Long story short, nearly 3 years ago I was told I would be moving work place and working in the USA from Feb 2016 until May this year.
It was from then I decided I would sell up my hobby of Karting, sell my Camper/Race van and my Motorway Mile munching Mondeo and buy myself an American Muscle Car, then ship it home on my return to the UK.
After I arrived there, I test drove the V8 Mustang, Challenger and the Camaro. I wasn't a fan of the large size of the Challenger, so it was down to the Mustang and the Camaro. But after remembering that Mustangs were becoming more popular in the UK in right hand drive. I test drove another Camaro and decided that was the one for me, and to be more niche.
You might have seen it in the 'Show us your motors thread' a while back, but here is my car when I bought it in the Summer of 2016.
It's a brand new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS:
455BHP (455 Ft Lb Torque) V8 6.2 Litre Engine, 8 Speed Auto Gearbox, Hyper Metallic Blue, 20 Inch Alloys, Eagle F1 Asy 3 Tyres, Performance Exhaust Package, Performance Interior Package, Cruise Control, Dual Climate Control, Heated/Cooled Seats, Reversing Camera/Sensors, Blind Spot Warning system, Sat Nav, Wireless Charging, HUD, Android Auto and a whole host of other mod cons I forget.
I loved the car in the US, the big open roads suited it well. Plenty of places to open it up as well and see what the engine could offer. The noise and acceleration put a smile on my face every time. Whilst I was over there I did plenty of road trips in it around the South East area and it was right at home. The leather seats are very comfortable and the cooling part of them was a god send in the hot summers.
The car got me through 2 evacuations to Atlanta in Georgia and Knoxville in Tennessee due to Hurricanes in 2016 and 2017.
It also got me in trouble with the law. (Only once
)
It came to January this year and I was told I was going to be moving home by May. So I committed to shipping it home and importing it to the UK.
After much deliberation and thought, I decided to use a car importing company to hand it to and do all the conversion work for me. So all I had to do was to drop it off at nearby Port, hand over the key and the next time I saw it, it would be road worthy and ready to go.
The company I chose was the guys over at Ship My Car, based in Milton Keynes. They provided me with a quote and after some negotiation we came to a price and agreed.
The work that had to be done was:
Changing the direction of the headlights, fitting dual LED's to the Reverse Lights and wiring up the other LEDs as an indicator, wiring up a rear Fog light and switch on the dash and finally fitting side indicators to the wing mirrors.
That, along with them registering it, putting the car through its IVA test, making the plates and a couple of other added extras I requested.
I was told the whole process from me dropping it off at the port, to me receiving it at the other end would take 12-15 weeks. At the start of March I dropped it off at a local port and hoped I would see it again on the other side.
The guys at Ship My Car did a fantastic job, providing regular updates on where my car was, providing the GPS tracking information for the ship so I could follow its journey over the Atlantic and also provided pictures at various points of the journey on a great Client Portal/Website.
www.ShipMyCar.co.uk
It was then on the 14th of June, I received a phone call. During my cars final Valet before collection, they had spotted a scratch on the passenger side door which wasn't there when they received the car at the Port in Southampton.
They accepted full responsibility and said it very rarely happens in their care. They said they would send the car to a body repair shop nearby and repair the door at what ever cost.
2 weeks later, I received another phone call.
My car was ready for collection, it had been returned from the body shop and they stated that you couldn't tell the difference if a scratch was there or not. So I headed to Milton Keynes the same day to go collect it.
When I arrived at their premises, it was sat outside and had just been valeted. I'd been without it for almost 4 months and the smile on my face when I got there was like a kid at Christmas.
The Front Plate Bracket I bought whilst I was in America and suits the car very well. They said they normally either tie it to the grill or stick it somewhere on the Front Bumper.
Here's a pic of the Side Light Mod they did for the side indicators, which I'm very happy with and it's very subtle.
They were right about the scratch too, you could never tell there was a scratch there at all.
After settling my final bill, I was given the keys and started my 1.5 hour journey back home. I quickly settled to Left Hand Drive driving on the Left Hand Side of the road, filled up at a local Shell Station with some V-Power and was on my way.
On the UK roads its coping very well so far, the stiff suspension though defiantly picks up the bumpier UK roads and when I switch it to Sport or Track modes it stiffens the suspension further, the bumpier UK roads are even more noticeable then. I'm already picking up where the bumps are on my local roads and which lines to take to avoid them.
MPG isn't that bad (he says
), the engine when it's not being pushed switches off half the cylinders which can provide a very nice 26-30 US MPG when cruising along at 60-70mph.
It's a head turner, I've found myself getting a lot of looks from a few RHD Mustang Owners for sure
That last picture I took today at Cromer Beach, I took it for a drive and really stretched it's legs. It handles well too, which was a very nice surprise when I first got it.
Plans for the future? I'm very tempted to get some Black Alloys for it, along with maybe the Black Chevrolet Bow Tie Badges for the front and rear bumpers. After that? I'm already eyeing up Performance Upgrades on the Chevrolet website.
Total cost of the Import (Shipping Insurance, Container Fee, Shipping, US Fees, UK Port Fees, Handling Fees, Conversion Costs, Labour, IVA Test, Admin Fees, Added Extras and 1st Years Road Tax) came to just under £3500.
