Just out of interest, how much does it cost to ship a car across from the US.
Not much.... about $700. On top of that you will probably pay clearance fees (£100), import duty (10%) and VAT (17.5% on top). more expensive is trucking within the US - one I thing I will be looking to reduce on my next import.
Some cars probably aren't worth importing - anything in colours that don't sell well over here, anything already sold here and anything V6 is a dead loss when you want to re-sell. Anything unfashionable in the US is probably unfashionable here - anything with a vinyl roof or fake wood panneling is probably not going to have a large market for instance!
Certain vehicles also don't make sense to import - a C5 Corvette is pretty much just as cheap to buy here as import, but a Z06 is pretty scare and expensive if you do find them so it is. (My boss is looking at getting a 350Z and I'm trying to pursuade him to get one!)
Oooh... forgot - anything under 10 years old which isn't European Type Approved needs to pass an SVA test (£160) which is an inspection of the vehicle's construction (as opposed to the condition which is tested in the MOT). This should be fairly easy to pass with some basic electrical work, but some vehicles might need the headlamp reflectors modified and some might need mechanical modifications, but it's difficult to tell without looking in the
SVA Manual and knowing about the vehicle itself.
Gareth
been great!!
