New Memeber -Relocating

[Guest]

Hi all
Thanks for letting me be part of the club. I'm Simon and I'm sort of new to the UK..
My own Toyota supra will be landing in the UK in march. Its on its way from Australia where its been my ride for some years now. (Personal circumstances mean I'm better off living in the UK than Australia, and as a dual citizen, Im here again and trying to get used to a now permanent life in the UK.)

My cars a 1994 jza80, RZ, TT, 6 Speed, and with this move its nearly been round the world now, literally, starting life in japan before importing to Australia(previous owner) and now its coming with me in my move to the UK.

Importing a car (and home contents) is a fun experience in some ways, and a nightmare in others, so i might keep this thread updated as it progresses. Nothing ever goes to plan, so alternatives are a must.

The car is being brought in via a British group that specialises in performance imports to the UK, so I'm letting them bring it up to UK road standards, they were very impressive next to their competitors, but i suspect they feel a little disappointed compared to the exotics they are used to dealing with.

With my car, they are going to have to deal with a well worn/used modified supra that's really needing more and more restoration.

The biggest challenge so far in importing isn't the car, nor the expected work required and not even customs or the UK govt. It's insurance. In Australia it was very reasonable and easy for me(because of living there). I'm over 35, I've got a lifetime of no claims bonus, a clean driving record(au license), and the supra is less than half the value it is in the UK. The result is I could have paid less than 500 pounds for comprehensive, (pointless in Au for modified imports, so i had 3rd party-f&t at about 200 pounds annually). This of course is all totally Meaningless to UK insurance right now.

Whilst its early in my search, so far it seems that UK insurance groups:
Consider both my Au license and previous insurance like a fictional tale from the lord of the rings movie,
Consider my British passport as counting for nothing,
Consider that only people living in the UK for years can gave a no claim bonus, my 15 years in Aus is irrelevant.
Consider the Toyota supra as a work of dark, foul and demonic forces from hell, and that only 18/yo criminal thugs own them, so they subsequently treat me like I'm a child related to Satan himself.

One insurance group tried to tell me that an rx-8  was "ridiculously too high powered" for UK roads, let alone a Toyota supra with double the horsepower, which was, as they described, "totally uninsurable in the UK, and most likely anywhere". Not sure what he thought when I hung up, genuinely laughing my head off whilst he was trying to say something. Other groups are less naive and just astronomically priced. I've got some more leads to investigate, so I'll likely find something, and if not, I do have backup plans if it fails, including mothballing the car for a few months whilst i convert my Au license to UK.

Provided It all works out, I'm looking forward to driving it around the country and attending any events I can (I'm based near Manchester). As an Aussie used to long distance travel, driving from one end of the UK to another isn't a big deal for me, so no location/event is too far:)

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

Hello Simon - welcome to Toyota Owners Club.

Could try Toyoita Owners Club insurance scheme - http://www.toyotaownersclub.com/insurance/

[Jezclax]

Welcome to the UK.

I had a quote for my bog standard UK Toyota Auris, full UK licence for 20+ years, UK resident but zero no claims (lost car in divorce and worked/lived out of the country for a couple of years) over £12k!. Got it down to just under 900 with Direct line. Toyota's own insurance was also ridiculous.

Next renewal I'll try the owners club scheme. 

There is no logic to insurance and your car certainly doesn't fit neatly into their little boxes. 

Keep ringing around and trying is all I can say. 

Jez

 

[fordulike]

You don't realize what a big difference the NCB discount makes, until you have zero. This is the info I got from my current insurance provider.

Massive leaps for the first four years.

13% One year NCB

22% Two years NCB

28% Three years NCB

33% Four years NCB

34% Five years NCB

36% Six years NCB

37% Seven years NCB

40% Eight years NCB

43% Nine years or more NCB

[fordulike]

53 minutes ago, Jezclax said:

over £12k!. Got it down to just under 900 with Direct line. Toyota's own insurance was also ridiculous.

 

I think when an insurance company quotes a completely absurd figure like £12k, it's their way of saying, " we're not really comfortable with insuring you and your vehicle, we'd rather insure old granny Miggins who drives her Micra to bingo once a week "