Japanese car imports

Laffer · Joined: 02 Apr 2006 Posts: 3 2525.0 Cash Points

Hi,
Nearly bid on a car tonight but was put off by reading a post on SVA and what a nightmare it can be. Please put a sticky in one of the threads (or create a new one) - hopefully with prices (or at least guide prices) for the following services :

(quote from Hammer's post:
From here we are able to offer you transport services for getting your vehicle from the port to your house, SVA testing services, Modification and Registration services if required. Come to us for the best trade prices on these ? our established links with respected trade contacts will provide you with some of the most competitive rates around.

Just BTW The two cars I'm interested in are 98 to 01 Subaru Legacy B4/GT and Mitsi VR4 saloon/legnum - the Subaru is my first choice.

What put me off was something about the Subaru not having a 'book' to go with it or some such on one of the forums - sorry to be so vauge. What I DON'T want though is to get the car here then find I cant use it for months while I struggle to get it through this SVA.

A guide for "When your car arrives at your selected port" would come in handy.

Cheers,

Laffer.

glanma · Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 5:37 pm Post subject:

Laffer - If you're looking at post 97 cars then you will need an ESVA not an SVA, which are definitely more involved (that's talking from experience!). Make sure any type of car you are interested in has a model report available for it as you won't be able to register a vehicle of this age without one. And if the vehicle is modified in any way, find out from the model report suppliers if the mods are likely to affect the ESVA requirements. Certain mods will be ok - my ECU had been changed for a higher performance type but was on a DVLA list of 'allowable' ones, plus the report for my Estima was based on a car with a bodykit, similar to mine so again this was deemed ok. However the large bore exhaust and larger wheels had to be swopped back to original before I could get a pass certificate. And if you hadn't already seen it, Hammer has got himself a Legnum VR4 so would probably be able to help if you need any tips on that score. Hope this helps, and sorry if you already knew all this!