Driving vehicle unregistered in UK

[anonymous-user]

Hi there

I'm looking to import a car from Japan, I just need to work out the logistics of what to do once its in the country.

While I don't really like the idea, I understand it is actually legal to drive a unregistered vehicle in the UK to a MOT, so that poses the question:

Can I drive an import from Southampton docks with no plates to my local garage in London for its pre booked MOT, then onto off the road storage where it'll stay until it is registered?

The gov site says it ok to drive to a MOT but of course doesn't give any specification of distance (Looks like it'll be a 90 mile drive all in).

Or should I play it save, bolt on a tow bar to my Jag and rent a trailer?

Edit: Title fail .

[TwigtheWonderkid]

You need to have it insured, so you need to find someone who will insure it on a chassis number. That used to be easy before computerisation, but now the standard answer is "the box will only accept up to 7 characters sir, so we can't help you."

[hman]

Trailer it or get it on a recovery truck - easiest option

[Vaud]

No limitation on MOT distance providing pre-booked, it is just not defined in law. No test of reasonable, etc - it can be 1 mile or 300.

Insured on chassis - find a good broker who can access those policies - maybe try a broker (Flux, Saffron)

Flux claim to specialise in imports. They have a member on PH as well, try emailing them:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/profile.asp?h=0...

https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/imports

[john2443]

Although it's OK to drive an un-MOTd car to an MOT (as frequently discussed on here!) I'd be surprised if you managed to drive from Soton to London with no reg plates on without getting stopped by plod whether it's legal or not.

I don't think it's worth the hassle of trying it, trailer or transporter would be best - it's not stupidly expensive to get someone with a truck to pick a car up.

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for the replies guys.

I forgot to mention that it would be insured on the vin before I even considered driving it.

I know that I am gonna get pulled once or twice (its an obscure modified Jap import, I am probably going go get pulled often when its got plates on! ) but if its a matter of "here's the paperwork, this is legal, goodbye" I'd be tempted to risk it, but Ill get some quotes for a trailer/low loader to work out the hassle to cost ratio.

On a similar note, I must be ok to drive the car from the mot to off the road storage (not at home location and a,couple of miles from the mot). The current gov advice is that you can only go to a MOT, but ive seen previous gov advice stating Home or a MOT.

Thanks

[Adrian E]

The test of its roadworthiness, if pursued at the roadside, is likely to include whether there is the appropriate rear fog light mounted on the offside and if you have an mph speedometer. The former is definitely required for an MOT and the latter is required by C&U but isn't part of the MOT. Not having either when you are on route to your pre-booked MOT is likely to result in an interesting roadside discussion, as both are offences in their own right.

If you've literally collected it off the boat and have no idea of its general roadworthiness, e.g. if the tyres are knackered, then having it collected on a suitable vehicle/trailer is likely to be a whole lot less grief than driving a 'potentially' unroadworthy vehicle up to 100 miles and hoping to only bump into a highly sympathetic traffic officer who won't take issue with it.

Having no plates on it will make it a magnet for anyone you pass to pull you over.

[TommoAE86]

Adrian E said:

The test of its roadworthiness, if pursued at the roadside, is likely to include whether there is the appropriate rear fog light mounted on the offside and #1 if you have an mph speedometer.

If you've literally collected it off the boat and have no idea of its general roadworthiness, e.g. if the #2 tyres are knackered, then having it collected on a suitable vehicle/trailer is likely to be a whole lot less grief than driving a 'potentially' unroadworthy vehicle up to 100 miles and hoping to only bump into a highly sympathetic traffic officer who won't take issue with it.

Having no plates on it will make it a magnet for anyone you pass to pull you over.

1. 1 Would you mind pointing me to the requirements for this? Just out of interest as there does seem to be alot of imported cars that run still in KPH.

1. 2 Agree on this, the tyres I got with my import were probably the ones from 1993 given the state they were in. Also like most imports, if it's arriving on a Ro-Ro you're gearknob is going to go walkabout and I can't imagine changing gear will be that easy without it.

I would go for trailering it up, do you have the work you need doing to get it road legal (e.g. to foglight) booked ready too? If you do can they not arrange transport?

[Adrian E]

TommoAE86 said:

1. 1 Would you mind pointing me to the requirements for this? Just out of interest as there does seem to be alot of imported cars that run still in KPH.

1. 2 Agree on this, the tyres I got with my import were probably the ones from 1993 given the state they were in. Also like most imports, if it's arriving on a Ro-Ro you're gearknob is going to go walkabout and I can't imagine changing gear will be that easy without it.

