How much does it cost to import a car to the UK from Japan?

Introduction

In this post my aim is to give you an insight into how the Japanese auction sold price equates to the ‘on the road in the UK’ price.  When the basic auction price is converted from ¥ to £, it is often astoundingly cheap!  However, there are numerous fees and taxes to add before that bargain out of a Japanese car auction can be used on the road in the UK.  Here is a list of the typical fees involved:

  • Exporting agent’s commission.
  • Auction fee.
  • Transport fees (auction house to exporter’s yard, then on to the port).  Obviously this varies according to the distances involved.
  • De-registration and export paperwork.
Parking at a Japanese car auction, Laitr Keiows (Own work) [CC BY 3.0]

Everything up to this point (added together) is known as the FOB price.  FOB means either ‘freight on board’ or ‘free on board’ and refers to the cost of buying a car and getting it onto a boat to your destination.  Once on the boat, the fees continue as follows:

  • Shipping charge.  This is usually based on the number of cubic meters of space the car occupies and is paid to the shipping company when the car arrives.  The customs clearance agent will sort this for you if you use one.
  • Shipping insurance, if you choose to have this.
  • UK import agent commission or UK car dealer profit.
  • UK port fees.
  • UK customs clearance agent fees.
  • Import duty, charged at 5-10 % of FOB price + shipping. See this article for more information on import duty.
  • VAT, charged at 20 %.
  • Transport from port to home in the UK.
  • Work involved in fitting a fog light and converting the speedometer if you choose to do so.  More work may be required for cars under 10 years old going for an IVA test.
  • MOT (or IVA) test fee.
  • Registration fee.
  • Car tax (vehicle excise duty).
  • Number plates.

You may be interested in the worksheet I’ve produced to help you work out an accurate estimate of the UK ‘on the road’ cost of a car imported from Japan.  Click here for more information.

picture of the Japanese import car cost calculator worksheet from Andrew's Japanese Cars

What I’m going to do now is show you how the auction price in ¥ maps to a UK ‘ready to go’ price.  For simplicity I’ll use fictitious Japanese auction sale prices in round ¥ 200,000 amounts.

How auction cost in yen equates to UK on the road cost in £

Sold cost at Japanese auction (¥)Sold cost at Japanese auction (£)UK ‘on the road’ price (£)
200,00012505500
400,00025007146
600,00037508793
800,000500010437
1,000,000625012083

Having looked at the table, you may well have compared the £ cost of the car from the auction with the ‘on the road’ cost.  Quite a difference isn’t there?  Please consider the following:

  • Remember the value for money you’re getting in buying a car direct from a Japanese auction.  Have a look at my post on why imported Japanese cars are better.
  • Almost all of these charges and fees are unavoidable unless you engage in dishonest practices or are importing a car as a personal import.  Say you lived in Japan and were moving back to the UK.  If importing a car as a personal import that you’d owned in Japan for at least 6 months, you’d be exempt from paying the largest of the above charges, the import duty and VAT.

Assumptions in the above figures

These costs are estimates based on a car over 10 years old and an exchange rate of 160 yen to the pound (correct at time of writing).  They include MOT costs (cars under 10 years old would incur higher charges in the form of an IVA test, see separate post on this), 12 months car tax and all import and associated fees.  They do not include transport of the car from the port to your house (I don’t know how close you live to the port) or insurance costs.  They assume shipping costs of a minivan sized vehicle, but do not include shipping insurance.  They assume you are using a UK-based importing agent to guide you through the process.  Costs will be higher if buying from a car dealer.

How much does my desired vehicle sell for at Japanese car auctions?

I appreciate that you need to know how much your desired car typically sells for at Japanese car auctions to apply this table to your situation.  This is a difficult subject to cover in a single post, due to the number of variables involved: car make, model, condition rating, odometer reading & year to name a few.  Please note that the auction starting price should not be used as a guide to the final selling price.

Also of interest?

114 Comments

  2. Please can you tell me how much a golf gti 16v built 1992 would cost? Many thanks Tom

    • Hi Tom

      Thanks for your enquiry, I’ve sent you an email with some details.

