Importing a Caterham from the Isle of Man

[Stevie_P]

I'm looking at potentially importing a Caterham from the Isle of Man.

I believe the car was not fully factory built but a modular build (I believe using all new parts).

I'm guessing I'd probably have to get it IVA tested?
Anything else I need to look out for? Cert of Conformity / Import Taxes?

Any info would be much appreciated.

Thanks

[chazsnell]

Hi there

I did exactly this around 18 months ago - Although my car went straight onto Manx plates from new it was built in the UK and was SVA'd

When I started looking into it the DVLA were not very helpful at all - They just said it needed to be IVA'd (not an option as it would never pass)

In the end I spoke to the Manx transport people and they were fantastic - They managed to locate the SVA number - With that the DVLA said because it hadn't been registered on UK plates after xx months/years of the test it would need to be redone (not an option) - Went back to Manx transport people and they managed to get me though to a really nice bloke in the UK - That one phone call sorted everything out - Had it MOT'd and walked into my local DVLA branch and walked out 15 mins later with a UK registration!

Two things: Check if it's been IVA / SVA'd (the number is on the cars documents but not obvious) - If not you'll need to register it as a new car and go through all the procedures for that - May be worth speaking to Caterham and see if they can push it through this procedure for you - I've heard it's not worth doing it yourself as there's so many things that can stop it going through...

Hope this helps - If you need any more info please get in touch...

Cheers

[Stevie_P]

Hi Chaz
Thanks for the reply. Sounds like it could be a nightmare.
I'm trying to find out if was ever IVA'd in the UK though I suspect not.
I know it was a modular build so not factory.
Information does seem pretty sketchy when bringing in from the IOM.
O Well.

[john7]

My 7 cam from th IoM about 8 years ago. The guy I bought it from owned it on the island although he lived on the mainland. However the car was a CKD kit, built and registered on the island and therefore on Manx plates. When I decided to buy the car the then owner agreed as part of the sale that he would get the car registered on 'UK' plates, MoT and tax it. It proved - to him, to be a nightmare and expensive. The car had to be SVA'd - it was then 9 years old. The seller, in the end, handed the car over to Kendricks for them to sort out. Eventually all went OK with the transfer and an age related plate was issued. Look into it in great detail and then decide. On point, I contacted the IoM DVLA and they were very helpful, unlike the DVLA on the mainland.

[Stevie_P]

Thanks John 7.
This is the problem, so many differing points of view but I will contact IOM DVLA and see what they have to say when I have all the info about the build etc