More Bad News RE: Imports

[Neil_H]

These jobsworths need a good kicking, trying to justify their pointess existance with meaningless rules and regulations designed with the sole purpose of pissing off as many people as possible

(Taken from www.skylineowners.com )

Skylines'r'us said:

As we always like to keep everyone up to date with any changes that may affect skylines and performance car owners, the following news is just about as bad as it can get. We have just found out through the back door today about new rule changes for all vehicles under 10 years old, skylines included, that will seriously affect anyone trade or individual importing any sports vehicle of any make that has even the slightest after market modification, add on, or any item fitted that is not factory non standard. i.e If a car has an after market front bumper or spoiler it will cause a possible change to the airbag sensor / inflation point, and the only way that you can produce evidence of compliance is to have a model report done on the car, which could cost up to 10 grand! Under the new enhanced ESVA legislation we have been led to believe by the Vehicle Inspectorate that only cars first registered from Jan 97 onwards will be affected by the new enhanced rules and that any car ,for instance first registered before that date will only need a japanese De-Registration document with Japanese type approval numbers to be sufficient evidence of compliance for 1994/1995/1996 cars under the 10 year rule. The jobsworths have moved the goalposts yet again and now state that any non standard fitment or modification will be an immediate test failure for ESVA! on pre 1997 vehicles also! This includes the following: 1. Any aftermarket bodykits 2. Non factory standard alloy wheels where the factory radius size is different 3.suspension 4.Intercoolers ( GT-R 33 models exempt as it is fitted standard ) but must be Nissan! 5.Exhausts and downpipes etc 6. all visible non standard engine mods such as: Air Induction kits/ Turbochargers, Turbo boost controllers, dump valves,air horns, pipework, radiators, brakes, brake Discs, etc 7. ECU's In fact any item that is non standard factory fitted including interior guages, gear knobs etc, just about any item that will give the jobsworths an excuse for a Vosa inspector to fail a car. This has very serious implications for all of us buying and using any kind of modified cars, as the sheer cost to change everything back to standard could cost more than the actual car cost and cause everyone massive expense and headaches getting things done. Another example of the bloody UK over regulating and attack on the motorist by this poxy labour government! I have today spent over 3 hours on the phone to VOSA Swansea trying to get any kind of reasonable conclusion to this totally unexpected situation, and to be honest it is a waste of time trying to be objective and get any kind of sensible conclusion from the head of ESVA at VOSA, Swansea, they just do not want to know and are sticking rigidly to the legislation as they see it. All that was written in any information sheet or rule book issued by them was the following: Any vehicle coming under the enhanced regulations first registered prior to 1st January 1997 will only have to produce a Japanese D-Registration document as proof of acceptable type approval. What they are now saying without any warning to the Motor Trade or personal importers is that if a car has even one or more after market modifications, then the Japanese type approval for these cars is null and viod and you have the chioce of either changing everything back to standard or getting individual type approval model reports done for an individual car, which is totally impossible and quite frankly bollocks, as you would have to change everything back standard to comply for a model report anyway! thus costing twice as much all round. It is not viable to get an individual model report done for just one individual car This seriously affects all modified type sports cars that we all love: Skylines, Supras, Evo's, honda's, GTO's etc, so the only way that we will get anything resolved or changed at all is for every sports car owning enthusiast to send a petition or similar letter of protestations etc aimed at the vehicle inspectorate, or the next thing that will happen is they will bring in similar legislation for MOT's etc and then that will definately bugger things up. So everyone has to get together on this and let other forums know this situation as anyone importing and testing a car that is under 10 years old will have serious to impossible situations on getting a car through the new enhanced ESVA test. The Vehicle inspectorate senior technical standards official stated that these rules have been in place for all to see since 2001! absolute crap as this was only a consultation document and had no mention whatsoever about after market non standard modifications to any vehicles first registered before 1st January 1997. I was told that this was the case with no exceptions as far as they were concerned. So not only do we have to get a car through emmisions and noise test levels, we now have to totally get a car back to standard for a one off 1 hour test, where once done and passed, you then have to change it all back again. What an awfull waste of the consumers hard earned cash for a genuine vehicle that will pass the legal MOT and what was SVA type approval requirements. Its just another kind of stealth tax on the motorist. I argued back that as we had only been informed today by an inspector of the vehicle inspectorate who had only yesterday been informed himself whilst on a refresher course of this situation about modifications that it was unreasonable to expect us to know if his own employee's did not! which I thought was a legitimate point, but it made no difference. WE are putting an official complaint into the Vehicle Inspectorate VOSA expressing our feelings and that they are bending the law to suit themselves and the obvious pressure from motor manufacturers to stop imports coming in. There will be a forum e-mail address to send your support and protest so that we can get a huge petition going against the Vehicle Inspectorate ruling,so watch this space. Meantime you can write a nice letter to the head of VOSA at: Steve Box VOSA Berkely House Croydon Street Bristol BS5 0DA and let them know that trying to stop importation of modified cars that will comply with normal MOT and standard SVA requirements for road safety, emmisions, noise etc will not be tolerated. If we all do not pull together on this, they will walk all over the performance import sector and bugger up what is a lifestyle and pleasure for many thousands of motorists and enthusiasts all over the country. Those of us in the trade who are used to this constant moving of goalposts will have to comply, but all of you guys who get your own cars in are going to have a nightmare complying, which is totally unfair and this should not be allowed to happen! Stuart www.skylinesrus.com

[Mr E]

Yeah. It's an utter bastard.

I've also just found out that several import friendly insurers are to stop new polocies on imports.

Bugger.

[z064life]

Another example of an attack on the motorist.

[Andy mac]

How the buggery does Mr SVA chap know what is standard, and what is not?

[saleen05]

does thsi apply to Jap imports only or Yank inports too?

[Neil_H]

Andy mac said:

How the buggery does Mr SVA chap know what is standard, and what is not?

Each make/ model/ variant of a car will have to have a model report made up, which details the exact specification of the car in detail. To attain a model report the car must meet specific criteria (emissions, safety, height of headlights from ground and lots of other ridiculous beaureacratic nonsense imposed by the Euro muppets) or it won't be granted one.

Once the car has got a model report (cost = several grand apparently) it can be used for every car of that type being imported, obviously for a charge by whoever owns it (couple of hundred quid). There is some doubt over whether highly tuned cars like the Skyline GTR will pass the initial model report as standard (emissions being the big problem) and if this is the case, no more GTRs can be imported.

See www.modelreports.com for more info on which cars have model reports available.

[JohnL]

It does say on that link that this is required for "commercially imported vehicles" - I'd interpret that as vehciles imported by a company to then sell on at a profit.

So are personal imports then still allowed?
And if so, surely using an agency or other company to assist you wouldn't stop it being a personal import?

[sirtophamhat]

Would they actually inspect you entire car to see if everything is within regulation? This sounds like a whole lot of work, I wonder if in reality you will just get a cursory inspection and be sent on your way as long as nothing really sticks out?