Nearly bought one :( anyone import? - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums

Daykell82 · 06-29-2014, 10:53 AM

Hi everyone,

Really gutted as I was meant to pick up a yellow v6 today but the buyer backed out last min.His excuse was 'he now can't get a mortgage so he's keeping it' but someone putting in a higher offer is probably more like it. (It was on eBay and autotrader so u all may have seen it.

Anyway had to go for a v6 as I've just had a baby so it was cheaper option

Has anyone imported a v6 or v8 camaro and what costs are you looking at for purchase, shipping, tax and making it legal over hear.

I've currently got £17-£18k could it be done for that or am I best waiting?

Thanks everyone

bluey9 · 06-29-2014, 12:48 PM

Hi Daykell
I'm about 99% of the way through the process of importing and just need the UK number plate transfer to be completed and I can collect (as soon as I get rid of these effing crutches).
It can be done within your budget is the short answer.

It will require some patience and will take a bit of time, I started the ball rolling in February. The good news is that with the huge amount of cars available in the US you can choose what YOU want. And also, the companies who specialise in bringing cars to the UK for people are superb at their job.

For my part, the brief summary of costs was:

Car: £12K (about $19.5)
Vat & Duty: £4k
Costs to shipmycar: £3k

Total: £19k

If you buy a car about £11k then you should come close to hitting your budget.

I'll give you a potted history of my process and hope it helps you.

1. Search cars on either www.autotrader.com, or www.cars.com
2. Know what spec, miles etc you can afford before you do step 1. You could actually get a basic LS brand new for about $19k. I got a 2LT with leather, HID and some other nice stuff. The car is a 2011 and has 19k miles on it. The owner had serviced it and changed the oil every 3k miles.
3. Try and stick with main dealers and ask the guys on here for a second opinion before committing. Not all dealers will facilitate importing anyway.
4. Contact www.shipmycar.com in Milton Keynes and get them to handle all of the other details. For a fixed fee they will arrange: getting the car to port on a trailer in the US (about a 300 mile limit from port for reference when searching), get it on the ship and sail it to the UK, transport it to their workshops and make all necessary alterations wrt to indicators and such like (I haven't seen mine yet but I believe they are VERY good), gat the car through IVA test, MOT test, register it, fit number plates, valet it and call you when it's ready. It's also fully insured at all stages of the journey.

So, in short.... it takes a while... but, I'm hoping it's all very worth while.

There is a lot of good advice to be had here and along the way everyone I've dealt with have been great. I can let you know the business I bought from if you want. They are a chevy dealer but their website seems to be playing up.

Hope this helps

Regards
Bluey

Daykell82 · 06-29-2014, 01:01 PM

Great stuff thanks for your help. Didn't realise it takes that long. It's worth looking into ill have a look now.

The one I had a deposit on was £17k but no RS pack and stripes. But everything else was fine so hence my disappointment.

Do my people import themselves?

bluey9 · 06-29-2014, 01:14 PM

Hi Again
Hehe.... I sort of regard my import as having been done myself.... but maybe I just project managed it. I suppose you could do every step yourself... but I shudder to think how time consuming it could become.
What year was the car you had your eye on? There really is a huge choice out there and if you just think of all the fees as part of a price you'd see on forecourt in this country it's less painful.

All the best searching. Stick a brief summary on here and I'm sure you'll get some pointers from others.... they can sniff out a good Camaro at 5,000 miles.

Cheers
Bluey

Daykell82 · 06-29-2014, 01:20 PM

Ha ha I'd still class that as importing yourself. Yeah it's hard enough for me to to get time to even look on uk sites with a new baby :(

It was a yellow 2011 19k miles on it. 1lt but with the leather interior. It was in the sutotrader/eBay for a while.

Thanks again for the advice.

Do many get put on here for sale?

bluey9 · 06-29-2014, 03:00 PM

Cars do get put up for sale on here, ebay, autotrader and pistonheads. But, given the small amount of Camaros in the UK you might wait a while for the right one and I don't think that many have appeared in the £17-18k range recently. The only one I can think of is StrayBullit's.

Cheers
Bluey

98GTcoupe · 06-29-2014, 04:11 PM

Im shipping my SS over in november, I'm moving to Cambridge. Looking for 27,000 pounds sterling.

Mine is a florida car.

stray bullitt · 06-30-2014, 01:08 PM

I've had 2 Mustangs, and the Camaro imported for me by specialist car importers, and noticed that, in all cases, the cost to us in pounds to get an American car on the road here, pretty much equates to the cost of the car as advertised, in US dollars. I notice that Bluey's import bears this out too.

