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Topic: Car  (Read 826 times)

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Car
« on: October 26, 2017, 05:16:06 PM »
Thinking ahead here. I’m wondering if it’s best to ship my car over or buy a car there? I’ve looked into both. The pre owned cars I’ve looked at would be around £1800. To ship mine over would be around $1600. But I’m wondering what sort of fees I’d be facing with bringing over a car from America?
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Re: Car
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2017, 05:24:39 PM »
I'd say, unless it's a classic/unknown car that you are desperate to keep, I wouldn't bother shipping it over.

Not only would you have the shipping costs, but also the cost of making it road-worthy and legal in the UK. Also, the insurance on an imported car may be really expensive (plus, if you have a US licence and no UK driving history, it'll be expensive anyway), and if you need parts/repairs, they may also be expensive/hard to get hold of.

Used cars in the UK are very cheap compared with in the US - my family have bought used cars for anywhere between £500 to £3000 over the last 15 years and they've been reliable and very good value for money.


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Re: Car
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2017, 05:32:29 PM »
Completely agree with ksand.  Cars drop in value so quick here that you can get a great car for little money. 

A left hand drive vehicle would be virtually worthless here as well (impossible to sell when the time comes).


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Re: Car
« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2017, 05:52:30 PM »
Awesome, thank you both!! My daughter will be happy as I’ll be leaving her my car. 😂
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Re: Car
« Reply #4 on: October 26, 2017, 06:43:37 PM »
My son moved over 3 weeks ago and with his 2nd hand UK car he insured it through Aviva who accept US no claims letters. He got his US insurer Geico to email him a pdf statement with the info Aviva say they need on their website and uploaded that with a copy of his expired Geico insurance certificate. He paid for his insurance with 9 years no claims and a few days later got an email saying that his no claims record had been approved.
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Re: Car
« Reply #5 on: October 26, 2017, 08:01:14 PM »
My son moved over 3 weeks ago and with his 2nd hand UK car he insured it through Aviva who accept US no claims letters. He got his US insurer Geico to email him a pdf statement with the info Aviva say they need on their website and uploaded that with a copy of his expired Geico insurance certificate. He paid for his insurance with 9 years no claims and a few days later got an email saying that his no claims record had been approved.

That’s good to know! I’ve got Geico as well. Thanks for the tip.
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Re: Car
« Reply #6 on: October 27, 2017, 11:51:36 AM »
That’s good to know! I’ve got Geico as well. Thanks for the tip.

You should be good to go as Geico seemed to be well set up to provide the letter. Be sure you have a copy of your last insurance certificate as well.
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Re: Car
« Reply #7 on: October 28, 2017, 02:59:01 PM »
Completely agree with ksand.  Cars drop in value so quick here that you can get a great car for little money. 

A left hand drive vehicle would be virtually worthless here as well (impossible to sell when the time comes).

Totally in agreement with Ksand and KF. I can't even imagine trying to drive left hand over here. I know people do as they will bring them in from Europe, but it's just less practical/more confusing.
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Re: Car
« Reply #8 on: October 28, 2017, 10:16:48 PM »
Thinking ahead here. I’m wondering if it’s best to ship my car over or buy a car there? I’ve looked into both. The pre owned cars I’ve looked at would be around £1800. To ship mine over would be around $1600. But I’m wondering what sort of fees I’d be facing with bringing over a car from America?

It sounds like others have already convinced you not to bring your car over, but keep in mind if it's $1600 to ship, that could be more like $3200 if you have to ship it back to the US if you'd be here temporarily.
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Re: Car
« Reply #9 on: October 28, 2017, 10:28:35 PM »
Thanks everyone! I’m leaving the car here for sure. Hubby and I will buy a car in the UK. 😊
Type of Application: Settlement Spouse Visa (priority)
Country applying from: USA
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Passport Arrived: Nov. 17, 2017 VISA APPROVED!
27 Business Days


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