Just wondering if there are any hidden costs to importing a car yourself. I can get a low mileage tt (auto though unfortunately) delivered to Newcastle for £2300, but what costs are there for actually getting it registered and on the road once it's here?

 

I asked on Facebook last night to see if any of my friends knew, and it looks like the dvla take 85 quid to register it, you've got to get it through an mot, and tax it. But apparently the tax will be 30% of the cost of the vehicle on top of the regular road tax cost. Is that correct? Meaning I'll end up spending nearly 3k all in?

Bit of a mine field And easy to get scammed.

 

My recommendation would be to use a Personal Import Service like Torque GT offer. They do all the work for you and charge a one off fee (II can't remember what the fee was last time I spoke to Mike but it wasn't too much).

You could also speak to Jurgen at JM Imports.

 

Both are top notch blokes and would guide you on what is needed even if you did the whole process yourself.

I've spoken to jurgen already, and he wants to charge me over 5 grand. I've known of him for years so know he makes a lot of money out of importing cars, hence why he has that Jun r35 gtr. I don't have the money to waste on profit to someone.

I've spoken to jurgen already, and he wants to charge me over 5 grand. I've known of him for years so know he makes a lot of money out of importing cars, hence why he has that Jun r35 gtr. I don't have the money to waste on profit to someone.

 

You need to up your budget... or look at a different model. That's just my opinion.

 

You seem to want a very nice 300ZX TT, but only have the budget to buy a not-so-great one (in the current climate, at least). The maths just doesn't really work out at all, Dan. :(

 

Put very simply, these are not cheap cars. Yes, some can be cheap to buy outright, but that's very rarely the end of the story - unless they have a good history with them, you'll need to factor in an almost immediate timing belt change as the last thing you want is for that to let go and wreck your engine!

 

So there's another expense pretty much straight away.

 

It seems that most of the "dogs" in the Zed world have now been sold for spares and stripped, which means the cars that are left will be primarily owned by enthusiasts. Which means they'll command a higher price tag than £2.5k, cos they've (in the most part) ended up being very well cared for.

 

If you're very lucky, you'll come across a diamond on eBay or somewhere similar, but they're very few and far between now. The more likely outcome is you'll buy one and find it needs a decent amount of work doing - more expenditure on top of your original purchase cost.

 

I personally think you're on a hiding to nothing with your current budget and wish-list, I'm afraid.....

I've spoken to jurgen already, and he wants to charge me over 5 grand. I've known of him for years so know he makes a lot of money out of importing cars, hence why he has that Jun r35 gtr. I don't have the money to waste on profit to someone.

 

What would you get for 5k though (isn't there a 10 year rule for export from Japan)? With the market the way it is, 5k for a decent car warranties by a reputable company is a reassuringly expensive price tag. If you do it yourself and get scammed as suggested above by importing a lemon, you'll spend 2k in the first 10mins!

 

I guess these import agencies can pull those sort of profits on the newer expensive exotic cars so making a relatively small amount on these bargain basement cars is a waste of their time and a liability.

 

With the dwindling interest in the z32 and the plummeting prices, not helped by the shear numbers of any old car being imported, the grey import market has practically stopped for these cars. Currently, it appears the values are turning a corner so get in quick.

 

I genuinely hope you get yourself a decent car, keep us all updated on your progress.

I've spoken to jurgen already, and he wants to charge me over 5 grand. I've known of him for years so know he makes a lot of money out of importing cars, hence why he has that Jun r35 gtr. I don't have the money to waste on profit to someone.

 

If you think he's making a huge profit on a £5k car you are so far off the mark it's unreal.

I don't even mind ones with a few issues, so long as I'm not spending loads on parts. I can do all the work myself anyway, other than bodywork repairs and paint which I can't do or afford.

I don't even mind ones with a few issues, so long as I'm not spending loads on parts. I can do all the work myself anyway, other than bodywork repairs and paint which I can't do or afford.

 

Presumably most of the ones that are sold with "issues" are being sold because the owners either can't afford the parts to put them right, or are sick of throwing money at them...

If you think he's making a huge profit on a £5k car you are so far off the mark it's unreal.

Have you seen the size of his house?

 

The car I've seen is spotless in pictures, and from the description everything works. If that's true, and I can import it for about 3k, yet he'd want 5k for a car of the same condition, that's a 40% mark up. So yes, that's a profit.

Not knocking the guy, if he can make his money then good on him. But I can't afford that much of a hike in price.

It's that size because he imports cars of a much higher and rarer nature than a Z32. Cars which demand high mark up prices.

 

There are plenty of Tax calculators online regarding imports from a variety of countries. Stick your numbers in there and find out what it's gonna cost you.

Also. To put this I to perspective.

 

You buy a car for £2300.

Then you pay to De register it. Insure it. Ship it to Yokohama or Nagoya (as am example), ship it to the UK on a boat. Then pay Duty on it.

Then you send it to Vosa and they tell you it's a lemon and no way it's safe.

By that point you've shelled out somewhere close to £4k.

And you are stuffed. No come back at all.

 

That's where an importer is good. If it arrives and it's not up to your standards you turn it down and walknow away.

Also. To put this I to perspective.

 

You buy a car for £2300.

Then you pay to De register it. Insure it. Ship it to Yokohama or Nagoya (as am example), ship it to the UK on a boat. Then pay Duty on it.

