I'm in the air force and I'm coming to lakenheath in October. My question is, I have a 2008 Nissan Titan that I am bringing with me. Everyone tells me it's to big for the roads but they also tell me that I will be able to sell it very easily over there. Is this true? How easily would it be for me to sell a truck like this??

Does it have the steering wheel on the right hand side?

Yes American specs

How long is your posting? And how would you store the truck if you didn't ship it over? Is it your "baby" or <i>just</i> a truck?? Would you sell it in the States, or put it up on blocks, or leave it w/ a family member?

I wouldn't worry too much about the size. There are lots of Land Rovers/Range Rovers and SUVs. But it will drink petrol -- even w/ gas on base it will be very expensive to operate. You could have the air force ship it over and then sell it to a returning airman - but probably for less than you could sell it Stateside.

If it is the 'love of your life' vehicle-wise then take it. But if not -- it will be a bit of a hassle w/ the LHD and big engine. LOTS of GIs manage fine driving LHD cars in the UK --but it isn't an ideal option.,

Thanks for the response, I just heard that I can sell it for good money out there. The Air force will ship it there for free for me. I can sell it here and make 4000 profit on it, I was wondering if I could make more over there

"<i>I just heard that I can sell it for good money out there</i>"

And you heard that from whom? You cannot easily sell it 'on the economy'- red tape and LHD and everything. For instance, your headlights aren't legal in the UK. That isn't abiggie --but just another thing you have to fix before it will pass a safety inspection.

You <i>could</i> sell it to someone returning Stateside - but probably not for $4000 more than you could back home.

I'd contact your sponsor and ask what the current situation is w/ selling this sort of vehicle at Lakenheath.

If it was me -- I'd sell it Stateside and buy something over there. You'd get a cut on the very high taxes Brits have to pay to buy a car

" I just heard that I can sell it for good money out there."

Why ask us? Ask the people who told you. Above all: ask them how much they had to pay, in car excise duty (roughly 20% of the deemed value) import duty (whatever % it is of the sum of the deemed value, the freight cost, even if someone else paid it, and the excise duty, and VAT), special inspection fees for allowing a non-standard car to be sold here and any construction modification needed to conform to our safety laws. Ask them how much energy it takes to go through the paperwork and any modifications, and to find these free-spending lunatics. (start by ploughing through ALL the references at http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring...icle/index.htm)

I've absolutely no idea what the answer is to these questions. But in any commercial transaction, the question isn't how much you can sell things for: it's how much net profit you'll make after all your expenses. No doubt those experts telling you how much you'll make know the answer to that question: ask them

Incidentally: does your employer allow you to sell a car they've paid to ship over without refunding them the cost of freight? Does your military code of ethics permit profiteering?

"Everyone tells me it's too big for the roads "
Are these the same people who tell you how much you can sell it for? Do they explain how to get in touch with all these people spending fortunes on undrivable cars? If they do: please tell us, since I'm doing a special on Thames bridges right now, and I'm sure they'd be interested

These "everyones" are clearly talking out of their rear ends.I strongly suggest you stop relying on advice from people who've never compared the size of an SUV to the millions of trucks pounding our roads.

<i>Everyone tells me it's to big for the roads but they also tell me that I will be able to sell it very easily over there. Is this true? How easily would it be for me to sell a truck like this?? </i>

It's not too big for the roads. There are much bigger buses everywhere. Your problem will be in finding a legal parking space when off the base.

Selling a vehicle anywhere is usually a chore. Look in British newspapers on line to see if anyone is selling something like yours and how much they are asking. You might get lucky. I shipped my Porsche 911S to NL in 1975 and parked it on the street. One morning a guy rang my bell and offered to buy it. Sorry, it wasn't for sale.

Thanks for all the great info guys!

Mark: If your truck is American spec'd, I doubt if it has the steering wheel on the right hand side. You may want to go back to Question No. 1.

Yes, you can make/save money when you sell US vehicles in Europe,

IF

you are a professional car dealer/importer -- otherwise the necessary paperworks, duties, taxes and modifications will eat up time, nerves, and money (the shipping costs are actually not the major issue for those "grey imports") -- and all this makes a US grey import roughly $4-5K more expensive in Europe, only a fraction thereof is the dealer's profit

OR

when you drive such a rare classic, e.g. a 1960s Mustang Convertible in excellent condition, that a potential buyer is willing to invest time and money to do the modifications himself just to get his hands on the car.

There are people in the U.K. who buy U.S. spec cars. They do it as a hobby because of their interest in that type of vehicle. They will not be concerned about the vehicle being left-hand drive, and there are ways of getting spare parts. It is not uncommon to see U.S. vehicles around, especially specialist types like large R.V.s, stretch limos and large pick-up trucks, for which there are no obvious European equivalents.

Near us there is a house with a Lincoln Mountaineer frequently parked outside. I presume this is someone from the U.S. living over here temporarily, although it does have U.K. licence plates.

Only you can decide if you want the hassle.

re sellling it 'for good money'...

Why not get going with Google and eBay.co.uk and find out for yourself what it might sell for in the UK?

A travel forum is hardly the AutoTrader! Check http://www.exchangeandmart.co.uk for starters...

I was going to suggest you have a look on AutoTrader too!

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/used-cars

"and there are ways of getting spare parts. "

At a price - and if you are willing to wait for them or pay even more.

If you want to bring something over that's sellable find yourself an early VW van, preferably a Samba-bus or any first generation

Every year a number of Americans fly their massive cars into Lakenheath and then try and drive off base.

It doesn't work. The roads are narrow and the roundabouts are too much a new concept (along with the roads on the wrong side and all) so that when things get tricky people end up in hospital.

The base commander should have stopped this practice years ago.

It's not too big to drive here, but it may be too big for you to drive! I'm not making fun of your driving skills, just pointing out that you are used to driving your big car on big roads and parking them in big spaces. The people here who drive those big cars are used to driving them on small roads and parking in small spaces -- and that's not even taking into consideration the location of the steering wheel and the side of the road!

I drove an Explorer in the states but a Prius here and even that feels a big big on some of the country roads.

How long is your posting?>

Janis dear it is five lines long???