Advice for US native moving to London - Parts, Cars from US?

Advice for US native moving to London - Parts, Cars from US?

Author
Discussion

element6

Original Poster:

41 posts

110 months

Sunday 4th January 2015
quotequote all
Just thinking hypothetically about the position I am in. I'm moving in April from Miami, FL to London. Obviously in a rush to get rid of my several cars here and all of my other worldly possessions that I see no use in trying to bring with me. Meanwhile, my employer will be covering much of my moving expenses, so I am looking for some rare things to bring along if possible.

I'm very into cars, have owned quite a few interesting ones, and have many good contacts that have come out of those experiences.

Mostly into BMW's (classics are my favorites) but appreciate anything interesting. Still trying to decide on what my first RHD car may be when I arrive in April. Elise 111R? Sorted MGB GT? Another E30? 2002? I'm going to need to observe roads and driving habits before making that call.

Anways, I come here to ask what (if at all advantageous) use my position here allows me. I'm surrounded by american cars and NA only models. Is there anything rare or special that I could bring with? Obviously, I won't be arriving with a crate full of LS1's, but how about rare parts or a US car that I could coordinate the transport of?

Maybe a stupid question. Oh well, thanks for looking.

Jabosoc

2,335 posts

230 months

Sunday 4th January 2015
quotequote all
I can't offer any advice other than if you do choose a BMW when you get over here, then BMW Car Club GB is an excellent club to be a part of.

Aside from that, best of luck with the move!

Codswallop

5,250 posts

193 months

Sunday 4th January 2015
quotequote all
Welcome wavey

Would you be looking to bring a car over for yourself to use or to sell on?

A lot of people here are wary of using a LHD car, but there are plenty of folk who appreciate classic Americana in all forms. There's also plenty of specialists to sort you with any parts you may need too.

Fas1975

1,777 posts

163 months

Sunday 4th January 2015
quotequote all
Dodge Challenger hellcat would be a hit. Import, run for a few months and sell with no loss I would wager

V8forweekends

2,481 posts

123 months

Sunday 4th January 2015
quotequote all
Hi

I have three 50s and 60s US made cars that are RHD - every few years the US auto industry has a go at selling cars here. Ironically, RHD US stuff is unloved over here.

To get to your question, supply of even rare stuff here for us enthusiasts is good, we have a number of specialist importers and suppliers, and I deal direct with a number of US businesses as well as couple of UK ones for my parts.

I honestly think there's not much you could source that we can't - unless you have some magical supplies. As for cars, quite a few US dealers advertise over here and lots of us keep an eye on Hemmings and the like. Any US car that is desirable here can be bought pretty easily.

This is one of the enthusiast mags here, but there are others -

http://www.classic-american.com/Current-Issue/


Welcome, I really hope you like it here - the biggest difference is going to be driving habits and traffic volumes. London is unlike most US cities in terms of traffic.....

Edited by V8forweekends on Sunday 4th January 23:47

daveofedinburgh

556 posts

118 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
As a Scotsman who has lived in London for 4 years, and has lots of family (and therefore regularly visit the US) I can hopefully make a useful contribution here.

Every time I visit the US I tend to opt immediately for a huge, comfortable 4x4 (SUV!) or a big engined Mustang or similar. This is based purely on the novelty of having huge roads and car-friendly infrastructure, and lovely cheap gas prices.

The main differences here are that the roads/ infrastructure are much less accommodating for larger vehicles, and gas prices are depressingly high (although currently sitting uncharacteristically low). Ofcourse it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work these things out, but these really are your main considerations.

The fact that you are looking at Elises, MGs, E30s etc tells me that you won't have much of an issue. Small, compact, relatively economical and able to entertain when you escape the city is exactly what you'll want. Are these your genuine preferences, or are you pandering to the hard-nosed PHers a little?! ;-)

I guess it's dependant on where you are in London. I lived in Chiswick when I first moved to the big city, which is relatively central. I had a couple of mk1 MX5s, which were utterly perfect for that area. I now live in north London (if you can call Watford 'north London'!) and could easily run pretty much any car I like without issue. Outer, more suburban areas like this aren't much different to most other parts of the UK, provided your not planning to drive into the city regularly.

