Importing an Insight from the US to the UK

[tinyboytim]

Hi - I have just joined the Insight Forum and I think it is a great resource. Any advice for importing an Insight from the States - where they are still reasonably plentiful - to the UK? I actually did take an Acura Integra back from a previous stint in the US - and being a left hooker never bothered me - getting its first MOT was a tad expensive though due to the headlights. With the exchange rate where it is right now I could get a 05/06 for 8000 quid - which should keep me in good standing for a while. Obviously there are other fees involved - it aint quiet that straight forward. But I was hoping you could give me some advice on the practicality of importing an Insight. Are there any pitfalls with regard to reliability and the waranty with regard to the electrical side of the car? Do you think there is a resale market for a left hand drive Insight should I ever decide to part ways with her? But I have to think with petrol at $7-8 a gallon (US measure) this is an absolute no brainer. Thanks for your input.

[retepsnikrep]

Sounds a complicated nightmare and why drive around on the wrong side of the car for the next X years! I bet the warranty would be US as in no warranty or it would revert to UK warranty which is rubbish compared to the US one! You need to talk to Honda UK about this in writing!

We never got the 10 year 150,000 mile upgrade in UK in fact UK Warranty it's only 80,000 miles and 8 years, and only for those with a 2003 or younger genuine UK car, unless you had an extended hondacare warranty on a pre 2003 car

Better to buy a UK car or one that has been already imported IMO, there are a few about on Autotrader and Honda UK sites if you look from time to time. Up to you of course. I also think a left hooker would be worth diddly squat in UK resale. I might be wrong though.

[jack9994]

i was looking on autotrader.com yesterday and found a 2006 Insight with 8k miles for £17000 dollars. Bargain! - the choice of Insights in the UK is rubbish and i have never seen one newer than 2002 reg for sale - in fact there are probably no more than a hand full of post 2002 cars in the UK. There are loads of companies that import from Japan - it might be worth seeing what they would import one for and what choice there is in Japan. Japanese cars also have the steering wheel on the right side. I dont think a model report exists for the Insight so you might have to fork out a few £k for that. DCY near york and car planet in Warrington are 2 companies that import

Cheers
John

[tinyboytim]

Thanks for the replies. As a resident of the States coming home I save on the import taxes. I am presuming that any kind of US warranty would be void. There will be an SVA charge to make sure the Insight is 'roadworthy' in the UK. And, the greatest issue, it will be a left hand drive. I did not have a problem with that last issue with the Acura I imported before, but it did make resale a very depressing option. But the thought of getting a very late model Insight for such reasonable cost is very compelling. Just the thought of $95 oil - and 1 pound a liter petrol is enough to change the thought process of the greatest of petrolheads I would think. Having an Insight in the UK must be one of the best kept secrets - must save you thousands over the lifetime of the car. Although it seems that insurance and service costs are somewhat of a handicap in Britain. When you convert your pounds into $$ @ 2.09 what they have in the US must seem like a dream! lol. I will follow up with some of the UK importers from Japan - see what they can do.

[Dougie]

It dosn't cost that much to ship a car in a container, and with the dollar practically free, it could be worthwhile. The argument agains it is that you have a large selection of economy cars over there already.

[tinyboytim]

Has anyone had experience with a Japanese Insight? They seem pretty reasonably priced over there and at least they eliminate having the steering wheel on the wrong side. Is HM Customs still charging 10% import duty and then VAT on top? Also the Japanese Insights do not seem to have the mph/kmh button on the instrument panel. As they run in km/h is that a big problem? I would think that most aspects of the SVA test would be fairly straight forward for a japan sourced Insight for the UK. Your thoughts on this matter are very much appreciated.