Importing Canadian car into UK

[f00kie]

Hi all,

I found this forum via Google, but most of the threads relating to this question were a bit old and/or didn't specifically apply to my situation.

I am looking to do an intra-company work transfer from Toronto to London, and potentially bringing my car with me. The car has is a 2012 VW GTI, bought in Canada. The reason I am looking to bring it over is that it has something like $25K in performance parts in it (parts + labour). This includes toying with emissions -- however, I can put back the original emissions-altering components temporarily to pass the test if necessary.

Is this something that I should be even looking into? From a work perspective, I will be on a 2 or 3 year contract, so technically, not a "permanent" move -- and my visa will support that as will (temp visa). Could I even just keep it plated in Canada?

I am not looking to do anything illegal, just some advise. Also advise on a LHD car in London (I see lots of Middle Eastern cars like that in the city, but realistically is it useful)? I track my car for fun, and it's a beast, so hence why I would love to be able to bring it over. Also, selling it would be very problematic with the amount of modifications.

Thanks!

[Herman Toothrot]

How's the Canadian market for 2nd hand performance parts? In the uk stripping performance parts off cars and selling those parts you get a lot of money back.

[f00kie]

Herman Toothrot said:

How's the Canadian market for 2nd hand performance parts? In the uk stripping performance parts off cars and selling those parts you get a lot of money back.

It's there. I can easily ship to the US, so that's not the issue. But the labour of taking the parts off (I already travel ~weekly from Canada to Europe and just don't have the free time to do it myself) doesn't make it too worthwhile for me. It can be done and is certainly an option though.

[SLCZ3]

You would probably find that being LHD and with significant mods, that the insurance would be prohibitive.

[SuperVM]

My wife's from Toronto and we were there with our kids about a month ago, we live on the outskirts of London. London and Toronto are two extremely different cities, particularly when it comes to driving. I absolutely love cars, as do most of us on this site, but I think people who make a point of driving through London must hate themselves. You'll be bringing your car over to average 6 mph through the city, which seems a little pointless. You'll also find it's a much tighter city to drive around than Toronto, which isn't going to be great with your car being LHD. While roads like the 401 are very busy, I found they generally moved reasonably well and we were able to get from the airport into the centre fairly quickly, though obviously my time over there was fairly limited. The tube network here is also far more comprehensive than the subway in Toronto, so the necessity of having a car is far less. I think you're better off getting rid of your car and buying something you wouldn't be able to buy in Canada, if you find you really want something while you're here.

[wibble cb]

Is the transfer going to be permanent? I moved the other way, but only shipped my car once the move became permanent, if its only for a year or two, maybe store it?
As to insurance, it will cost you, but hey, you're used to Ontario insurance rates, so perhaps you won't be shocked!

I used to drive a LHD Renault 5 in London, it wasn't hard (I drive a RHD car in Toronto, I seem to get by)....just be careful on right turns and overtaking, so long as you hang back to ensure the path ahead is clear, or have a passenger that can assist, its not that big of an issue.

Shipping from England to Toronto was 3500 cad, it may actually be cheaper the other way round, but perhaps look up if the car will be allowed into the UK in the first place, as aside from the emissions, the lights will also be pointing the wrong way( though you can get deflectors in car accessory shops (Halfords being one).

More information here:

https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/...

[skyrover]

just ship it

Insurance will be expensive... but there's no such thing as cheap insurance in the Uk

[f00kie]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think the right move is either selling or storing the vehicle -- importing sounds prohibitively difficult and expensive.

[folos]

If you're not a permanent resident would there even be a need to register it?

If there is how do all the middle easternerS get away with it?

[ViperDave]

folos said:

If you're not a permanent resident would there even be a need to register it?

If there is how do all the middle easternerS get away with it?

You have to register it after 6 months, but as they pointed out on the telly the other morning, they don't track cars coming and going particularly well so there isn't really any way to enforce it.

If you were to do it by the book you would need to put it through an IVA test, the requirements are here

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploa...

If the car has the US FMVSS or CMVSS sticker then you can forget about the aspects of the test as listed in the section about non eu acceptable standards, Those exemptions can be thrown out the window though if the component has been modified, so you will likely have to meet the emissions test standards rather than put a tick in the box on the strength of the sticker.

As for shipping, expect about £1500 - £2000 plus 1% maritime insurance, shipping may be a little less depending on ports and roro or container.

[f00kie]

Reviving this a bit.

So I looked into my vehicle a lot more. Original cost was about $44K CAD. Cars of my age (3 years) are going for $25K CAD right now. I've also put in $34K CAD into the car over the years. I am not sure I can sell for over $30-35K CAD, if anyone actually does buy it.

I've looked into cost of shipment before. It was only $1K USD including insurance by RoRo boat to the UK (Southampton). So that's not the issue (and company may even cover that as moving expense).

Based on this link (https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/temporary-imports), if I am there for a set work time (doesn't say how much), I may not even need to register it, and therefore would not need to go through any inspections/taxes. I am just not sure if it would apply to my situation: while my contract would be temporary, I am doing an intra-company transfer, and therefore would become employed by the UK branch of my company. I would of course need to get international car insurance; I know little about how much that could cost.

I would not plan to drive the vehicle in London much. It would be with me more so for weekend excursions, to explore Europe, and not to lose out on the significant time and money put into it. For example, would absolutely love to take the car on the Nurburgring.

Thoughts?

Edited by f00kie on Monday 11th August 21:53

Edited by f00kie on Monday 11th August 21:57

[f00kie]

Reading more and more into it, I think I can keep the vehicle in the UK without registering it for as long as I have a "temporary" work contract. Even if it is 3 years, and I am on a visa, I have yet to find somewhere that says that is too long. So success on that end, I think.

The next questions become how expensive would my international insurance be, how expensive would parking be in London, and whether it is all worth it.