Do you really want to be in something like an Elise every day? Great proposition as a weekend car, but unless you've got short legs it won't be much fun as a daily. If you do have a nasty London commute, consider auto vs stick- I bought my second MX5 because it was an auto, clutching in the North Circular traffic every day just became a bit too much.

Don't compromise too much though, once your out of the city there are some really wonderful driving roads down here, although maybe not quite enough to rival Scotland! Assuming a city commute, I'd suggest 2 cars may work better for you. You may well find one car in the 'sweet spot', but its not an easy ask. Also worth bearing in mind that parking is much less plentiful over here- even in Watford there aren't many people who have space for 2 or more cars. As mentioned, LHD cars don't really fly over here, although I personally don't care!

Whatever you end up with, keep posting and let us know. Willing to bet you'll love London, an amazing city to live in!


element6

Original Poster:

41 posts

110 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
daveofedinburgh said:
As a Scotsman who has lived in London for 4 years, and has lots of family (and therefore regularly visit the US) I can hopefully make a useful contribution here.

Every time I visit the US I tend to opt immediately for a huge, comfortable 4x4 (SUV!) or a big engined Mustang or similar. This is based purely on the novelty of having huge roads and car-friendly infrastructure, and lovely cheap gas prices.

The main differences here are that the roads/ infrastructure are much less accommodating for larger vehicles, and gas prices are depressingly high (although currently sitting uncharacteristically low). Ofcourse it doesn't take a rocket scientist to work these things out, but these really are your main considerations.

The fact that you are looking at Elises, MGs, E30s etc tells me that you won't have much of an issue. Small, compact, relatively economical and able to entertain when you escape the city is exactly what you'll want. Are these your genuine preferences, or are you pandering to the hard-nosed PHers a little?! ;-)

I guess it's dependant on where you are in London. I lived in Chiswick when I first moved to the big city, which is relatively central. I had a couple of mk1 MX5s, which were utterly perfect for that area. I now live in north London (if you can call Watford 'north London'!) and could easily run pretty much any car I like without issue. Outer, more suburban areas like this aren't much different to most other parts of the UK, provided your not planning to drive into the city regularly.

Do you really want to be in something like an Elise every day? Great proposition as a weekend car, but unless you've got short legs it won't be much fun as a daily. If you do have a nasty London commute, consider auto vs stick- I bought my second MX5 because it was an auto, clutching in the North Circular traffic every day just became a bit too much.

Don't compromise too much though, once your out of the city there are some really wonderful driving roads down here, although maybe not quite enough to rival Scotland! Assuming a city commute, I'd suggest 2 cars may work better for you. You may well find one car in the 'sweet spot', but its not an easy ask. Also worth bearing in mind that parking is much less plentiful over here- even in Watford there aren't many people who have space for 2 or more cars. As mentioned, LHD cars don't really fly over here, although I personally don't care!

Whatever you end up with, keep posting and let us know. Willing to bet you'll love London, an amazing city to live in!
Thanks for the contribution. Very helpful indeed.

Our highways here in FL are wide, long, straight, and extremely boring. Living in PA was much more enjoyable for driving pleasure. Everything here in FL is a long straight-away or a 6 lane wide local route. It's just a tremendous, disappointing grid.. look at it on the map!

With that being said, a large, comfortable car is typically my choice around here too.. the only reason I won't buy one is because it's just me driving around alone 95% of the time.

I am actually quite a bit partial to those cars, yes smile. I am short (5'6") and won't be driving around for work, especially not within London. My car may be used for work occasionally, but only when I need to drive somewhere to meet our customers outside London.

