Jump to content
The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Import a Supra from the UK


Fusi
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hy!

 

Im from Austria and i want to buy a Supra from the UK. I found one in the near of London (East). I want to book a "cheep" flight to the UK before buying the car.

 

My Question now: Whats important for me, or, when you buy a car from a official dealer? Wich possibilities i have to check the car to dont buy a fkd up car?

 

I think you know about the german TÜV. Is there something near it in the UK? Or maybe one of the board with a garage and knowledge :)?

 

I hope you can understand my englisch ;) and can help me,

 

BR

Fusi

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bet you cant wait geo, sorted out what your gonna do with the service yet?

 

Yea spoke to Envy, going for the full whack. Thats everything done, so peace of mind when im driving it home from Newcastle to Sunny scotland.

 

Woohoo!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fusi - The equivalent of the German TUV in England is the M.O.T. (motor on trust) certificate. This isn't a guarentee that the car is in good condition though. It just means that some garage has produced a certificate for it to allow it to be on the road.

If you have good car knowledge then you can check over any car before you buy, but somebody who knows about Supras would be able to check over it with a more critical eye.

 

With trade laws over here in the UK a trader is not allowed to sell anything dangerous or not to its description in the sale. Therefore if the advert for the car you have seen states it is in good condition (or if the seller has verbally said that), then you will have legal come-back if it turns out that the car is broken.

 

 

To get a car checked over for mechanical worthyness you could try and get an 'AA' check. I think they cost about £80 (i may be corrected) but at least you can get a trained mechanic to check over the car before you buy.

Car data check - http://www.aacardatacheck.com/

Car mechanic check --- sorry can't find a link for this

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thats a great post :ok: ! Thxal!

 

I dont want to trust into TUV or MOT. In Germany or Austria you can drive to them and make a purchase test. I think thats what you mean with the AA check.

 

Whats about BIMTA (British independent motor trader association)? Someone told me thats neccessary to export, or in my case, import a car?

 

so conclusion:

- I check at home http://www.aacardatacheck.com/

- I take the money an book a flight to the UK (maybe i stay a little bit longer :))

- I take a Supraguru with me to the seller and make the checklist (Thx at Rayman) and drive to a garage to make the AA check (do they check the compression on the zylinders?)

- If the technical things are all ok, and the seller have all neccessary papers, i buy the car :)

- And then? Wich possibilities i have to drive the car leagal to Austria? In Germany and Austria we have some special licence plates wich are valid for a short period. How is that called in the UK?

 

I think that should be all? ;)

 

Cheers,

Jan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I dont want to trust into TUV or MOT
.You can pretty much be sure the MOT will mean the car is road legal and not in a dangerous condition, although it wont ensure the car has no problems.

 

 

 

Whats about BIMTA (British independent motor trader association)? Someone told me thats neccessary to export, or in my case, import a car?

This isnt neccesary as far as im concerned, all bimta will do is check the mileage from when it left Japan providing its an import. They can also check to see if its stolen in japan or has finance in japan, its very unlikely tho unless its been in the Uk a short time

 

 

 

 

Yes do this when you get the registration number

 

 

- I take a Supraguru with me to the seller and make the checklist
Good idea if you can find someone willing to help! You might need to give them a sweetener!

 

 

and drive to a garage to make the AA check
As far as i know normally if you buy an AA or RAC inspection they come out to the car, mobile unit i think.

 

 

(do they check the compression on the zylinders?)
No dont think they do this, although i dont think you'll have a problem with this, as far as im aware its not a common problem, common supra problems are in the checklist. Check for signs of crash damage or rust, really bad paint matches and new panels are a big no no!!

 

 

- If the technical things are all ok, and the seller have all neccessary papers, i buy the car :)
Yes the test drive will be the deciding factor, keep your eyes and ears open, only buy the car if your 100% sure, buy with your head not your heart. The problem with the supra is even the bad ones look great, dont get carried away until your sure!

 

 

 

- And then? Wich possibilities i have to drive the car leagal to Austria? In Germany and Austria we have some special licence plates wich are valid for a short period. How is that called in the UK?

Im not sure about the legalities of exporting to austria, im pretty sure you will be able to find that info in your country somewhere!

 

 

I think that should be all? ;)

Cheers,

Jan

Good luck with it, if it all goes according to plan you'll get the biggest buzz :superman: from owning a supra!

 

One question for you, are you buying the car from a car dealer or private seller?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thx m8, also great post :).

 

I buy the car from a dealer.

 

Check of the compression is for me imporant, because it tells you a lot about the condition of the Engine. But its easy to check, i can bring the utilities with me from austria.

 

 

- And then? Wich possibilities i have to drive the car leagal to Austria? In Germany and Austria we have some special licence plates wich are valid for a short period. How is that called in the UK?

Im not sure about the legalities of exporting to austria, im pretty sure you will be able to find that info in your country somewhere!

 

Thats a misunderstanding. I know what to do in .at, but what do i need on the UK Roads and to drive over the frontier? Do you have plates in the UK wich ar valid only for a short period?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Check of the compression is for me imporant, because it tells you a lot about the condition of the Engine. But its easy to check, i can bring the utilities with me from austria.

