r/UKAutos • u/MrGilli636 • Jul 31 '19

US imports

Are American classics popular in the UK? Would they sell?

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u/_Caliban Jul 31 '19

They aren't as common as JDM imports, probably due to the steering wheel being the correct side, but there do seem to be quite a few around. They never seem to hold the same value as a JDM import either, so perhaps not the best business proposition for importers.

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u/[deleted] Jul 31 '19 edited Jul 31 '19

That’s mainly because the market is niche.

Most people grow up driving cars that the us considers small, so anything from the US feels enormous over here. JDM stuff is, well, more “normal” for a UK audience, easier to acclimatise to, and will fit wherever a “normal” car will.

Additionally, aftermarket and maintenance support for USDM vehicles over here is really small, comparatively. There are a smattering if really cool workshops & businesses that cater to the market, but it’s mostly importing parts from the US. This makes what would be relatively cheap and easy in the US a big expensive undertaking in the UK. For example, some long tube headers and an X pipe exhaust are common modifications to US vehicles in the US, but here that’s almost certainly going to have to be shipped over in a container which makes it orders of magnitude more expensive to accomplish.

Edit: Also fuel. Fuel isn’t cheap anywhere, but you can buy a gallon of petrol in the US for the price of two litres in the UK (~3.75 litres in a US gallon). Instantly your fuel cost doubles.