Moving to the UK

[StoleIt]

Hello there,

New to the forum and signed up specifically to get some info about the UK. It would appear that I may be moving in the not too distant future and I wanted to look over the feasibility of having my car (Gen 3) over in England.

Shipping is not an issue, more along the lines of what to expect getting it legal/registered in England, the driving conditions, and then maybe selling/trading it in on something that I couldn't get in the states (Morgan, R34 GT-R, etc).

I'll be living in the RAF Mildenhall/Cambridge area. And more specifically trying to figure out if it's possible to get an apartment in Cambridge and have a safe place to keep the car since I'm still in single bachelor status.

Thanks!
Neal

[MADMAX]

Hi Neal - sorry for rushed reply ...... it's that time of day.....

Welcome to the VOA - and welcome to the UK, potentially.

Putting your car on the road here in the UK is easy - and driving on the left here with a left-hooker is not a problem when you become familiar.

Imported cars to the UK need to have an IVA https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-approval/individual-vehicle-approval BUT I'm not sure if this will apply to you initially IF it's simply your car that you're bringing for your own use while on detachment i.e. it's not being imported for sale and will be going back across the pond in the near future - I've made a few assumptions there - others here will correct me on this if I'm wrong.
If you wanna sell it here, of course, it would defo need IVAing - and that's not a big job anyway.

Cambridge is a top place live and Mildenhall is only a few miles down the road from me - it has a great runway :) - a few ideas forming here :)

Ade

PS Get and join the club Neal and enjoying some real support.

[Fatboy 18]

Hi Neal, Driving a left hooker is no problem in the UK, is good because you can see your wheels when parking and avoid Kerb rash. They like you to have front number plates here so if you don't have one you may get pulled over, but its only a fine at the moment. But if your driving the car on your home state plate there should not be a problem. Tires are very expensive in the UK so if your coming over, get yourself some new rubber at home :) You can run your car here on regular unleaded, our octane level for regular is higher than the USA, you will not need any additional fuel boosters. Its a great area of the UK and there are some great roads, (BUT ALSO A LOT OF UNMARKED POLICE CARS) So get used to driving before hitting the Go pedal ;)

The UK viper club have in the past been invited on base to some Forces open days and car shows, this then moved to RAF Duxford, Its been great to meet some you at these events.

Happy to meet up and let you know what's going on with the UK car scene, check out the events listings on the UK sub forum. Also depending on how much free travel time you have, there are events like the Le mans 24 Hrs, Silverstone Classic. Drag racing at Santa Pod (the old Poddingtion USAF WW II base) and lots of other classic and car events.
One thing is for sure, you will not see another Viper on the road, Vipers are rare here, the only time you will see another one on the road is if you are attending a Viper event.

If you need any more info, Im happy to help

Cheers Mark.

[StoleIt]

Thanks for the replies!

How much modification would a gen 3 (06 coupe) need to make legal? It obviously doesn't have the rear fog light but do the current headlights qualify for the side markers?

And since its already modified (Paxton s/c) would that cause any issues with it passing inspection? It is tuned very rih and I can't imagine it passing a sniffer test in any country on earth.

Also, if I decided to sell it in a year or two...is there any market? Its a white/blue VOI9 edition coupe with 9k miles.

Thanks!
Neal

[Fatboy 18]

For the fog light I disconnected one of my reversing lights, ran a separate wire to a switch (which i mounted on a piece of hardboard and fitted in place of the ash tray) I then painted the Bulb with red glass paint. This is what I use for the annual MOT (Ministry of Transport) Inspection. I just fit the switch for the inspection then remove it and re-fit the ash tray.

Our rules here have changed slightly over the years, Side indicators were required for a SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) test but this test is now called an IVA test, im not sure what it covers?

Viper Baz will know, Baz also knows all the in's and out's of getting these cars through the tests.

As for the Smog tests........Ha Ha, There is always a friendly Testing station ;) I'm fully de-catted!

The other thing which will require adjusting are your front headlights, this involves rotating the reflector lens, Baz Knows how to do this.

As Madmax said, Join the VOA and come and say Hi

UK Viper site ....http://www.driveviper.co.uk/index.php

Did I mention our Gas prices are a little higher than yours? :D Brace Yourself! ;)

As for selling, Very limited market, but you never know? Some people advertise here,

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/dodge/srt-10-gts-rt10

Some of these cars have been for sale for a long time! There is also Autotrader UK and other car magazines and Ebay.

