dgjamison

Hi we have imported our Chevrolet Impala car from canada, and what a nightmare!!!! We now realise we need to convert the headlights, and indicator lights to meet the EU/UK standard. I have read there are places in the UK/Scotland that will do the conversion, put it throught the test ect. for you. Can anyone tell me are there any places doing that in Northern Ireland/Scotland/north of england. We are in Northern Ireland but would consider taking the car to the mainland to get this done for us, as I am having terrible trouble finding a car mechanic who can do the conversion for us.
Cheers

lilybilly101

Sorry, I can't help you..... I too was contemplating bringing our SUV and tent trailer but maybe I won't bother. It sounds like a big headache. Good luck in finding someone to do it.

Bomber Harris

I think you'll find it will be a bit more involved than just changing lights over, I can immediately think of the seat belts. They won't have an EU approval marking on them so would also have to be changed and I expect that there will be numerous other bits that would also need changing.
I can't help with suitable places in the north, the only place I know of that could do it is on the South Coast.

nephilim

Hello there I recently brought my jeep wrangler over to the uk from australia,had no problems with the head lights or indicators,nor seat belts,my only problem vosa picked up on was the tow bar apparently it was too small.Another point I would add is the main headache for me was getting insurance on a unregistered car,I did eventually with norwich union.Also when I had passed sva,I then had to register the car with dvla I needed my original registration certificate from australia which I didnt have as I had given it to the shippers which I eventually got back off them.Good luck z

dgjamison

Hi Thanks a lot for all your answers, I have to take the car on Monday to the test centre and the examiner is going to go over all the changes that need done, so I will know better then and let you all know. Lilybilly, I would still consider taking your SUV and tent trailer home, If you are going to mainland britain there are loads of people who will do the conversion for you, and even put the car through its test, and get your plates for you. One man on a webpage I looked at brought his 4X4 over and got a place to do everything for him from start to finish and it only cost him around £500 the garage that did the conversion was in Suffolk I think. I am going to see if I can find the webpage again and I will let you know and maybe an email will help. Also I was quoted for a chevy Impala fully comp with protected no claims bonus £591 which I thought was great although I have 10 years no claims bonus the companies name was Adrian Flux, they specialise in foreign cars so worth a look before you decide. Will let you know what I find out on Monday, but as I say it seems so much easier to get the work done in England than Ireland

sfr09

Hi

We brought a Golf 2 litre Auto back from Oz, in hindsight I would have sold it but.....

The SVA and 6 months rego cost 1200 pounds from VDS Auto just off J24 of the M1 in Castle Donnington. The process took 4 weeks from car being delivered to them, due to the length of time the government takes to issue an approval.

Getting Insurance was easy enough through a broker and they tend to get decent prices but an "imported" car does cost much more to insure. I did say that all VW cars are imported but that didn't matter.

We also lost the last year of the three year warranty due to it being imported!!!

So unless you have something really special or unique then i wouldn't import and cars are generally cheaper in the UK (possibly not true about Canada)

dgjamison

Thank you for this information, I too would have sold the car had I realised the hassle that goes with it. Did you have to get the headlights changed on your car? I have been told by a mechanic here that if I get the parts he can do the work for me and it won't cost too much. We have to take the car on Monday to the test centre and they are going to look at it and let me know what needs to be done to get it through the test, so I will know better on Monday. It took 4 week for you car to be converted or for the custome and excise to clear the car? Mine is a 2002 chevrolet impala, was yours a new car? I really hope it won't take 4 weeks or that amount of money to get it legal, but will have to wait and see. Thanks again

sfr09

Hi, I don't think the Headlights needed changing. The time taken was due to the DVLA giving approval for the registration process to happen after the modifications and the SVA test was completed. The golf is a 2007 build. Insurance was at least 100 pounds more due to it being an import!

Bomber Harris

OZ ones wouldn't need to be changed because OZ drives on the left like the UK.

dgjamison

I have been told by the DVLA that my front headlights will need changing and the indicator lights changed to amber (red at the moment) will know more tomorrow. I have been given a quote of £519 ully comp with protected now claims bonus, which I thought was'nt as bad as I first thought, will see what happens tomorrow then I take it to the test centre

lilybilly101

Thanks so much for the info! I guess we ideally would buy there but we LOVE our Nissan SUV but it's a bit of a guzzler and very chunky. My husband says it's midget country adn we'll never find a park!

Our problem is we are going away in it and the tent trailer and probably returning in the depths of winter to Canada to sell it all asap. Not sure how long this will take and will rpobably need sell them quick to get a cheap deal.

What do you think? Just sell and run. I love our tent trailer too and they're much cheaper here than in the UK.

dgjamison

things are getting better here, but the price of petrol is so much more expensive, so that is something you need to look at. There are loads of places to get parts and serviced in the UK, so you would have no problems there, and caravan parks in the uk and europe are really getting better, you should not have a problem I have even seen a couple of the big RV here in Ireland, as you say those kind of things eg trailers are a lot cheaper over there. Why don't you look at importing usa cars into the Uk and you will
get an idea of what might be involved, it might be costly to convert something like that, I really don't know. If I come across any information I will forward it to you. I looked at american car parts in the uk, and loads came up, try that, and good luck
Denise

lilybilly101

Thanks Denise. Have you found anyone for your car yet? I'm just googling rules and regs for car imports to UK.

lilybilly101

http://www.import-car.info/discuss/

I'm guessing you know this website already.

dgjamison

Hi Lilybilly 101, no I did'nt know this site, but it is good, the one in Suffolk was the one that I had read about, and they seemed to be reasonable for the person who wrote the thread, so maybe worth an email We brought our car to the test centre today, they looked at it and told me what I needed done to the car, and recommended a mechanic here in Ireland that can do the work, so I have left the car with them and I will let you know how much it is going to cost us when they look at the car. I am also waiting for a price from Sigma I think it is called again will let you know how that goes when they give me a full estimate of costs, although we would have the extra expense of getting the car over to the UK I am really hoping it is not too expensive. I wish I had done my homework first, I would probably sold our car as it is a 2002 chevy, so quite old. But it seems you won't have the same trouble finding places in the UK to do the work on your car, you will have to really weigh up the pros and cons of the cost of petrol ect: over here, that really is the down side. Will keep in touch
Denise