Importing your car from Hong Kong to the UK
You’re looking to import your car from Hong Kong and don’t know where to start. That’s fine. Why would you? Importing is a multifaceted process that takes a lot of coordination and plenty of patience.
The good thing is that you’ve landed in the right place.
My Car Import brings numerous cars from Hong Kong to the UK, and we’ve been doing it long enough to know precisely how to make the process expedient, efficient, and stress-free for our customers.
We have a full-service in-house team which means that every aspect of the process, from customs clearance to modifying your vehicle, is taken care of at our expansive facility.
Your car will be in safe, highly experienced hands, and we also happen to love every car that we import. Working with cars from all over the world is pretty exciting.
Let’s start from the top and give you an idea of how it all works.
Before Shipping your Car
We always advise our customers to clean their cars before shipping, this ensures that a suitable condition report can be taken of the car before shipping.
We document photographic evidence of the car beforehand to keep in our records. We don’t anticipate any issues, but we’re big believers in taking the right precautions.
If you have time to prepare the car for the import process, we recommend checking the lighting and signalling equipment, steering and suspension, brakes, exhaust, fuel and emissions, seat belts, body, structure, and general items.
It’s also useful to check the driver’s view of the road, horn, electrical wiring and battery, and tyres and wheels.
If you don’t have the time available, it’s nothing to worry about. It’s just a useful heads-up if you’re able. We have a guide here that might help.
Right, I’ve prepped my car. What should I do next?
Excellent. One stage down.
Choosing the right shipping company is the next step.
While you can choose to partake in the import process singlehandedly, you’re likely to hit a few obstacles along the way, and you won’t be privy to the expedient timeframes that we can provide.
Taking each stage separately also incurs greater costs, so it’s worth considering your budget and deciding if you can manage any sneaky fees that you might overlook.
If you do choose to work with us, we’ll advise you of the necessary paperwork and make it effortless on your part.
Let’s talk about shipping your car from Hong Kong
We ship cars from Hong Kong all the time. It’s a process we’ve been using for over 30 years so you’re in perfectly safe hands. There are few makes and models we haven’t imported to our premises in the UK.
We import using shared containers. Sharing the container with other vehicles means that we can keep costs low and affordable. Don’t worry, that doesn’t mean that your car will be crammed into a tight corner. Container shipping is safe and secure, and we always ensure there’s plenty of space so that the risk of damage will be minimised.
Your car will be insured for the duration of the journey with marine insurance which covers your vehicle in transit until you receive it in the UK. This covers the full purchase value in the unlikely event of a total loss, and any damage incurred has a repair excess of £450.
We’ve encountered customers in the past that have organised their own marine insurance and assumed a similar level of cover to what we offer. That isn’t the case, and you won’t be covered in the event of any damage. It’s another reason that we wholly advise you to work with a professional shipping agent like us.
We experience a very low damage rate for cars shipped from Hong Kong, but we’d never consider transporting a vehicle without ensuring it is fully covered for all types of damage. It sounds cliché, but it’s the old ‘better to be safe than sorry’ adage.
Many people ask us about the car loading process as it carries a great number of understandable concerns. Could my car be damaged? Might it be scratched or dented? Can it move during transit?
The answer to all of these questions, and many more, is a firm negative, at least not when you’re working with a team of experts like ours. The loading and unloading are a skillset of their own and by no means taken lightly. Our team will handle your car with care and precision, ensuring there is no damage whatsoever.
Transit times fluctuate between 3-6 weeks but our relationships with overseas agents allow us to get your car to you in the quickest timeframe. One thing we can guarantee is that you won’t beat this timeline with any other shipping company, or singlehandedly.
UK car import taxes
It’s a dreary topic that no one likes to talk about, but when importing your car to the UK, you’ll need to understand the tax implications. This is one of the areas that customers tend to struggle with the most.
If you have owned and used the vehicle for over six months and lived in Hong Kong for over 12 months, you can import your car tax-free when relocating to the UK. Around 95% of the cars we import from Hong Kong are part of a wider relocation for individuals. If this does not apply, your vehicle will be subject to one of two tax rates: under 10 years old at a rate of 20% import VAT and 10% import duty.
More often than not, classic cars fall into the lower tax bracket which is a terrific cost-effective advantage.
