Transporting car to the UK from Chiang Mai

[nancy7]

Has anyone any experience of taking a car from Chiang Mai or anywhere else in Thailand to the UK. Can anyone recommend any companies that are reasonably priced to do this as well as transporting personal belongings? Many thanks. Nancy7

[nisakiman]

Why on earth would you do that? Cars are much cheaper in the UK, and it will cost a small fortune to ship. Better surely to sell your car here and use the money to buy new or second-hand (phenomenally better prices) in UK.

[CWMcMurray]

Gotta agree...

Resale value of car in Thailand is likely going to be higher than the purchase price of the same car in UK...

Let alone adding in the shipping cost...

Only way this may make sense is if you imported temporarily ... (Trip around the world)

Any details?

[daveAustin]

Yep, you could sell that vehicle (whatever make) and likely buy five of the same in UK. Was considering shipping a bike back, but it really would not be worth the hassle and cost.

Metre-high boxes (to 30kgs) can be posted with ThaiPost starting from about 4k I think it is, or were you talking about shipping large items?

[samsensam]

i think more info is needed as this seems like a mad idea - unless you have got your hands on one of the many great condition classic cars you see around here...?

[arthurwait]

Some small eco cars are about the same or cheaper here than the UK ( New Mazda 2 diesel models are £1500 -2500 cheaper in Thailand than the UK.). Even so the difference isn't much to make the idea worth while.

Unless as said a classic, but then most are cheaper in the UK.

VAT has to be paid doesn't it 20% ????

You also won't have a warranty if it's a new car.

You need to SVA/IVA imported cars I believe (£250 fee ??). The lack of safety features in Thai made cars maybe a problem.

[Rooo]

Moved to Motoring Forum.

[griffer]

has it got a heater fitted?

[nancy7]

Thanks for all the replies. Will probably sell the car here.

[shaurene]

I am shipping stuff in a 20ft container to Spain, container cost Us$1,400 if you want their details in Bangkok send me message, I think you would have to get it to Bangkok yourself.

[Palmeiras]

I have not shipped a car from Thailand but I did ship a Volvo from Saudi Arabia to UK (half the distance) in a 40 foot container. Cost was GBP 4000 approx and then it cost another GBP 2500 to matriculate it (ie tests etc to obtain UK registration). Good advice above to sell here and buy afresh.

[chiang mai]

Plus, if you ever did that, the car would be regarded as a grey import and would be subject to 17.5% VAT when sold!

[Sviss Geez]

Some small eco cars are about the same or cheaper here than the UK ( New Mazda 2 diesel models are £1500 -2500 cheaper in Thailand than the UK.). Even so the difference isn't much to make the idea worth while.

Unless as said a classic, but then most are cheaper in the UK.

VAT has to be paid doesn't it 20% ????

You also won't have a warranty if it's a new car.

You need to SVA/IVA imported cars I believe (£250 fee ??). The lack of safety features in Thai made cars maybe a problem.

What safety features do Thai-made cars lack?

[smotherb]

Some small eco cars are about the same or cheaper here than the UK ( New Mazda 2 diesel models are £1500 -2500 cheaper in Thailand than the UK.). Even so the difference isn't much to make the idea worth while.

Unless as said a classic, but then most are cheaper in the UK.

VAT has to be paid doesn't it 20% ????

You also won't have a warranty if it's a new car.

You need to SVA/IVA imported cars I believe (£250 fee ??). The lack of safety features in Thai made cars maybe a problem.

Not sure about the UK, but the cars here would not pass US standards for emissions, crash and safety; so you would have a huge bill bringing them up to par, not to mention the import duty and shipping costs

[Muhendis]

The general consensus seems to be not to bother with the car but the best reason by far is the lack of heater. Moving can be done door to door using a 20' container for something like £2,000 or £3,000. You might like to give these people a try

United Relocations (Thailand) Co. Ltd

e-mail [email protected]

I have used them and found them to be good and competitive.

[chiang mai]

Some small eco cars are about the same or cheaper here than the UK ( New Mazda 2 diesel models are £1500 -2500 cheaper in Thailand than the UK.). Even so the difference isn't much to make the idea worth while.

Unless as said a classic, but then most are cheaper in the UK.

VAT has to be paid doesn't it 20% ????

You also won't have a warranty if it's a new car.

You need to SVA/IVA imported cars I believe (£250 fee ??). The lack of safety features in Thai made cars maybe a problem.

What safety features do Thai-made cars lack?

Sensible and safe drivers maybe?

[giddyup]

Some small eco cars are about the same or cheaper here than the UK ( New Mazda 2 diesel models are £1500 -2500 cheaper in Thailand than the UK.). Even so the difference isn't much to make the idea worth while.

Unless as said a classic, but then most are cheaper in the UK.

VAT has to be paid doesn't it 20% ????

You also won't have a warranty if it's a new car.

You need to SVA/IVA imported cars I believe (£250 fee ??). The lack of safety features in Thai made cars maybe a problem.

What safety features do Thai-made cars lack?

Well I just bought a 2014 Mitsu Triton with only a drivers side airbag, that would never pass safety standards in Australia, probably not the US or UK either.

[poweratradio]

Why on earth would you do that? Cars are much cheaper in the UK, and it will cost a small fortune to ship. Better surely to sell your car here and use the money to buy new or second-hand (phenomenally better prices) in UK.

If you can get it out of the country without cost then your shipping costs via a 20 foot container would be approximately $3,000 dollars. I base this on shipping cars out of Japan to Vancouver Canada. Some agents may be able to get your car on an (car carrier) freighter on its way to the UK for half that price. Considering there is so much car manufacturing here I would not be surprised that a few queries in the right freight agents office will net you what you seek at a reasonable price.

[poweratradio]

The general consensus seems to be not to bother with the car but the best reason by far is the lack of heater. Moving can be done door to door using a 20' container for something like £2,000 or £3,000. You might like to give these people a try

United Relocations (Thailand) Co. Ltd

e-mail [email protected]

I have used them and found them to be good and competitive.

Kuhn and Nagel International freight forwarders is another. They can move anyt.hing

[SGX]

haha wait a few years and you will be able to drive it back from china.

[arthurwait]

Some small eco cars are about the same or cheaper here than the UK ( New Mazda 2 diesel models are £1500 -2500 cheaper in Thailand than the UK.). Even so the difference isn't much to make the idea worth while.

Unless as said a classic, but then most are cheaper in the UK.

VAT has to be paid doesn't it 20% ????

You also won't have a warranty if it's a new car.

You need to SVA/IVA imported cars I believe (£250 fee ??). The lack of safety features in Thai made cars maybe a problem.

What safety features do Thai-made cars lack?

The amount of airbags is one.

Then there are cars that are sold here that aren't sold in countries that require crash testing such as the Fortuner.

The steel seems thinner and weaker on Thai made cars.

Pedestrian impact. Crumple zones.

Padded and rounded surfaces.

Fog lights.

Offset steering coloumns ?

Heaters screen demisting.

speedo conversion ?

[arthurwait]

And then there's the American rules that even big name British specialist sportscars companies won't/didn't bother with.

[Lorithai]

Like others have said, it's not the best idea to ship a car to the UK given the price. If you're intent on doing it anyway, you'll want to use a shipping container so you can also send your furniture and personal belongings along with the car. (My brother-in-law works in the industry, for what it's worth).