I would go for trailering it up, do you have the work you need doing to get it road legal (e.g. to foglight) booked ready too? If you do can they not arrange transport?

The speedometer requirement is a fudge. It's not part of the MOT test to check for mph markings, so it will pass. At registration of an import they ask you to confirm that all necessary modifications have been carried out, which the producer will duly sign. Person issuing documentation won't do much more in terms of checks. If it goes for IVA because of its age it should be spotted if it's not been done.

It is, however, a requirement in the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986 (as amended!) under Regulation 35:

35
(1) Save as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), every motor vehicle shall be fitted with a speedometer which, if the vehicle is first used on or after 1st April 1984, shall be capable of indicating speed in both miles per hour and kilometres per hour, either simultaneously or, by the operation of a switch, separately.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to—

(a) a vehicle having a maximum speed not exceeding 25 mph;

(b) a vehicle which it is at all times unlawful to drive at more than 25 mph;

(c) an agricultural motor vehicle which is not driven at more than 20 mph;

(d) a motor cycle first used before 1st April 1984 the engine of which has a cylinder capacity not exceeding 100 cc;

(e) an invalid carriage first used before 1st April 1984;

(f) a works truck first used before 1st April 1984;

(g) a vehicle first used before 1st October 1937; or

(h) a vehicle equipped with recording equipment marked with a marking designated as an approval mark by regulation 5 of the Approval Marks Regulations and shown at item 3 in Schedule 4 to those Regulations (whether or not the vehicle is required to be equipped with that equipment) and which, as regards the visual indications given by that equipment of the speed of the vehicle, complies with the requirements relating to the said indications and installations specified in the Community Recording Equipment Regulation.

(3) Instead of complying with paragraph (1) a vehicle may comply with [Community Directive 97/39] or with ECE Regulation 39.

[anonymous-user]

Shiply is quoting me around 200 quid for the 80 miles which to be honest is more than I was expecting, especially given I am going to drive down to the docks/clear the car anyway and come back (so no saving on fuel), so this idea is still open...

The car should be MOT ready off the boat , barring the foglight that I can wire in a matter of minutes so not much worry there, although is the exclusion of a foglight on its own enough to legallly make a vehicle "unroadworthy"? I wasnt planning on doing it until at the garage.

Thd car might be a total shed but thats the risk I'll take and obviously assess the car once I see it. In the event of a breakdown/its completely knackered I should be able to get a recovery/breakdown assistance worse coming to the worst (I work for a breakdown firm and would probably be able to call in favours if I was stranded with a unreged car, but its not something I want to ask for unless I have to) so I am not too worried about the car. Just the plod.

[Adrian E]

No foglight = not compliant with C&U. No mph speedo = not compliant with C&U. Either are offences at an absolute level if pulled, but may not be noticed. You may get away with it, you may not. If it comes off the boat with a bald tyre you'll be looking at a fine and 3 points if you chance it, so for the sake of £200 (or less if you can find someone cheaper) I'd be tempted to swallow the cost so as not to have a 100 mile journey with your sphincter twitching the whole way!

[TokyoRich]

I used to own an export company based in Japan, now my wife runs an import company here in Berkshire. I have driven cars from Southampton to Berkshire / London with no plates many many many times.

Just keep a copy of your insurance with you and proof that you just collected it from the port (Bill of Lading Copy should be fine) and make sure you have a booked MOT appointment to go to.

Regarding it not being MOT compliant - sure but that's the point really, you are driving it to an MOT to check this. It will need a rear fog light but as reading your thread its a 1993 car it will not need to be converted to MPH or a fuel restrictor or any of that other good stuff.

These days (I am older and "wiser") I use trade plates to play it safe. But in the old days I think that i have only been stopped maybe twice and I used to print an A4 sheet to stick on the back saying "En-route to MOT".

To be honest your biggest problems are going to be the following:

1. I assume you have bought this online hence have no idea what the car is actually like.. It may be the case that there are other problems that are going to put you in the hard shoulder
2. If the car (you mentioned heavily modified) is lowered then the RORO vessels sometime play havoc and knock them so badly that bits get damaged
3. Check the car thoroughly before driving. I picked up one car last month and the lashings on the boat had damaged a brake hose (this is a car I drove in Japan so i knew it well) and the brake fluid was leaking out - could have been bad.
4. The petrol tank will be empty and the battery flat which poses your biggest problem. There are 2 petrol station near the dock, one just around the corner and one just before you get onto the motorway but you will need to take a battery pack in order to restart the car once you fuel it (or leave the engine running as you fuel and pay - not recommended).

