Shipping Car Over

Hi All,  did anyone ship there car over to UK with them from America?

It may sound a daft question but when you compare the price of cars in UK to America they are a good 50% cheaper.

I approached a shipper and they only quoted me £4k to ship it from LA to England and that also included all the paper work and changes needed for British Roads.

Downside off course is left hand drive but there pretty much common now with europe being so open. And off course maybe parts.

The only thing I would say to that is, why would you want to do that when American cars are gas guzzlers compared to UK/European cars? Gas is about $6 a gallon (1.5 quid a liter), and that's with the drop in prices. Before it was about $9.

You'll also want to bear in mind that your car will have to pass a yearly MOT test, meaning it's checked over for everything, tires and windscreen wipers included. If you  fail your MOT and don't have your car in perfect working order you aren't allowed to drive it until it's fixed or if you had your new MOT test done before your previous year's expires then when it expires.

Also remember that everything is narrower here, the roads, the parking spaces, the driveways. People also park in the street, quite often on both sides of a 2 lane road that doesn't have parking space incorporated into the width... It can be downright nerve wracking in the small villages.

Did your shipper include the possibility that you might have to pay VAT on it depending on it's age?

I work for a car seller and left hand drive isn't all that common on an every day driver...

You will have to spend £3-4k getting it legal to drive in Europe.  Plus you will have an impossible time sourcing parts and will have no resale value.

I would only consider it if it's an old classic, like a 65 mustang convertible.  THAT I would bring!

Hi,

The topic has come up quite a number of times in the transport section of this forum. In short, it's only worth bringing over an 'interesting American car'. As mentioned above, the classic muscle cars, as well as modern American vehicles which aren't officially sold in the UK or other countries besides the US. If you have a what I call 'bread and butter' car i.e one which is available here, then it's simply not worth bringing it over unless it has some absolutely personal sentimental value for you.

There's a busy and relatively thriving USA car market here, I for instance imported myself an Anniversary Edition Ford F150 Harley Davidson from Texas in 2004 and kept it around 8 years or so. At many car shows, you'll see some fantastic imported American cars, trucks, SUV's etc.

Driving left hand drive isn't so difficult once you get used to it, there will be things like car parks etc where the machines are for right hand drive cars which will be a quirk, and your driving skills need to be honed when driving in traffic due to us also driving on the left side of the road. Parts are usually readily available from specialists who stock USA car parts and if anything specific is needed, they can be here in the UK within a couple days etc.

Which car is it ? if you do need some parts or more info, let me know as my business is within the Automotive sector.

Cheers, DtM! West London & Slough UK!

Hi All thanks for the responses.   Its not my car but my partners car and its nothing special in terms of value as a classic American Car its a 2011 Toyota Camry!.   The reason I was thinking of shipping it over and the 4k I was quoted did also include the modifications for our roads etc, is that to get a similar car here would cost me a good £14k+ and given her car is paid for then 4k was an idea, as I dont think the 2nd hand market offers great value in American given how cheap brand new cars are over there compared to UK.

However others have pointed out that something that would put me off is the MPG of her car and the cost of fuel for us compared to what she is used to.    Left hand drive doesnt really worry me but I think we will probably end up selling it over there the splashing out over here when she finally joins me...

It has seemed to me that although new cars in the UK are much more expensive than the US cars depreciate much faster in the UK.   My guess is that a 3-4 yr old car would be a similar price in the UK as the US.   I've been looking at some UK car sites and 10k GBP ($16k USD) gets you a decent 2 yr old Toyota / Honda / Ford.

So if it were me I wouldn't ship the car.   Now if I still had my '73 Corvette ..... I wouldn't ship that either (<10mpg  )

We opted to buy a second hand Toyota Avensis when we repatriated. At 3 years old with a 2 year warranty from the Toyota dealership, it cost us a little over £10k. It had low mileage, was in very good clean condition and was like a new car to us. Perhaps buying 2nd hand might be an option?

Its going to have to be a 2nd hand car for her, I cant afford to pay for wedding and ship her over (not literally) and get her (us) a new car all in same year :-).   

I just liked the idea of shipping a car from America as the value for money on a car is so good out there.   I even thought about buying myself a car out there a while ago but putting it in Lori's name and leaving it there for 6 months before shipping it back here.  I think 6 months was the time it needed to be to allow you to be exempt from tax etc.   

Car prices in America really are so cheap I was pricing up a Family size car and it was 50% cheaper for the equivalent here, pity you guys put the wheel on the wrong side of the car ;-) 

Now if I still had my '73 Corvette ..... I wouldn't ship that either (<10mpg  )

Well you could always park it somewhere and lean against it....

A Camry is also going to be a relatively large car over here.  I mean, I love mine in the US but would want something I bit slimmer over here.  Buying second hand is probably going to be less of a hassle.