      Andrew

      • Hi I if I brought toyata 7000 dollars
        Take to uk do you no how muc cost for me all chargers

        • Hi, it would depend on lots of things – the size of the vehicle, the arrival port in the UK, onward transport, preparation for registration etc.

          This will help you work it all out.

          Andrew

  3. Hi I have a imported mitsubishi fto from japan that has never been registered in the uk as it has only been used on a track but now I want it on the road but I have no paper work atall with the car or the foreign plates all I have is the vin numbers can I still register it with just those to drive it on uk roads? Thanks in advance

    • Hi Kyle

      I think you’ll need to give the DVLA a call about this one, to check their requirements. Perhaps several calls as I’ve sometimes found I get different answers from different people when I’ve contacted them in the past!

      I think they will probably ask you to get a dating certificate from Mitsubishi UK or BIMTA. They will also likely want some proof that VAT and import duty were paid, unless it was a personal import. This may already have been recorded electronically, depending on when the car was imported.

      In addition to this, the car will need to pass a MOT test. I don’t know how challenging this will be – depends on how much it has been modified for track use!

      Cheers
      Andrew

  4. Thinking about buying a delica d5 2007 model would this be something you could help with and getting it uk road ready and what would be the cost thank you

    • Hi Brian

      Thank you for your enquiry. I’ve sent you an email so we can discuss this in more detail.

      Andrew

  5. Hi my friend can u please tell me if I buy car in Japan how long it will take to reach to u.k ?and how much is shipping cost ? I’m ordering Toyota estima hybrid thanks

    • Hi

      In answer to your question about how long the car will take to reach the UK, have a look at this post. For a more precise answer, check with the shipping company or exporter.

      The shipping is billed in US dollars and is based on the volume of space occupied by the car. I estimate that a Toyota Estima Hybrid would cost about $1150 but please check with your customs agent or shipping company for a more precise figure.

      Andrew

  6. Hi I’m looking to import a Mazda RX7 FD, just wondering how much everything after the purchase of the car is? Things such as import taxes and all that fun stuff
    Cheers

    • Just to add a little more detail the car itself costs £8500 if that helps with working out percentages

      • Hi Jake

        Thanks for your question. I’ve replied to you by email with some more specific questions to help me illustrate all the costs involved for you.

        Cheers
        Andrew

  7. Hi Andrew

    Im looking to import an Nissan Elgrand from japan and im in need of some further clarifications..

    do you have a checklist where I could commence through start to finish to equate all costs involved ?

    • Hi Robert

      I don’t have a checklist at the moment but if you make sure you know how much all the items listed in this article and comments are going to be, you should have a pretty accurate idea of how much the car will cost.

      Cheers
      Andrew

  8. Am looking to import a Toyota previa //estimated. 2003/or 2004 model done less than 60000miles. How much would it cost to buy in Japan + import duties etc

  9. Hi,
    I want to buy toyota 8 seater hybrid car from Japan. Can you please give me some information about uk duty and other taxes how much I need to pay in uk. And how much ruffly I need in total.

    • Hi Atif

      There are 2 taxes, import duty and VAT. Import duty is charged at 10 % of the FOB price + shipping. The FOB price is made up from the cost of the car at auction and export agent fees. The VAT is charged at 20 % of FOB price + shipping fee + import duty. The cost of shipping varies with the size of the car.

      To address the question about how much you need in total, this isn’t straightforward as there are so many things that can influence the cost of the car. I take it you are looking for a Toyota Alphard? There are some 8 seater Toyota Estimas but they would be fairly cramped with 8 people inside!

      Could you send me a message with some more details on the type of car you’re looking for? This will enable me to give you a more accurate indication of price.

      Thanks
      Andrew

  10. Hi,
    Thank you for putting up a great post,im interested in finding a little more in regards to U.K. charges/procedures involved in importing cars from japan.for example:1995 Toyota supra 3.0twinturbo(manual).2015 Audi s3.and finally 2014 Toyota Land Cruiser 3.0d4d(damaged).Any help would be thoroughly appreciated.
    Thanks
    Adam

    • Hi Adam

      I realise I’m quite late in replying to your comment, but I get asked this quite a lot so I produced a worksheet to help people work out the costs.

