Guides

Everything we get asked, written down. Costs, tax, paperwork, testing and the routes we ship most.

Buying and owning Should you buy an imported car? Pros, cons and pitfalls An imported car can be a bargain or a headache. It mostly comes down to the paperwork, the insurance and who did the work. 8 October 2026 Read
Costs and tax Import tax on a car: six worked examples The rates are easy. What they mean for a real car, with shipping on top, is harder. Six cars, worked through. 8 October 2026 Read
Shipping Customs delays when importing a car, and how to avoid them Nearly every customs delay has the same few causes, and nearly all can be prevented before the car leaves. 8 October 2026 Read
Countries Shipping a car from Malta to the UK An island needs a ship. Here is how a car gets from Malta to the UK, and what it costs. 8 October 2026 Read
Countries Shipping a car from Cyprus to the UK Moving home from Cyprus, or buying there? How the car gets here, and what it costs. 8 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning Nissan Skyline GT-R: a buying and import guide Twin turbos, four-wheel drive and an age that can help on tax. What to look for, and how to get one here. 8 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning Japanese import car insurance: what you need to know Insuring a Japanese import is mostly about giving the insurer the right details and the right paperwork. Here is what they ask, when you need cover and how we help. 1 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning Is my car an import? How to do a car import check Once an import is registered here it wears the same plates as any other UK car. A few free checks and a careful look will usually tell you where it came from. 1 October 2026 Read
Countries How to import a car from the USA to the UK From a US driveway to UK plates, this is every stage of importing an American car in the order it happens, with what we need from you along the way. 1 October 2026 Read
Countries Importing a car from Europe to the UK after Brexit Brexit added a customs step to bringing a car over from Europe, and not much else. Here is what has changed, what it costs in tax and how the car gets to UK plates. 1 October 2026 Read
Moving to the UK Moving to the UK with your car: a planning guide Moving country is a long list of jobs, and the car tends to sit near the bottom of it. Only a few rules really matter, and most of them are about timing. 1 October 2026 Read
Costs and tax What affects the cost of shipping a car to the UK Two cars on the same ship can cost quite different amounts. It is not random: a handful of things move the price, and here they are. 1 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning Buying a car abroad to import: checks before you pay Buying a car you may not see until it lands is a leap of faith. Most problems can be spotted before any money changes hands, and plenty of them are in the paperwork. 1 October 2026 Read
Shipping Preparing your car for shipping to the UK Once the shipping is booked, the question is what to do with the car before it goes. The list is shorter than you might think. 1 October 2026 Read
Countries Shipping a car from South Africa to the UK South African cars are already right-hand drive, so the work at this end is usually short. We handle the trucking, the container and the testing. 1 October 2026 Read
Countries Shipping a car from Hong Kong to the UK Hong Kong cars need very little at this end: a rear fog light, maybe a speedo, and no headlight work at all. 1 October 2026 Read
Countries Shipping a car from Singapore to the UK Leaving Singapore? LTA deregistration is now done online and we send you a guide. The car is right-hand drive, so it needs very little once it lands. 1 October 2026 Read
Countries Shipping a car from Germany to the UK Brexit added a customs step, not a mountain. We collect on our own enclosed transporter, clear customs ourselves and convert the car on our own site. 1 October 2026 Read
Costs and tax NOVA explained: telling HMRC your car has arrived NOVA sounds like one more government form with a deadline attached. It is a short notification to HMRC, and when you ship with us, we send it for you. 1 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning Form V55/5: registering an imported car in the UK Every imported car ends up at form V55/5. Here is what the DVLA needs before it will accept it, and what goes in the envelope. 2 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning How long does it take to register an imported car? The wait for UK plates depends on the route your car takes, and most delays are avoidable. Here is how long each route takes. 1 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning Speedometer and headlight conversions for imported cars For most imports, making the car legal here means a couple of tidy changes to the speedometer and headlights. Done properly, you would not know they had been touched. 1 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning The Certificate of Conformity explained Most people have never heard of a Certificate of Conformity until they import a newer European car. It is one document, and if yours is missing, we can source it. 1 October 2026 Read
