Caterham 620R - imported from Jersey
Discussion
I already have a Caterham Superlight R, which has been great but I always missed the power of my previous R500s. In late October I noticed a 620R advertised in Jersey at a good price, so decided to take a look at it. It happened to be half term, so I took a day trip over with the family.
For those who don't know, the 620R is pretty wild - 310bhp from a supercharged Duratec engine, with a Sadev sequential gearbox. Weight is a bit over 550kg, giving performance of 2.8s 0-60, under 7s 0-100 and a top speed of 155mph.
It was a low mileage, 2 owner car (previously in Guernsey) that had been used on the track in France. it came with loads of spares (Nitron shocks and original Bilsteins, another set of wheels and tyres, Brian James trailer, weather equipment, 2 indoor covers and an outdoor cover, etc, etc). We agreed a price and arranged for me to drive over a couple of weeks later. I collected it on 3rd November after a very unpleasant crossing!
I got home the next day after an overnight ferry - the Discovery 3 was over the weight limit for the fast ferry to Poole, but I was happy to take the Portsmouth ferry as it was much smoother!
I got it back home and put it in the garage:
Next step was to drop it off at PT Sportscars in Maidenhead for a check up and first MOT - it already had passed an IVA test when built at the Caterham factory.
I left it at PT for a week and quite a few things were needed:
Rear pads/disks/calipers
Driveshaft gators
Steering column bushes
Rear wheel bearings
Change gearbox oil, engine oil, brake fluid
Replace gearbox mounts
Replace engine mount
Replace cracked A-frame
Remove rear-exit exhaust and fit second hand side exit (rear is being kept for track)
Replace plugs
Replace engine drive belt
Check diff mounts - all bolts were only finger tight!!
Replace speedo sensor (intermittent fault)
Adjust TPS
So quite a lot of work! Then at the end of this work the radiator leaked. Caterham will only sell radiator and oil cooler together, so I bought one from Radtec and fitted it a week or so later.
Although the work was more expensive than I'd hoped, at least the car was in top shape, didn't have any issues in any expensive areas, and was still far cheaper than any other 620R.
Next step was to get the VAT paid. The process isn't well documented; private individuals use the online NOVA process for EU imports, and VAT-registered businesses can use this for all imports. However, Jersey isn't in the EU so I couldn't use this. I eventually spoke to a very helpful person at HMRC who emailed me the latest copy of form C384, which needs to be sent back with the bill of sale - the VAT bill is based on what is shown on this.
The forms were emailed 16th November. I received confirmation of the VAT valuation on 27th November. You then email back to accept their charge, and they then email you back payment instructions. I have no idea why they didn't do this in one email! I got payment instructions on 30th November, paid it immediately, and received my NOVA letter on 6th December. There is no duty to pay as it was manufactured in the UK.
Next step was to get the car registered - to do this, you need to send off the application form to register a second hand vehicle, and include the Jersey registration, NOVA letter, IVA pass document, MOT certificate and insurance documents. I insured the car on the chassis number.
DVLA estimate 4 to 6 weeks for registration, but I got back the new v5 on 21st December so went straight out and got some plates made up as the roads were dry. I took it out for a drive and it is shockingly fast, even only using part throttle on cold damp roads (ZZRs aren't the best in the winter)
So the process took the best part of 2 months to complete - although it was simple, it was time-consuming. The last time I imported a car there were local DVLA offices which made the process much simpler.
Anyway, the car is roadworthy, and the next trip out is to the show at Brooklands on New Years Day. First track day is probably going to be Donington in March.
For those who don't know, the 620R is pretty wild - 310bhp from a supercharged Duratec engine, with a Sadev sequential gearbox. Weight is a bit over 550kg, giving performance of 2.8s 0-60, under 7s 0-100 and a top speed of 155mph.
It was a low mileage, 2 owner car (previously in Guernsey) that had been used on the track in France. it came with loads of spares (Nitron shocks and original Bilsteins, another set of wheels and tyres, Brian James trailer, weather equipment, 2 indoor covers and an outdoor cover, etc, etc). We agreed a price and arranged for me to drive over a couple of weeks later. I collected it on 3rd November after a very unpleasant crossing!
