Importing a Jaguar XKR

I live in the UK where the Jaguar XKR is built but is expensive to buy. The majority of XKR's are shipped over to America and given that the current exchange rate is almost 2 dollars to the pound I have been wondering if it would be possible for me to "import" a UK specified Jaguar XKR from America.

On the face of it, it seems ridiculous to consider that a car is built in England, exported to America then imported back into England at a lower price than it can be bought at a UK dealers in the first place. Given that the price of a new XKR in England is 67,495 pounds and in America the price is 86,500 dollars which equates to 46,756 pounds using an exchange rate of 1.85 dollars per pound, this results in a

20,000 pound difference in price. Admittedly, there will be shipping fees, 10% import duty and 17.5% VAT to pay but it might still give a saving of 5,000 to 10,000 pounds on the price of an identical car purchased from a UK dealer.

Is this possible? Where have I gone wrong with my logic?

I would guess that while this is theoretically possible it would not be allowed to happen by Ford otherwise UK Jaguar dealers would be constantly undercut by their US counterparts.

Regards.

Reply to
milleniumaire
Loading thread data ...

There are plenty of Car Sales dealers that specialise in sourcing cars overseas. Whilst in the EU you can specify a UK spec I dont believe the same applies in the US

Reply to
old man

One thing you might check before proceeding is the different standards/requirements for US as opposed to UK vehicles. This could result in expenditure on your part to bring the import into line with UK requirements. For example, I live in Canada, and it is popular to import cars from the US for the same reason: it can be substantially less expensive for the same car. But in Canada the bumper must be able to withstand a 7mph impact, that is only 5 mph in the US. Canada is metric/ the us is imperial, so there has to be a conversion of speedometer, trip computers. Those two items alone on a car like the Jaguar are about $3500 Canadian -- about 1600 Pounds, at current rates. One big difference for sure: you will end up with a left hand drive car.

Reply to
Alan Strickland

A couple of thoughts on this. First off, you need to compare list price to list price. at 1.85 exchange rate, the Jag website has the UK model at

59,540GBP and the US model at $81,500USD. Dollar for dollar this is $110,149 in the UK and $81,500 in the US. A $28,649 difference.

You will not be able to import a UK model into the US. Jaguar will not do it. The UK model does not meet the US emissions standards which EVERY car imported has to meet. So once you upgrade the UK model you will have spent

10s of thousands of dollars more just to re-import a car back to the UK that will not pass MOT muster. Keep in mind that any "Grey Market" car shipped into the US has to meet California standards for smog and other emissions. I would also think that the duty fees at each port each way would be outrageous.

I believe that if you research into it a bit deeper, you will discover that the UK version of the XJR is FAR superior in amenities to the US version. The UK XJR I believe has all of the extras that the SUPER XJ has in the UK. I know that my 1988 XJ40 has no where near the same extras as the same model sold in the UK for the same year

I think you will discover that the UK XJR is not the same as the US XJR.

Webserve

Reply to
webserve

Reply to
JimInsolo

Reply to
Barney Rubble

Speaking of dying breeds, we can add the usenet to such brands as MG, Triumph, Austin Healey, Riley, Standard- I'll rest my fingers and let others chime in on more British success stories.

Reply to
JimInsolo

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.