So when's the next OCUK HQ meet?
It was from then I decided I would sell up my hobby of Karting, sell my Camper/Race van and my Motorway Mile munching Mondeo and buy myself an American Muscle Car, then ship it home on my return to the UK.
After I arrived there, I test drove the V8 Mustang, Challenger and the Camaro. I wasn't a fan of the large size of the Challenger, so it was down to the Mustang and the Camaro. But after remembering that Mustangs were becoming more popular in the UK in right hand drive. I test drove another Camaro and decided that was the one for me, and to be more niche.
You might have seen it in the 'Show us your motors thread' a while back, but here is my car when I bought it in the Summer of 2016.
It's a brand new 2016 Chevrolet Camaro 2SS:
455BHP (455 Ft Lb Torque) V8 6.2 Litre Engine, 8 Speed Auto Gearbox, Hyper Metallic Blue, 20 Inch Alloys, Eagle F1 Asy 3 Tyres, Performance Exhaust Package, Performance Interior Package, Cruise Control, Dual Climate Control, Heated/Cooled Seats, Reversing Camera/Sensors, Blind Spot Warning system, Sat Nav, Wireless Charging, HUD, Android Auto and a whole host of other mod cons I forget.
I loved the car in the US, the big open roads suited it well. Plenty of places to open it up as well and see what the engine could offer. The noise and acceleration put a smile on my face every time. Whilst I was over there I did plenty of road trips in it around the South East area and it was right at home. The leather seats are very comfortable and the cooling part of them was a god send in the hot summers.
The car got me through 2 evacuations to Atlanta in Georgia and Knoxville in Tennessee due to Hurricanes in 2016 and 2017.
It also got me in trouble with the law. (Only once
)
It came to January this year and I was told I was going to be moving home by May. So I committed to shipping it home and importing it to the UK.
After much deliberation and thought, I decided to use a car importing company to hand it to and do all the conversion work for me. So all I had to do was to drop it off at nearby Port, hand over the key and the next time I saw it, it would be road worthy and ready to go.
The company I chose was the guys over at Ship My Car, based in Milton Keynes. They provided me with a quote and after some negotiation we came to a price and agreed.
The work that had to be done was:
Changing the direction of the headlights, fitting dual LED's to the Reverse Lights and wiring up the other LEDs as an indicator, wiring up a rear Fog light and switch on the dash and finally fitting side indicators to the wing mirrors.
That, along with them registering it, putting the car through its IVA test, making the plates and a couple of other added extras I requested.
I was told the whole process from me dropping it off at the port, to me receiving it at the other end would take 12-15 weeks. At the start of March I dropped it off at a local port and hoped I would see it again on the other side.
The guys at Ship My Car did a fantastic job, providing regular updates on where my car was, providing the GPS tracking information for the ship so I could follow its journey over the Atlantic and also provided pictures at various points of the journey on a great Client Portal/Website.
www.ShipMyCar.co.uk
It was then on the 14th of June, I received a phone call. During my cars final Valet before collection, they had spotted a scratch on the passenger side door which wasn't there when they received the car at the Port in Southampton.
They accepted full responsibility and said it very rarely happens in their care. They said they would send the car to a body repair shop nearby and repair the door at what ever cost.
2 weeks later, I received another phone call.
My car was ready for collection, it had been returned from the body shop and they stated that you couldn't tell the difference if a scratch was there or not. So I headed to Milton Keynes the same day to go collect it.
When I arrived at their premises, it was sat outside and had just been valeted. I'd been without it for almost 4 months and the smile on my face when I got there was like a kid at Christmas.
The Front Plate Bracket I bought whilst I was in America and suits the car very well. They said they normally either tie it to the grill or stick it somewhere on the Front Bumper.
Here's a pic of the Side Light Mod they did for the side indicators, which I'm very happy with and it's very subtle.
They were right about the scratch too, you could never tell there was a scratch there at all.
After settling my final bill, I was given the keys and started my 1.5 hour journey back home. I quickly settled to Left Hand Drive driving on the Left Hand Side of the road, filled up at a local Shell Station with some V-Power and was on my way.
On the UK roads its coping very well so far, the stiff suspension though defiantly picks up the bumpier UK roads and when I switch it to Sport or Track modes it stiffens the suspension further, the bumpier UK roads are even more noticeable then. I'm already picking up where the bumps are on my local roads and which lines to take to avoid them.
MPG isn't that bad (he says
), the engine when it's not being pushed switches off half the cylinders which can provide a very nice 26-30 US MPG when cruising along at 60-70mph. It's a head turner, I've found myself getting a lot of looks from a few RHD Mustang Owners for sure
That last picture I took today at Cromer Beach, I took it for a drive and really stretched it's legs. It handles well too, which was a very nice surprise when I first got it.
Plans for the future? I'm very tempted to get some Black Alloys for it, along with maybe the Black Chevrolet Bow Tie Badges for the front and rear bumpers. After that? I'm already eyeing up Performance Upgrades on the Chevrolet website.
Total cost of the Import (Shipping Insurance, Container Fee, Shipping, US Fees, UK Port Fees, Handling Fees, Conversion Costs, Labour, IVA Test, Admin Fees, Added Extras and 1st Years Road Tax) came to just under £3500.
So when's the next OCUK HQ meet?