I got home the next day after an overnight ferry - the Discovery 3 was over the weight limit for the fast ferry to Poole, but I was happy to take the Portsmouth ferry as it was much smoother!
I got it back home and put it in the garage:
Next step was to drop it off at PT Sportscars in Maidenhead for a check up and first MOT - it already had passed an IVA test when built at the Caterham factory.
I left it at PT for a week and quite a few things were needed:
Rear pads/disks/calipers
Driveshaft gators
Steering column bushes
Rear wheel bearings
Change gearbox oil, engine oil, brake fluid
Replace gearbox mounts
Replace engine mount
Replace cracked A-frame
Remove rear-exit exhaust and fit second hand side exit (rear is being kept for track)
Replace plugs
Replace engine drive belt
Check diff mounts - all bolts were only finger tight!!
Replace speedo sensor (intermittent fault)
Adjust TPS
So quite a lot of work! Then at the end of this work the radiator leaked. Caterham will only sell radiator and oil cooler together, so I bought one from Radtec and fitted it a week or so later.
Although the work was more expensive than I'd hoped, at least the car was in top shape, didn't have any issues in any expensive areas, and was still far cheaper than any other 620R.
Next step was to get the VAT paid. The process isn't well documented; private individuals use the online NOVA process for EU imports, and VAT-registered businesses can use this for all imports. However, Jersey isn't in the EU so I couldn't use this. I eventually spoke to a very helpful person at HMRC who emailed me the latest copy of form C384, which needs to be sent back with the bill of sale - the VAT bill is based on what is shown on this.
The forms were emailed 16th November. I received confirmation of the VAT valuation on 27th November. You then email back to accept their charge, and they then email you back payment instructions. I have no idea why they didn't do this in one email! I got payment instructions on 30th November, paid it immediately, and received my NOVA letter on 6th December. There is no duty to pay as it was manufactured in the UK.
Next step was to get the car registered - to do this, you need to send off the application form to register a second hand vehicle, and include the Jersey registration, NOVA letter, IVA pass document, MOT certificate and insurance documents. I insured the car on the chassis number.
DVLA estimate 4 to 6 weeks for registration, but I got back the new v5 on 21st December so went straight out and got some plates made up as the roads were dry. I took it out for a drive and it is shockingly fast, even only using part throttle on cold damp roads (ZZRs aren't the best in the winter)
So the process took the best part of 2 months to complete - although it was simple, it was time-consuming. The last time I imported a car there were local DVLA offices which made the process much simpler.
Anyway, the car is roadworthy, and the next trip out is to the show at Brooklands on New Years Day. First track day is probably going to be Donington in March.
Edited by clarkey on Saturday 22 December 12:38
WonkeyDonkey said:
Beautiful car.
0-60 in 2.8s? That must feel ridiculous is something as visceral as a caterham!
It's a bit shocking to be honest. The full throttle, clutch-less upshifts are incredible with a massive bang and flames from the exhaust - the side exit is worth it for this alone.0-60 in 2.8s? That must feel ridiculous is something as visceral as a caterham!
Looks lovely, I just bought a SLR this year and it feels pretty quick, the 620R must be outrageous. One day . . . 
I was surprised at how many repairs were required, how many miles has it done? I suppose the idea of "it's so light that nothing ever wears out" is pushed to the limit when trying to contain 300bhp in a chassis originally designed for about a quarter of that!
I was surprised at how many repairs were required, how many miles has it done? I suppose the idea of "it's so light that nothing ever wears out" is pushed to the limit when trying to contain 300bhp in a chassis originally designed for about a quarter of that!
aww999 said:
Looks lovely, I just bought a SLR this year and it feels pretty quick, the 620R must be outrageous. One day . . .
I was surprised at how many repairs were required, how many miles has it done? I suppose the idea of "it's so light that nothing ever wears out" is pushed to the limit when trying to contain 300bhp in a chassis originally designed for about a quarter of that!
It's a good question. None of the repairs were especially urgent (other than diff bolts!) and probably could have waited. I just wanted to have it faultless to start with. I was surprised at how many repairs were required, how many miles has it done? I suppose the idea of "it's so light that nothing ever wears out" is pushed to the limit when trying to contain 300bhp in a chassis originally designed for about a quarter of that!
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff