UK Imports

[Ynot]

apologies if this is covered elsewhere on this site...
I’m looking for some guidance on importing an ex-Japan (or elsewhere) landcruiser into the UK.
I’ve had a scoot around the site and looked for a search option, but no joy...
I’m wondering what are the pros and cons of importing a vehicle from overseas?
What might the costs be - ballpark...
Anyone’s good/bad experiences of doing a personal import...
Any and all advice/recommendations will be taken into consideration...
Thanks....

 

[StarCruiser]

The only thing I can offer is that I drive a JDM HDJ81 and am very pleased with it. All parts so far have been available. It was like it had just come out the factory when I first got it at 9 years old.

There is a search option shown top right as a magnifying glass. Not sure but it may only show after 15 posts or something like that.

 

[TALAMAN]

Approx cost of shipping from Cyprus is £1200 with all fees and insurances, maybe a little less.
80 Series are getting rarer here but a good one can still be found - plenty of 90/95 series about. Good thing about Cyprus is no rust the downside, there is plenty of off roading here so you need to pick carefully.

 

[Ynot]

Approx cost of shipping from Cyprus is £1200 with all fees and insurances, maybe a little less.
80 Series are getting rarer here but a good one can still be found - plenty of 90/95 series about. Good thing about Cyprus is no rust the downside, there is plenty of off roading here so you need to pick carefully.

Thanks for this.
I did have a quick look around, even saw what looked like quite a nice SWB, though it had been fiddled with...
Not my cup of tea... But, will check again from time to time - thanks for that...

 

[TALAMAN]

If this helps, some good websites here are :-
https://www.bazaraki.com/
https://www.bestcypruscar.com/cars/toyota/

There are quite a few!

 

[GeekOKent]

So.... make sure you do a bit of research first. Not all the bits on every import are going to be available locally.

Like wheels. 5x150pcd kind

 

[Ynot]

So.... make sure you do a bit of research first. Not all the bits on every import are going to be available locally.

Like wheels. 5x150pcd kind

Understood.
I’m rapidly cooling on the import idea. All sounds a bit too complicated...

 

[Michael Montgomery]

Maybe looking for a imported version of the truck your looking for is worth considering. What truck are you looking for?

We abroad are used to importing cars and yet in the UK were privileged to have all this work done for us and delivered to our door.

 

[Ben Stratford]

Import duty for cars younger than 25 yrs old is based on 20% of the value if the car and the shipping cost. Then registration is about £150 ish i think. Older than 25 and it may be accrpted as a historic vehicle which limits duty to just 5%. Worth checking all of the above as it was 2 yrs ago that i looked at importing a 40 from Oz that was £8.5k but turned out to be £2.5k shipping and insurance then another ££2.5 duty reg mot etc worst case so at £13.5 bought unseen i decided to pass and wait for a clean one to materialise in uk. Have only seen one and that was £20k so still dreaming.
Good luck from 10 miles away in Newton Abbot

 

[SeaJay]

also some Jap 4x4 have been left idling all day in ski resorts to keep the heater working, so low KM but high hours. If you do ship compare price of puting it in a seatainer to that of a Ro-Ro (roll on/roll off) vessel

 

[Ynot]

Maybe looking for a imported version of the truck your looking for is worth considering. What truck are you looking for?

We abroad are used to importing cars and yet in the UK were privileged to have all this work done for us and delivered to our door.

Yes, I’ve read through the processes - which if all went smoothly.... would probably be a miracle...
I’m looking for a SWB Prado auto.
They seem thin on the ground here.
Have seen one advertised in Chesham, it’s been on for a while, but it’s a long way for me to go for one “maybe”...
I wonder if it was discussed on here at any time... hmmm, will do a search..

