moving to england from the states... info

[evan2]

well i got notice today that im without a doubt prob going to england come mid may for 3 years, cuz im air force
ill be in fairford, south west england
72 miles west of london

just trying to see the car scene out there, the real deal about this so called inspection when my car comes into the country sounds like a way for them to try to get money from my by lying

im not car stupid

do you honestly think my car could sell there for bank even though its LHD and not RHD

any cool cars that arent super costly that would be diff that i could rock, or think its best to keep my hatch since it will be diff from what yall got there
i know yall love v8s and s**t there cuz they are rare


what would a good car for my woman be, she loves minis but not sure on the costs
what are they new

if you are down with realestate whats a good place to buy a house out there, or should i just rent since AF will pay for it either way
i heard the market is going down in the fairford area

 

[Rand0m]

farewell twin 8) ill keep holdin it down stunt fo' life!!!!!

 

[samuri]

Hi there.

I'll have a go at answering all of your question

The car situation. I think the thing your talking about is the MOT inspection. This happens once a year and basically tests the car to make sure its road worthy. They check things like condition of brakes, tyres, headlight alignment, seat belts and things like that. They also do an emissions test, shoving a probe up the exhaust and measuring the CO and NO contenet of the exhaust gases. If its below the limit it'll pass. This inspection usually cost between £30 to £45. If the car fails though you may have to pay this again to get it retested.

There is also a thing called an SVA (Single Vehicle Approval) test, but not sure if yours would need this or not. I'll have a look into it for you. What model, origin and year is it? I assume your moving from the US and not based in germany at the moment or anything?

It wouldnt be worth selling that car over here. LHD cars always sell for alot less than RHD ones. Youd not be happy with the price youd get for it.

Different cars...mmmm..well obviously if you want to keep to honda theres a good range here. Your right, V8s are not that common over here though and so we do love them. Problem is mainly due to the stupidly high fuel price (approx. £3.70p per gallon). If you go to Autotrader you'll be able to look at cars there to give you an idea as to what we got.

You can get used 'New' minis from about £9500 privately. Probably £10000 from a dealer. Have a look on the website above for some.

As for house prices i honestly dont know. House prices have shot up over the past years though. Couldnt say exactly for the area.

Hope this has helped. Dont hessitate in contacting me if you need to.

Ben

 

[evan2]

ben thanks for the help, welli can buy gas on base and heard its cheaper
im coming from florida, i prob wont sell my car then
though its got a gsr swap fully built high compression, tuned with lots of fuel
so though the seat is on the wrong side for yall its got power and i know yall like that

whats the norm of cars you see driving around
would yall be interested in usdm parts over your ukdm or no

i know it being different i thought yall would who nkows though.. is the car scene big or not

rentals, are they cheap meaning cars

and intenet i have 5mb down and like 687 up now
what would that cost me over there, near fairford i heard yall got killer lines but its costly for the good stuff

 

[evan2]

it is a 92 si 240k on chassis but like 40k on motor
98 gsr block, fornow a b16a2 head from a 99 with a 96 gsr tranny
got a 98ish gsr head that i might build before i come

 

[samuri]

Hi. Sorry for the late reply, been busy at work meaning im aleways tired!! Not fun.

Anyway. Your very lucky to get cheap fuel, it always annoys me when i fill up to think you guys are getting it so cheap and were getting f****d!

I had a bit more of a look into the whole importing your motor over here. As it would be a personal import it would need an SVA test. This is a more intensive test to the MOT but it only happens when you bring it into the country. It basically checks to make sure that cars made for international, non domestic markets compliy to UK and EU laws. Loads of cars that are imported from japan go through this test without any trouble so im fairly sure yours would be ok. And the fact its a civic which was also sold in similar spec over would means it would be ok too. Ive emailed a few people though to try and get a more definative answer to whats tested specifically and what the requirements are so i'll let you know the poutcome of those. This is assuming that becuase your US forces your not exempt from this.

And everyone likes the power

Popular cars over here are things like the VW Golf, Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astras. Theres also alot of german cars like BMW, Audi and Mercedes, especially the 3 series Theres also a large number of smaller cars like the Renault Clio, Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 106, Citreon Saxo (Very Popular amonst the young kids) and of course the Mini. Subaru Imprezas are a very popular performance car and weve got the Hondas, Toyotas and that but if you fancy something a bit different you may want to think about Japanese imports (grey imports). By doing this you could get a R32/33/34 Skyline, Mitsubhishi EVO, RX-7s. Theres alot of choice.

