Should we ship our car over (US --> UK)

Looking for feedback/experiences/advice.

We are in the US, and returning to the UK.

Currently own two cars: an [older] Jag (left-hand drive) and a [newer] Saturn Vue. Both cars are in great shape. Thinking about shipping ONE (probably the Jag, as it's smaller) of them over.

There is a port right here in Charleston where we live and online calculator's are showing us $1200-ish cost.

What do you think? Anyone driving a left-hand drive car over there?

Thank you!

There have been a few previous threads regarding this issue:

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=55948
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=48628

Thank you WebyJ. I've read through both threads. It appears that it might actually be a good idea to bring the Jag over since it's already outfitted "the English way". Just another decision we'll have to make. Appreciate the info.

Hi there

the $1200 USD cost seems a little 'low' to me, I'm inclined to think that price doesnt include insurances and taxes etc. However, as I've recently been quoted around £1000 which is about $1500 USD at the moment, for UK to NYC or East Coast shipping, it might not be far off.

Which Jaguar do you have!? if its a pristine example of a certain model that the enthusiasts like, it 'may' be worth more here than the US. However, as it's an older car, getting it to conform to UK spec and roads might wipe out any potential value increases, plus will be X amount more to insure. You can counter that with going for a classic car policy though. When you say the car is already outfitted the 'English' way - can you explain a little more on that please?

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Hi DTM (love the name),

We live in a port city (Charleston, SC) so perhaps that has something to do with such a reasonable quote. Also, we would ship RO/RO.

Other than the fact that our Jag is a lefthand drive and therefore would have those front lights/rearview mirror issues, I [incorrectly?] assumed that because it's an English car that it would otherwise be UK compliant. Sounds like I'm wrong. (Not the first time!)  :-)

It's a 2002 XJ8 and was totally an impulse buy on DH's part. His dad used to have one (even same color). When his Dad died a couple of years ago and DH spotted this car in the local market, well, he just had to have it and I must say, we are enjoying it very much.

Thinking it all through, probably better to just wait until we get there to buy something - although it most probably won't be a Jag!

West London and Slough? My mum-in-law lives in a lovely gated community right along the river, in Laleham (near Staines) which is where we'll initially be basing ourselves. DH grew up in that general area, though spent 20+ years in Plymouth before eventually returning to London. We love Devon, but wages are awful down there. He's in IT (web programmer); I'm a Legal Secretary. Think we have much better job prospects over in your neck-of-the-woods.

Cheers, and have a good one,

Denise (the Menace - to some!!)

 

Hi TealoverDenise

There's only one sort of tea - and that's original Spiced Indian tea! in fact I've just had a cuppa !

The Jaguar will be US Specification, so if you do bring it here, it'll need to be made UK spec road legal. This isn't as hard as it sounds, although can involve some work. Broadly speaking, the headlamps will need to be re-configured to point correctly on the road, a rear foglamp added (if it hasn't got one already), may have to get orange indicators (blinkers) and some other bits as well. The car, once all work is done, will then need to be SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) tested which is around £250-300 and a certificate will be issued to say it's UK road legal/compliant. There's plenty of Jaguar garages and a number of independant specialists to help look after and service it - there's some excellent and well reputed Jaguar specialists 400 yards from my house for instance! I know the owners

Please dont take the next line the wrong way! the Jaguar XJ isn't really a 'special' enough car to warrant importing and exporting between the US and the UK - there's plenty of them here and they're very affordable to buy - read that as, they lose their value very heavily! Unless you have a real strong attachment to the car itself, I'd suggest selling it off stateside and the approx £2500-3000 you'll save could be put towards getting the same or similar type car here.


The job market for IT is quite dire at the moment - hopefully your better half can and will find something quickly. The legal sector is certainly impacted, however with the legislative background of the UK, it's a sector that's likely to weather the storm out and emerge the other side as one sector for the whole UK economy that is good overall. If you can get into one of the bigger practices in central London, you can look forward to getting a decent salary . Around this area, yes, you are right, theres much more job chances than other parts of the UK.

Any other questions, just let me know and I'll help as best I can
cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!