Bringing a Car to the UK

[DogtorCK]

Has anyone exported a car to school in the UK? Looking for information on the legalities of insurance and registration.

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[Staffie]

Has anyone exported a car to school in the UK? Looking for information on the legalities of insurance and registration.

I've never heard of a student doing this. It would be a huge hassle and pretty expensive. If you want to explore this idea more, there are some people on UK Yankee that have some great information on stuff like this: http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php

 

[DogtorCK]

Thanks for the link. There are actually at least 3 people that I know of doing this in my class, but mine will be the first to arrive. I guess I'll pass on my infinite wisdom to them after I go through the process.


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[derwent2052]

It's not something I'd personally recommend, seems like it'd be a waste of money and a hassle to do. Don't forget w a US car you'll be on the wrong side of the car for the road here (maybe not critical, but may not be comfortable/convenient). I'd imagine selling your car and purchasing a secondhand car (or even a new car depending on make/model) here would be cheaper and more straightforward. Occasionally see vet students selling their old cars too.
Keep in mind too -
You can only use your USA license for 1 year from arrival in the UK, then you must get a UK license (theory and practical test).
All cars must have insurance, road tax, and an MOT (iirc MOT is yearly for any car over 3yo); all must be renewed annually.
Depending on where you live, you may need to pay parking charges (certainly anywhere within the city, unless you find a house with a private drive).
Petrol generally costs more than the US and is charged per litre not per gallon.
Think too about whether you'll need a car or not, and when you may need it - it may not be necessary right away. I can't speak for glasgow and rvc but Edinburgh's transport links are good, regular busses out to the school if you live in town and busses from elsewhere if you decide to live closer to school.

If expenses are of any concern, i can say that especially with the school subsidy, busses are cheaper than driving when taking all that into account.

Only thing I could imagine is if you cannot drive stick, you'll have less choice trying to find an automatic (at least for less £ than an otherwise equivalent stick shift), though if you fancy taking a few lessons to prep for the eventual license tests, could learn stick shift then.

https://www.gov.uk/browse/driving for some more information on things like MOTs etc
https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/overview info on importing cars
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/driver-and-vehicle-licensing-agency the DVLA

 

[eqchamp]

Depending on where you are going to school, consider not buying one until 4th year if possible. The insurance is crazy expensive over there (my cousin is a 28 year old male with a ford focus and he pays about 2,000 euros a year plus tax which is about half that and also a yearly expense), also gas converts to roughly 9 dollars a gallon, so I am planning on avoiding this as much as possible!

 

[shortnsweet]

I survived 5 years without a car over there. Just sayin'.

If you need one though---get it there. It's a waste of money to export a car.

 

[lei325]

Don't do it. Buy one over there. It's significantly cheaper to buy used cars (I got one for £2200 during my 3rd year at RVC), they tend to be pretty reliable (if you go through the right avenues), and I sold it for £1400 before I moved back to the US. It needed a bit of work before I sold it, but that's the reality of cars anywhere. Also, you usually have to bring the US car back with you, right? So you'll be spending money on both ends of your schooling. It's really not worth it.