Soon to be new owner and my import process

[Neil97rs]

Well got my man to have a look around this this afternoon report comes back very favourably.

Inside is grade b grade 4 outside with only minor scratches.
Runs well with no silly mods
Best part no corrosion which sold it for me. So hard finding one without corroded rear arches even in Japan now.

Will be on a boat over here soon. Hope she is a good one .

Will keep you updated on the process as it goes ahead.

Purchasing was easy enough. Pre auction haggle figure was settled upon. Went to bank transferred the money . Got it insured in transit against loss at sea and theft from the docks which was around £60.

Will be getting all the documentation emailed over in the morning .
Then just need to figure out vat and import duties

[munk]

good on you for taking the plunge.. hope it works out well for you.

[MIDLIFE]

Originally Posted by munk

good on you for taking the plunge.. hope it works out well for you.

+1 hope you get a good one.

[Neil97rs]

Had a list of the aftermarket parts


engine parts swapped

center diff
rear diff 2 way after market
sard radiator
blitz adjustable sus
boost controller
defi meters
brembo
muffler
hks aircleaner
drivers seat is recarro
ks rom computer
viper security
work 17"miester alloys
exhaust manifold
clutch
steering wheel - no airbag and light is on
color changed

[Hongkongfooi]

interesting read this. Look forward to the pics

[Neil97rs]

here are some pictures
picture.jpg

back.jpg

defi.jpg

engine.jpg

exhaust.jpg

wheels.jpg

suspension.jpg

side.jpg

rear seats.jpg

[Neil97rs]

Its got some Blitz suspension on which i cannot find much about on the internet

Engine has the typical red laquer peel which i may get re done

Got insurance quotes today £400 fully comp which i thought was really good

Spoke to the agent this morning should be on a boat on its travels early may then depending how many ports it stops at will be in the uk 40-45 days after that

[Neil97rs]

Little update on the process for those that are interested

Car is at the docks awaiting export confirmation from the Japanese customs agency .

After that has gone through need to await shipping agency to agree shipment

Timeline so far
Car sourced 10th april
Payment made 11th April
Radiation test completed and all paperwork sent off to customs 21st april




Want to get the car on the road by 10th July to take to Japshow but with 40-45 days on a boat still to go and May loaming quickly its going to be tight. Can get the car converted and MOT'd the week i get it home but then still need to wait upto 2 weeks to get the number plates .

[Neil97rs]

Update

Car is being loaded this week and leaves port on 20th may

Lands in Southampton 6th July

[Rdlangy1]

whoop whoop !

[Frenchie]

Interesting reading this as my new STi is due a few days earlier in Le Havre. may be our cars are on the same boat. Have tried to get a tracking number,without success.

[Neil97rs]

My car is on

Armacup vessel. Grand pavo.
Not started tracking it yet as it hasn't left port. It is stopping at le havre but doesn't say what date..
But there is another ship landing there on 4th July

[Frenchie]

Many thanks for the information, hopefully my car is on one of the ships. 4 months is a long time to wait.

[swrx2810]

Mine arrived last week and hopefully arrived at the importer's today. Then documents and stuff they need to sort out. Hoping to get it before the 27th of May (bank holiday).

[Neil97rs]

Congratulations on getting yours safely here.
I'm doing everything myself apart from the import and vat forms. Just as a little experiment to see if it is actually cheaper than buying from dealers in the UK.
If I had got it from an actual auction I think it would of been a lot cheaper but this came through a dealer. Still a bit cheaper but not huge amounts.
I wanted mine on the road by 10th July but that won't happen now.

[Neil97rs]

Update
Ship has been loaded and is currently on the way to Shanghai. Seems it's doing a bit of backpacking before it get here . After that it goes to Canada before heading to Europe

All paperwork is in the post and on its way to me. Should be here in a weeks time. Then can sort out the vat and import fees.

[Rdlangy1]

exciting...I couldn't wait that long - I would be going insane!

[Neil97rs]

All documents arrived

Got a spare key along with alarm fobs. Also got a full service history with it. Tool for the adjustable suspension receipts for stuff i cannot understand and loads of random other stuff in japanese.
Tried to use google translate on it but it still makes no sense.

