Importing a private car purchace from the US
Discussion
I was just idly window shopping on the Dodge site and lowly specced up a Charger R/T V8 5.7, cost $32,000.
Now presuming I don't pay the local sales tax ass I'm exporting the car my costing has come up like this:
Car £20,000 then plus 20% and then 10% brings it up to £26,400. Shipping £1200? so now £27,600.
Mmmm other expenses like flights, insurance etc starts getting me close to £30k. Have I missed anything?
Damn! so when they say just change the $ sign to £s, they are not lying.
Now presuming I don't pay the local sales tax ass I'm exporting the car my costing has come up like this:
Car £20,000 then plus 20% and then 10% brings it up to £26,400. Shipping £1200? so now £27,600.
Mmmm other expenses like flights, insurance etc starts getting me close to £30k. Have I missed anything?
Damn! so when they say just change the $ sign to £s, they are not lying.
Chances of finding a dealer to export a new car are slim, but not impossible, Doing it direct to avoid sales tax is even harder, best bet is a zero sales tax state.
Local shipping can be pretty expensive also, just getting mine across Houston cost me $300 and that gets added to the shipping costs you pay tax on.
The order of cost/taxes I believe is also
$Car + sales tax
+ local shipping
/ exchange rate
+ international shipping
+ 10% Duty
+ 20% VAT
+ 1% marine insurance
+ IVA conversion and test
+ UK registration and RFL
+ Number plates
or another way to look at it, take the $ off put on a £
Take petrol and jump leads when you go to collect as it will be empty of fuel with a flat battery.
Another vote for Kingstown here
Local shipping can be pretty expensive also, just getting mine across Houston cost me $300 and that gets added to the shipping costs you pay tax on.
The order of cost/taxes I believe is also
$Car + sales tax
+ local shipping
/ exchange rate
+ international shipping
+ 10% Duty
+ 20% VAT
+ 1% marine insurance
+ IVA conversion and test
+ UK registration and RFL
+ Number plates
or another way to look at it, take the $ off put on a £
Take petrol and jump leads when you go to collect as it will be empty of fuel with a flat battery.
Another vote for Kingstown here
while on hols in Florida a few ago with a friend who was interested in importing a sublime charger, we popped to a huge local
dealership to look at a low mileage demonstrator that was for sale, so second hand. The sale guys was pretty clue'd up with exporting to Europe and told us if we drove the car away sales tax was due, but if the car was loaded onto a container at their premises there was no sales tax
of course this will no doubt vary depending on which state you are buying from, as Dave mentioned getting your car to the dock can be expensive so always look for cars close to a port
dealership to look at a low mileage demonstrator that was for sale, so second hand. The sale guys was pretty clue'd up with exporting to Europe and told us if we drove the car away sales tax was due, but if the car was loaded onto a container at their premises there was no sales tax
of course this will no doubt vary depending on which state you are buying from, as Dave mentioned getting your car to the dock can be expensive so always look for cars close to a port
Edited by Viper on Saturday 26th October 12:30
Croyde,
Almost. It's 10% duty of the invoice price. Add that and the shipping cost to what you paid then it's 20% VAT of your new total.
IVA conversion and test will set you back in the region of £1,000.
First reg and road tax is £280.
So, yes. Pretty much just change the currency symbol and you're about right.
However, as mentioned. First of all you've got to find someone prepared to sell it to you. It's against their franchise agreements to sell for export and a lot of dealers have had surprise audits from the manufacturers recently and are running scared of export sales.
Almost. It's 10% duty of the invoice price. Add that and the shipping cost to what you paid then it's 20% VAT of your new total.
IVA conversion and test will set you back in the region of £1,000.
First reg and road tax is £280.
So, yes. Pretty much just change the currency symbol and you're about right.
However, as mentioned. First of all you've got to find someone prepared to sell it to you. It's against their franchise agreements to sell for export and a lot of dealers have had surprise audits from the manufacturers recently and are running scared of export sales.
Try Pete Jordan at http://www.jrjcustom.com/, he's been importing for 30 years, a friend of mine uses him to bring in his cars from anywhere in the USA, Pete arranges it all including transportation to docks in the USA.
Keep an eye on Copart sales too, I was watching a 2008/9 Cadillac Escalade ESV that went up for auction at their Central Miami site this week, sold for the opening bid of 11,000 Dollars! It had been in a front end collision but had been fully repaired. There are numerous companies listed on Copart that will perform inspections for you, I have a few contacts, only problem is that they are not permitted to take any tools or diagnostic gear onto the premises so it's all just visual really but they will give you a full report before auction starts.
Copart also sell classic cars and I've seen a number of candidates that would be well worth importing.
Note: Copart also have a UK website but having perused that a few times most of their stock does seem to be seriously damaged vehicles so nothing of interest to me.
Copart also sell classic cars and I've seen a number of candidates that would be well worth importing.
Note: Copart also have a UK website but having perused that a few times most of their stock does seem to be seriously damaged vehicles so nothing of interest to me.
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