06-29-2014, 10:53 AM	#1
Daykell82 Drives: Camaro SS RS Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Liverpool Posts: 76	Nearly bought one :( anyone import? Hi everyone, Really gutted as I was meant to pick up a yellow v6 today but the buyer backed out last min.His excuse was 'he now can't get a mortgage so he's keeping it' but someone putting in a higher offer is probably more like it. (It was on eBay and autotrader so u all may have seen it. Anyway had to go for a v6 as I've just had a baby so it was cheaper option Has anyone imported a v6 or v8 camaro and what costs are you looking at for purchase, shipping, tax and making it legal over hear. I've currently got £17-£18k could it be done for that or am I best waiting? Thanks everyone

06-29-2014, 04:11 PM	#7
98GTcoupe Drives: 2010 2SS Camaro Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: RAF Lakenheath UK Posts: 283	Im shipping my SS over in november, I'm moving to Cambridge. Looking for 27,000 pounds sterling. Mine is a florida car. __________________ 2010 2SS L99 Camaro-TSP headers, Vmaxx TB, CAI, Diablo intune, SOLO Mach X catback, tint, billet custom catch can, SLP Coil covers,SLP lowering springs, 295/40s out back *SOLD* Detailed with adams products! 2009 Infiniti G37 Coupe, tint....Stock 2006 GTO, R.I.P. 1981 Z28(sold)

06-29-2014, 12:48 PM	#2
bluey9 Drives: Camaro 2LT (it's here), Peugeot 508 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Glasgow Posts: 157	Hi Daykell I'm about 99% of the way through the process of importing and just need the UK number plate transfer to be completed and I can collect (as soon as I get rid of these effing crutches). It can be done within your budget is the short answer. It will require some patience and will take a bit of time, I started the ball rolling in February. The good news is that with the huge amount of cars available in the US you can choose what YOU want. And also, the companies who specialise in bringing cars to the UK for people are superb at their job. For my part, the brief summary of costs was: Car: £12K (about $19.5) Vat & Duty: £4k Costs to shipmycar: £3k Total: £19k If you buy a car about £11k then you should come close to hitting your budget. I'll give you a potted history of my process and hope it helps you. 1. Search cars on either www.autotrader.com, or www.cars.com 2. Know what spec, miles etc you can afford before you do step 1. You could actually get a basic LS brand new for about $19k. I got a 2LT with leather, HID and some other nice stuff. The car is a 2011 and has 19k miles on it. The owner had serviced it and changed the oil every 3k miles. 3. Try and stick with main dealers and ask the guys on here for a second opinion before committing. Not all dealers will facilitate importing anyway. 4. Contact www.shipmycar.com in Milton Keynes and get them to handle all of the other details. For a fixed fee they will arrange: getting the car to port on a trailer in the US (about a 300 mile limit from port for reference when searching), get it on the ship and sail it to the UK, transport it to their workshops and make all necessary alterations wrt to indicators and such like (I haven't seen mine yet but I believe they are VERY good), gat the car through IVA test, MOT test, register it, fit number plates, valet it and call you when it's ready. It's also fully insured at all stages of the journey. So, in short.... it takes a while... but, I'm hoping it's all very worth while. There is a lot of good advice to be had here and along the way everyone I've dealt with have been great. I can let you know the business I bought from if you want. They are a chevy dealer but their website seems to be playing up. Hope this helps Regards Bluey

06-29-2014, 01:01 PM	#3
Daykell82 Drives: Camaro SS RS Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Liverpool Posts: 76	Great stuff thanks for your help. Didn't realise it takes that long. It's worth looking into ill have a look now. The one I had a deposit on was £17k but no RS pack and stripes. But everything else was fine so hence my disappointment. Do my people import themselves?

06-29-2014, 01:14 PM	#4
bluey9 Drives: Camaro 2LT (it's here), Peugeot 508 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Glasgow Posts: 157	Hi Again Hehe.... I sort of regard my import as having been done myself.... but maybe I just project managed it. I suppose you could do every step yourself... but I shudder to think how time consuming it could become. What year was the car you had your eye on? There really is a huge choice out there and if you just think of all the fees as part of a price you'd see on forecourt in this country it's less painful. All the best searching. Stick a brief summary on here and I'm sure you'll get some pointers from others.... they can sniff out a good Camaro at 5,000 miles. Cheers Bluey

06-29-2014, 01:20 PM	#5
Daykell82 Drives: Camaro SS RS Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Liverpool Posts: 76	Ha ha I'd still class that as importing yourself. Yeah it's hard enough for me to to get time to even look on uk sites with a new baby :( It was a yellow 2011 19k miles on it. 1lt but with the leather interior. It was in the sutotrader/eBay for a while. Thanks again for the advice. Do many get put on here for sale?

06-29-2014, 03:00 PM	#6
bluey9 Drives: Camaro 2LT (it's here), Peugeot 508 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Glasgow Posts: 157	Cars do get put up for sale on here, ebay, autotrader and pistonheads. But, given the small amount of Camaros in the UK you might wait a while for the right one and I don't think that many have appeared in the £17-18k range recently. The only one I can think of is StrayBullit's. Cheers Bluey

06-30-2014, 01:08 PM	#8
stray bullitt Drives: Bentley Continental GT. Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Boston, Lincolnshire, England Posts: 1,022	I've had 2 Mustangs, and the Camaro imported for me by specialist car importers, and noticed that, in all cases, the cost to us in pounds to get an American car on the road here, pretty much equates to the cost of the car as advertised, in US dollars. I notice that Bluey's import bears this out too.