Car On The Way!

[emicen]

OK, the cars on the boat. What needs to be done for customs clearance etc at this end?

I take it you dont just go down on the day with your cheque book?!

How long does customs clearance take? Its getting in on the 3rd of Jan which is a Saturday, do they work Sundays?

[kash]

U looking at 10% duty and 17.5% VAT.... aslong as u have all the paperwork... proof of ownership, name and address and u pay them the money (try to do that as soon as it arrives)... customs should take no more than a week

[Andy]

Customs clearance can be done in less than a day , what you need is a freight clearance company at the port of arrival , so as soon as you get the B/L you should contact them to sort it out , otherwise if the vehicle stands in port for more than about 5 days they will charge you storage .

What port is it coming into .

[emicen]

Customs clearance can be done in less than a day , what you need is a freight clearance company at the port of arrival , so as soon as you get the B/L you should contact them to sort it out , otherwise if the vehicle stands in port for more than about 5 days they will charge you storage .

What port is it coming into .

Bristol, i aint using a clearance agent though, why pay someone £100 for something you can do yourself?!

[Andy]

If you know all about what was the point of the question , only trying to help , wont bother next time .

[emicen]

If you know all about what was the point of the question , only trying to help , wont bother next time .

Why you going in a huff about it, all i asked is what has to be done to get it through customs? I didnt say i know whats involved, what i did say is, if i can do it myself i dont want to pay £100 for someone else to do it, hence I need to know whats involved.

I know about the existence of clearing agents, but i reckoned they'd be a bit reluctant to tell me exactly how to do their job without paying them for it, which is why i asked here.

[Andy]

Customs clearance has never cost me more than £55 from a freight agent , it's better to use them because they will pay C+E via a business account , otherwise you have to get a bankers draft to pay , and most banks seem to charge for this .

You will also have to pay dock handling charges and insurance (optional) , my freight handling people sort that out as well .

Another thing that you should be aware of it that if the vehicle has a flat Battery , they will try and charge you for loading and unloading , this could be anything up to £300 .

Ps. What is the vehicle that you have coming in .

[emicen]

OK, i thought it was gona be in the hundreds, so it might be worth it then to save me the hassle. Its a Glanza V coming in to Bristol on Jan 3rd.

Was the dock handling and insurance included in the £55 you mentioned? The car has shipping insurance that cost me £38ish.

Is it likely to have a flat Battery after being at sea for 4 weeks? It did cross my mind asking the guys in Japan to unhook the Battery before the crossing but then i realised I'd probably get charges for hooking it back up at this end

Have you had any dealings with NYK line? Are their customs agents any good (i believe they have their own in house people)?

[Andy]

The C+E came to £55 + Terminal handling £40 + delivery order £25 = £120 , I have had the C+E at £30 but have had to get a bankers draft raised which cost me £10 , so not a lot in it , also sometimes they will try to charge £10 for Port handling , but this is optional so dont pay it .

The flat Battery thing was just a warning as it could happen , its not been a problem with my vehicles , but a friend in Liverpool has been charged £300+ for removing it from the boat .

I have had one vehicle come in via NYK line , and everything was ok , but just beware that things go missing en-route , so dont sign for the vehicle until you've checked it over .

You didnt mention what year it is , so not sure if you will need a SVA test , let me know if you need any help with that or the registration .

[emicen]

Its a 1996 so apparently it will need SVA'd. Going to send off for the SVA guide to this tomorrow so that I can prep the car myself (finally, access to the rents garage will have its advantages!).

Sorry if I'm being thick, but did the £120 include the handling agents fee? So i'd be expecting roughly £120 + import duty and VAT (which is £294 and £564 respectively).

I'm gona check it very thoroughly cos theres quite a lot of aftermarket parts came on it and its got a couple of spares wheels coming ( :D drag strip!).

When driving it home from the docks (unregistered and with no plates) should you put a cardboard sign in the back window saying "on delivery" or something in case the police are feeling bored.

[Andy]

Yes the £120 included all port and clearance , all you have to pay is the 10% duty and 17.5% Vat .

You could put a sign in the window to say on delivery , but I have never been stopped myself so dont normally bother , and the police can see that its just come out of the docks by the stickers and writing all over the windows .

[emicen]

OK, first SVA question (since i havent recieved my book from the DVLA yet):

Do you require side indicators to pass SVA? (just checking, i'm 99% certain you do. believe the law is you should be able to see the side repeater from 1m out from the rear wheel of the car on that side or sumthing similar)

[starletsy]

Can't give you a definite answer mate but most Glanza's i've scene have had them fitted. I'd just get some nice clear ones from Halfords and fit them.

If you want a handy tip for the rear fog light find a uk starlet in the breakers and get the rear side/brake light plug for the rear lights. Make sure you leave plenty of wire on the end if it. On your Glanza you'll find in the rear lights and side/brake, indicator and then side if you replace the one thats just a side light connecting the wires up as you go with the plug you've got from the scrappy you'll have the wires for the brake lights left over which you can use for the rear fogs. I've just done this and checked with the MOT station first and he said it would be ok.

Oh that works with the 96 - 98 lights

Simon

[emicen]

Sounds like a plan! anyone else know of this?

Its the reflector issues i'm worried about, apparently there is a specific dimension of fog light reflector and angle at which it should be. otherwise i'd just red out one of the reverse lights and stick the fog bulb in there.

[Andy]

Not sure what Simon means about the lights , as I'm not familiar with any of the import cars , I only import the Surfs , but in answer to your question Yes you will need to fit side indicators , and the fog light would be best to fit a proper one just to get it through the SVA , then once it's done and reg you can modify a reverse light or whatever , it's ok for MOT but not SVA for some reason .

I get most of my parts from this company http://www.importedvehicles.co.uk/ , cheap and reliable service with next day delivery .

[starletsy]

Andy, i was talking starlet specific but sounds like you'd want to put a proppa fog light under the bumper (thats what mine had then it "fell off" ). Then modify either the spare brake lights or one of the reverse lights.

Simon

[emicen]

Andy, I contacted those guys about clearance at Bristol, they said they cant do it, do you know of anyone else?

The mighty parcel force failed to leave me my documents today but hey, at least I know theyre here-ish!

[Andy]

You could try these people , but not sure what they are like , so ask for set charges price list .

http://www.wsxship.demon.co.uk/