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private import to uk

25K views 18 replies 13 participants last post by  nathan h 
#1 ·
I kind of like the idea of the 9-2. It certainly looks loads better than the Subaru version. The other Subaru (Forester) I've had, based on the same platform, has proven to be very reliable.

Has anyone suggestions how to get one over here from the States, and how much it would cost. Observing the USA list prices and the currency situation, the 9-2 Aero costs peanuts in comparison to a similar spec Subaru Impreza in UK.

I guess anyone who can service an Impreza can service the 9-2 so that shouldn't be a problem either. LHS drive is not an issue for me.

jvk
 
#2 ·
Not too difficult I wouldn't have thought. I spoke to a guy at Le Mans, last year, who imports those great big Ford F150 Harley Davidson. I think they were costing him about £16,000 in the USA. (Probably that amount again to actually run them in the UK given our cost of fuel
)

1. Contact a USA Saab dealer - they should have plenty of these cos they aint selling well in the states.

2. Contact a shipping company for price to ship car.

3. Contact DVLA for information regarding importing a car, SVA (Single Vehicle Approval, if required), VAT, vehicle registration, etc.

Then, once you have it, take it to a Subaru dealer for servicing. Not sure how warranty issues will be dealt with, though. IIRC, Saabs in Europe are sold with a pan-European manufacturer warranty for the first year which is supplemented by the country specific importer/dealer warranty for years two and three. I suspect that you may find your new car has no warranty cover?

...an interesting question, anyway Perhaps others can elaborate on anything I have missed.
 
#4 ·
Yup allow about £1k for shipping plus or minus. For shipping specialists, pick up a copy of 'Classic American' magezine as there is usually a good number of adverts from specialist companies that ship vintage/classic American cars over to the UK all the time.
I know someone who has a 1939 Ford street rod about mid-atlantic as we speak....

Like John says, I suspect you may find you won't have a warranty once in the UK, so that's worth bearing in mind in terms of cost factoring.
 
#7 ·
Another thing - I have read bad press about the 9-2 seats being too short and too small.

Would be well worth your money flying out to see one first if you have not already.

You can fly out for as little as £179.00 - would be well worth it!

Also with the existing currency exchange rates you should be laughing! I would look up on the website a city that has quite a few Saab Dealers and spend the weekend having a nice time and getting the best deal from each one!

You can get a hirecar and a full tank of petrol for £149.00 for 7 days in the USA- make a mini stay of it!
 
#9 ·
Yeh - telling me! I hired 4 9-5's in Sweden - had about 4 x loan car 9-5's - sat in the car in the showroom - and then I find out the aero seats are nothing like them! And the headrests cut me in the shoulder blades!

What you will find in the US - alot of the dealers hold loads more stock than they do in the UK -they have loads more space!- so you might be able to pick a car from stock! So you can do your own PDI etc immediately! And if they aint selling out there - I am sure you will walk into one hell of a deal!
 
#10 ·
Originally posted by Polaris:
[qb]I had a friend who bought a car over - he was an American and was well peeved off cos they made him change all the lens covers (had the red indicators) and add fog lamps and the like until they would let him drive it - it was quite a bill ! [/qb][/b]
Saabs in the US (well in Maine at least) have standard lens cover so thats not going to be a problem.

Steve
 
#11 ·
I saw it and went scooby?....
Well I dont know how much and wht and were they are built, but I have seen a 9-2 advertised in Belgium... I will dig the paper out...

They do roll on roll off ferry into Liverpool...
Or a 20 foot container is yours for around £1500..
Import duty and VAT will be the killer though...
 
#12 ·
[ QUOTE ]
I saw it and went scooby?....
Well I dont know how much and wht and were they are built, but I have seen a 9-2 advertised in Belgium... I will dig the paper out...

[/ QUOTE ]
I know www.saabbelgium.be is advertising the 9-7x (yuk) so it might be worth dropping them a line to see if they can get you a 9-2x. You pay the VAT-free price in Belgium, but pay 17.5% VAT when you arrive here, plus first registration fee, etc. And you would get an EU cartificate of conformity too - I think if you imported from the US, you would need a single vehicle approval (SVA) costing about £200.
 
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