Theres not many USDM cars over here to be worth bringing much stuff in to be honest. What may be an idea though is buying performance parts in the us and bringing them over to sell over here. Becuase of the good exchange rate (for us over here) bits from the US are really cheap. So if you have friends willing to send you stuff it may be worth getting some extra cash that way. Just remeber who told you that info though!!

Theres a big car scene over here and it covers all different interests. Theres your japanese scene with shows like Japfest, JAE, Hot import nights (not sure how it compairs to your ones). Then theres the general shows like Max Power Live, Trax, Donnington Car Show. Theres also shows for particular makes such as Ford, VW ect. What ever you got, there will be a club or show out there covering it. Theres also meets which happen all over regulary (like once a month) where everyone just gathers in a car park. Thens theres the Cruises (legal and Illegal) which also happen regulary. These are like meets but with a bit more going on!! They're an experiance.

Rental cars are usually brand new (ie less than six months old) though they tend to be the middle of the raod models, no sporty one. Plus that would be very expensive way of getting a car. Much cheaper to buy one.

The most popular internet speed at the moment is 1Mb Down / 256K Up which is about £22 a month. there is the option of 2Mb / 256K which is about £33 a month. The 4Mb / 256k serivice is currently very limited as to where you can get it, mainly only in london. There is a 8Mb / 400k starting to become advailable but this also is limited, but better than 4Mb serivce. Without a Post Code and phone number i cant check to see if fairford can get it. These are all using the normal phone line (ADSL). If Fairford has a cable service you can get a 4Mb line, which is £50 a month. So the speeds arnt bad, but not what you got. This is speaking generally though. Im not totally sure what specific service there are advailable in Fairford.

Hope this helps some more

 

[evan2]

jesus the down isnt a issue but 256k up that sucks
right now im like 6mb down and 786 up for 40 american
so american parts go for bank there yea ill have to get some people to hook me up, i have a friend in japan so he can just ship me parts free cuz apo to apo

rental car meaning when i get there and have no car i need to rent one, not LEASE

rent to you might mean like leasing it, but i just mean like i need a car for a weeek..... i hope you understnad what im talking about when i said rental car

i looked at the mot inspection and i could pass that cept i smoke but that should be gone with teh new head
and i have no horn

ill prob get a cheap aftermarket one, i was told ill need REAR fog lights is this true
and ill have to adjust my brights to turn the other way, though i have H4s which is my lows/highs in one.. pob be the same though

ill be living in swindon.. i hope

 

[evan2]

also while on topic talk to me about cell phones, i saw online and they seemed very CHEAP
i know you guys use the gsm network so my american phone wouldnt work

i heard pre pay is the big thing, true? whats the basic say 500min plan with 2 phones cuz my wife would need one and we prob wouldnt talk much
some places had 500mins adn 100 texts for like less then 10lbs

thats cheap like 18 bucks

i pay 54 american now for 400 mins, though i have nights n weekends plus no long distance all in the us and calls to verizion customers are free

 

[phuzzit]

Happy to see another car guy coming this way - ive been at lakenheath almost a 2 years now. Wonderful country. Running shorgt on time cause i have to head to work, but ill read the full posts when i get back, hit me up on aim if you have any other questions, I was new here once two.
jj

 

[civic hatch]

was up guys ill be over in england next may, wife got orders, i was born in england so im going home, maybe some off us could get together when were all there.

 

[lonewolf]

fairford? cool just 50km down the road to bristol where i live.

rear fog lights and amber indicators all round are a must (not red on rear), as is the direction of the headlights - driving on left would shine direct into oncoming traffic.

you would also need to get your car registered for use on public roads with the dvla (links below).

the uk government will try and screw as much money out of you as possilbe: sva test (?/once), mot (£35/year). road tax (£165/year for a 1.6, can be got at 6 month but its £90 i think), license fees (£40 once), not to mention petrol (80-90p / litre ~ $8/gallon)

10lbs? lol. don't know too much about phones - i use pay as you go. I buy £10 of credit, and thats all i pay unitil it runs out (for me it lasts months and months) so if you don't use it much it could be cheaper (although you have to buy the handset)

Links
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
Importing cars
Registration, Tax, License
Driving License


hope this helps!


