Irn Bru Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 I'm looking for some info / members experience of car insurance when they have bought an imported car, specifically a car that was never to be sold in UK domestic market. I have owned a Nissan Pathfinder R50 WX II Ti model for a number of years now, in fact since 2010. It's a 1999 model and imported to the UK from Australia 2000. On the V5 it is registered as a Nissan only, no model reference at all. This obviously caused me issues when insuring it but I eventually found a company to cover me on it, but they had to actually wangle the policy, as in, insured it as a such and such model Pathfinder, but had side notes on their system regarding the actual model. This has always bugged me and I have had numerous contacts with DVLA on the matter trying to find out why it wasn't properly registered at time of import, but sadly never got to the bottom of it till last week whilst again speaking to a DVLA administrator about the car. He informed me that because the Ti model was never to be made available for the UK DM, then the DVLA and the Society of Motor Manufacturers, did not allocate it a model code, so therefore it could not be be registered properly on their data base of UK vehicles. I have went and paid for a vehicle history check via an Australian online company and had a full report emailed through to me, which is great as it gives more info and history on the car prior to export to the uk. I have also since discovered that the VIN number on the V5 is wrong, only discovered this error when speaking to a lass in Nissan UK, so have wrote a letter explaining all the issues to DVLA and enclosed a photo of my VIN plate and the history report and hopefully be able to have it better registered, if not fully and properly registered with a new V5 being issued to me. So, my question is, has any other member who has imported or owned an import car ever had the same problems as me and do you know of the "model code" they quoted me about that's generated between DVLA and SoMM, is your imported car fully registered on the V5 or is this the norm for imports, specifically Grey Imports ?. Be very interested in any of the Member Trader Insurance guys take or explanation on this issue I've got with my Pathfinder and DVLA. I tried calling a few "specialist import insurance" company's but the reps I spoke to really didn't have a clue. It's insurance renewal time for my Pathfinder, I really want it insured properly as the full make and model it is. From what I can gather from Web searches and DVLA staff, this is the only Pathfinder Ti model in the uk, so makes it very unique. Thanks for reading and sorry about the War and Peace post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexx Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 You could try speaking to one of the importers - JMIMPORTS or Torque GT etc and see if they can offer advice with dealing with the DVLA and grey imports. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irn Bru Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 You could try speaking to one of the importers - JMIMPORTS or Torque GT etc and see if they can offer advice with dealing with the DVLA and grey imports. Good shout mate, never thought of trying this route Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasyphil Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 I got best quote from Direct line for my Fairlady Z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erni902 Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 For the VR4 (which was never officially released outside of Japan) I have found reasonable prices from The RAC, Admiral (although the cover sucks so watch out for them) and Adrian Flux. The best overall policy for a modified VR4 that I found for myself was RAC. Admiral wont cover like for like on modifications. So you pay extra to insure a shiny new FMIC but if you crash they will only replace with a stock FMIC. So for a FI Zed you wont get a replacement at all. You will however void the insurance if you dont declare the FMIC. I cant recall any other companies I have dealt with with regards to grey imports but Im sure I have missed at least 1 company over the last 7 years of ownership. If I remember I will let you know. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irn Bru Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 I got best quote from Direct line for my Fairlady Z Not what I'm asking bud, it's the V5 registration information I'm looking for in relation to imported cars never sold in the uk. I'm not fussed about the cost to insure her, I just want her insured for the exact model she is and as near as possible properly registered with DVLA. Is your fairlady z properly registered, by that I mean is the exact make, model and variant noted on the V5 ?, specifically section D.1 and D.2 of the V5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erni902 Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 Forgot to mention aswell that not many of the VR4's were registered correctly with the DVLA when they entered the country so some just show up as V6 Galants others dont have any model on the V5. I have been lucky that both of mine have been registered correctly. I personally believe that Insurers will definitely see this as a get out of jail free card for themselves if the vehicle is not EXACTLY as registered on the V5. Having never had to claim (rushes to touch as much wood as one can possibly touch) I cant confirm this but knowing insurers to be snake like creatures I can only imagine their eyes would light up at this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irn Bru Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 For the VR4 (which was never officially released outside of Japan) I have found reasonable prices from The RAC, Admiral (although the cover sucks so watch out for them) and Adrian Flux. The best overall policy for a modified VR4 that I found for myself was RAC. Admiral wont cover like for like on modifications. So you pay extra to insure a shiny new FMIC but if you crash they will only replace with a stock FMIC. So for a FI Zed you wont get a replacement at all. You will however void the insurance if you dont declare the FMIC. I cant recall any other companies I have dealt with with regards to grey imports but Im sure I have missed at least 1 company over the last 7 years of ownership. If I remember I will let you know. What info is noted on sections D.1 and D.2 on your V5 for your VR4 mate ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irn Bru Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 (edited) For the VR4 (which was never officially released outside of Japan) I have found reasonable prices from The RAC, Admiral (although the cover sucks so watch out for them) and Adrian Flux. The best overall policy for a modified VR4 that I found for myself was RAC. Admiral wont cover like for like on modifications. So you pay extra to insure a shiny new FMIC but if you crash they will only replace with a stock FMIC. So for a FI Zed you wont get a replacement at all. You will however void the insurance if you dont declare the FMIC. I cant recall any other companies I have dealt with with regards to grey imports but Im sure I have missed at least 1 company over the last 7 years of ownership. If I remember I will let you know. What info is noted on sections D.1 and D.2 on your V5 for your VR4 mate ? Posting while you were posting lol edit: replying on wrong post lol Edited December 30, 2016 by Irn Bru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irn Bru Posted December 30, 2016 Author Share Posted December 30, 2016 Forgot to mention aswell that not many of the VR4's were registered correctly with the DVLA when they entered the country so some just show up as V6 Galants others dont have any model on the V5. I have been lucky that both of mine have been registered correctly. I personally believe that Insurers will definitely see this as a get out of jail free card for themselves if the vehicle is not EXACTLY as registered on the V5. Having never had to claim (rushes to touch as much wood as one can possibly touch) I cant confirm this but knowing insurers to be snake like creatures I can only imagine their eyes would light up at this. That's my problem, the insurance company had It insured as a Pathfinder, but not my Pathfinder model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erni902 Posted December 30, 2016 Share Posted December 30, 2016 I will have to wait until 9th Jan when Im back to work mate to confirm as my V5's are there and I can't recall off the top of my head. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAN@ADRIAN FLUX Posted January 2, 2017 Share Posted January 2, 2017 Hi, Please feel free to give us a try for insurance if you like. We have the facility to rate non listed vehicles manually so we would be able to insure it correctly. Regards, Dan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.