DIY importing

[Curiousgeorge]

Hi All,

 

I have rolled the dice and bought a 2010 Alphard at auction in Japan. The company that collected it and who will also arrange the shipping said that i bought a very good van and that it was in great condition. *phew*

 

Anyways, I would be very grateful to hear the various experiences of how you imported the van and got it to your home.

 

DIY - I understand that as long as you have the van insured and proof of an MOT booked, as long as customs fees have been paid, and the van has been cleared you are allowed to drive it to the location of the MOT (this could be anywhere). Please correct me if I am wrong.

On your own drive you can do the work, get it through the MOT and then register it with the DVLA.

 

Insurance - Do you insure it for the day to just drive it back home? Or do you insure it for the year like a regular car?

 

Declaring it to HMRC - do you declare it on the day it arrives or when it is still on the boat? Is the final price of declaration the complete costs of auction sale, inland transport in Japan, and shipping?

 

Collection - Do you have to know who to communicate with at the port to check if you can pick it up? 

 

I would really appreciate any help with this as if i can save myself a few quid i would like to do so.

 

Thank you for persevering with my long post if you have got this far!

 

 

 

 

[Alfie]

Hi there, just wanted to check you've got a copy of the auction listing, you can use Google translate to decipher it, you can see the grade, mileage etc.

[Rojie]

4 hours ago, Curiousgeorge said:

Hi All,

 

I have rolled the dice and bought a 2010 Alphard at auction in Japan. The company that collected it and who will also arrange the shipping said that i bought a very good van and that it was in great condition. *phew*

 

Anyways, I would be very grateful to hear the various experiences of how you imported the van and got it to your home.

 

DIY - I understand that as long as you have the van insured and proof of an MOT booked, as long as customs fees have been paid, and the van has been cleared you are allowed to drive it to the location of the MOT (this could be anywhere). Please correct me if I am wrong.

On your own drive you can do the work, get it through the MOT and then register it with the DVLA.

 

Insurance - Do you insure it for the day to just drive it back home? Or do you insure it for the year like a regular car?

 

Declaring it to HMRC - do you declare it on the day it arrives or when it is still on the boat? Is the final price of declaration the complete costs of auction sale, inland transport in Japan, and shipping?

 

Collection - Do you have to know who to communicate with at the port to check if you can pick it up? 

 

I would really appreciate any help with this as if i can save myself a few quid i would like to do so.

 

Thank you for persevering with my long post if you have got this far!

 

 

 

 

Hi Curious, 

 

You need an MOT before you can register the car.

Getting insurance for a car with no registration number will prove difficult !

 

There is a thread on here somewhere from someone facing a similar challenge.

I cannot remember whether they managed to find insurance or had to use a towing / trailer solution.

 

I doubt the MOT station can be anywhere in the UK.

I imagine explaining that to the Police will be tricky !

And driving around in a van without any registration plates is likely to attract their attention !

 

Good Luck.

Edited April 1, 2022 by Rojie
Correction

[Guest]

actually, download the app called 'Google Lens' and you show the whole text to your camera, and it will translate everything for you!

[Rojie]

4 hours ago, Alfie said:

Hi there, just wanted to check you've got a copy of the auction listing, you can use Google translate to decipher it, you can see the grade, mileage etc.

 

As AlphaMZ says, you can use Google Translate to help you. However, it will be much more useful when you get to play with your head unit.

You should insist on a copy of the auction sheet.

Small point, your auction sheet will record covered distance in kilometres.

You do not have to, as far as I am aware, but you can change it to mph; there is a chip conversion that will achieve that.

 

Also, on the internet you will find info on how to 'decode' the auction sheet into meaningful information once Google has translated it.

[Philip Ibbs]

Hi, When I built a Westfield years ago I was able to get insurance from Adrian flux based on the chassis number, for that first journey to the MOT station. The MOT station did similar with the MOT certificate, then I went up to the VRO in Sheffield and once they had sorted out a registration number, I went back to the insurance and they updated documents. Not sure if that still works now?

I didn't import mine directly, I got it from Newacre Cars who were in Coventry then.

If the MOT station is any good, they should fail a direct import of the age of MOST Alphards, as they don't fit rear fog lights in Japan, which are a requirement over here. Paul McKeown at Newacre found rear fogs that exactly matched the bumper rear reflectors, and wires them in with a new switch on the lower right dashboard.

[Rojie]

1 hour ago, Philip Ibbs said:

Hi, When I built a Westfield years ago I was able to get insurance from Adrian flux based on the chassis number, for that first journey to the MOT station. The MOT station did similar with the MOT certificate, then I went up to the VRO in Sheffield and once they had sorted out a registration number, I went back to the insurance and they updated documents. Not sure if that still works now?

I didn't import mine directly, I got it from Newacre Cars who were in Coventry then.

If the MOT station is any good, they should fail a direct import of the age of MOST Alphards, as they don't fit rear fog lights in Japan, which are a requirement over here. Paul McKeown at Newacre found rear fogs that exactly matched the bumper rear reflectors, and wires them in with a new switch on the lower right dashboard.

 

Check your rear fog lights.

Many dealers replace the rear reflectors with rear fog lights.

Unfortunately, most units that get fitted do not include retroreflectors. So ?

 

You just (should) fail for a different reason.

 

Chris.ac found some that do have reflectors, which he imported directly from japan.

They're great, and also very expensive !

 

There is a very long thread on here regarding various members solving this issue.

[Chris.ac]

Difference between the cheaper (less than £20) led "Reflectors" and a proper Retroreflector with LEDs is shown in 2 clips below.

 

 

Edited April 2, 2022 by Chris.ac

[Curiousgeorge]

Thanks for all the replies.

 

I recieved a quote from a car import company that could take care of everything once the van lands in the UK. It was clear that the van would require inland transport.

 

They quoted £186 for a rear fog light, along with £30 for a registration plate! The entire quote was just over £1200 to get it from the port to road ready, not including customs duties. 

 

This seems rather excessive. Ill be exploring alternative routes to get it road worthy. I could post a how to when I am done.