Don

I'm thinking about this as my truck (Toyota Hilux Surf) is worth a lot more to me than I would get if I sold it in NZ. It's a 96 model with low milage and well looked after and maintained and has easily got another 200,000 kms in it.

I would get maybe NZD 14-16000 for it on a good day in the NZ auction room. To buy the same in UK is about GBP 8-9000 (but might be a lemon).

Transport to UK in a container is about NZD 4000 and would be free of import duty/ VAT as a personal import if I am permanently moving back to the UK.

Another plus is that I can fill the car with personal possessions, I was thinking that nearly new kitchen implements, crockery etc, hoover etc all add up and are useful and would easily save me (say) NZD 1000+ vs 'giving' them away in garage sales or to charity shops.

So - a bit of hassle to save some money? That's how I see it, we know that truck and it has been faithfully serviced, got 4 new tyres.

Downside is I need to check out whether the alarm system I fitted is UK compliant (radio spectrum) and I might need to fit a new back fog light which I believe is compulsory in the UK and is missing on my 4WD. Also, km speedometer needs to be permanently marked with miles as well as kms (you can do this by hand, but how can I get the panel off???)

I found a couple of good sites http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsP...yType=document http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/group...cst?n=6662&l=3 http://www.dvla.gov.uk/vehicles/exptimpt.htm

Shame the car is not more than 10 years old as the import procedure gets much easier.

Any thoughts?

deedee

Sounds like its worth doing Don.The speedo isn't a problem as there are a few ways round it.You can either buy a transparent sticker that goes on the front of the binacle with mph only printed on it....its easy, just stick it on but its not thought as as favorable for resale,or you can have someone take the binacle out, black over the kms and replace with rub on mph digits.None of it should cost much as most mechanics in the UK are fully experienced in pulling speedo binacles out,they get enough practice
Take it over, beats taking a kicking here and it will work and last for years....its not british
You could always take a long holiday and drive it home Its been done many a time, just the paperwork is lengthy for the border crossings.
Good luck whatever way you decide.

My wifes a Kiwi

Don

You should be able to pick up a Hilux for less than £8000 in the UK.
There is a glut of 4X4's in the UK. I think you should get a good 96
one for around £5000.

Check out www.autotrader.co.uk for prices.

Cheers

Dave

Don

Good link, checked out 50 Surfs. I should have said mine is a low milage SSR-G model with all the extras - they are priced at GBP 9500-10500 which even with a bit of negotiation isn't going to be cheaper by more than a thousand or so.

I think Deedee is right when he talks about 'hits'. I would take NZD3-4K hit when I sold it to a dealer or at auction. Then I would pay a UK dealer a couple of GBP grand profit to buy somehing similar, plus UK Surfs are about 10-15% more expensive than NZ Surfs, all adding up to a maybe NZD 8-10K hit.

Or I ship for NZD 4K (really 3K if you take the 'free' kitchen/ house stuff that we can pack in the car into consideration) and have a reliable well-maintained car to boot.

My wifes a Kiwi

Don

Check out

http://www.parkers.co.uk/

to price your car over here its very accurate. costs £3 to use.
Dont forget petrol is 80.5p a litre here for unleaded. I was in NZ
last month petrol is good value there as a visitor anyhow.

Cheers

Dave