      Your costs might be higher for a damaged Land Cruiser, depending on whether it could be driven or not.

      Thanks
      Andrew

  11. Hi Andrew

    Thanks for your very informative posts.

    I am looking to buy a Honda Stream fully loaded with air con / leather seats / electrics / sat nav / clean and excellent mechanical and bidywork condition / btw 90k – 120 kph mileage, 2006- 2008 manufacturers year. What sort of auction price plus all itemised associated costs (incl shipping, VAT , import duty, rear fog light, mot, vonversion to mileage plus all other associated costs) to get me legally on the road?

    Would it include SVA if car is under 19 years. If so how much is it?

    What are the best most reliable auction websites or agent to use?

    Your article assumes clearing agent costs too – any suggestions on the best reliable cost effective ones with a preference to use the Tilbury port?

    What mechanism is available during auction process that guarantees one is bidding for a car that is in an excellent condition both mechanical, body work etc.?

    What guarantees that car has no outstanding finance / stolen / accident car before buying on auction?

    Is there an equivalent of BIMTA on the cars auctioned that provides a guarantee for mechanical/bodywork/odometer etc? I am concerned one ends up buying a banger that looks nice on screen or on the laptop

    Does your price assumption include JEVIC certificate? And how does it all work into the process you described in your article?

    What assumptions apart from exchange rates have changed since time of writing your article – both financial and non financial?

    Recommendation where one can do under one roof and at a reliable cost – fog light fix, change odometer to miles, SVA costs etc? What other costs?

    Sorry for the long message but it’s just to clarify those little points that gets forgetting.

    Looking forward to.am early reply.

    Thanks

  12. hi just bought car from ireland.car was imported from japan and import duty was paid.my plan is to bring it in to the uk and register it here. what forms do i need to fill ? and how to pay vat for it ?

  13. Hi, i want to import a NISSAN LAFESTA 20S 07.2005 (27,000 yen). i’d like to find find out the cost and whats included in the cost. i’d also like to find out if there would be any additional costs i have to pay for.
    the other car i’d like to find out about is NISSAN LAFESTA HIGHWAY STAR 10.2008 (149,000 yen) as im still undecided as to which to get.
    Many Thanks
    idris.

    • Hi Idris

      If those prices you mentioned are the FOB prices, then there are lots of additional costs, as described in this post. If you went for the second car, at the time of writing it would be under 10 years old so would also need an IVA test prior to registration in the UK, making it more expensive than a car over 10 years old. Have a look at this post if you’d like to read more about the IVA test.

      Cheers
      Andrew

  14. Hi Andrew,

    Just wondering
    a) is the info still up to date
    b) rough length of time this process takes
    c) is there a maximum quota one can ship back as personal item?

    Thank you
    Pete

    • Hi Pete

      The information about the process is still up to date. The prices sadly are not up to date. They were based on an exchange rate of 190 yen to the pound. I really wish that was still a current rate, but it isn’t. The rate is hovering around 140 yen to the pound at the moment.

      In terms of how long it takes, this post explains more about the time involved.

      You’ll need to check with HMRC about maximum quotas for shipping personal items. This isn’t something I’ve investigated in any detail because it doesn’t apply to me.

      Cheers
      Andrew

      • I would like to import some hybrid cars from Japan but I don’t no how to start this business please give me some advice thanks very much

  15. Morning
    I am looking at getting a new Japanese import car but I would like to do this myself rather than pay the over inflated prices in the UK already – Are you able to advise on how I go about this from the initial purchase to getting on the road

    • Hi Barry

      There is quite a lot of information about this on my website already. I also supply a cost calculation worksheet to give you a better idea of how much it will all cost. You can find that here

      Cheers
      Andrew

  16. Hi ,
    I would like to buy a car from Japan and import it into Malawi in African . Would you mind explaining to me how it works?

