What to do with my Westfalia? Moving abroad

[Steve M.]

East Coast USA to UK less then $1500.00

Shipping from Oregon to UK is going to cost you more, but that is kinda stupid since you can do an enjoyable road trip across the States to Newark, N.J,(Port of New York) and ship it from there instead of sending it south down through the Panama Canal just to go back up north to the UK.
Chances are you might fly out of NY or another east coast city to get to London anyway.

How you ship it is a choice between a container or a simple RO/RO (roll on/roll off)

I brought my Syncro over from Belgium to Newark and it was $1100.00 on a RORO

All these wild guesstimates on shipping prices is garbage. Do a search yourself.
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=shipping+a+vehicle+to+th...amp;page=1
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This free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it.

There are seven days in a week. Someday is not one of them.

[Gauche1968]

Might want to investigate what it would take to legally use it in the UK vis your immigration status there. It sounds like a temporary move, but would you need to import, pay taxes, MOT, etc. or can you keep it registered in the
US? Not sure how the Covid crisis would affect any of that. There are reports of operators of US plated vehicles getting harassed and vehicles vandalized in Canada.
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1984 Vanagon GL
1984 Vanagon Westy

[augustwillo]

Thank you all! This is all really good to consider.

As much as I would like to bring the van over to allow ease of travel, and an alternative way of living, I do work in central London, and imagine we would be in the city most of the time. With that, it begins to not seem like a good idea to live out of a vanagon with 2 small children and a dog.

Some of you mentioned purchasing a vanagon while we are there instead, and we like that idea a lot! I saw a few syncros for a good price that would be worth saving for.

I also agree with the idea of keeping our van, even if it means storing it for a number of years, due to the fact that we "know" our van and its mechanics. That to me is valuable, for when we do come back to the US, we will be able to pick up where we left off. My only concern is make sure we properly store it. I do have a cool dry place, but what else would you recommend? Is jacking it up off the ground necessary? Thank you for those who have already shared about the storing process.

August

[fxr]

In the UK, if an imported vehicle is there more than six months, it must be registered and taxed there. Also, if you're there more than twelve months, you will need to obtain a UK driving licence. This is NOT trivial.

https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/temporary-imports

https://www.gov.uk/driving-theory-test

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-standard-for-driving-cars-and-light-vans-category-b
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Jim Crowther
1984 1.9l EJ22 Westy Wolfsburg Edition
Vespa GTS 300

[dobryan]

And check the area you are going to stay in London. There are tight vehicle restrictions in the center city area.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[vino de vano]

Jacking it off the ground accomplishes two things. It stops your tires from developing flat spots, and in the event of a leak your tire won't be damaged. I stand behind all I suggested earlier. It's your van do as much or as little as you wish. Have a good time over there.
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what a long strange trip it's been

[The Wise Pranker]

Hi August, I’m in the UK and I manage a busy Facebook group dedicated to Vanagon Westfalia’s with 3000 members. It’s a great place to buy, sell, discuss, arrange hook ups with other owners, it’s all about Westy’s. Come say hi. https://m.facebook.com/groups/1598415067139756

[Abscate]

For two years , see the post above. It’s non- trivial, indeed.
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.ssS!