Japanese car imports

[callum3894]

hello,

can anyone help with how i legally drive a imported car from collection shipping port to my home address?

thanks
carl

[masong]

You'd probably need trade plates and also drive it straight to an mot/sva centre. Some kind of insurance cover is a must.
(Booking an mot/sva for the day you drive home helps to keep everything legal, even if for some reason you have to cancel when you get there :) )

[cowrig]

Hi Callum
Providing you Insure it You can drive the car to a garage or place where the car is going to be prepaired for the ESVA MOT.That could be your home if you are going to do it yourself.I drove my car from Liverpool to Scotland. You can get your car insured on the Chassis no.

[horace2k]

Does that mean you can drive the car without number plates without the police stopping you?
Is there any identification that the cars been insured to get the police off your back?

[msdunn]

[quote="horace2k"]Does that mean you can drive the car without number plates without the police stopping you?
Is there any identification that the cars been insured to get the police off your back?[/quote]

in a word - no.

if you don't have number plates you are likely to be stopped.
i think cowrig was lucky not to be stopped - and if you come across an unhappy policeman - he can make things difficult for you.

heres part of a letter i got from my shippers

[img]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e17/papa_lazaroo/legislation_crop.jpg[/img]

if you weigh up the costs of going yourself - the cost to get there and the cost to bring it back, and the added headache of will i be stopped - will the car start - will it break down?
its worth it to either trailer it or have it transported.
i went to pick one up once that had a completely dead battery - the holds of the ships can get extremely cold - and there was no way i could have driven it.

[sutats.com]

[quote="msdunn"][quote="horace2k"]Does that mean you can drive the car without number plates without the police stopping you?
Is there any identification that the cars been insured to get the police off your back?[/quote]

in a word - no.

if you don't have number plates you are likely to be stopped.
i think cowrig was lucky not to be stopped - and if you come across an unhappy policeman - he can make things difficult for you.

heres part of a letter i got from my shippers

[img]http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e17/papa_lazaroo/legislation_crop.jpg[/img]

if you weigh up the costs of going yourself - the cost to get there and the cost to bring it back, and the added headache of will i be stopped - will the car start - will it break down?
its worth it to either trailer it or have it transported.
i went to pick one up once that had a completely dead battery - the holds of the ships can get extremely cold - and there was no way i could have driven it.[/quote]

Good info msdunn. Thanks! So you can drive it to and from MOT/SVA centre's without licence plates. Do you have a link to the actual regulation on the DVLA website so that it's official? Cheers!

[msdunn]

no - sorry - it is just a scan of some general info i was sent from the shippers
i think you could prob source it from the dvla site - but even the above letter shows it is subject to misinterpretation.

its a gray area - and as such - one person may get lucky - and another doing the same thing could find themselves in difficulties.

after all - it takes a confident driver to tell a traffic officer that they are completely wrong on the side of the road.



get yourself a drink and sit back and read this thread from a new skyline owner who decided to drive home

http://www.skylineowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15256&highlight=docks+boy

[glanma]

I think that info makes it reasonably clear on what you can and can't do, but msdunns' advice is spot on and saves encountering any problems. Here's a link to what happened when I took my Estima on the road without plates to get it ESVA'd and registered;
http://www.japaneseauctions.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=212&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

[msdunn]

my link didn't seem to work - i have changed it



its worth reading for the part that says

[quote]about 3 miles from the motorway....i looked in my rear view and suddenly noticed the police volvo behind me... it was only a matter of 30 seconds before the blue lights came on and i pulled over.

" where's your licence plates?"

i explained everythin..how i'djust picked the car up.. and was taking it home to the mot station.. which is perfectly legal

this was not good enough for them. they were upset and said i was breakin the law, as my insurance is invalid if the car is not taxed or mot'd whilst being used on the road.. and that i was going to be allowed to continue my journey under any circumstances.
i argued my case as much as i can.. but it was no good.

my options were limited.......get it off the road firstly... and then either get it low-loaded and transported back to chester ... or to put trade plates on it ...

but it had to be taken off the road immediately.

[/quote]

[/quote]

[sutats.com]

[quote="msdunn"]no - sorry - it is just a scan of some general info i was sent from the shippers
i think you could prob source it from the dvla site - but even the above letter shows it is subject to misinterpretation.

its a gray area - and as such - one person may get lucky - and another doing the same thing could find themselves in difficulties.

after all - it takes a confident driver to tell a traffic officer that they are completely wrong on the side of the road.



get yourself a drink and sit back and read this thread from a new skyline owner who decided to drive home

http://www.skylineowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15256&highlight=docks+boy[/quote]

[quote="glanma"]I think that info makes it reasonably clear on what you can and can't do, but msdunns' advice is spot on and saves encountering any problems. Here's a link to what happened when I took my Estima on the road without plates to get it ESVA'd and registered;
http://www.japaneseauctions.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=212&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30[/quote]


Both very good info about the experiences with the police and clarification with DVLA on the regulations on driving without plates. When my time comes I'll make sure I have the appropriate reference and contact details of DVLA that details that it is legal to drive to and from MOT centres without plates.

[BBPerformance]

My shipping company said you get one journey in the vehicle to take it home , it just says to make sure you have insurance and they said if you get pulled , which im sure you would with no plates then produce your certificate of motor insurance and the letter from wainwright brothers

[sutats.com]

[quote="BBPerformance"]My shipping company said you get one journey in the vehicle to take it home , it just says to make sure you have insurance and they said if you get pulled , which im sure you would with no plates then produce your certificate of motor insurance and the letter from wainwright brothers[/quote]

Thank you for your reply, but who are the wainwright brothers? Cheers! Isn't MOT a requirement for insurance?

[BBPerformance]

the wain wright brothers are the uk port agents for hoegh autoliners.
theyve dealt with all the cars ive brought from japan.

[bodge]

Cover note will suffice from ur insurers.
Ask a local MOT station if they'll give you an 'appointment slip' or equivalent to prove its' been booked in for a MOT.
Plod can't touch you!
Drove 200 + miles from Southampton--> S.Wales; got stopped 10 miles from home!
Copper said it would be a 'can of worms - now bugger off!