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Insurance might be weird about it. I noticed when I was looking recently that there are a tonne of great looking Japanese imports at too-good-to-be-true prices. Pretty sure it's because they're tricky to insure.
There are people who sing their praises - Japanese cars are incredibly well looked after for cultural and regulatory reasons, salt-free roads means less rust, etc. But also long lists you can find online of all the things that need to have been done right during the import/conversion process.
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Most insurers won’t insure imports.
I insure mine through Mark Richards
https://www.japcover.co.uk/contact-us/ -
An RAC/AA evaluation won't show anything from before it was imported. I would still do an HPI check to see if it has ever been written off during its time in the UK, it can't tell you whether it was before it was imported. Unless the country it's been imported from has all the things we have here, like online MOT history, and you know it's pre-import registration, you can only go on physical evidence (service history etc). If it's a modern car and you know someone who works at that manufacturer's dealership, then they might be able to do a VIN check but it will still only tell you stuff that's been entered into the system.
Insurance is slightly more tricky but definitely not the levels that it used to be 20 years ago. There's plenty of big name insurers who will insure imports with favourable rates, but if you need to claim for the value of the car in the case of a write off, you might find they offer much lower values than you expect so you will have to push them harder in that event.
If you share the make/model I can share more specific info as if it's a car that's not a UK model you might find parts/servicing can range from being a very minor challenge to a literal nightmare.
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amey
lemonade
furious_tiles
NurseHolliday
@owl
Looking at a car I'd be interested in buying. It's noted that it's been imported. Does that raise any particular flags I may not be aware of? Anything you need to ask concerning imported cars? I've done the DVLA search and the MOT - nothing of obvious concern on either. Is it worth doing one of the paid searches (RAC and AA both offer one) and if so what in particular should you be looking for? It's ~10 years old so I'm assuming outstanding finance is unlikely to be a particular concern.
Cheers