Importing a Classic Car

Importing or exporting a classic car is something many of us have thought about in recent years.

With the Internet opening up all manner of new buying opportunities, and currency fluctuations sometimes making some ventures profitable as well as desirable, it's becoming a lot more popular to import vehicles and ship them back.

After all, there’s a rich seam of classics to be tapped into all over the world, so wouldn’t it be nice to bring one or more home?

Many people tend to look at Europe; warm, dry climates such as Greece and the Mediterranean islands have been a plentiful source of cheap, rot-free classics, especially considering their depressed economies and low asking prices.

Classics car are being repatriated from Italy and Spain, and many will have already crossed over into neighbouring countries where the prevailing financial conditions are better. But there are still plenty around if you know where to look - but do avoid sellers with ambitious prices. Today it's a tough market.

Other good places to look are Southern Hemisphere right-hand drive markets. The ex-colonies New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa are always worth investigating.

Strong historical links with the UK means these places are a rich source of classic British metal, and in many cases, you can pick up locally produced versions of some well-known cars - often with improved specifications and build quality.

Registering any vehicle in the UK can be a tiresome and a complicated process. We at Classicmobilia have dedicated Vehicle Registration Team can offer you a comprehensive service to take away all the frustrations of dealing with a minefield of bureaucracies.

We have built up a considerable experience in managing all types of vehicles, both left and right-hand drive, from Vintage and Veteran, through to modern supercars. Our vehicle registration service is available to both UK and non-UK residents.

The idea of importing a classic car, bringing it home and telling the tale of how you found the perfect automobile in a remote corner of the world sounds great, but it’s not always that easy.

There are however a number of points to take into consideration. Sourcing and buying your perfect classic car is possibly the easy part of the importing process although even this comes with a few of its own challenges not least the validation that you’re actually getting what you’ve promised

Cost of shipping a classic car can differ greatly depending on the area of the world, the method of shipping and the import tariff the car is imported under.

UK registration differs depending on the age of your imported classic car; in most cases, the car will need an MOT, Tax and UK registration.

There is work to be done particularly on cars imported from the USA and Canada.

In all cases, original foreign registration documents will be required along with other related papers, which should come with the vehicle.

Customs clearance form you should have got from the shipper. If you don’t have this copy can be requested from the shipping company as they should have it on file.

The above probably seems like a lot to take in and it’s by no means an exhaustive list of things to consider when sourcing and importing your classic car!

However, there is good news. At Classicmobilia we specialise in the import of classic and rare motorcars from across the world.

We have connections throughout America and Canada who are sourcing, validating and shipping classic cars on a weekly basis.

We also travel right across to globe to seek out the finest classics available.

We’d be delighted to help you with your dream car. Maybe it’s just an idea at present, maybe it's a specific year/specification you need found or maybe you think you have found the car you want and it just needs validation in all of these situations we could assist you with either sourcing, validating and shipping or just registering your car.