My guy charges me around a hundred from Southampton - Maidenhead, happy to introduce you if required - or ask your customs broker, they usually know all the local transport companies and are best place to coordinate release as the boats never come in when they are supposed to.

[anonymous-user]

Thanks for the info TokyoRich

The battery/Fuel thing is interesting and to be honest, not something I had considered - Do they disconnect the battery during transit? I would have thought a decent battery disconnected would take survive but then maybe no thinking about the low temps it'll see at sea. That just adds to the awkwardness.

And again, what you stay about the ship makes sense. I have also heard horror stories of aftermarket parts going walkies whilst on the ship, so again, might not be a great idea to bank on being able to do a 80 mile trip.

Would love the info of your transporter guy. Anywhere near a oner it makes sense, At £200+ I'd be more tempted to buy a shed with a tow bar, do the job and stick it on ebay as soon as I get home, but then I don't like making things easy for myself clearly .

Regarding the car, I haven't actually bought anything yet, I've promised myself I'd work out iron clad logistics before bidding. The Car is going to be a Toyota JZX100 Chaser/Cresta/Mark II with a couple of mods. The exporter I'm looking to use (japaneseusedcars) seem to have a good rep, and I'll be aiming for Grade 3 or above (Been told to stay away from 'R' grade car, no matter how tempting the spec or price may seem?) so I am hoping to get something that it ready to roll (or is at least 'Road worthy'), but anything could happen.

Thanks

[Adrian E]

TokyoRich said:

Regarding it not being MOT compliant - sure but that's the point really, you are driving it to an MOT to check this. It will need a rear fog light but as reading your thread its a 1993 car it will not need to be converted to MPH or a fuel restrictor or any of that other good stuff.

Up to a point - if the vehicle is in a dangerous condition, the fact you're taking it to an MOT does not indemnify you of responsibility for the offence that might've been committed if pulled and defects found that are serious enough to warrant an MOT failure. As per my post above, vehicles from 1st April 1984 require a speedometer marking in mph. The C&U requirement is the base requirement for all vehicles in use on the roads in the UK - you may not need to demonstrate to the registering authority that it has been converted, but the in use requirement is still the same nonetheless.

I'm well aware there's loads about that haven't been done, but an astute traffic officer looking at a Jap import may well notice and take issue with it if they've pulled you for any reason.

[anonymous-user]

Adrian E said:

TokyoRich said:

Regarding it not being MOT compliant - sure but that's the point really, you are driving it to an MOT to check this. It will need a rear fog light but as reading your thread its a 1993 car it will not need to be converted to MPH or a fuel restrictor or any of that other good stuff.

Up to a point - if the vehicle is in a dangerous condition, the fact you're taking it to an MOT does not indemnify you of responsibility for the offence that might've been committed if pulled and defects found that are serious enough to warrant an MOT failure. As per my post above, vehicles from 1st April 1984 require a speedometer marking in mph. The C&U requirement is the base requirement for all vehicles in use on the roads in the UK - you may not need to demonstrate to the registering authority that it has been converted, but the in use requirement is still the same nonetheless.

I'm well aware there's loads about that haven't been done, but an astute traffic officer looking at a Jap import may well notice and take issue with it if they've pulled you for any reason.

Under this logic thousands of imports are "unroadworthy"?

Not just the ones that haven't been converted, but those that have been usually cannot switch between MPH and KM/H as they retain the KPH dials and fudge the signal so that they read in MPH and cannot switch back to KM/H or have KM/H markings.

[Adrian E]

279 said:

Under this logic thousands of imports are "unroadworthy"?

Not just the ones that haven't been converted, but those that have been usually cannot switch between MPH and KM/H as they retain the KPH dials and fudge the signal so that they read in MPH and cannot switch back to KM/H or have KM/H markings.

Correct on your first question.

They are only required to switch if they have a digital display, which is why the text is set out like that. The S2000 we had could be swapped with a button press, but it was European market. Imports don't always have the functionality but I've seen a coding service offered for early JDM S2000 that activates the switchable speed option for £60. The requirement for speedometers is for the markings to be present, which means for an analogue display changing the dial face so that it displays both. They don't need to fudge any signals - it displays the speed correctly in km/h and just needs suitable mph markings in the relevant places on the dial face, or the option is there to add a device that converts the dial movements so the existing markings are correct for mph but these seem more hit and miss in terms of reliability.