Thats all very well if you can bring the equipment with you, its a good idea!

 

Thats a misunderstanding. I know what to do in .at, but what do i need on the UK Roads and to drive over the frontier? Do you have plates in the UK wich ar valid only for a short period?

The car will obviously have a UK registration plate on so will be registered to drive on these roads, when you complete the sale you will get a copy of the V5c document which shows that you have bought the car should you get stopped by the police or anyone else.

Im not entirely sure on the above point as it may be different, i have never exported a car but am just going by the procedure we go thru when a car is changing hands through sale. Im sure the dealer who you are buying off will know.

 

Is there no details about importing a car into austria from your local vehicle agency in austria. We have the DVLA over here which tells you everything about it all?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there no details about importing a car into austria from your local vehicle agency in austria. We have the DVLA over here which tells you everything about it all?

 

I know the details. In Austria its not possible to drive with plates from the dealer :). When you buy a car in Austria you have to took the papers from the car and from the TUV (MOT) and first you have to make an insurance to get your personal plates and a TUV Plate. After that you can go with the plates to the dealer where your bought car stands, and drive away with your plats.

 

When you want to export a car from Austria overseas, you can go to a insurance department and you can buy special plates witch a insurance for the plate, not for the car. So you can with this plates export every car you want. This plates costs i think around 200pd and with a valid insurance for 4 Weeks!

 

But back to the Topic:

 

When i import a car to austria, i have to make a single approval. I need a COC and new Papers from Toyota Austria. They are not interessted wich plates are on the car. So the plates are only important for me for the way UK -> AT.

 

When i buy the car and there a plates on it (like you said) wich i can use than everything is ok for me :). But how is the insurance with this plates from the dealer? What when i have an accident?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

When i buy the car and there a plates on it (like you said) wich i can use than everything is ok for me :). But how is the insurance with this plates from the dealer? What when i have an accident?

 

Doesn't this need to be sorted at your end?

 

Just check with your insurance company if you are insured through out the EU. Maybe a small extra charge.

 

Do you have any pics of the car?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeh insurance is the biggest thing you will encounter as you have to have insurance to drive any car anywhere. In the uk if i was exporting my car somewhere i would have to get insurance on the chassis number from a Uk insurance company for the trip to where i was going and change it once i was where i was going.

 

Can you not get insurance arranged on the chassis number of the supra from in austria so you are allowed to drive it back there?

 

To my knowledge we dont have any sort of plates that say your insured like in austria, only for traders, besides you'd have to drive accross europe anyway so im surely this is something you'd have to find in austria. Is there no details in your local insurance department on insuring an fresh imported car?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Doesn't this need to be sorted at your end?

 

Just check with your insurance company if you are insured through out the EU. Maybe a small extra charge.

 

Do you have any pics of the car?

 

Yes this is how it would be done in the Uk!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

me again:

 

I can bring plates from Austria with me, so this part is clear :)

 

So step by step everything get clear =). Tomorrow during working hours i have to make a lot of calls to check what i have to do to registrade a RHD in a LHD Country. I know some R34 GT-S wich a driving with legal plates in .at, so its not a impossible thing. But the Paperwork will be a lot.

 

More infos follow tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fusi

 

My advice is buy a UK spec car not a Japanese import. You may have trouble importing and registering a car not built to European sepc. I know it is impossible to import Japanese spec cars into France so Austria may have similar problems. Check in Austria what you can and cannot import.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes i have to check tomorrow. But Skylines a JSPEC only.. and we have someone legal in Austria :). Also RX-7 FD JSPEC. So i think thats not a problem. I want a Jspec cause 1. EU/US Spec are more expensive, and 2. i dont like the Targas ;).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Fusi,

 

If you want to know about the engine and if it has any problems I can send an oil analysis kit to the seller to get a small amount of the engine oil checked in a laboratory.

 

See this:

 

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=69301

 

the results will come back to me a few days later and I can email the results to you with a full explanation of any problems. I analyse the oil from my Supra at every oil change & have results to compare yours with. I also used to do this (amongst other engine design & calibration work) for a living in my last job!

 

It costs only a few euros and is better than a compression check.

 

Let me know if you're interested in doing this.

 

Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fusi,

 

If you want to know about the engine and if it has any problems I can send an oil analysis kit to the seller to get a small amount of the engine oil checked in a laboratory.

 

See this:

 

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=69301

 

the results will come back to me a few days later and I can email the results to you with a full explanation of any problems. I analyse the oil from my Supra at every oil change & have results to compare yours with. I also used to do this (amongst other engine design & calibration work) for a living in my last job!

 

It costs only a few euros and is better than a compression check.

 

Let me know if you're interested in doing this.

 

Steve

 

 

THX thats great! I will keep it in mind!

 

ontopic:

Ive checked now, i cant bring plates from Austria to UK. Its only possible if i want to sell a car, but not to buy one :/. So i need UK plates. Im ready now to buy one, please see http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?t=79176

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. You might also be interested in our Guidelines, Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.