Hello,

At the very beginning I want to apologize for my poor English. I am still learning

I am planning to relocate to UK this summer and I want to take my car with me.
I have a 2010 Fiat Bravo Active with a sport package. Since it is a left hand drive car it will need some changes to be approved for UK market. From what I have read on DVLA web pages I have to do three things:
- adjust my speedo to include MPH,
- change rear fog light and reverse light,
- adjust headlights.

My first idea was to ask Fiat dealers in UK for prices and details abut such operation. I sent several enquiries and was little bit shocked with the answers.
Prices started from £1000 and ended at £1200. Because it looked little bit to expensive I asked what parts would have to be replaced. They all told me that I would have to replace headlights, rear lights (fog and reverse) and the entire dash cluster.
I am not a car expert but from what I can see there are just two headlights available on both left and right hand drive markets. And they have same Fiat parts numbers. So it looks like those are the same lights. Then why they are telling me to replace them? Coulden't they be adjusted to meet UK regulations?

I do understand that I have to replace rear fog light and reverse light because they are asymmetrical, But I am not sure if I have to replace the entire dush cluster. Maybe I could just replace this plate (I don't know how to name this thing) with KMH to one with both MPH and KMH?

Is there anyone on this forum who has imported Bravo (or other Fiat car) before and know how to work things out? I'll be grateful for any help.

Best regards,
Aleksander

Just a thought, could you not get the parts you need from a breakers yard ?

Here is Shop4parts prices:

Headlights £119.06 a light (inc VAT)

Rear Fog Lamp £39.48 (inc VAT)

Rear Reverse Lamp £37.19 (inc VAT)


As for the dash I'd recommend trying a breakers like these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2008-FIAT...CarParts_SM&hash=item27c6ba84f5#ht_500wt_1218

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-BRAV..._CarParts_SM&hash=item43ade6c204#ht_848wt_985

only issue with the dash.....millage, can it be corrected? , I know the ECU holds the value, but i was under the impression if the dash millage was higher than the ECU the value displayed wouldn't change to match

cainy1989 said:

only issue with the dash.....millage, can it be corrected? , I know the ECU holds the value, but i was under the impression if the dash millage was higher than the ECU the value displayed wouldn't change to match

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Correct, you'd need a dash with less millage on than what you have, only problem is I don't know how it would work going from km to miles.

You would also need to take this to fiat or a specialist to get the new dash proxy aligned with the ECU. You can however do this now with Fiat ECU scan if you fancy trying it yourself.

cainy1989 said:

only issue with the dash.....millage, can it be corrected? , I know the ECU holds the value, but i was under the impression if the dash millage was higher than the ECU the value displayed wouldn't change to match

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no need to correct the mileage, all you need is a dash with both miles and kms displayed.

:yeahthat:

The lights are the main things you need to change. For the fog and reverse lights i'd think all you need to do is buy the coloured lens bits for a right hand drive car and get them fitted.

Don't go to a main dealer, they'll bankrupt you.
Where in the UK are you moving to? I know a garage that I can't find a fault with at all.

sell it and buy one with steering wheel on the proper side when you get here :idea:

insuring a lefthand drive car in the UK can be very expencive

dave said:

sell it and buy one with steering wheel on the proper side when you get here :idea:

insuring a lefthand drive car in the UK can be very expencive

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:yeahthat:

and for reference there are actually 8 different headlight units available, 4 pairs, 2 pairs for LHD and 2 pairs for RHD as the Bravo also has the option of Bi-xneon HID units

dave said:

sell it and buy one with steering wheel on the proper side when you get here :idea:

insuring a lefthand drive car in the UK can be very expencive

Click to expand...

you can drive in the UK with a eu spec car for up to a year i think

there are some specialists in uk that sell lhd, or you can sell on ebay


lhd cars are worth more than rhd ones so you should be able to sell and buy a uk car with cash spare

RobW said:

you can drive in the UK with a eu spec car for up to a year i think

there are some specialists in uk that sell lhd, or you can sell on ebay


lhd cars are worth more than rhd ones so you should be able to sell and buy a uk car with cash spare

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I think it has to be done at the time of UK registration, but that can be upto six months after the car has entered the country.

OP if you do change your headlights, keep the old LHD units and sell them on eBay, they seem to go for quite a premium compaired to RHD units!

they only sell for more here when all the hard work and expence of regestering them on a uk plate has been done

dave said:

they only sell for more here when all the hard work and expence of regestering them on a uk plate has been done

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irrelevant, my lhd 500 went to Cyprus
also had offers from germany and denmark

My skyline had to be altered, clocks, rear fog etc, and it had to be SVA tested, But is that just because it wasn't sold in the uk?
Or was it to register it in the uk?

GrandeGuy said:

My skyline had to be altered, clocks, rear fog etc, and it had to be SVA tested, But is that just because it wasn't sold in the uk?
Or was it to registered it in the uk?

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baravo has ec type approval so no sva required

dave said:

sell it and buy one with steering wheel on the proper side when you get here :idea:

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No no no no he already has a car with the steering wheel on the proper side... When will you people finally learn

However switching cars is probably the best idea, no issues with changing things/getting your car legal/insurance premiums etc etc

johndoe said:

No no no no he already has a car with the steering wheel on the proper side... When will you people finally learn

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No, its on the 'Wrong' side, are wheels are on the 'right' side, not the 'wrong' side

pm me full spec of your car i might be interested in buying it
or px with my UK spec bravo

Thanks everyone for your replies.
I know I can drive my car for a 6 months before I have to register it in UK. I have read all the articles on DVLA and the procedure of registering non UK car seems quite easy. The only issue is with those adjustments.

I did a little research and found out headlights are different. For example right side in UK is 51757536 and in PL is 51757534. So in the end I can use used parts and just will need to find a good garage to replace all those parts.
BravoMark: I will be moving to London. Maybe you know some good garages there?

Unfortunately I will not be able to sell this car quickly because I both it for my firm and I have to wait at least 6 month after closing my firm if I don't want to pay 19% income tax So I will definitely drive that car for that 6 months in UK and then see what to do next.