Import costs
What a car really costs, landed
The hammer price is about two thirds of what you pay. Put in a bid and see the whole figure, fees, shipping, duty and VAT, before you commit to anything.
- Hammer price£15,000
- Autoselecta feeOnly payable if you win.£2,000
- Auction fee£825
- Estimated shipping£1,750
- Estimated import duty10% of the car, auction fee and shipping.£1,758
- Estimated VAT£3,867
- Deposit to bid
- £2,000
- Balance if you win
- £23,200
Where the money goes
Hammer price
What the car sells for in the auction hall. This is the only number that moves with the bidding, and the one you set a maximum on.
Auction fee: 5.5%
Charged by the Japanese auction house on the hammer price. It is their fee, not ours, and it is the same wherever you buy from.
Autoselecta fee: from £1,500
Our fee for bidding, buying, exporting and handling the import. It is £1,500 on a hammer price under £10,000, £2,000 from £10,000, and £3,000 from £100,000. Only payable if you win.
Shipping
Sea freight from Japan to a UK port, with marine insurance. Shipping is worked out for your car in the calculator above; oversized vehicles are quoted separately.
Import duty: 10%
Set by HMRC and charged on the customs value: the car, the auction fee and shipping together. Historic vehicles (over 30 years old and unmodified) pay no duty. We check before you bid.
VAT: 20%
Charged on the car, the auction fee, shipping and duty together, at 5% instead of 20% for historic vehicles. Our own fee sits outside the VAT base, because import VAT applies to the goods and the cost of getting them here.
These are estimates
Duty and VAT are set by UK authorities and confirmed on arrival, and the shipping rate is held to 3 February 2027. Currency moves between the auction and payment. We give you the real figure in writing before you bid, and tell you if anything changes after.
Figures shown are for import to the UK. Other markets have their own duty and tax rules: ask us for your country.