I say an E30 because I just had to let go of my '87 convertible E30 (Early model - slim tails). It had a few things done to it here and there but I hadn't dug into the project much before being informed of the job opportunity. Mainly just a rebuilt M20, fresh head, Racing Dynamics Headers (NOS) coated in CeramicX, and a very nice, catless exhaust with B&B Tri-Flos and an 18" Vibrant resonator. It sounded beautiful. (I love the emissions standards in Florida - anything goes. Absolutely anything.) It might be fun to hop into an E30 touring with an M20 or a swap. They are very sought after over here lately since the ones that are 25 and older are now legal to import and register.

Elise, because I loved driving my friends 2005 Elise when he had it. The UK 111R Elise S2 is the same thing as the one we got over here.. I guess Lotus called it the Federal Elise.. to us it was just known as the Elise. No other trim levels available. Additionally, if you are lucky enough to find a well maintained example, say a 2005, it will cost you upwards of 25000GBP. They aren't cheap here. From what I see for sale, I can find a very nice 111R there for under 20k.

Lastly, an MGB GT because it would be a blast.. easily. My father's very first car here in the US was a '68 MGB Roadster. The MGB GT's are pretty hard to find here. In my life, I have never seen one on the road. A GT with a swap or V8 would be very interesting.. especially if it were track suitable.

In addition to unloading my E30 vert, I am currently selling off my '00 Z3 M Roadster (Makes 450WHP with a turbo S52, Precision SC61, lots of work done) and my daily... wait for it.. '00 Honda Insight - yes, the space shuttle looking one. And yes, it was quite a bit modified too, but not to go fast, more for efficiency and preventive maintenance. In my current role I drive about 35,000 miles for work a year. The Insight was a necessity for that. The other cars don't get used for work related stuff. I'll be assuming a new role in London and won't need to drive much if at all.. so a weekend car would be preferable as my only car.

Getting back to my main reason for creating this thread, I was kind of curious if there was any demand for any older US only cars.. but it seems like the market for classics is pretty well permeated to suit the demand for them. I have to admit though, I have a lot of good contacts here in FL (huge classic car buff population) that have all sorts of interesting stuff for sale every now and then. To my knowledge the classics are easier to import and register than trying to make a late model, USDM, LHD car road compliant in the UK. But importing/exporting a complete car is no easy task no matter how you put it. I'd really need to experience the car culture over there for a year or so before making that kind of call.

Same sort of situation applies to rare or USDM only parts.. Obviously I'm not thinking of freighting in a container full of LS1's, but figured there may be some rare stuff here that certain circles of enthusiasts there are always seeking.

For example, here, in my large circle of e30 friends, the following items are very sought after:
M-Technic 1 lips, aprons, valences, skirts, steering wheels, etc.
M-Technic 2 wings, lips, front/rear bumpers, skirts, etc.
Anything Hartge - wheels, aero kits, period correct engine parts like valve covers, exhaust, etc.
Anything BBS (probably just as high a demand for BBS anywhere you go in the world)
Euro S50B32's
Alpina parts
E-Code headlights (Hellas. We call them Euro Smileys and Elipsoids here)
Startec and MHW Tail Light Lenses (Crack free startec's can sell for upwards of $600 USD for a pair)
Euro clusters, Euro only parts, etc. There's a lot of other stuff but that's a bit off the top of my head.

So as I arrive, get settled, and start to make my way out to car shows, I think I will gain a better understanding of what USDM parts and cars may be popular there. Until then I will keep planning on my first UK car purchase!

Thanks again

element6

Original Poster:

41 posts

110 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
Jabosoc said:
I can't offer any advice other than if you do choose a BMW when you get over here, then BMW Car Club GB is an excellent club to be a part of.