My advice would be to Advertise the car for sale at least a year ahead of when you really want to move it, then continue to drive and enjoy it and if someone asks you about the car you can then negotiate a price ;) Selling to Europe is also an option. :)

You will need the Vehicle Title cert.

[GBS]

I've noticed lots of speed cameras/monitors in the UK. I have yet to get a ticket when traveling there (going back in a couple of weeks). Do they really average you speed in between speed cameras/monitors and send you a ticket if your average speed is over the limit? Sorry if my question is off topic but it would be good to know.

[Fatboy 18]

Lots of different types of speed cameras here,

Here's a website explaining most of them.

http://www.speedcamerasuk.com/speed-camera-types.htm

[GBS]

Lots of different types of speed cameras here,

Here's a website explaining most of them.

http://www.speedcamerasuk.com/speed-camera-types.htm

Thanks for the info Mark!

[8.4L 154]

Mark, why don't you put your fog in the inner brake light, to be fully legal you have to disconnect the middle one as there should be a 10cm separation from the remaining brake light and the fog, but the light housing is certified for that set up and is how my ACR went through IVA.

As for headlights, gen 3 and 4 don't have the rotate thing of the gen 2 lights, but it doesn't matter as the flat beam patten is ok now. Where they do cause problems is with HID as you wont pass IVA without headlight washers at lest and possibly self level also. Its easy to retro fit a halogen bulb though, even if its only for the iva as the annual test doesn't require the washers etc for HID's. Also the combined sidelight and indicator in the head light has to change as you cant have the combined function, just disconnect the side light wire and fit a new side light that meets the visibility requirements. You will need indicator repeaters between the door and front wheel also, but easy to run a wire from the headlight.

Biggest problem will be the emissions, both noise and smoke, you wont blag it past the IVA test the same as you can an MOT (annual test) these guys are the government, not some back street garage like the MOT, generally they couldn't give a shit about you having a bad day by not passing your car. Best thing is you only have to deal with them once, and whilst you shouldn't make any changes that don't meet the regulations, there really isn't anything to stop you after you have your bit of paper, so long as you can pass the less stringent annual mot which is done by a back street garage and as Mark says you can always find a friendly one of those.

[StoleIt]

Biggest problem will be the emissions, both noise and smoke, you wont blag it past the IVA test the same as you can an MOT (annual test) these guys are the government, not some back street garage like the MOT, generally they couldn't give a shit about you having a bad day by not passing your car. Best thing is you only have to deal with them once, and whilst you shouldn't make any changes that don't meet the regulations, there really isn't anything to stop you after you have your bit of paper, so long as you can pass the less stringent annual mot which is done by a back street garage and as Mark says you can always find a friendly one of those.

Yea that's a red flag for me. With the Paxton, tune, and exhaust I have I don't think I would have a snowball's chance in hell.

[Fatboy 18]

Yea that's a red flag for me. With the Paxton, tune, and exhaust I have I don't think I would have a snowball's chance in hell. Not so sure, our emissions levels are not as bad as California, so you might get away with it?

Now I don't know much about a Paxton System, but could you fit some additional cats to get it through a smog test? There has to be a way of getting a pass?

[AZTVR]

OP: Perhaps you would want to talk with one of the respected tuners about a lower emissions tune. It sure would be awful to get the car there and then find out that it could not be registered ! On the other hand, there's the opportunity to take it over to the 'ring and the Autobahn.

[8.4L 154]

Whilst you may be able to tune for smoke you also have to have a noise level less than 99dbA at 500mm 45degrees, greater of exhaust height or 200mm above ground, 3/4 max power, not many modified vipers can do that, again though if you invest in some temporary (permanently looking) silencers, once its through the test you shouldn't have too many problems on the road.

The testing manual can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/203591/M1_IVA_inspection_manual.pdf you just have to work out which bits you can skip due to the FMVSS sticker and the modifications you have made, and even then you will probably still be unsure!

[VIPER BAZ UK]

if its an early Gen3 2003 car no IVA needed... Think we spoke about this car a few weeks ago......