    • Hi Humphries

      Thanks for your question. Unfortunately I’m not going to be able to answer it because I’ve only ever imported cars into the UK from Japan. Hopefully you’ll be able to find an import agent in Malawi who will be able to help you.

      Best wishes
      Andrew

  17. Dear Andrew, I am looking at importing a LHD car from japan – looking at 10+ year old classics at auctions (porsche 911s). If the japan based trader through which I participate at various auctions, organises the shipping to the UK, what else will I have to do in the UK to get the car on the road?Does the car need to be specifically adjusted for uk requirements although 10+ years old and if so what are they? And also, what are the latest fees/cost apppicable for this transaction. Many thanks

    • Hi Goran

      This post gives a good overview of what is involved, and contains links to some others about getting the car ready for the MOT.

      I sell a detailed worksheet to help you calculate the final cost of the car in the UK, based on the auction selling price in Japan. It is available here.

      Cheers
      Andrew

    • Hi Luke

      The R33 would be more expensive, and would work out at about £610 at current exchange rates.

      Cheers
      Andrew

  19. Hello, I’m looking at importing a Nissan Silvia s13 from Japan for myself. Could you please email with the details of what I need to do?

  20. Hi Andrew I want to import a jzx100 chaser but I’m keen on doing as much as possible by myself how would I go about skipping out the middle man as much as possible?

  21. Hi Mr. Andrew
    Please tell all the procedures to buy car from Japan to Uk.
    Many Thanks
    Aslam

    • Hi Aslam

      Thanks for your question. This website has lots of information about importing a car from Japan to the UK 🙂

      Thanks
      Andrew

  22. Hi I’m looking at buying a Toyota Prius . I have total Budget of about £3500 -£4k. Do you think it’s worth importing from Japan or do the costs outweigh savings?

    • Hi Burnie

      At that budget, I’m not convinced it would be worthwhile importing a Prius from Japan. There are loads available in the UK at that price point.

      I hope you manage to find a nice Prius.

      Cheers
      Andrew

  23. Hi Andrew,

    I’m buying a Toyota Alphard G 2003 3000cc from Japan. Please can you tell me how much it will cost me to get it UK road ready?
    Please help me with this your help would be much appreciated thank you Zoltan

    • Hi Zoltan

      Thanks for your question. It is a difficult one to answer, especially without seeing the car. Some of the costs are predictable (although at the mercy of exchange rates) and some are not. The costs involved in getting it ready for the MOT could be very low (e.g. just the cost of a fog light) or quite high. For example, it might need a full set of tyres and a new battery when it arrives, or it might not. I’d definitely factor in the costs for an oil and oil filter change.

      I have a cost calculation worksheet available to purchase, which will help you calculate a lot of the predictable costs involved. Obviously it can’t help you work out how much the MOT preparation will cost as this varies so much from car to car.

      The worksheet is available here https://andrewsjapanesecars.com/japanese-import-car-uk-price-calculation-worksheet/

      Cheers
      Andrew

  24. Hey could you please tell me how much a 1998 r33 skyline would cost in japan? Thanks.

    • Hi Kuba

      Thanks for your question. Quite a difficult one to answer because there are a number of different R33 skyline models. Which model are you after and what sort of condition, mileage etc?

      Andrew

  25. Hi
    I want to import cars from Japan, I would like to know cost details from auction until to drive in the UK.
    Many Thanks

  26. Hi Andrew
    Im going to Japan at the end of the month. Would you be able to advise re good auctions? Ill be in Setagaya Ku but can travel. Im going to look for a Noah/Voxy and am considering newer than 10 yrs! Is the VOSA really worth it? probably look for hybrid so should pass the emmissions part of the test? Is the test done by DVLA or any MOT centre?
    I understand all the uk tax costs and am assuming the auction houses have someone english speaking to arrange all the transport and paperwork?
    Would you say that insurance here is going to be a hinderance?
    Any tips/feedback would be greatly appreciated
    Regards
    Paul

    • Hi Paul

      Think my reply might be a bit late for you (loads of comments to moderate – sorry!).

