Since April 2021 prices have gone up 16.6% with strong demand for used vehicles.

It is no surprise that we have seen an increase in people looking to get in on the action and find vehicles to sell to our buoyant UK market.

However, some markets such as the USA have seen a slowdown in used car prices with the Manheim wholesale index suggesting a slowdown in pricing. Therefore, purchasing a car abroad and importing it to the UK can give you a double-win on low purchasing costs and high resale.

So how do you get involved in buying, importing and selling cars from countries such as USA or Dubai here in the UK?

Firstly we need to find cars for sale. Checking Autotrader.com / eBay USA can be a great start. You also have the auction houses such as CoPart with depots across the world (we see a lot from USA and Dubai) which have some incredible prices on cars.

Obviously from these markets the cars will be LHD, luckily there is a strong market for LHD cars here in the UK especially with people who frequently visit Europe, also from European buyers seeking UK cars.

Alternatively you can look into RHD markets such as Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa etc. However, in order to test & register a RHD car in the UK it is much easier if over ten years of age (it can be impossible to import a newer RHD car unless you are bringing it back as a transfer of residence). This is to protect our UK market from newer grey imports.

So how do you price everything up? Well first get the best rate for your payment abroad. This is always best by using an FX broker such as SMCFX. They will beat the banks rates at over 4% which can make a big difference to your overall margins.

Next we need a price for all the shipping, testing, insurance, taxes and registration costs – where do we even start?!

Luckily Ship My Car offer a fully turnkey solution (if you wish, or they can just collect & ship your car). All you need to do is visit their website and try the instant car shipping calculator on the homepage. It prices everything from collection through to road tax costs and works for all years, makes and models of imported cars.

So there you are. Importing a car from abroad and shipping it to the UK for sale can be as straightforward as buying a car from UK auction. Perhaps not as quick, but the margins can be extremely interesting indeed.

The post Making it easy to import a car for sale in the UK appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.

So how will this affect car shipping and UK car imports?

Car Import Duty / VAT

A trade agreement was reached meaning you will not have to pay any duty on importing a car into the UK. You will however have to pay VAT on the value of the car you are bringing here.

For example, you are buying a £10,000 Toyota from Germany, you will be liable for £2,000 worth of VAT @ 20%

However, if the vehicle is over thirty years of age, say a nice classic Porsche from Germany. Then there is a reduced rate of VAT at just 5%

It gets even better if you are relocating to the UK from Europe. If you can prove you lived outside the UK at least 12 months and owned the car at least 6 months, then it will be subject to zero VAT and zero duty. This is the HMRC Transfer of Residence scheme

Customs Clearance

Following Brexit customs clearance procedures have changed.

First, you need to ensure the vehicle has been correctly exported from the European country. You will ned the paperwork to prove this on import to the UK.

A proper customs entry must then be carried out (C384 / ToR) and submitted via a customs agent to HMRC

You will then receive confirmation all is good in the way of a NOVA letter, which can be used to register the car with the DVLA.

Car Imports by a Company

From 1st January 2021 (after the transition period), if you are importing the vehicle to the UK as a VAT registered company, you will need to have an EORI number that starts with GB

Vehicle Type Approval

During the Transition Period the EU type approval rules will still apply. In the UK up until 1 January 2021 the existing VCA rules will remain. Therefore, the VCA will continue to act as an EU Technical Service and EU Type Approval Authority. This means that the VCA can continue to issue EU approvals (‘e11’) and they will continue to be accepted in the EU.

UK and EU technical standards will be aligned immediately after 31 December 2020

IVA / MSVA Testing

Following the transition period it is likely type-approvals issued in the UK will no longer be valid for sales or registrations on the EU market.

We would imagine current IVA rules to be continued into 2021

Exchange Rates

A strong GBP will help all stages of purchasing and importing a car into the UK.

From the initial purchase of the vehicle to shipping costs which are billed in USD, the strength of UK currency will make an impact to your car shipping process.

The post Brexit and UK Car Import appeared first on Car Shipping and UK Import Specialists.