Tim

 

[phuzzit]

you should be able todo the rear fog and side markers on base at the auto center - they should also have a place on base todo the MOT test. If you fail you have like 3 weeks i think to fix the problem and get it fixed.
When you get here ask around about buying a house - its not a bad idea if you can front the cash when you get here - the military will pay your morage, how nice is that?
cell phones ......... like most things over here - the cola rate doesnt make up for price of things over here - so pay as you go is usally what most people get. But u can find some good deals with contracts that make it alot easier so you dont always have to go refill your phone with time.
as far as get another car goes, most of the guys here get skylines, which if you take your time and cut through the red tape you can get them back to the states, but see what all you have todo before you buy one. Ive even seen a couple guys buy them for the engine put money into only the engine and just take that part back to throw into a 240 - and you still end up with something most U.S. guys dont have.
anywho thats about all i can think of right now - hit me up if you have any other questions.
jj

 

[evan2]

well i dont have to worry about gas i can get it on base and i hear its regular price
well i have a 1.8, though the car is a 1.6 stock so i figure they wouldnt know any difference and i wont say nothing

so ill check them links thanks

so i need side markers as well? can you show me some pics of rear fogs.. i dont want to put them on cuz i think they will look ugly grrrr


i def dont want a skyline thats for damn sure...

 

[lonewolf]

I think they run chassis/vin and engine numbers during the registration - someone clarify this please.

you don't have side markers in us? in that case you will need them, either on the front wings, or you can get led's on the wing mirrors like the newer civics.

rear foglights dont look any diff than than normal light clusters


i think its the red part of the right hand side boot cluster - i haven't really payed much attention to it to be honest. I'll have a look later and let you know. although i now have 99-00 style red/white lights now but the bulbs go in the same holes.

skyline is to common now, and there not anything special anyway. a us muscle car would go down well!

 

[evan2]

haah wing mirrors and boot.. i dont know these words
wing mirrors haha yall call them that? oh f**k man when i heard i need rear fogs im thining like fog lights put in the back of the car under the bumper

it seems liek they are just part of your rear tail lights.... though im not sure what i would have to do to my car

i can just put in side markers into the fenders before i go, though i rather not....

 

[samuri]

Its also a requirement that the fog light switch on the dash is illuminated when the fog is on. Some japanese imports usully have a small sqaure fog light fitted in the bumper or hanging just below it.

I have seen a few imported american vehicles around every now and then and they still have the amber driving lights (not sure what there called). One of those was on UK plates too so im really not sure what the rules surrounding lighting is. Maybe see if you know anyone thats already brought one over.

We were on the right track about the rental cars. The ones you rent for a few weeks say. If you go with a big company there usually new cars, less than six months old.

Pay as you go is cheaper if you dont use it alot, and is also very cheap if your just texting. As said before you do have to pay more for the phone initally (like £100). If you go contract a phone would be £50 or less depending on what phone you wanted but you'll be paying £15 a month minimum for example 200mins off peak. I pay about £45 a month on contract and get 400 mins anytime any network. I dont get any txts though so it works out pretty expensive.

Found this from http://www.americancarimports.com . Think is what is tested on an SVA. Might be an idea to email these people see what they say. Might be able to give you some correct advice and that as they do it all the time:

CAMARO UNDERGOING AN SVA TEST

1) Anti-theft devices
2) Defrosting and Demisting
3) Windscreen wipers and washers
4) Seats and Anchorages
5) Seat Belts and Anchorages
6) Interior Fittings
7) Radio Suppression
8) Glazing
9) Lighting
10) Mirrors
11) Tyres
12) Doors, Latches and Hinges
13) Exterior Projections
14) Protective Steering
15) Vehicle Design and Construction
16) Brakes
17) Noise
18) Emissions (spark ignition)
19) Emissions (diesel)
20) Speedometer
21) Design Weights

 

[evan2]

man i wanna stay in florida hahaah

 

[samuri]

I dont blame you!!! Especially when you 'experiance' the weather!

 

[evan2]

well im not worried ive lived near water my whole life, im used to the rain

now is it really that bad, iheard it just rains then clears up

 

[Melt]

check the exchange rate too cause when i went to south africa and had to stop at heathrow on the way there it was a pound to every 2 american dollars and s**t was HELLA grip over there ... i think my dad paid $6 american for a starbucks!