You are reading a single comment by @owl and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
owl
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.