Importing my Morris Minor to the UK

[daniel-b]

Hello,

I have a 1954 Morris Minor Series II, which I have owned for about three years. It is in good restored condition, and recently I had a lot of work done to it, including rebuilding the engine, overhauled electrics, new clutch, new brakes, rebuilt steering rack etc. While there is still more that can be done, the car currently drives pretty well. It has a 948cc engine, with, I believe, an original series II gearbox. The car is left-hand-drive with a KM speedometer.

I currently live in Israel. I will be moving to the UK later this year and I am toying with the idea of bringing the car with me. While I could probably sell the car here and buy another one in the UK, that would in effect be starting again with an unknown car, with all that that involves. Also, some of the work which I would still like to do to the car would be a lot easier to do in the UK than it would be here.

I am not familiar with the process of importing a car to the UK, getting it registered, insured etc, so I was wondering if anyone might have some advice as to what is involved and how much it might cost, as well as what documents I would need to provide, etc. The car is currently fully taxed and tested in Israel. Also, if anyone knows some good shipping companies, that would also be very useful.

This is a picture of the car:

IMG_20230415_110403 (1).jpg (1.45 MiB) Viewed 4940 times

Thanks,

Daniel

[King Kenny]

Hi Daniel. I am re-regestering my Traveller after 11 years in France. The process for you may be different. I went on www.gov.uk (register imported car)
You have to inform the HMRC that you have imported a car with then to see if any tax has to be paid. For me there is non. You will need a registration document from your country, proof of identity, proof of address and perhaps proof of ownership. When you get a positive reply you can go to DVLA and ask for a registration number. You may need get an MOT certificate first. I have not got that far yet but I can use my old UK registration to get an MOT. I think the registration is £55.00. Hope this helps. |I can let you know how I proceed. good luck.
P.S. nice car.

[simmitc]

A direct link to the importing vehicles web page https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk

When applying to the DVLA for a registration number, ask for an "age-related" plate and you should get one that matches the 1954 format. They should accept your current registration documents as proof of age, but they may insist on a dating certificate from the MMOC.

[daniel-b]

Thanks very much for your help. You've definitely given me somewhere to start

D.

[King Kenny]

Just had an eMail from HMRC to ask me to fill in Form C179B to confirm that no tax is required.

[King Kenny]

For your information I have filled Form C179B and sent it to HMRC. Received a replay vie eMail stating that no tax was owed. I took the Traveller for an MOT whish she passed. I have now filled in form V55\5 and sent it to DVLA with the original V5, MOT certificate, letter from NOVA (HMRC), copy of my driving licence, proof of address and the original French 'certificate d'immatriculation' (log book). I have not sent any money. Let's see what happens next.

[daniel-b]

Thanks for keeping us up-to-date on the process. Looking forward to the next installment...

D.

[liammonty]

Hi Daniel,

Good luck with it - I'm sure you'll figure it out? Where abouts are you? I used to love in Ra'anana and also Rishon le Zion years ago.

I was tempted to import my mum's car over to the UK from Israel a few years ago, but what stopped me in the end was the bureaucracy at the Israeli end. CAn't remember if it was Haifa or Ashdod I was going to ship from, but the snag was that if I recall correctly, the registered keeper of the vehicle needs to travel with it on the ship. I couldn't do that as I wasn't the keeper of the car. We had planned to ship to Italy and then drive it the rest of the way. I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the shipping company I spoke to, but I'm sure you'll find it on line.

In my experience, however difficult people think it may be to deal with the authorities at this end once you get the car here, it will be a whole lot easier than dealing with the paperwork in Israel!

Lovely looking Minor, by the way. I'll keep an eye out for it when I am visiting my dad next month!

[daniel-b]

Hi Daniel,

Good luck with it - I'm sure you'll figure it out? Where abouts are you? I used to love in Ra'anana and also Rishon le Zion years ago.

I was tempted to import my mum's car over to the UK from Israel a few years ago, but what stopped me in the end was the bureaucracy at the Israeli end. CAn't remember if it was Haifa or Ashdod I was going to ship from, but the snag was that if I recall correctly, the registered keeper of the vehicle needs to travel with it on the ship. I couldn't do that as I wasn't the keeper of the car. We had planned to ship to Italy and then drive it the rest of the way. I'm afraid I can't remember the name of the shipping company I spoke to, but I'm sure you'll find it on line.

In my experience, however difficult people think it may be to deal with the authorities at this end once you get the car here, it will be a whole lot easier than dealing with the paperwork in Israel!

Lovely looking Minor, by the way. I'll keep an eye out for it when I am visiting my dad next month!

Hi,

I live in Modiin.

To be honest I'm beginning to think that exporting my car is not a good idea, not so much because of the bureaucracy (I certainly haven't come across the rule that you mentioned) but because of the cost. I am now looking into long-term storage as an alternative to selling it, which I absolutely do not want to do, if it can be avoided.

To be honest, I've always found UK bureaucracy to be a bit medieval, and found the authorities here much easier to deal with...

Get in touch if you'd like to meet up when you're here.

D

[King Kenny]

I received my new V5 registration document today, I was worried that they may have lost my application because it has taken over five weeks to get a reply. The car is now taxed (£0) insured and MOT-ed and I am looking forward to taking her back on the roads again. The whole process, although difficult at times, cost me nothing other than postage.