      Only you can decide if the extra costs of the IVA are worth it. Depends on how badly you want a newer car! For my personal vehicles, I like to be as far along the depreciation curve as possible, so I generally go for over 10 years old. Vehicles of this age also have the advantage of being much cheaper to import, due to the lack of IVA test preparation and fees.

      About the auction houses, you can only get in if you’re a member or signed in as a guest of a member. You really need an agent who is a member of the auction house to bid on your behalf and arrange transport, deregistration etc.

      The insurance is usually OK, but requires a bit more work on your part because the vehicles don’t always show up on the insurance companies’ databases.

      Hope you have a great time in Japan!
      Andrew

  27. Hi there I saw a car in Japan 2014 Toyota Hybrid in total they showing fob plus shipping and insurance 16500 dollars. Now can you please roughly tell me how much I have to pay tax in UK please

  28. I have purchased a used car from Japan which is 10 years old for $5650.00 US dollars CIF Southampton please advice how much taxes will I need to pay.

    • Hi Abdul

      Thanks for your question, I have a worksheet available for sale which takes you through the calculation of the taxes etc. You can find it here

      Thanks
      Andrew

  29. Hi I want to buy car from Japan by auction from AHJ or JP-C . Do you think, they are safe for trading? I did not find any link about FOB charges, how much the agency fees, how much the transportation fees or any other fees. could you please help me about these. Thanks

    • Hi

      I’ve never used either of those companies so I really can’t comment on whether they are safe. This is something you’ll need to research for yourself. Look for lots of reviews and read them carefully.

      Regarding their fees, you’ll need to get in touch with them and ask as it isn’t completely clear from the websites.

      Good luck
      Andrew

  30. I cant see the logic to it. It does not seem worth while. You spend £5700.00 in Japan and it cost you over £10000.00 to get it on the road in the UK. When you could get the same thing , same mileage bought in the UK cheaper than £10 K
    anyway. It does not seem such a good deal after all. does it. I was looking at a Lexus LS460

    • I understand where you’re coming from. It doesn’t work out for all cars, especially where the same/similar model is available in the UK and Japan. The exchange rate isn’t that great for us at the moment.

      However when you say ‘same thing’ are you referring to condition as well? The prices you’re talking about would get a really nice (grade 4.5) LS460, just over 10 years old so not requiring an IVA test. In my opinion you’d be hard pressed to find a UK LS460 that was truly comparable on price, condition and mileage. However I concede it is a fairly close run matter with the LS460.

      I guess the answer is exactly as you’ve stated, if it doesn’t work for you, don’t do it! Plenty of others are still very happy with the import route, even with exchange rates as they are at the moment. However most of them are buying vehicles that were never marketed in the UK.

  31. hi freind, your post is very helpful. could you please advise, how can i transport my car from the Bristol port to my house in Nottingham. what kind of insurance do i need and will the trader insurance policy cover me to drive the car from the port to my house??

    • My preference would be to get it delivered on a trailer or transporter.
      I can’t advise on what your trader insurance covers. There are so many different options for cover. You need to check your insurance documents very carefully!
      If driving the car, you’ll need a policy that covers vehicles based on the chassis number.

  32. Hi Andrew,
    I have noticed a Large number of Japanese cars being used as PCO cars & would love to know more about the rules. I hear that as of this December they will not be allowed anymore to be PCO. Is thats the case ? & how do you think it will affect the price of the current stock. Thx a lot

    • Hi Karim

      There is a lot more information on the TFL website here.

      If you’re thinking of the ever popular Toyota Prius, you’ll see that only the plug in hybrid Prius will meet the required standards, according to their vehicle list.

      I suggest contacting TFL via the email address on the page I linked above, before committing to purchasing anything for use as a private hire vehicle in London. It looks like you’ll need a certificate of conformity from the manufacturer to apply for the license.

      Note these changes only apply to vehicles being licensed for the first time, so the current stock that has already been licensed shouldn’t be affected too much.