Then you send it to Vosa and they tell you it's a lemon and no way it's safe.

By that point you've shelled out somewhere close to £4k.

And you are stuffed. No come back at all.

 

That's where an importer is good. If it arrives and it's not up to your standards you turn it down and walknow away.

 

To be fair, the OP has stated that the £2300 is a price landed in Newcastle. But to me this further supports the question of what car to expect for that money.

Ah yeah. Ok. I misread that.

£2300 landed?! That means about £900-£1100 for the car.

Christ.

£2,300 landed?? lol Shipping will cost around £1000, agents fees, de-registration, registration, tax etc will be about £300-£400.....so the car will cost you £900? I wouldn't buy a car in this country for that!

 

You need to stop, think and save a little more. Don't just settle for something 'oh, I don't mind if it needs work'. Unless you're competent with these cars, you'll likely be buying into a whole bucket of problems. Save some money!!

It's 1200, and yes, 2300 landed. And I'm very competent at fixing cars, I'm well known in the skyline community, and have fixed my fair share of them, most with issues that traders couldn't figure out. So there's a chance I'd be competent enough to maintain one of these, given their engine management is so similar to what I'm already used to, well versed in fixing hicas issues, etc.

Fair enough, I personally wouldn't buy anything of that value without seeing it....

 

The Z32 is actually quite a bit more complex that its year-sake equivalent, the R32.

I think its horses for courses, if Dan has garage space and is quite happy accepting in whatever condition it arrives in then the risk sits with him. Personally I have no drive and the cars sit on the road, I am also a mechanical incompetent so would ultimately have to pay the importer to assume the risk - I have chatted to both Torque GT and Jurgen and it is comforting to know you have a walk away clause in there that protects you but then I have to pay for that. But it is something to swallow buying a £2.5k car and paying £5k for it, especially when you know there are equally good ones here in the UK but just not for sale!

I do have space on the drive, a garage full of tools, consult, timing gun, spare hicas parts, would only be a weekend car anyway, etc, so like I say if it needed work then I'd likely have no real issue doing it, provided it's not bodywork.

 

I'm not confident about buying a car without seeing it either, but an inspection and insurance is included in the price. If it was bad, I could break it for parts and make my money back anyway.

I think its horses for courses, if Dan has garage space and is quite happy accepting in whatever condition it arrives in then the risk sits with him. Personally I have no drive and the cars sit on the road, I am also a mechanical incompetent so would ultimately have to pay the importer to assume the risk - I have chatted to both Torque GT and Jurgen and it is comforting to know you have a walk away clause in there that protects you but then I have to pay for that. But it is something to swallow buying a £2.5k car and paying £5k for it, especially when you know there are equally good ones here in the UK but just not for sale!

 

This last bit is surely completely irrelevant? It doesn't matter what sort of cars there are in this country if they're not for sale, because they're not "available" cars.

Its completely relevant unless the fact is that none of them will ever be for sale at any point in the near future, which I suspect is not the case? Last year after I bought the R33 I still kept an eye on the 300zx market and saw 3 maybe 4 for sale which I thought to myself 'yeah I would have that' but since November have seen nothing that catches my eye - although appreciate that its winter etc.

 

It will just be a bun fight for who gets there first when on the odd occasion one does pop up (excluding the ridiculous Strosek one for sale at £15k that the guy bought for £7.25k a couple of weeks ago off ebay...)

Edited February 26, 201510 yr by coldel

It must be now time for UK importers to start shipping over more Z32 300zx's as there is a market for good Z's now. Demand is outstripping supply and the market prices are strong.

All I can say is well done to the members here who cared for there Z's and displayed them at shows up and down the country to show the public how great the 300zx can be if you have a good one. You guys stuck with your Z's when you could of bought one for little money which then broke down giving them a bad name. These have now been sold for parts leaving the cream of the Z32 in enthusiasts hands. Any buyers looking for a nice 300 will have to be patient and be prepared to pay good money for the right one or start importing. Spring and Summer is comming and I am sure the market will start to improve with more for sale.

I am hoping so, I have a budget of around £5k which I think puts me in a reasonable position to want a fairly good condition car, its just finding one...have to say I am tempted to try something else if nothing comes up in the next month or so though, I cannot keep driving the wifes Focus around for the next 6 months...haha

And knowing my luck, people will start bumping the prices even more for those few days of summer just because the roof panels come out. :(

It must be now time for UK importers to start shipping over more Z32 300zx's as there is a market for good Z's now. Demand is outstripping supply and the market prices are strong.

 

I agree, however whilst that is the case, I can't see importers going crazy on them like they did, say, 10 years ago. The market has shrunk and I can't see hoards being imported like they were in the boom-time years, thankfully, thus keeping the market buoyant. They reached the bottom of their depreciation curve about 2 or 3 years ago.

 

I also believe that it's now getting increasingly hard to find good ones in Japan. They have seemingly turned into the retro-classic that they were destined for.

And knowing my luck, people will start bumping the prices even more for those few days of summer just because the roof panels come out. :(

 

Just save up or a while - you don't need to be in so much haste. Good ones do appear from time-to-time. There's a TT Auto on ebay for around £3.5k. If you could scrape that together and then over time, get a manual conversion done to it, you'll be quids in.