importing.

[BonduBill]

After checking out the prices of used Harleys in the good old US of A on tinternet . I am wondering what the ins and outs of private importation to UK might be. Has anyone out there done this ? Does anyone have any advice ? They are SO cheap there it's got to be worth trying to get one past customs !

[kiwidave]

a question asked many times and the answer is always the same:

Despite the current dollar rate.....by the time you have been stung for all the relevant duties and costs, you will save damn all. You could even lose out.

It is only worth considering if you are looking for something very very hard to find here that you will keep forever because you are so desperate for one i.e. a one owner original Shovelhead, a HydraGlide, a 1960s Sportster....you get the picture.

We are now seeing good Evo big twins for £5,000 in winter.

[Chiefy]

I agree with you Kiwi, every way you turn they've got you.

Even if you did manage to smuggle one in, you can't get it registered without paying the tax and vat.

Yip, the indy near me has a Dyna Low rider for £4995 (trade sale) and I got my Shovel (one owner from new) from Germany a while back, ridden over by the owner so no taxes (EEC and personal import), and even though I keep on looking I haven't found anything stateside that would meet or be cheaper than these.

[hollandc]

The math's are easy, add these together and you will have the total .
The cost of the bike + Shipping cost's +Shipping insurance, and broker's fees add these together.
Now add 6 %.
Then 17.5%
That will give you your total cost to Import the bike.
There are more cost's yet, Possible SIVA test, Registration and road tax.

There are loopholes in this that can be used to reduce the cost such as older (25 years I think)bikes only have no duty and reduced VAT. If you have owned the bike for 6 months no Vat and duty, VAT on the shipping only.
Hope that helps.

[banquo]

Surprisingly, US prices are n't as low as you might expect, and it's clear that H-D have passed at least some of the dollar's weakness on to our market. I keep on looking at used prices out there, and am surprised by how high they are. If you had the time and the inclination, it could be worth raking around and bringing back a container load. That would reduce the shipping costs, and as the duty and VAT are added to the landed cost, would reduce them too. You would have to crate in order to make the best use of the container, or put up with a single layer and less packing cost. According to this, it has to be over 50 years old to be VAT free.
VintageBike.co.uk - Classic and Vintage Motorcycles

Department for Transport - How to import your vehicle permanently into Great Britain

To gain exemption on classic vehicle grounds, you may need to demonstrate that the vehicle has value above that of a normal second-hand buy...
http://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/channelsP...yType=document