yes, you pay Vat on the Duty, great eh?). Add on some dock handling fees (few hundred) , paying someone to do the light conversion (unless youre doing them) and you pretty much there.

Great, thanks. I thought a bit more for the shipping, insurance seems high (but I suppose you're covering a potential total loss) and I thought I'd heard 30% on top so better than I'd calculated.

So, how do I know if a car is legal to drive in the UK? Apart from the lights being a LHD, do I need to prove anything or pass any inspections? FYI, I'm looking at a 1960s Porsche 356 or a Ferrari 355 at the moment.

[Gixer]

If its an old classic I think you skip the duty and maybe pay less tax. You will need to check up on the gov website for the age of the vehicle to save on the tax.

Shipping would either be putting it in a container or using roll on roll off. Pricing will be quite different. Its also going to depend where its going to and from. Also, where in the US are you looking to buy from? Its a large place so getting it to the docks to ship is something to think about. Its been 3 or so years since I was looking to ship a car over so prices may have changed. If you decide to insure, check the policy your using. Somebody was telling me recently that they didnt bother as if the car went missing it didnt cover it anyway.

Im sure this was discused on here not that long ago and somebody posted a useful link to the HMRC site.

Also duties, taxes etc are calculated to the rate the gov are using on that day, not the rate you got when you bought the car. Again, they publish the rates on their website

Edited by Gixer on Wednesday 9th July 18:49

[AMG Merc]

Gixer said:

If its an old classic I think you skip the duty and maybe pay less tax. You will need to check up on the gov website for the age of the vehicle to save on the tax.

Shipping would either be putting it in a container or using roll on roll off. Pricing will be quite different. Its also going to depend where its going to and from. Also, where in the US are you looking to buy from? Its a large place so getting it to the docks to ship is something to think about. Its been 3 or so years since I was looking to ship a car over so prices may have changed. If you decide to insure, check the policy your using. Somebody was telling me recently that they didnt bother as if the car went missing it didnt cover it anyway.

Im sure this was discused on here not that long ago and somebody posted a useful link to the HMRC site.

Also duties, taxes etc are calculated to the rate the gov are using on that day, not the rate you got when you bought the car. Again, they publish the rates on their website

Edited by Gixer on Wednesday 9th July 18:49

OK, thanks. The seller will sort the shipping/insurance as part of the shipping fee - apparently they ship globally/to to Europe often.

[Martin_M]

I'm just back from Vegas and I now really wish I could afford a corvette! Some of them are stunning!

The base model seems to cost around £30k or $51k but when I look at the UK companies who import they want £60k + Is there any way to get a new one for anywhere near this price?

[roughrider]

Martin_M said:

I'm just back from Vegas and I now really wish I could afford a corvette! Some of them are stunning!

The base model seems to cost around £30k or $51k but when I look at the UK companies who import they want £60k + Is there any way to get a new one for anywhere near this price?

Very doubtful! Shipping, plus Duty, plus VAT [on shipping,duty and cost of vehicle], all add up to around 35-40% on top of purchase price in USA. Then you've got to IVA it, more ££££'s....
You've REALLY got to want one......................

[Martin_M]

roughrider said:

Very doubtful! Shipping, plus Duty, plus VAT [on shipping,duty and cost of vehicle], all add up to around 35-40% on top of purchase price in USA. Then you've got to IVA it, more ££££'s....
You've REALLY got to want one......................

Gotya - ahh well, didn't win big in Vegas so back to the drawing board lol