 

[fbnss]

Yes, I’ve read through the processes - which if all went smoothly.... would probably be a miracle...
I’m looking for a SWB Prado auto.
They seem thin on the ground here.
Have seen one advertised in Chesham, it’s been on for a while, but it’s a long way for me to go for one “maybe”...
I wonder if it was discussed on here at any time... hmmm, will do a search..

whichever dealer it is in Chesham has been discussed, somewhere....
https://www.landcruiserclub.net/community/threads/just-a-heads-up.142501/#post-1376911
https://www.landcruiserclub.net/community/threads/massive-spec.144298/#post-1396948

 

[Ynot]

Import duty for cars younger than 25 yrs old is based on 20% of the value if the car and the shipping cost. Then registration is about £150 ish i think. Older than 25 and it may be accrpted as a historic vehicle which limits duty to just 5%. Worth checking all of the above as it was 2 yrs ago that i looked at importing a 40 from Oz that was £8.5k but turned out to be £2.5k shipping and insurance then another ££2.5 duty reg mot etc worst case so at £13.5 bought unseen i decided to pass and wait for a clean one to materialise in uk. Have only seen one and that was £20k so still dreaming.
Good luck from 10 miles away in Newton Abbot

It’s the costs in addition to the purchase price - all on an unseen vehicle. Not the kind of thing to be taken lightly.
As much as I’d like to get one... seems like I’m currently suffering from overwhelming inertia.
Reminds me of an old one liner...
Q. Do you ever have trouble making a decision?
A. Well, yes and no.

 

[Ynot]

whichever dealer it is in Chesham has been discussed, somewhere....
https://www.landcruiserclub.net/community/threads/just-a-heads-up.142501/#post-1376911
https://www.landcruiserclub.net/community/threads/massive-spec.144298/#post-1396948

Thanks Nick,
I did do a quick search too.
Although the particular vehicle wasn’t mentioned (SWB Prado), the whole litany didn’t inspire confidence. Particularly the name changing and stock sharing... oh boy, what happened to selling a decent product for a fair price...

 

[Gr8Yota]

Importing isn’t too hard but if you’re buying a used vehicle unseen yes you’re taking a gamble. Cars from Japan are generally in good condition and no rust. Mods required for UK use are minimal, and easy to do. You’ll pay 10% duty and 20% VAT on the purchase price.

 

[Ynot]

Importing isn’t too hard but if you’re buying a used vehicle unseen yes you’re taking a gamble. Cars from Japan are generally in good condition and no rust. Mods required for UK use are minimal, and easy to do. You’ll pay 10% duty and 20% VAT on the purchase price.

Yes, 30% is quite a grab. But, that said - can still be worthwhile if, as I am finding, I can’t find my required vehicle any other way...
There are also some “age of the vehicle” conundrums aren’t there? Something about 10 years or 25 year old vehicles? Mind I doubt I’d be looking at anything over 25 years... but what is the 10 year age of the vehicle hurdle? Over 10 years - what happens? Under 10 years - what happens?

 

[Rob Cowell]

Cars under 10 years old need an Individual Vehical Approval. If it's LHD you need basic IVA which is pretty basic, and why if you see newish 70 series being imported they'll be LHD because RHD would have to meet emissions standards, and they don't.

Over 25 years old affects import duty, you pay less of it.

 

[Ynot]

Cars under 10 years old need an Individual Vehical Approval. If it's LHD you need basic IVA which is pretty basic, and why if you see newish 70 series being imported they'll be LHD because RHD would have to meet emissions standards, and they don't.

Over 25 years old affects import duty, you pay less of it.

I think maybe the penny has finally dropped, thank you for clearing that up...
Just to make sure I understand, to bring in a RHD - and not be scuppered by emissions standards here in UK - the vehicle has to be over 10 years old?

 

[moggy1968]

Cars under 10 years old need an Individual Vehical Approval. If it's LHD you need basic IVA which is pretty basic, and why if you see newish 70 series being imported they'll be LHD because RHD would have to meet emissions standards, and they don't.

Over 25 years old affects import duty, you pay less of it.

Troopies with the n/a 4.2 can be made compliant by adding a (removable)dpf. Quite a few have been imported, in rhd form. As far as I am aware, provided you have all the relevant data from the manufacturer, you don’t need an Iva.

 

[Rob Cowell]

Troopies with the n/a 4.2 can be made compliant by adding a (removable)dpf. Quite a few have been imported, in rhd form. As far as I am aware, provided you have all the relevant data from the manufacturer, you don’t need an Iva.

As I read it unless the manufacturer has got Whole Vehicle Type Approval (when they are importing and selling large numbers), then you definitely do need IVA. LHD means you can go for fairly simple basic IVA, no emissions test. Othwerwise its normal IVA.

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-approval/individual-vehicle-approval

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa..._data/file/277534/guide-to-the-iva-scheme.pdf

What markets get RHD n/a 4.2s? Only Troopies? A 79 I'd make an effort for.