I've had a few pm's lately asking about importing cars, I'm only guessing this must be because I keep going on about my Verossa and how it isn't here yet Either way I thought I'd try and clear up the process as I see it for people to get a better idea, here it is in fifteen easy steps 1) Paid Deposit to Autospecs 2) Bid on Cars until you buy what you want 3) Pay FOB plus any inland transport costs to get to docks 4) Pay Shipping Cost (if using Autospecs then you pay the entire cost up to this point now, less your deposit) 5) Wait (for an eternity, seriously like forever) 6) Contact Rob at Kleerfreight to handle customs charges and VAT etc (he charges £95 for his services) 7) A Week or so before the ship docks in the UK you get your notice of arrival, forward that to Rob 8) Rob emails you a bill for VAT, Duty, and his fee.. Bank Transfer him that 9) Turn up to the Docks within 7 days of arrival to avoid storage fees, pay an £85(ish) unloading charge and.. 10) Drive Away (or trailer, if you prefer) 11) MOT your car using the Chassis Number 12) Send this with valid insurance (on chassis again), a V55 form and some money to the DVLA 13) Wait (forever... again) 14) Get Registration Document and confirmation of Tax for the vehicle 15) Fit Plates and go enjoy your new toy.. Obviously that is by using Japaneseusedcars.com and Kleerfreight, both of whom I can't recommend highly enough, and I'm sure Michael Cocks at Japaneseusedcars.com can answer any other questions that I havent covered, Rob at Kleerfreight has been amazingly prompt and had great communication and with these guys helping I can honestly say the process is far from being as scary as people expect it to be.. Just don't import another Verossa for a while, I'm kind of looking forward to the exclusivity for a bit
Does Rob do the same as Penguin Shipping? I used them last time but it's years since I imported and I've got a PS13 arriving next month but need to sort everything so a mate can collect it as I'll be away. Can't remember the process now.
Rob basically handles everything up to the point you arrive and drive away, if you wanted a friend to collect for you I would think you would just need to provide their details and he could inform the staff of who would be coming to get it, whoever goes just needs to take ID that matches the consignee
All for £95? Sounds good to me. I have the export cert and bill of lading I think it is, but only emailed copies. I think they'll post the hard copies. What else do I need?
I found using Kleerfreight was like getting blood from a stone. My car was delayed twice and i wasn't notified once. Ended up using George baker shipping who were absolutely spot on the entire time,gave loads of info and were pretty fair priced.
Yeah all for £95, yes you will get the originals in the post and you will need to forward copies to Rob, so your email ones will suffice for that.. Then the originals you need when you collect [emoji106]
Delays aren't really down to the clearing agent, he can only let you know if he's told so himself.. It's down to the shipping company if there's a lack of communication in my opinion.. But in my experience he's been spot on, answered any questions I've had, and been keeping me updated every step of the way..
Yea,i can only go from experiences i've had. They can check the status of the RoRo though. Doesn't hurt to hear positive and negative reviews.
Rob sorts this for you by emailing HMRC for the Nova stuff - you then get a letter from the HMRC confirming you can register the car. I've used him loads of times over the past 12 years or so and have never had an issue with Kleerfreight. Rob's a top bloke.
I'm in need of some help. I've just started the process of buying a car from Japan & my V55/5 has just come though the post. I've read the V355/5 that came with it & it says that I need information from the Certificate of Conformity to complete the V55/5. The cars I'm looking at are all over the 10 years old ESVA thing so where do I get the certificate from as some of the information they're asking for is really rondom & I'm not sure where you'd find it.
Leave it blank. It's worth while giving the DVSA import department a call for your first car and make a note of what you can leave blank for a 10yr+ car, which was nearly everything
Thanks for that. I've read a few write ups saying they left a lot of the the form blank, but they all seam to be from when the local DVLA offices where open.
You do leave a lot blank, but if you're unsure you can ring DVLA and they will walk through it step by step with you..