Navigating customs clearance
My Car Import are fully authorised Customs Declaration Service (CDS) agents. This is the UK government’s new electronic system for handling customs declaration processes. For you, that means we compile and organise your customs entry on your behalf when the container arrives at port.
The container unloading and customs clearance process takes an average of 7-10 days, a timeline that you’ll be hard-pressed to beat.
Being the ‘ten steps ahead’ kind of team that we are, your customs clearance and its associated paperwork will have been organised ahead of time, so you won’t incur any unwanted port storage fees. For customers that undertake the process on their own, they can often fall short of this aspect, and incur an unwelcomed fee.
You have 14 days to inform the HMRC NOVA team after you bring a vehicle into the UK. My Car Import also handles this process to ensure the UK testing and registration process is not inhibited and can progress as quickly as governmental departments allow.
Around 95% of the cars we import from Hong Kong are part of a wider relocation for individuals. When relocating, provided you’ve owned the car for at least 6+ months, you can import the car free of import taxes and duties.
Arrival in the UK
When your container arrives in the UK, we’ll haul it from port to our HQ in Castle Donington and unload it on-site. As it’s the first time we’ve seen the car in the UK, we start by conducting a walk-around inspection to make sure there’s no damage, and to check that we’ve got everything covered.
If we ever feel that more work is required than anticipated, we’d never jump in without your consent. We keep you in the loop and make sure you’re on board with our required process.
This is when we make a start on the modifications required to ensure your car is UK-compliant, a vital aspect of the process.
Compliance testing
To gain the necessary registration for your car to make it UK-compliant and roadworthy, it will need to undergo an MOT, an IVA, or both.
My Car Import is the only UK company to own a privately run testing facility, so your car never has to leave our site (or sight!). It also means that you’ll avoid the standard government 12-week lead times which is a bonus.
Once your car is over three years old, it’ll need an MOT test every year to ensure it maintains its roadworthiness. An IVA test is only conducted once, however, and solely if your car is under ten years old.
As long as your car is in good mechanical condition, it’s highly likely that it will pass both tests.
MOT testing
Next, we’ll carry out an MOT at our facility to examine the general road fitness of the car. We’ll do everything to get the car through, and once it has, we’ll submit your application to the DVLA who processes the paperwork, and issues us with your new UK registration number.
We then have your plates made and fitted, and you’re ready to go.
The IVA process
Any car imported from Hong Kong under ten years old needs to undergo an IVA process. This is a UK-specific scheme to ensure that imported cars meet the required safety and environmental standards.
We understand the modifications you’ll need to make it UK road compliant and will have included what we believe to be necessary in our initial quote to you. There are typical changes that most cars from Hong Kong will need such as rear fog installation or conversion of pre-existing fog light, and speedometer conversions from KPH to MPH (not mandatory for cars over ten years old).
The IVA test is a comprehensive inspection aimed at ensuring your car meets specific British safety and environmental regulations. It applies to cars that are not type approved which means they haven’t been certified to EU-wide standards. It covers pre-inspection requirements, safety checks, emissions testing, noise level compliance, documentation inspection, physical examination, and test result.
What happens next?
We then submit all paperwork and testing certificates to the DVLA via our dedicated account with them. Our service level agreement allows us to register cars within 10 working days of receipt of our application. Once your car is registered and your new UK registration plates are in place, it’s time to reunite with your car.
You’re welcome to collect it from our premises in Castle Donington or we can deliver it via an open or enclosed transporter to an address of your choosing. This is the most convenient and popular option as it saves you from having to do anything apart from turning the key in the ignition and hitting the UK roads.
Why you should choose My Car Import
Allowing us to manage the car import process from Hong Kong to the UK means that you’re privy to the following services:
- Inland collection of your vehicle from Hong Kong
- Consolidated container shipment
- Comprehensive marine insurance
- Efficient, speedy handling of customs clearance
- Container unloading on-site at My Car Import
- All modifications and necessary tests to ensure UK road compliance
- Private IVA testing facility
- Fast track DVLA Registration
- Delivery to your pre-selected UK address
- Regular updates throughout
- Friendly, caring customer service from a team of car enthusiasts!
Now give us one good reason why wouldn’t you want My Car Import to handle the import process for you?