      Thanks
      Andrew

      • Any guidance regarding clearance procedure on Southampton port.
        I order 1st time used car from Japan.
        It’s 2009 honda freed.

  34. Hi please let me know if car u buy from japan r some one send free u pay car prices vat only r ? Shopping prices vat is well thanks

  35. Hi I want to buy land crusier Amazon from Japan which is costing around £65,000 want to know what’s the custom cost here tax I need to pay. Thanks

    • At today’s exchange rates an FOB cost of £65,000 would end up costing about £87,000 on the road and ready to go in the UK. If you want to work things out more precisely I have a price calculation worksheet available here.

  36. Hi Andrew, I buy toyota estima 2012 from a dealer in Singapore the total cost $6800 CIF (£5300 CIF) please let me know what I need to do and where shall I go, I need your help pls

    • Hi, sounds interesting but unfortunately I’m not going to be much help as I’ve never imported a vehicle from Singapore. Can the dealer who sold it to you help?

  37. I want to import 2010 prius from japan to UK,would that be dine quite easily and what will the cost be and the pricedure be?

  38. Hi, I am interested in importing a Toyota Prius from Japan. Could you please send me some info. Thanks

  40. I have a 2003 alphard arriving in Uk in a few weeks, how much will it cost to be legal on Uk roads

    • Hi Timothy

      That’s a difficult question to answer without a lot more information. It depends on how much you paid for it, the cost of shipping (if you haven’t bought it CF or CIF), whether you have it delivered or go and collect it and whether it needs any work to make it roadworthy and pass the MOT (apart from fog light fitting).

      Thanks
      Andrew

  41. Hi i want import Toyota estima drom japan to uk i need help i am doing first time thnx

  42. Hey, literally I would like to
    Invest some money on Toyota hybrid I have good family links in Japan, Tokyo. They offered me so many time to start this business but the think is that I don’t have that much experience how to get a car fro. Auction and custom tax and fee and that. Kindly can you help or explain me about taxes or how can I start or what is the best way to do that business.
    Thank you.

    • Hi Hamza
      Thanks for your message – feel free to book yourself in for an advice call here and we can discuss it in more detail.
      Andrew

  43. Hi I’m looking to import a Toyota Estima Hybird 2015, just wondering how much everything after the purchase of the car is? Things such as import taxes and all that fun stuff
    Cheers

  45. Hi. Hope you are well. I like to import a car to UK. Car is toyota vellfire 2012. They offer me this unit at $10500 CIF Southampton. Could you please give me estimate of cust. Thanks.
    Dealer :

    Vehicle Type : SUV
    Make : Toyota
    Model Name : Vellfire
    Chassis No. :
    Grade : VELLFIRE 2.4Z A
    Transmission : Automatic
    Fuel Type : Petrol
    Engine CC : 2362
    Mileage (KM) : 54000
    Color : White
    Mfg. Year : 2012
    FOB : 8,030 USD
    Special Offer Price : 7,830 USD
    Drive : RHD

    • Hi Sohrab
      Thanks for your enquiry. I’d be happy to talk you through all the costs involved – you can book yourself in for an advice call here
      Andrew

  46. I have a car in Japan Nagoya, Toyota prius 2016 plate and would like to brink it to UK Southampton. Please provide me with a quote and availability

    • Sorry Waheed I won’t be able to help you with that. Availability of shipping is terrible at the moment.

  47. hi i would like to import a alphard 2 or 3 years old , could you help me to do the customer declaration and uk plate number service ?

  48. Hi. I have purchased my car and it’s shipped and will arrive end of September therefore I am looking for a clearing agent

  49. Hi, I have bought Two cars from Japan and they are ready to export to Southampton port. How much it cost me to clear the cars including all paperwork please?

  51. Hi I want to import prius 2016 for personal uses. Could you please advise about c and f agent or any import regulations? Many thanks

  52. Hi All,

    i am looking for Toyota Prius from Janpan,
    i need to to know how much it cost me E2E.
    thanks
    Saad

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