BRINGING A CAR FROM THE US TO THE UK

am thinking of returning to the uk. question is: what to do with my car? it's a 2002 honda civic (low emissions!) and i only bought it about a yr ago. i owe about $9000 on it, but could probably only sell it for $6000 now because i've put a lot of miles on it (now stand at 85000 miles).

ideally, would like to ship it to the uk. i've looked at cost, and in total it will be about $2000, which incl. uk registration etc.

i think this is a small cost compared to trying to sell the car at less than what i owe (then finding payoff) and then trying to buy a new car in the uk with no uk credit and nothing to put down and probably higher monthly payments, or being unable to sell and being saddled with making payments on a car i don't possess and trying to get a car in the uk.

any suggestions. something i'm missing? my concern is - the credit union financing the car. do they consent easily to these kinds of things? i have a very high credit score - 784.

otherwise, am thinking of telling them the car is parked outside in your parking lot ad here are the keys - the day before i fly away.

I had a 2004 Honda Civic with high mileage (about 60,000) and I was able to sell it privately for $12,000. I owed somewhere around $11,000, so I made a little profit! It was also a little above the Kelly Blue Book value. I think you'd be able to sell it privately and get what you're looking for if it's in good condition otherwise. I put mine on Craig's list, told about every single peson I knew that I was selling it, and what finally worked was when I bought two for sale signs at Home Depot and put them on the back windows. A coworker saw it and it was hers within the week.

Not sure how your credit union would feel about you taking the car that essentially THEY own out of the country. Also, I know when you finance a car you're required to prove you have insurance on the car. Not sure if UK insurance would count for this and you don't want to have to purchase US and UK insurance.

You need a clear title in order to ship it over.

if i can't sell it before i leave then i'll be compelled to park in the credit union parking lot and hand them the keys. i just won't be able to handle making payments and paying insurance and paying for storage in the US while i'm permanently in the uk and trying to buy a car in the uk.

btw, how hard is it to buy a car over there? i was able to buy my car here with 0 down and all fees rolled into the loan, and now pay about $225/mth in payments. in the uk i won't be in an area where i can rely on public transport.

also, my credit score here is pretty good but have heard they disregard it in the uk. i say disregard it because i've heard some people say that in the uk they have no way of finding it, which is nonsense, because it's found out online anyway. is it just coincidence that the credit rptg companies have the exact same name? experien, equifax etc - or are they indeed the same companies and there's just some ulterior reason not to allow uk people to view US credit scores? if they're the same companies, is the entire formula different.

am looking forward to being in the uk, but fear i will miss how logical and straighforward life here is.

I'm not sure dumping your car at the credit union is legal. 

You might want to research the ramifications of that before you do it.

I know someone who was stuck in a similar situation.  I'll see if she'll PM you.

hi tenthplanet,

What strikes me first off is that you are willing to spend $2000 on a car worth $6K - from that fact alone, I'd suggest you sell it off there and close the finance deal leftover money and then find a car here.

In the costs you've currently estimated, have you included import tax and VAT ? there are rules which I can't quite remember right now, which will allow exemptions - but check to see if you qualify. Add on the cost of Shipping it here, insurance whilst in transit etc. If it does get here, or at that stage its landed, remember to add on I'd estimate around £250-500 getting the Car SVA (single vehicle approval) tested to make sure it meets UK road legal requirements. As it's left hand drive, remember it'll cost more to insure as well, factor in some engine modification work to allow 95 RON unleaded if the car won't automatically adjust. Lastly, remember a US spec Honda may not be serviceable fully here as certain parts may not be available - so factor in import costs of parts if needed later.

As you can probably tell and like I've mentioned previously here, it isn't really worth importing 'bread and butter' cars into the UK from the US. It's only 'interesting' US cars that usually make it over here and a Honda civic certainly isn't one of them! - Our 03 F150 Harley Davidson Anniversay Edition Truck does fall into that catagory but the flipside is they can be much more difficult to sell on as we found! (we've now decided to keep it !)

Put that $2K into paying off the finance - whatever is leftover that you owe them, speak to them to tell them you are leaving the country and will offer to pay them from here in order to repay the debt. Look into the get out clause of your contract and evalutate how much that penalty will be.

Credit indeed doesn't transfer from UK to USA and vice versa as many have previously posted, I think the companies are indeed the same but I think there's more to it in terms of data protection laws, what can and cant be exchanged between the two on an international basis etc (I could be wrong though)

Getting a car here is 'relatively' easy too, I've only ever done 'finance' by arranging a bank loan one time that I paid off within 30 months instead of the 48 they wanted me to, when you get here look at publications such as What Car? and Top Gear etc and have a look through their advice on all the financing options etc.

There's more to each point above and some of it may be innacurate but it's as much as I know currently - have a little research into the points and find out for sure

hope this helps!

DtM! West London & Slough UK!

