importing from japan costs?

[user2178]

Just wondering how much is the average cost of buying a 4/5 onwards from japan andthen getting it shipped over?

[Marshallart]

Bet 4's only go for about 2-3k in japan now mate. you have to pay VAT when it comes into country and think its about £1000 for duty and shipping etc. only a guess mind.

[user2178]

So looking 5k approx to get a 4 on the uk roads?

[Marshallart]

only a guess mate. maybe less, depends on condition i guess as always. gotta be cheap or so many companies wouldnt be importing them lol

[budman]

I imported from Japan early last year. I'm not sure as to the cost of a IV over there, as I was concentrating on the VI's (believe me, there's plenty of them to choose from :twisted: !)

your first cost is to the importing agent. This can be a % of the total cost (commision based, if you like), which can get pretty expensive, dependant on how much you wanna spend. This is because the importer purchases the car for you, and you then pay them.

The other type is an agent that asks for one initial fee only. THIS IS THE BEST ROUTE ! My agent charged me a one off cost of £250 handling fee's. This is very small because the agent doesn't actually part with his money, you have to pay within a few days of the auction (and then chew your fingers waiting anxiously to see if your car turns up, being as you paid for it weeks/months before you get it !! :shock: :???: )

The other fees are the VAT, duty and shipping fees. Some importing agents will include these in the initial bid price on the car. These are also quite expensive (10% duty and 15% VAT, or something like that :???: )

So, you might wanna get an agent that charges a one-off price and includes the VAT/DUTY and shipping fee's in the initial bid price (I know of such an importer, who dealt with me and was excellent service throughout the whole process. I paid one fee for the car, plus his £250 and simply picked the car up from the port when it arrived. My workmate has since used him also with excellent results)

The next big hitter (it gets pretty expensive, on top of the car costs !)...... is the SVA/REG.

If the car is over 10 years old, you simply pick it up from the port (you are legal to drive it in this state !!) and take it for an MOT, then pay £38 or so to register it.

If the car is under 10 years old, you have to submit it for SVA test, these places are at the port, the import agents will take the car from the ship straight to the SVA people without you worrying about it, however, SVA COSTS A PACKET !!!!! Alarm, fog-light, model report, full checks etc etc can cost up to £1500 !! i.e - I paid approx £1500 for this process, with registration.

It is quite a lengthy drawn out process, but the cheapness of the cars in the first place make up for any additional costs along the way. Its purely down to the anxiety factor (i.e - I paid for my car on March 11th purly on seeing a small e-mailed photo about 8x10cm, and didn't start driving it until 30th July, and keeping your fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong along the way !!!! :shock: :shock:

Let me know if you want the name of a good importer

Sorry for the length of this message, and apologies of its sod-all to do with what you were after ops:

pm dave evo 2 he knows alot about inmporting and should be able to tel you the ups and downs

[GSR Nigel]

Hi Chap,

I have imported several cars from Japan and will be happy to help with some advice. Feel free to PM me I will give you as much information as you need....

Cheers

[dave evo 2]

An Evo 4 that was first registered in Japan in 1996 provided you register it here in the uk on after it's 10th birthday is your cheapest option as this car will NOT require an ESVA test but will require an MOT as mentioned above. Anything first registered on / after 01/01/1997 will require an ESVA test which also requires a model report for the ESVA station to test the car against. The cost of failure at this test is something that you do not want to contemplate the model reports can be up to £400 +vat just for the one test. If it fails and you take the car in your self you will be stung for a retest fee at the ministry station and the cost of the model report again. So basically I would dare venture that it is fairly easy if you are prepared to do your research to get the car through with an MOT here but the ESVA is best handed over to some else to take responsibility for (ie someone who knows someone that knows - if you know what I mean!). Insurance for registering can be interesting if doing yourself- I found companies were not prepared to insure you with out a registration mark, but you can not get a registration mark (DVLA at it's best) with out insurance.
Cost of a decent 4 is going to cost around 700 -750000 yen Free on board price dependant on grade / condition and agents fee in Japan. This will rattle out the other end tested & on the road for about 7000 - 8250 dependant on age of vehicle when you register in the UK (as explained above for ESVA - and the UK agent making his money).

Dave

[user3676]

Originally Posted by Budman

I imported from Japan early last year. I'm not sure as to the cost of a IV over there, as I was concentrating on the VI's (believe me, there's plenty of them to choose from :twisted: !)

your first cost is to the importing agent. This can be a % of the total cost (commision based, if you like), which can get pretty expensive, dependant on how much you wanna spend. This is because the importer purchases the car for you, and you then pay them.

The other type is an agent that asks for one initial fee only. THIS IS THE BEST ROUTE ! My agent charged me a one off cost of £250 handling fee's. This is very small because the agent doesn't actually part with his money, you have to pay within a few days of the auction (and then chew your fingers waiting anxiously to see if your car turns up, being as you paid for it weeks/months before you get it !! :shock: :???: )

The other fees are the VAT, duty and shipping fees. Some importing agents will include these in the initial bid price on the car. These are also quite expensive (10% duty and 15% VAT, or something like that :???: )

So, you might wanna get an agent that charges a one-off price and includes the VAT/DUTY and shipping fee's in the initial bid price (I know of such an importer, who dealt with me and was excellent service throughout the whole process. I paid one fee for the car, plus his £250 and simply picked the car up from the port when it arrived. My workmate has since used him also with excellent results)

The next big hitter (it gets pretty expensive, on top of the car costs !)...... is the SVA/REG.

If the car is over 10 years old, you simply pick it up from the port (you are legal to drive it in this state !!) and take it for an MOT, then pay £38 or so to register it.

If the car is under 10 years old, you have to submit it for SVA test, these places are at the port, the import agents will take the car from the ship straight to the SVA people without you worrying about it, however, SVA COSTS A PACKET !!!!! Alarm, fog-light, model report, full checks etc etc can cost up to £1500 !! i.e - I paid approx £1500 for this process, with registration.

It is quite a lengthy drawn out process, but the cheapness of the cars in the first place make up for any additional costs along the way. Its purely down to the anxiety factor (i.e - I paid for my car on March 11th purly on seeing a small e-mailed photo about 8x10cm, and didn't start driving it until 30th July, and keeping your fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong along the way !!!! :shock: :shock:

Let me know if you want the name of a good importer

Sorry for the length of this message, and apologies of its sod-all to do with what you were after ops:

£1500 is very VERY expensive for the SVA process. Its a hell of a lot cheaper if you do it all yourself. I managed to do it all for around £700/800

Was your car standard when it arrived off the boat?

[Jabberwocky]

I have just imported my car from Cyprus. The SVA cost about CY£400 (500gbp) and to register it with a years tax cost £200 and a bit. oh and £40 for an MOT + plus what it failed on the MOT (2 Tyres)

My advice about MOT`s is to speak to the MOT station first I had a nightmare trying to get it done, things like vehicles first use and current registration where the biggest problem.