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I bought my ExV6 7 seat Rondo in November '07. I think it's a great car which perfectly meets our family needs. However, for various reasons we're moving to the UK to live in September this year. I'd like to take the Rondo with us and the only thing I know about doing this so far, is that the shipper said it would add $1800 to our total shipping costs. I thought that this was good value considering the likely loss I'd make from selling it so soon. I also know that there's a bunch of UK registration stuff that I'll have to do, which I can find on other websites about importing cars into the UK.
What I need to know is, how different is it from the Carens in the UK? I know that mine has a 2.7L engine, which I don't think they have in the Carens range. Would it make parts costly to obtain from N. America?
Any ideas?
Yes, the cost of fuel in the UK hasn't gone unnoticed. One option I'm considering is converting to LPG when I get it there, although I've no idea where they would put the tank and how much space I would lose.
I guess everyone with a large engine in the Uk is in the same boat. Just need to minimize the number of journies we do, I guess! Thanks for your reply.
Gotta ask why you want to bring a thirsty LEFT HAND DRIVE model to the UK when we have a perfectly good Kia network here already.
I'm sure the cost of shipping & paperwork (have you checked out import tax rules?) would make it non productive. If it were a custom 70's Mustang or similar I could see the point but not a current model which is readily available 'over here'.
Buy a 7 seat diesel for appx £13k new or look for a 2nd hand model around £10k & above. Just checked on Auto Trader UK - Buy & Sell New & Used Cars, Car Loans, Car Insurance (biggest s/h car site in the UK) & there are 492 Carens currently available (126 of these are automatic if you prefer to stick to what you know) so choice is not limited!
Also you can buy a brand new 2.0 petrol auto for under £9k if your annual mileage is going to make that a worthwhile purchase over a diesel.
Happy to help with any more info.
__________________ <--- I just asked him to double check my monthly MPG!
I bought my ExV6 7 seat Rondo in November '07. I think it's a great car which perfectly meets our family needs. However, for various reasons we're moving to the UK to live in September this year. I'd like to take the Rondo with us and the only thing I know about doing this so far, is that the shipper said it would add $1800 to our total shipping costs. I thought that this was good value considering the likely loss I'd make from selling it so soon. I also know that there's a bunch of UK registration stuff that I'll have to do, which I can find on other websites about importing cars into the UK.
What I need to know is, how different is it from the Carens in the UK? I know that mine has a 2.7L engine, which I don't think they have in the Carens range. Would it make parts costly to obtain from N. America?
Any ideas?
Supacabby has made some important points to consider. Worth doing the math and factoring-in the resale value in the UK which will be low.
On the question of engine parts, the 2.7L V6 is used in the UK (in the Sedona for example) so many parts should be available. LHD in the UK takes some getting used to especially with a bigish (for us) vehicle but I drove a RHD in Belgium for 5 years and in Germany for 3 years and managed okay. I also had a RHD & LHD at the same time in Holland which was potentially quite confusing but I was under 30 then so still mentally nimble...nevertheless I did get it wrong, briefly, in my 'home town, in my last week of residence!
For all who find UK driving to be on the 'otherside' of the road, please be very careful exiting one-way systems and pulling out of garage forecourts or car parks.....this is when you can easily get it wrong regardless of which side the steering wheel is.
As I say, do the math and if you intend to be in the UK for a while think about trade-in (and learn to call it 'maths' not 'math'!).
I agree with a lot of the remarks of Blow-in and Supacabby, I think you would be much further ahead to take the hit at this end and sell the Rondo and buy fresh, new or used when you get over there. Unfortunately you do not have a lot of time to do it - it could be very difficult to get everything done in so short of time.
If you have to sell it when you get over there, you will loose big time due to the LHD more so than the size of the engine, I would think.
There could also be regulations regarding what you can and cannot bring into the UK - in my opinion, I just don't think it worth taking with you, it could end up being a nightmare you could do without when you are making such a major change. I do have some experience as I moved to the UK for 5 years before returning back to Canada (mind you that was nearly 40 years ago).
Have you been or lived in the UK before?
__________________ Mileage: 21,200 km (13,200 miles), Ownership: 13 months
Last edited by conwelpic : 07-29-2008 at 03:26 PM.
Thanks to Conwelpic, Blow-in and Supacabby for your advice, which all seem to be strongly recommending selling here, rather than shipping to the UK. I think I had pretty much come to that conclusion, just needed some additional assurance that I wasn't missing the chance to take a damn good vehicle with me. An additional cost that I hadn't factored in was that I would need to hire a car for the 8 weeks or so that it takes to ship a container to the UK! I would guess that would be the best part of another 2 grand down the drain!
Thanks to Conwelpic, Blow-in and Supacabby for your advice, which all seem to be strongly recommending selling here, rather than shipping to the UK. I think I had pretty much come to that conclusion, just needed some additional assurance that I wasn't missing the chance to take a damn good vehicle with me. An additional cost that I hadn't factored in was that I would need to hire a car for the 8 weeks or so that it takes to ship a container to the UK! I would guess that would be the best part of another 2 grand down the drain!
Thanks again. Excellent forum by the way.
Steve,
A wise decision I think. You'll find a lot more competition this side of the pond for the Rondo/Carens as this 'class' of vehicle is really a European invention. Nevertheless, Supacabby & I both chose a diesel Carens over the competition so perhaps you will do the same and it would be very interesting to hear how you find the drive if you go down that route.
This link takes you to the UK Carens web-site: - KIA Motors
Kia UK runs promotional offers which change every 3 months or so it is worth looking at the offers tab. Which part of the UK are you moving to? Forum members maybe able to help recommend a dealer.
After much consideration and calculating, we did ship our 2007 Rondo EX V6 to Europe. True, it won't be driven in UK, but other options were simply more expensive.
Taking a Rondo to the UK frpm Canada?
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