KJPAuto 0 Posted April 4, 2019 I'm a car dealer in the States, have UK citizenship, (born in England). I'm exploring an export business sending American cars back to England. Shipping VAT import fees seem pretty straight forward but unclear of the legal requirements to sell in the UK. For starters I'd likely do less than 10 cars a year. Have storage facilities in England, don't need a designated car lot/dealership. Any advice would be appreciated! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mikey360 68 Posted April 4, 2019 Wait and see what happens with brexit first! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metcars 397 Posted April 4, 2019 24 minutes ago, Mikey360 said: Wait and see what happens with brexit first! ^ ^ ^ This! Out of curiosity, what cars you'll be shipping? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Autolink100 34 Posted April 4, 2019 I used to import a lot of cars and trucks from the states. Going back about 15 years I was probably one of the biggest UK importers of American Pick Up trucks. The best seller was the Dodge Ram but I also bought in F150's, Chevy's, Hummers and a few Mustangs. Back then the exchange rate was over $2.00 to the pound and it was worth doing. As the exchange rate slipped back it gradually became not worth doing and it eventually reached the point that I could earn more money out of something I bought at BCA. The last thing I bought in was a bright yellow 2012 Camaro Bumblebee look alike that I was stuck with for over a year and ended up taking money back. I think I had about £25K tied up in it and didn't earn a bean out of it so that was the end of it for me. The problem with a lot of American stuff is that you have to sit on it and wait for the right man to come along, I bought in a brand new Chevy SSR once and had to sit and look at it for two and a half years!. To say it is a niche market is a slight understatement to say the least and most of the big players who were at it when I was have disappeared and moved on to other things with the exception of a firm called 51st state Autos but the guy obviously has the money to burn as it's mainly pretty lumpy late gear that he deals in. It's a real shame as I have some fantastic contacts over there and still have auction access but for me $1.30 to the pound just doesn't make it worthwhile. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Autolink100 34 Posted April 4, 2019 I used to sell quite a few to people in Europe and here's why. The rules were (and maybe still are) that if a car had been previously registered in a EU state, it could then be registered in any other EU state. It was a doddle to register a Pick Up here in the UK, much easier than say France or Germany so if they bought one here that was UK registered it was much easier to register over there. It was very difficult to register a US car in France for example if it had come directly from the US but much easier if it had been registered here first. There was lot of work to do apart from all the shipping and customs. Anything from the US had to go through a conformity test with the ministry which used to be called an SVA test, then you had to MOT it and finally register it. All told it would normally be around 3 months from buying in the US to having it ready to retail over here and sometimes quite a bit longer if you missed a shipping date etc. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Contracts 68 Posted April 4, 2019 Have imported a couple of cars from the US, as mentioned above they were really great news when the exchange rate was in our favour, not so much now and who knows if we ever manage to sort Brexit! The fact you are out there puts you at an advantage as you can handle the export side, I would advise a container as I remember seeing a Mustang at the clearance centre that had been robbed of parts. out of interest, what are you looking to import? New US only models or older Euro spec? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
awc1000 93 Posted April 4, 2019 7 hours ago, KJPAuto said: I'm a car dealer in the States, have UK citizenship, (born in England). I'm exploring an export business sending American cars back to England. Shipping VAT import fees seem pretty straight forward but unclear of the legal requirements to sell in the UK. For starters I'd likely do less than 10 cars a year. Have storage facilities in England, don't need a designated car lot/dealership. Any advice would be appreciated! not much call for it now for a few reasons, classics have slowed here, exchange rate poor, the few main sellers now available here in right hand drive - mustang, corvette cadilac sr. etc?there is a bit of life in british classics in lhd if they are cheap basket cases. being u.s.a based you should use it too your advantage and try it in reverse- exchange rate is good for you, and you should be looking closer at your u.s.a 25 year rule if you know what i mean, just don't tell everyone 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CCC 31 Posted April 4, 2019 41 minutes ago, awc1000 said: not much call for it now for a few reasons, classics have slowed here, exchange rate poor, the few main sellers now available here in right hand drive - mustang, corvette cadilac sr. etc?there is a bit of life in british classics in lhd if they are cheap basket cases. being u.s.a based you should use it too your advantage and try it in reverse- exchange rate is good for you, and you should be looking closer at your u.s.a 25 year rule if you know what i mean, just don't tell everyone Had pondered this as the exchange rate slides. Got a brother in Canada so was thinking of looking for LHD stuff to export. And as you say, 25 yr rule helps. I think Skylines will be hitting this shortly, though all RHD I guess. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
awc1000 93 Posted April 4, 2019 1 minute ago, CCC said: Had pondered this as the exchange rate slides. Got a brother in Canada so was thinking of looking for LHD stuff to export. And as you say, 25 yr rule helps. I think Skylines will be hitting this shortly, though all RHD I guess. not just or really LHD, and i think skylines are available stateside already? there is stuff here that wasn't available in the states for various reasons emmissions / crash safety etc, a lot of these will start to leave the u.k under the 25 year exemption rule, a certain brands better models are now starting to qualify for the 25 year rule and coupled to the dollar buying a lot of sterling i'll not be surprised to see and exodus here. 6 minutes ago, twerp said: That scene has been milked already for the past few years Remember when R32 GTRs were £5k... not the later euro spec cars yet, these are not eligible stateside until being 25 years old, currently that means 1994 and backwards, the later euro hotter spec cars 95-98 will be on the export radar soon, if you have one hang onto it for now! