If you are packing up a life in the Gulf, the car can feel like one decision too many. Sell it and you lose a car you like, often at a price that stings. Ship it and you wonder whether it was worth the rigmarole.
Some cars are well worth bringing home and some aren't. We import cars for a living, but we would rather you made the right call than the one that suits us. This guide sets out the factors that decide it.
Start with what the car is worth in each place
The first comparison is simple. What would the car fetch if you sold it in the Gulf before you leave? And what would it cost you to buy an equivalent car in the UK once you are back?
Selling in a hurry, with a flight booked, rarely gets the best price. Buyers know you are leaving. On the other side, buying a replacement in the UK means paying UK prices for a car you know less about than the one you already own.
The gap between those two figures is the number that matters. If it is bigger than the cost of bringing the car home, shipping it starts to make sense. If it is small, selling is often the easier route.
Be honest about the UK equivalent. A like-for-like car here may be a different spec, a different age or simply not available, which leads straight to the next point.
Some Gulf cars simply don't exist here
Many Gulf-market cars were never sold new in the UK. Some versions of the Land Cruiser and the Patrol are good examples, along with various engine and trim combinations built for the region.
If the car you own has no real UK equivalent, the comparison changes. Instead of your car against a similar one at home, it becomes your car against something different. For a lot of owners, that settles it.
Our guide to GCC spec explains what a Gulf-market car is and what it means once the car is in the UK.
Transfer of Residence can change the sums
If you are moving home, Transfer of Residence relief is often the factor that tips the balance. If you qualify, you pay no import duty and no import VAT on the car.
Broadly, to qualify you need to:
- have lived outside the UK for more than 12 months
- have owned the car for at least 6 months before you move
- keep the car, without selling it, for the first 12 months after it arrives in the UK
Without the relief, import duty is usually 10% of the price plus transport, and import VAT is 20% of the price, transport and duty together. Classic cars over 30 years old are treated differently, with 5% VAT and no duty.
Our moving home page has a checker to see whether you are likely to qualify, and the costs page works out the tax if you don't.
The ownership rule is the one to watch. If you are thinking of buying a car shortly before you leave, it may not reach the 6 months needed by the time you move.
Left-hand drive and the car's age
Almost every Gulf car is left-hand drive. That is legal in the UK, and the car needs a few changes to suit driving on the left: headlights adjusted to dip the right way, a speedometer that reads in mph, and a rear fog light. We do those in-house. Our guide to living with left-hand drive covers what daily life is like.
Age decides the test route the car takes before it can be registered.
| Age of car | Route to UK registration |
|---|---|
| Under 10 years | IVA test, checking the car against UK standards |
| 10 to 40 years | MOT, plus the left-hand drive modifications |
| Over 40 years | No MOT needed before registration |
The spec of the car affects what a younger car needs for the IVA, which is why we check from the VIN before you commit. We are the first privately owned IVA testing centre for passenger vehicles in the UK, so the testing happens on the same site as the work.
Sentiment counts too
Not every decision is a spreadsheet. Some people bring a car home because it is the car their children grew up in, the one that took them across the desert every weekend, or the one they waited a long time to own.
That is a perfectly good reason. If the numbers are close and you love the car, it is often the deciding factor.
What it costs to bring it home
Bringing a car home from the Gulf involves several pieces: shipping from the Gulf, the UK import and customs paperwork, any conversion work, testing and DVLA registration. We put all of it into one quote.
We don't publish a single price, because the right number depends on the car, where it is and how old it is. What we can tell you is how the pieces fit together.
- Shipping is usually by shared container from Jebel Ali, with a dedicated container on request. Transit insurance is available. Time at sea is typically 3 to 6 weeks.
- The UK import is handled by our in-house customs staff. We are HMRC CDS authorised entry agents.
- Conversions and testing are done at our site in Castle Donington, Derby, where containers are unloaded.
- Registration goes through our dealer-level DVLA account, which takes around 10 working days.
Storage and delivery are available if you are not ready to collect the car straight away, which is often the case when you are moving house at the same time.
A quick rule of thumb
Every car is different, but these patterns hold up well.
Bring it if
- the model or version was never sold new in the UK
- you qualify for Transfer of Residence relief
- a UK equivalent would cost noticeably more than the car would fetch in the Gulf
- it is a classic, a high-value car or something hard to find
- you love it, and the numbers are close
Sell it if
- it is a common model, easily bought in right-hand drive in the UK
- it would fetch a good price in the Gulf and the gap to a UK equivalent is small
- you don't qualify for Transfer of Residence and the tax tips the balance
- you would struggle to keep it, unsold, for the first 12 months after it arrives
- left-hand drive would be a daily frustration for the driving you will do
If you decide to sell, our guide to settling up before you leave covers the loose ends. If you decide to ship, the leaving the Gulf checklist puts the jobs in order.
Get the numbers before you decide
The easiest way to settle it is to put an actual figure against selling. Send us the car's details through the quote form and someone at My Car Import will build a quote around your car.
It is free, there is no obligation, and you can set it next to the best offer you get in the Gulf. Then the decision is yours.
Questions people ask
Is it worth shipping my car from the Gulf to the UK?
It depends on the car. Compare what it would fetch if you sold it in the Gulf with what an equivalent would cost you in the UK, then add the cost of bringing it home. Cars that were never sold new in the UK, cars you qualify to bring home under Transfer of Residence, and cars you are attached to often make the strongest case.
Will I pay import duty and VAT if I bring my own car home?
Not if you qualify for Transfer of Residence relief. Broadly, you need to have lived outside the UK for more than 12 months and owned the car for at least 6 months, and you cannot sell it for the first 12 months in the UK. If you do not qualify, import duty is usually 10% and import VAT 20%.
How much does it cost to bring a car home from the Gulf?
It depends on the car, where it is and how old it is. Your quote from My Car Import covers shipping, the UK import, any conversions, testing and registration in one place, so you can compare it with selling. Getting a quote is free and there is no obligation.