All paperwork sent off to sort out the import duties and VAT which will all be completed 1st July

[Neil97rs]

little update

car is still to arrive but will be in southampton on tuesday.

was trying to pay the vat and import duties today but shipping company hasnt given over all the details yet.

this is supposedly happening monday morning.

All going well will be picking it up Thursday morning.
Also found out there is a dock handling fee to pay on the day of collection and a processing fee which is around £100 total

[Neil97rs]

Car has arrived in the Uk. Currently sitting in Southampton. Vat and Import duties paid Just filled out the DVLA registration forms

Going to collect it Thursday morning,

So far its been an easy process

[NL03Scooby]

Nearly there, roll on Thursday!

[Neil97rs]

Got the car home. Will get some new pics up soon.
Just need to mot it and register it now. Oh and figure out what a couple of things do. Only thing I can say is not as described is the brembos have been removed but overall condition is better than I thought

[Steve_PPP]

Originally Posted by Neil97rs

Only thing I can say is not as described is the brembos have been removed but overall condition is better than I thought

No brembos in the earlier photos and i'd be very surprised if they would fit under those wheels anyway.. ?

Hope its tidy other than that, get some photos sorted

[scotty]

Going by the pics it had standard 4 pots on it and those defi's are the wrong colour you need to post up fresh bigger pictures now that you have the car and do you have the paint code for the yellow

[Neil97rs]

No paint code so if i ever need to colour match its going to be a nightmare

Cleaned it today just need to polish it in the morning. Taking it to Japshow on Sunday

Will get some pics of it after the polish. After i start her it talks to me in Japanese. No idea what its saying lol. Got a Vf28 turbo so should be good for around 300 BHp with the other mods
Also got a couple of switches on it that i have no idea what they do . Scared to flip them as it could be anything lol

[Scott.T]

Originally Posted by scotty

Going by the pics it had standard 4 pots on it and those defi's are the wrong colour you need to post up fresh bigger pictures now that you have the car and do you have the paint code for the yellow

Does it not have white main dials then.
Early V4 had the previous facelift dash and black dials. Later V4 had the V5 dash and white dials.

[scotty]

Originally Posted by Scott.T

Does it not have white main dials then.
Early V4 had the previous facelift dash and black dials. Later V4 had the V5 dash and white dials.

His car isnt white mind you i would be proper fecked with my oxford blue dials as theres no blue faced gauges

[Neil97rs]

Little update.

Car passed it's mot today.

All that was needed to do was.
Fit rear fog light.
Drivers side wiper blade
New tyres.

Only 1 advisory.
Drivers seat mechanism stiff.

Now need to send papers to dvla and wait for registration which takes upto 10 working days.

[C. J.]

Awesome

[Neil97rs]

Papers all sent off to DVLA nearly 2 weeks ago still awaiting my V5 document.
Had a few little things done to the car over the past 2 weeks. Got a new ECU which im going to send off to get a ESL motherboard fitted so i can map it ( well so a friend can)
Looked at all the others and i think for the money this is by far the best option.

Had all the suspension adjusted so its not rock hard. Fitted boost gauge in a pod on the A pillar
Camber to be adjusted on the rear this week and 4 wheel alingment carried out.

On the look out for a louder exhaust ( yes i want to be that person) Blitz nur spec or similar really as the Apexi system fitted is just too quiet.

May eventually get to drive it

[Neil97rs]

at last got paperwork back from dvla. trip to halfords done so number plates are made.
so its all legal.
Brought the car april 11th on the road August the 12th.
for those that are thinking of doing it themselves this is about as quick as everything can go. picked car up day after it landed. mot the same week paperwork sent off straight away.
The whole process was infact quite easy and painless. Got a much better car in the flesh than the pictures showed so overall really pleased
Only down side is i had an op yesterday and not allowed to drive for 10 days lol.

[ScoobyStu]

Good to hear it has all gone well for you. Get better soon then go and enjoy it

[NL03Scooby]

Glad everything is sorted, now all you need to do is get yourself fit to drive and put some miles on the car!

[Frenchie]

I know all about long waits,glad yours is over. Hope you get over your op ok so you can finally get behind the wheel.