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KJPAuto 0 Posted April 4, 2019 Thanks for the replies. My focus would be on classic stuff, I understand VAT is much lower on anything 30 years old. Brexit has to sort itself out before I do a thing, agreed. The original plan was to export, then import back to the US keeping the funds tied up in inventory. Sadly, Europe was going to be a secondary market but who the hell knows what will happen now. Agreed, if the rate takes a dive coming over and spending there to bring back to the US is a consideration. Can anyone shed some light on these areas: How many cars can you sell as "personal" vehicles? Do the vehicles have to be registered in my name to bring them in, or is sending them with title paperwork sufficient? What are the costs and availability of a trader plate? Appreciate all the help and good luck with Brexit, seems like a right cock up from over here. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metcars 397 Posted April 5, 2019 The japs like a classic? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlorenceDude 0 Posted December 9, 2019 How about buying a piece of land next to your house and put up a fence. That's what some car dealers do in my country. I don't think this would be such expensive and it will be cheaper than renting a parking lot for sure. If your area is expensive, find another area, maybe next to one of your relative's farm. Next to a farm will be cheaper. But I'm not an expert, that's the opinion of an ordinary mortal. The only thing that tied me once to a ship car company was my car needing to be shipped from one state to another. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casper 272 Posted December 9, 2019 Not really related I remember a dealer near here used to bring a lot of stuff in from Ireland new and unregistered and also some newish stuff with irish plates i thought about it at the time but never had the contacts or know how back then was probably around 15 years now Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metcars 397 Posted December 9, 2019 (edited) An non-trade friend of mine on a non-motoring forum purchased a Japanese imported BMW from a performance and prestige car dealer here in the UK. I could not see the 'advantage' of a Japanese car as the spec appears the same, maybe in better condition underneath but 'meh' why bother? And other than the odd classic skyline or Subaru I thought the whole Jap import thing was dead? Edited December 9, 2019 by metcars Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Contracts 68 Posted December 9, 2019 There seem to be a couple of dealers importing semi classic Jap stuff, Volvos, Jags etc plus lots of weird and wacky, just check this sellers items https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FORD-FALCON-LIMOUSINE-HEARSE-FUNERAL-CAR-ROLLS-ROYCE-FRONT-9-SEATER-AND-CASKET/352881853758?hash=item522965c53e:g:NSQAAOSwi4labHi8 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metcars 397 Posted December 10, 2019 50 minutes ago, twerp said: Lots of used Prius coming through - I do wonder what the margin is after competing with worldwide buyers + shipping etc True. Although I can see the potential in a Prius compared to a 10yr old 5 series? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
awc1000 93 Posted December 10, 2019 4 hours ago, twerp said: Lots of used Prius coming through - I do wonder what the margin is after competing with worldwide buyers + shipping etc margins are quite big on the unusual or sporty stuff, ex japan stuff looks cheap on auction results, there isn't much competition on buying because the stuff is all RHD, no appetite for buyers in surrounding asia, i can't understand how it pays to import a prius though?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Screenman 47 Posted December 11, 2019 I am a UK distributor for a USA company, it is hurting at the moment and sales into Europe which I used to do stopped over two years ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metcars 397 Posted December 11, 2019 2 hours ago, Screenman said: I am a UK distributor for a USA company, it is hurting at the moment and sales into Europe which I used to do stopped over two years ago. I’ve mentioned before about my daughter selling US beauty products. Some of the make-up and bath/shower products are great sellers, but the shops are only interested in selling to US customers. They clearly do not see Europe as an area worth encouraging or developing? We pay the delivery costs, not them! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Screenman 47 Posted December 11, 2019 34 minutes ago, metcars said: I’ve mentioned before about my daughter selling US beauty products. Some of the make-up and bath/shower products are great sellers, but the shops are only interested in selling to US customers. They clearly do not see Europe as an area worth encouraging or developing? We pay the delivery costs, not them! And those delivery costs are hurting big style, UPS, DHL etc. put their prices up by a third within a week of the UK voting out. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Autreacher 0 Posted April 2, 2020 (edited) To be honest, I think it will be nice to have a service like that one, that I used last month when I moving from the east coast to the west coast, but for transportation all around the world. To cut it short, I was moving and I thought that transporting my car would take me a lot of money and time. The idea was that a transportation was the best idea for me and I was looking for the best transportation service, because my car costed me too much and I love this car too much. So, I found the best car transport service that provides its services all around the country. I paid more than 1000$ but its worth, more than that I was able to have an enclosed transportation with a 24/7 GPS tracking service. It would be nice to have such a service worldwide Edited April 9, 2020 by Autreacher Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
David Ayers 171 Posted April 2, 2020 18 minutes ago, Autreacher said: I want to transport my car, inside the country from one coast to another, any advice? Drive it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
New year revolutions...... 197 Posted April 2, 2020 See here,I remember reading this first time round https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/a1877791/introduction-volkswagen-diesel-misery-driver-training-class-1982/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Casper 272 Posted April 2, 2020 (edited) 12 minutes ago, New year revolutions...... said: See here,I remember reading this first time round https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/a1877791/introduction-volkswagen-diesel-misery-driver-training-class-1982/ Before my time only just your showing your age now .. Edited April 2, 2020 by Casper Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
