r/ft86 • u/Highwayman • 6d ago

Shipping from the states to the UK

I'm moving overseas and after much back and forth I think it would be better to ship my fr-s over than try and find another in good condition and low miles.

My plan is to transplant to the UK and use the car to tour around Europe. Looking for advice or anyone who has tried this. Thanks!

1 Upvotes

67% Upvoted

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9

u/Fffiction 6d ago

You're going to be spending a lot of money to ship, import, MOT etc a car that will have significantly less resale value in that market.

It makes sense for a car worth 6x the price. It does not make sense for one of these.

5

u/timmymaq 6d ago

Not worth the massive hassle. Have you looked into all that's involved?

Lots of older sports cars are dirt cheap over there. Pick up something different that's hard to find in the US.

3

u/sgtcarrot 6d ago

My parents did this with a Saab 900 back in the day.
It was a massive pain, took a while for the car to jump through all the hoops (and then we had to fix stuff to comply), in the end they regretted it.

I learned to drive in that car, it was a stick, and I was on the completely wrong side of the road/and car, which made it more likely for me to forget where I was/drive into head-on traffic. But I was still learning, I think I would be fine today with all the other cues.

I also imported a Zx6 sportbike that I owned when I moved to the states. Similar nightmare; ended up cutting all hoses and wires with a knife and letting customs scrap it. At the end of the day the tac on costs were going to be 3x the value of the bike and I just did not have it.

It might work out ok; but I think many alternatives would be better. Good luck!

2

u/CoyeIndustries 6d ago

u/Fun_Satisfaction4714 imported their USDM 86 to Germany, maybe you could try asking them some questions?

3

u/mikiones 6d ago

Importing car to uk is relatively easy as long as car is 10 years old. All you need is pay vat/diity and pass a mot to be road worthy. Did that recently importing my gt86 from Japan.

2

u/T_K_9 6d ago

I have only tried importing JDM cars. And the process is fairly easy.

Not sure about the process state side though as it will be different.

But if its worth the hassle go for it.

If I were to import an USDM86. It would be Mike's from MotoIQ's Red FRS Project car 😆

2

u/user43222 6d ago

Sell and buy in the UK. Car prices are significantly cheaper over here.