It's really not that big a deal to do it so the vehicle is legal and makes life easier day to day - I bookmarked this one years ago when I came across it as they seem to cover a wide range of models. They can also do one to spec as it's really not difficult.

http://www.kmh-mph.co.uk/category-speedometer-conv...

[TokyoRich]

279 said:

Thanks for the info TokyoRich

The battery/Fuel thing is interesting and to be honest, not something I had considered - Do they disconnect the battery during transit? I would have thought a decent battery disconnected would take survive but then maybe no thinking about the low temps it'll see at sea. That just adds to the awkwardness.

And again, what you stay about the ship makes sense. I have also heard horror stories of aftermarket parts going walkies whilst on the ship, so again, might not be a great idea to bank on being able to do a 80 mile trip.

Would love the info of your transporter guy. Anywhere near a oner it makes sense, At £200+ I'd be more tempted to buy a shed with a tow bar, do the job and stick it on ebay as soon as I get home, but then I don't like making things easy for myself clearly .

Regarding the car, I haven't actually bought anything yet, I've promised myself I'd work out iron clad logistics before bidding. The Car is going to be a Toyota JZX100 Chaser/Cresta/Mark II with a couple of mods. The exporter I'm looking to use (japaneseusedcars) seem to have a good rep, and I'll be aiming for Grade 3 or above (Been told to stay away from 'R' grade car, no matter how tempting the spec or price may seem?) so I am hoping to get something that it ready to roll (or is at least 'Road worthy'), but anything could happen.

Thanks

In the containers, good shippers disconnect the batteries, in the roro boats they don't. Stuff rarely gets nicked on the boat itself (google a picture of cars loaded into a roro boat) as its physically not possible to open the doors etc. It is the customs yards in Japan and the Uk that tend to be home to sticky fingers. I stopped using one yard in Yokohama altogether as everything was getting swiped, the shipper told me it was bonded and no-one could get in so I drove down and it was like New Delhi with people wandering around and opening cars up..

Regarding the auction grading, forget everything you have been told - complete nonsense. I spent 8 years of my life going to Japanese auctions pretty much daily. Some cars will get an R rating after a minor ding because a panel has been changed and certainly if a bonnet / trunk / wing has been replaced for carbon or FRP it automatically gets an "R". "3" graded cars tend to be junk, you must make sure that your guy is going to the auction and physically inspecting as with the chasers (that have been modified) there are some great cars and there are some real dogs. Lots have been repainted and you need to open the doors etc to check the quality of the paint job.

You are local so why don't you come over. I have full auction access from my home, happy to show you the ropes, equally can get my guys in Japan to get it for you but thats entirely up to you!

Rich

[Jagmanv12]

TokyoRich said:

In the containers, good shippers disconnect the batteries, in the roro boats they don't. Stuff rarely gets nicked on the boat itself (google a picture of cars loaded into a roro boat) as its physically not possible to open the doors etc. It is the customs yards in Japan and the Uk that tend to be home to sticky fingers. I stopped using one yard in Yokohama altogether as everything was getting swiped, the shipper told me it was bonded and no-one could get in so I drove down and it was like New Delhi with people wandering around and opening cars up..


Rich

As I've found with my car that arrives this week due to the drop in the number of imports cars are transhipped through Korea. So it was unloaded from one ship, on the docks in Korea for a couple of weeks and then loaded onto another ship to Southampton.

The ships have several decks linked by ramps similar to multi-storey car parks. As Rich posted cars with low spoilers are vunerable. No doubt ships need to be loaded/unloaded as quick as possible. Imagine driving top to bottom of a mutli-storey car park at 20mph!! Check the underneath of your car.

[Vaud]

TokyoRich said:

You are local so why don't you come over. I have full auction access from my home, happy to show you the ropes, equally can get my guys in Japan to get it for you but thats entirely up to you!

Stuff like this is what makes PH a great place. Hats off to you TokyoRich!

[TokyoRich]

Jagmanv12 said:

As I've found with my car that arrives this week due to the drop in the number of imports cars are transhipped through Korea. So it was unloaded from one ship, on the docks in Korea for a couple of weeks and then loaded onto another ship to Southampton.

The ships have several decks linked by ramps similar to multi-storey car parks. As Rich posted cars with low spoilers are vunerable. No doubt ships need to be loaded/unloaded as quick as possible. Imagine driving top to bottom of a mutli-storey car park at 20mph!! Check the underneath of your car.

Yep, the korean tranship is also blamed for a lot of thefts. Volumes of imports are rising fast again so hopefully this is over now.

Try to find a video clip of the guys loading and unloading the boats, I have seen it first hand and it is bloody incredible!