agdamis

Contemplating moving to London next year. I own a '97 Carrera S which I bought a year ago for $43K and since have added a bunch of goodies. I have been looking and the same car in London is between 32K to 37K pounds which is $60K to $70K at current rates. What would I have to pay as far as taxes and duties to bring my car from the US? Could it be more than $20K.

graham_mitchell

You should contact the Department of Customs and Excise about the importation:

http://www.hmce.gov.uk

...and the DVLA about registering the vehicle:

http://www.dvla.gov.uk/welcome.htm

Tim Ashfield

One other point to consider is that the UK prices you have quoted are for right hand drive cars, left hand drive cars are also available ( I own one myself ) and would be around £10K less than the prices you have quoted.

All the best.

Felix

I would offer there are two factors you need to consider:

What will it take to get the car into the UK? You'll need to pay the shipping costs but if it's a personal import of a car you have owned for some time you may well get away without paying import duty and VAT, 10% and 17.5% respectively.

Then there's what it takes to get the car road-legal. Your car will be US spec and LHD. I think the biggest issue will be that the head lights will be LHD and probably not adaptable to the UK so will need to be replaced. Other than that I don't see many potential problems. The car will most likely need to go through UK SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) which should be fairly straightforward but cost you perhaps £200.

I drive a LHD 993tt in the UK without any problem. Don't LHD in the UK worry you; in my opinion LHD air-cooled Porsches have the better driving position than their RHD equivalents and the downsides are minimal.

Insurance in London, particularly as a new UK resident with no insurance history in the UK can be very expensive, perhaps £3K/year.

As a US expat that's been in the UK for 13 years I can perhaps help; please send a PM if you need moreh.

zoomzoom

Do the US lights not have the lever built ino them to switch them from left to right hand drive? The lights installed on RHD cars in the UK have a lever in the back of them to switch them over to LHD lights when we drive across to the continent. If so, you wouldn't need new lights...

Another thing worth keeping in mind... PETROL. We're paying about to £0.90 per litre for super unleaded (98 RON) fuel. Works out to about £60 ($114) per tank... just worth remembering as part of the overall running costs over here.

Dudley

I read that many UK'rs prefer the LHD version because they feel the driver is in a more natural position. The article went on to say that it takes a bit of time in the saddle but that driving a LHD car in Britian is not such a big challenge.

My personal experience supports this theory. I have rented a few RHD cars across the pond and each time I started off, I naturally headed for the RH lane. No problem until you run into a native.

agdamis

Guys,

This has been extremely helpful, thank you all very much. A very close friend of mine has a LHD Lancia Integrale in London and has absolutely no complaints as the roads are so well organized.

Tim I did not think of that and you are absolutely correct about buying a LHD car there.

Phelix I may need to explore your suggestion as you are correct I can prove ownership of the car in the US for sometime proving that it is in fact for private use. The 10% and 17.5% taxes are taken of off the invoice you have when you bought it here in the US or is it based on a UK prices?

Lastly if you buy a LHD from Belgium or Germany and bring it to the UK and at the time of purchase register it at an address in the UK do you get some sort of EU break, seeing as how it is supposed to be boarderless?

Once again thank you very much for your time. I may PM you guys with further questions.

PS I hear the UK is race track heaven. Do you guys have "Driver Education" track days like we do here. Just the thought of running on Donnington and Brands Hatch makes me smile.

graham_mitchell

Buying a 993 in Germany and registering it in the UK is quite painless and cheap.

Monique

Many people prefer the LHD because the 993 tub is +- 4 inches longer on the left side. (Try it out. Place front seats in an identical position and then sit in each seat)

You will also need rear fog lights installed. Or are they on the US version?? The front headlights are an issue as well.

Germany: I think you may be better off bringing your present car over. A similar German setup will set you back Euros 40K. With the exchange rate... you can pay for lots of costs and still be ahead.

Good luck.

zoomzoom

It is almost always possible to get "DE" instruction at all the major tracks around the UK. There are several large organisations which arrange track days (aka AutoX) for us petrolheads at all the major venues. Two of the most popular are:

Bookatrack
Goldtrack

And there's also Bedford Autodrome which, imho, is probably the best run and purpose built circuit for trackdays. Bedford is owned and run by Jonathan Palmer (ex-F1 driver) and also the new owner of Brands Hatch.

Car clubs are popular, and there are many club arranged days to fuel your passion. Hope to share a pint with you when you get over!

SJB993

And .......

... prepare yourself for a shock when you fill it up with petrol (sorry, gas) for the first time!

SJB993

Tim is quite right about LHD prices.

For example, my local Independent Porsche Specialist (who are around 40 miles west of London - and whom I can highly recommend for sales/servicing), currenty have a '97 C2S, with 55K miles on it going for GBP26K (c. USD49K).

You would also be able to save money by buying from a private seller, the links below may give you some more prices to consider.

www.northwayporsche.co.uk (this is where the C2S is)
www.911uk.com (there are quite a few private sellers on the website)
www.rsjsportscars.co.uk and www.911virgin.com (specialist used Porsche dealers about 20 miles west of London that ususally have several LHD cars)
www.autotrader.co.uk (general car selling website, but since it is nationwide and does carry quite a few Porsches, it may show if there are regional variations in prices).

maurice97C2S

On a right hand drive headlight, the low beam cutoff will rise to the left to illuminate kerbs, footpaths, horse riders out in the dark .... on a LHD headlight the beam will rise to the right ... the lever acts to flatten the beam cutoff in both. So its not ideal for driving on the opposite side to normal.

HTH, cheers, Maurice

agdamis

Good Morning UK!

I am an FX trader so I get in early in the morning, 7am in Chicago and at the office coming to you from the tallest building in the US. Looks like you boys and girls were busy overnight. So if I am reading this correctly, If I can avoid VAT and import duty it may be worth paying away to make it UK legal. It is probably equally good to purchase a LHD in the UK. Very good. I may be looking at September of 2006 to possibly move so I will reconsider at that time.

ZoomZoom If I make it over I will absolutely get a pint with you. thanks for all the track info I LOVE IT!

Steve the web sites were a huge help.

Maurice, Graham, Tim, Jean-Pierre, Dudley, Phelix thanks again for all the input.

Please allow me to take the time again to thank everyone for the information.

I may PM you guys for specific questions.

zoomzoom

Maurice, Thanks for the clarification! Cheers -