Countries Shipping a car from Australia to the UK Moving home from Australia, or bought something special there? How collection, the container crossing, tax and UK registration fit together. 1 October 2026 Read
Countries Shipping a car from Dubai to the UK The UAE paperwork is what worries most people about a car from Dubai. Our agents handle the RTA side, and the crossing from Jebel Ali takes around 4 to 6 weeks. 1 October 2026 Read
Countries Shipping a car from Canada to the UK We collect from anywhere in Canada and ship from seven ports. The crossing is the easy part. The lighting work at this end is what to plan for. 1 October 2026 Read
Countries Shipping a car from New Zealand to the UK It is a long way, but not a complicated trip. New Zealand cars are right-hand drive already, so they usually need far less work than most imports. 1 October 2026 Read
Countries How to import a car from Japan to the UK Japan is one of the busiest routes into the UK, and a right-hand drive Japanese car needs less work than most. Here is the whole job, from auction to plates. 1 October 2026 Read
Costs and tax How much does it cost to import a car from Japan? The price in Japan is only the start. Here is every cost line, a worked tax example on a £10,000 car, and the ways it can come out lower. 1 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning JDM cars to import, and what to check on each Skyline, Supra, Silvia, Jimny or a kei car: what to look for on the JDM car you want, and why its age matters more than you might think. 1 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning Japanese import checklist: before you buy and ship Everything to tick off when importing a car from Japan, from the build date and export certificate to the checks before it sails. 1 October 2026 Read
Costs and tax What it costs to ship a car from the USA to the UK Shipping a car from the USA starts from around £1,450, shipping only. Here is what moves that price, and what the tax looks like on top. 1 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning Converting an American car for UK roads Making an American car legal here is mostly lighting. Here is what changes, why, and which test it takes before registration. 1 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning Left-hand drive cars in the UK: what you need to know Left-hand drive cars are legal here, and you do not have to convert them. They need a few changes first, mainly the headlights, the speedometer and the rear fog light. 1 October 2026 Read
Shipping Importing a classic car to the UK The rules are kinder to older cars than new ones. Here is how the tax, the shipping and the DVLA paperwork work for a classic. 1 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning Import car insurance in the UK: from the ship to the road Insurance worries a lot of people more than the shipping. It comes in three stages, and only the last one needs a normal policy in your name. 1 October 2026 Read
Countries Importing a car from Ireland to the UK Ireland is next door and drives on the left, but it is in the EU, so a car still needs clearing through customs. We do the paperwork. 1 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning The IVA test explained for imported cars IVA sounds like the hardest part of importing a newer car. With the right preparation it is a straightforward inspection, and we run the testing on our own site. 1 October 2026 Read
Shipping Importing a motorbike to the UK A bike follows the same steps as a car, costs less to ship and is tested under the same roof. Shipping starts from £1,250 from anywhere. 1 October 2026 Read
Moving to the UK Moving to the UK? How to bring your car tax free If you are moving here and the car is coming with you, you may not pay a penny in VAT or duty. Here is how Transfer of Residence works. 1 October 2026 Read
Shipping Container, RoRo or air: which is right for your car? Most cars come in a container, some come by RoRo and a few fly. What the difference is, and how we decide. 1 October 2026 Read
Shipping The paperwork you need to ship a car to the UK Less than you might think. Here is what we need from you, and the paperwork we deal with ourselves. 1 October 2026 Read
Shipping What happens when your car arrives in the UK The ship docks. Then what? Customs, NOVA, testing and registration, in the order they happen. 1 October 2026 Read
Moving to the UK Bringing a UK car back home Took your car with you when you moved abroad? Bringing it back can be simpler, and cheaper, than you would think. 1 October 2026 Read
Buying and owning Toyota Supra Mk IV: a buying and import guide The A80 Supra is one of the most wanted JDM cars there is. Here is what to look for, and how to get one to the UK. 13 March 2025 Read
Countries The most popular cars people ship from Canada Trucks, SUVs and the odd Tesla. The cars we are most often asked to bring over from Canada, and why. 6 February 2024 Read

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