Greetings from Worthing

[carlshephard]

Starting the process of moving my Sahara/Rubicon here from USA.  LH drive, Automatic, Tinted windows and complete with Star Wars stickers courtesy of my son.   Would love to hear from anyone in my area.  Also will be looking for insurance at some point and would appreciate any guidance.  Thanks.

[V]

What part of the UK are you moving to?

 

I have driven thousands of miles in all four driving seat/road positions, and driven my RHD Jeeps in the USA. I had no major problems with my LHD JKU here. You might want to consider a dashcam on the right hand side that can give you a forward facing view for overtaking, it is not essential but useful. Car park ticketing barriers and toll booths are the worst inconvenience particularly if you are driving alone or just with young kids.

 

Your Jeep will probably need an IVA test if you are planning on registering it here. You don't need to reregister it here if you are just touring and the vehicle is in the UK for less than 6 months. Your front door glazing may be too tinted for UK law. If it is film it can be removed otherwise new glass will be needed. European rear light clusters are available so they will need to be swapped. At least one rear red fog lamp will need to be fitted. DoT tires with visible load rating on the sidewall are fine on personal imports. 'E' marks will save you explaining the law at annual inspections (MoT) later.

 

If you have a major service due in the next year, get it done in the USA before shipping. Likewise, if you have any more mods you want to do, buy the parts and have them shipped with your household property. You can fit some, but depending on what they are you may have to change them back to stock to get a UK registration. Everybody here modifies their Jeeps AFTER they have been registered. As far as FCA is concerned, Jeep is a luxury brand in the UK - Crazy, but true.

 

My insurance broker since the 1980's has been Adrian Flux . Declare ALL modifications and don't miss out any including the stickers. Not declaring a modification that did not come with the vehicle when it left the factory just gives an insurer an excuse to dump a claim because you failed to disclose. Modified vehicles belonging to car club members (enthusiasts) are often cheaper to insure because the vehicles are better looked after, less likely to be crashed.

 

Is your shipping agent doing your IVA mods?

 

Whoever is doing your IVA mods, ask them if they have done a JK Wrangler before and ask for photos clearly showing the changes to lighting. Some of them take the easy way out and just fit 'E' approved trailer or old Land Rover lighting instead of genuine Jeep light clusters (European TJ's had Trucklite trailer clusters from the factory). Insist on genuine parts. Try to by them in the USA if you can. Some dealers may be blocked from selling to you for personal export but I have found in the past (before FCA) if you could speak to the right person in the Wisconsin distribution centre it was possible.

 

If your Jeep is coming over by ferry expect anything that is not bolted down inside to be stolen. If shipping the Jeep in an ocean freight container, no problem. If you are paying for the container yourself and only shipping one vehicle, consider using a 40ft instead and finding someone else to share the cost. You will save 40% by sharing a 40ft compared to shipping a single 20ft container. The paperwork is a little more complex and there can be customs issues, so ask customs at both ends before comitting to sharing.

 

I hope this is useful info.

[Fourpot]

Another vote from me for Adrian Flux...