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US imports, Salvage certificates, SVA, Q plates, etc, etc, etc


dieselnutjob

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8 minutes ago, Pete-M said:

Q plates are nearly permanent. The trick used to be to get the car through a NI MOT and put an NI plate on. 

I only know this because many years ago someone I know bought a very expensive Toyota Land Cruiser Amazon that was about a year old. He bought it, complete with NI reg for about £3k less than an English registered one would have cost. 

All would have been fine, if he hadn't decided to put his private plate on it. As soon as DVLA received the application for the reg transfer two officers from the local Dibble Stolen Vehicle Squad (or whatever they're called) rocked up at his house and took his £35k Amazon off to their workshop. It was returned to him about a month later on a Q plate. Turned out it had been stolen when new and stripped to the bone, only the rolling shell had been found. Some enterprising chap had bought it from the insurance, taken it to NI, rebuilt it and managed to get it registered in NI.

If the chap I know hadn't tried to put his reg on the thing he'd probably never have triggered DVLA.

I wonder if a HPI check would have picked it up or not. 

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I've been looking at importing some hideous Yankee chod for a while now and find threads like this fascinating. I've been scanning eBay.com on and off for a while and it seems some stuff is actually cheaper to buy over here rather than sourcing it and importing it yourself.  That said there's a seriously cheap 1976 Buick Regal that's been baked half to death in the Arizona sun currently doing the rounds. Even if it was free I imagine it's still going to cost the thick end of 3k to see it on my drive.

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18 hours ago, dieselnutjob said:

I think IAAI is safer than Copart.  There is a "thing" with copart that people buy horribly wrecked cars, tart them up and then then put them back through copart and they are actually far worse that they look.

Most of the cars on IAAI are direct from insurance companies, and you can clearly see in the listing whether that's so.  If it doesn't say who's selling it then probably don't buy.

It is almost an American yoootoobers rite of passage to win a badly doctored up shitter "ohmehgerd I haz been about an rhhhheeeck" 

 

12 hours ago, dieselnutjob said:

Yep, I can't see financial profit in importing stuff unless in general. The only reason is that you want something that is simply not available here and you can afford to do it. 

Most of the stuff I want is relatively worthless, no one desperately wants a 66 Chrysler 300 4 door (I think there is one i  the UK but it hasn't been for sale for 5 years, in   truly awful vibrant snot green colour too and a massive 7 litre pez engine... imense want!) " not in "an film"  or has a cult following.

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52 minutes ago, Low Horatio gearbox said:

Most of the stuff I want is relatively worthless, no one desperately wants a 66 Chrysler 300 4 door (I think there is one i  the UK but it hasn't been for sale for 5 years, in   truly awful vibrant snot green colour too and a massive 7 litre pez engine... imense want!)  2 Dorset to many, not in "an film"  or has a cult following.

Cars don't have to make financial sense. It's my hobby. Maybe you like golf, or watching football. Do those hobbies have to make financial sense? Building a garage for and restoring a 604 makes no financial sense but it doesn't have to. 

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They rarely do. I'm hip deep into a Jag having spent three times what I paid for it to almost double its value  😂  (and costed out 20ks worth of garages to store about 8ks worth of cars when looking at houses/house moving) and I promised myself I'd never look at the Rovers numbers, ever!

My only concern for the faff of importing is I only intend to keep whatever it is for 12-18 months - I want the whole yank barge experience but I want one i like and can justifiably afford. I'm sure if I had a 70 charger I'd keep it forever but 50-70k on one makes me baulk at tying so much into just one car (that's a whole heap of shitters!)

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