If all UK Customs and Excise conditions below can be met, then you can import it back to the UK without any import duties as personal property.

1) Only if you are a returning Expat British citizen.

2) You are settling back permanently in the UK.

3) You have owned the vehicle for more than 6 months.

4)It has more than 6000 miles on the odometer.

5) Clean and clear title in your name.

Unfortunately in your situation, the bank or credit union or finance company will never give you the title to the car without settling the debt in full.

Without the clean title (No Liens) you cannot take the car out of the USA, and if you did find some way to sneak it out, your car would be refused entry to the UK at the port of entry without a clean valid title.

Sell it in the States and buy another one when you get to England.

judas priest!

i guess i'll take that $2000 i was gonna use to ship and use it to cover expenses of buying a car in the uk - my dad's a uk citizen with a paid off home and good credit so i hope he'll be a cosignor for me until i build up uk credit.

btw, is it cheaper to buy on the continent - or is there the same problem of not being able to transport financed cars over borders? will uk financiers finance cars bought say in germany if the collateral is brought back to england?

thanks.

I'm not sure dumping your car at the credit union is legal. 

You might want to research the ramifications of that before you do it.

I would definitely check that out, especially if you are still planning on practising law when you get here. When you apply for admission as a solicitor you will have to proivide the Law Society with a criminal record clearance and certain other documents to establish you are of good character. You wouldn't want something like this to mess it up. 

i'm already a solicitor, but in any event, giving collateral back to a lender when you can't afford to make any more payments is something you are actually supposed to do. by law they are obligated to sell the vehicle and credit the proceeds against the debt you owe them. has nothing to do with criminal activity. there are plenty of indebted and bankrupt lawyers around. sometimes you have to get into debt and risk bankruptcy to actually have some business success. financial risk is inherent in becoming a successful lawyer.

if i can't sell before i leave, then i think it better to allow the lender to have the collateral rather than leave the car parked on the street outside my apartment where i used to live.

Yes but I don't think you're supposed to just dump it outside their office!  Also, if you are bankrupt, you can't practise on your own account in England. I don't need to be lectured about how to be a succesful lawyer thank you.

http://www.hfw.com/l3/new/newl3c029.html

When a solicitor becomes bankrupt, his practising certificate is automatically suspended pursuant to s 15(1) Solicitors Act 1974.

Cars are more expensive over here, I was tempted to bring over my car when I moved as I could have easily sold it for a profit even after paying import costs.  The car I owned cost 50% more over here (and that was at old exchange rates, 1.80) and was nearly new (only 2000 miles).  After deducting transport costs and discounting for the steering wheel being on the wrong side I still would have been ahead.

In the end I think it would be not worth the headache in your case.  However, look on-line at car prices here for vehicles you might like (parkers.co.uk, whatcar.co.uk) and see if they seem astronomical, they may convince you to ship afterall.

As far as title, you could apply for an unsecured personal loan to pay off your car loan then you'd have the title, but at the cost of a more expensive loan.

Again, headache seems too much in this case.

Btw, I am in a similar situation having only bought a brand new 2006 Honda Odyssey about a year back in the USA. My wife and I are hoping to bring it with us to the UK as we'll lose about 3x as much on it selling it at this point as we would have to pay to simply ship it over.

When I came across this thread, I panicked as our title is INDEED not clear. Then I checked back on the vehicle shipment quote I got a couple months back. That quote included the following note pertaining the title:

Vehicle Title: We will require the original title to ship your vehicle. If a bank or a credit union owns your vehicle, you must present your order to the bank and obtain written authorization to move your vehicle overseas, a notarized letter authorizing to ship your vehicle out of the country as well as three certified copies of the title front and back. To place your order online, please visit our web site at www.shipoverseas.com and login with the user id and password we emailed you. Then click on the Order button, and complete the order form.

Now, I have no idea if American Honda Finance will be willing to grant us said authorization. But we can only hope for the best. At least that is better then a straight NO. And maybe this option will help others.

The shipper, btw, is "Ship Overseas" and can be found at the following website:

http://www.shipoverseas.com

The price for shipping quoted (supposedly including ALL fees - though not, of course, including whatever it costs to get "tagged" or "MOTed" or whatever here in the UK) is $2180. And the service provided included shipping FROM OUR DOOR in Ardmore, Oklahoma to the port of Southampton in the UK.

The idea, of course, would be to catch a train (I really am enjoying the trains here) down to Southampton and then drive the minivan back up to where I am living on the outskirts of London.

Anyhow, I will try to remember to update this thread in a month or 2 or 3 when we really get around to crossing this bridge.

Honestly, try selling it yourself. It's not as difficult as it seems. There is the cost to ship the van, but then you also have to have the proper modifications made to the car once you're here. I'd say it's HIGHLY likely Honda will make you pay the vehicle off before you leave the country with it.