Aside from that, best of luck with the move!
Thanks. Never saw that site. I hav ebeen a member of e30zone for years but not too much activity there. Here we have bimmerforums.net, r3vlimited.com, and e30tech.com

dench

42 posts

112 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
Brace yourself for proper full spec'd euro automobiles once you get there. Enjoy.


element6

Original Poster:

41 posts

110 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
V8forweekends said:
Welcome, I really hope you like it here - the biggest difference is going to be driving habits and traffic volumes. London is unlike most US cities in terms of traffic.....
Very nice primer. Thanks for the welcome and the link to the classics mag. Can't wait to get there and start checking out the UK car scene. April should be a very good time of year for me to move.. hopefully allows me time to get settled and experience the start of summer and such.

element6

Original Poster:

41 posts

110 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
dench said:
Brace yourself for proper full spec'd euro automobiles once you get there. Enjoy.
My primary anticipation.. biggrin

NNH

1,515 posts

131 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
If you import anything you've owned for more than 6 months outside Britain then you don't need to pay import duty, though you're then not allowed to sell it for 12 months in the UK. I did this to bring my Cayman over, as it would have cost a lot more to sell mine and buy an equivalent here. If you already have a car you like, I'd advise doing the same.

Driving a LHD car in Britain isn't a terribly big issue, and I find that more than a third of my mileage is done in Europe anyway where LHD is the "right" way round.

Robert Elise

956 posts

144 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
NNH said:
If you import anything you've owned for more than 6 months outside Britain then you don't need to pay import duty, though you're then not allowed to sell it for 12 months in the UK. I did this to bring my Cayman over, as it would have cost a lot more to sell mine and buy an equivalent here. If you already have a car you like, I'd advise doing the same.

Driving a LHD car in Britain isn't a terribly big issue, and I find that more than a third of my mileage is done in Europe anyway where LHD is the "right" way round.
You can sell LHD cars in UK easily and often at a premium to RHD. Cars in many continental countries are much more expensive. I'd be looking to import a car (or 2) and selling on after 12 months.
Elise is a good call outside London. They start at less than 20k too. visit seloc.org

Rich1973

1,191 posts

176 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
Pavement
Bonnet
Boot
Colour

All useful new words to add to your vocabulary!

Oh, and when in a shop, its 'could I have'...

Just kidding. Hope you enjoy blighty.

Mike Biddle

84 posts

193 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
What about congestion charge and the other thing, pollution charge or whatever, is that going to be an issue, or are London residents exempt?

Mike Biddle

84 posts

193 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
What about congestion charge and the other thing, pollution charge or whatever, is that going to be an issue, or are London residents exempt?

ecsrobin

17,019 posts

164 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
Will you have space in the shipping container after you fill it with iPads? http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

And don't forget to post in the food forum as the most money will be made on American cereals and sweets. I'll buy all your smores pop tarts.

Jabosoc

2,335 posts

230 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
element6 said:
In addition to unloading my E30 vert, I am currently selling off my '00 Z3 M Roadster (Makes 450WHP with a turbo S52, Precision SC61, lots of work done) and my daily... wait for it.. '00 Honda Insight - yes, the space shuttle looking one. And yes, it was quite a bit modified too, but not to go fast, more for efficiency and preventive maintenance.
Pics of the Z3M and Insight please. Two cars that are high on my list of stuff to own. Did the US spec Z3M use the proper Euro-spec S50 or the mildly fettled and stroked M52?

Oh, and with regard to shows, get yourself to Retro Rides Gathering at Shelsley Walsh in August.

Bluebarge

4,519 posts

177 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
I think Derek Trotter got here before you.

Given current airport security, anyone turning up with 40 Ipads in his luggage is likely to be spending some time handcuffed to a table whilst being "examined", but don't let me stop you.

Your idea of bringing trinkets for the natives will not go well,I fear.

NNH

1,515 posts

131 months

Tuesday 6th January 2015
quotequote all
Mike Biddle said:
What about congestion charge and the other thing, pollution charge or whatever, is that going to be an issue, or are London residents exempt?
If you live inside the zone, you get a 90% discount by paying annually. If you don't live in the zone, you'd be pretty much mad to want to drive there anyway smile
https://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/congestion-ch...

Many London boroughs also have an annual or monthly charge for residents to park on the street, which offers a big saving on non-residents' rates. Pollution charge only applies to large commercial vehicles (currently), but annual car tax is determined by fuel efficiency rather than car value.