import insurance

[Bushboy]

quick question.

if i car was imported into the UK by a previous owner and has been fully converted for uk use (lights and plates etc), will it make the insurance more expencive?

 

[Luke]

quick question.

if i car was imported into the UK by a previous owner and has been fully converted for uk use (lights and plates etc), will it make the insurance more expencive?

My uno was an import and had no insurance implications But if its for the CRX, yea HUGE difference

 

[Bushboy]

dont really want an import.. would be left hand drive etc. but ive seen a few and was just wonder what difference would be

 

[Trancendental]

Usually import cars have higher Insurance, I don't know why, maybe its do tdo with they think that if it breaks they will have to serach long and hard to get parts and pay import costs for the parts.

If they make the cars here of the UK Spec is more or less the same then it wont matter.

My Tipo was an Import... don't know where from.

 

[jamie86]

Bear in mind lots of imports are different spec to UKcars especially Jap stuff..

 

[Alex]

depends where its from and how old it is.

Grey Imports: Anything from Australia/Japan/NZ etc (counties outside the EU which have RHD cars) regardless of age, cary a premium because insurers insist in sourcing parts from the OEM country. Also documentation and other things may not be up to spec, you will require a certificate of import and export along with the a letter from the vehicle licencing department in the country of origin, before you can even think of insuring the car, as well as a SUV test (or whatever it is)

Foreigh Imports are anything from outside the EU and are left hand drive - so america etc... you require the same documentation as above and the compliance test.

LHD European Cars over 6 months old require import and export documents only if under 3 years >3 years require an MOT and SUV test. I THINK. Remember new cars <6mths old also qualify for new car tax.

All of the above cars will cary a premium because of model variances between the country of origin and UK spec cars, standard options in say germany may not be the same as the UK, and practically no US car is available in the UK with the same options and body styles. Thus the cost of replacement is more and so are the cost of repairs. All LHD cars cary an extra premium cos you sit in the wrong seat when you drive them

PARALELL IMPORTS:

New cars from the EU built to UK spec can not cost you more to insure than a car which you bought in the UK. Such practice is illegal under EU law.

I'm not sure if a LHD import from the EU is classed as a paralell import or not (with the exception of cars that only come in LHD, so the barchetta from fiat and early smart cars, or any other LHD cars sold in the UK marked.)

EDIT: Importing a car is a complete nightmare unless its a paralell import, there are certain documents you have to have prepared before the vehicle is expatriated, if you intend to import a car make sure you know exactly what you're doing, it can take ages, and the UK franchise of the manufacturer are often unable to help. Trust me, I can't count the number of times I've been asked to provide documentation for a japanese reg'd car freshly imported to the UK when I worked for toyota.