The Mitsubishi Pajero Owners Club®

[Gulf ExPat]

I have a 2007 3-door Pajero 3.8GLS which I like, and would repatriate from Dubai to the UK, but for the various impediments. Has anybody out there done this and is it worth the hassle?  I fancy the road trip but wife says no.

[Google]

[JPB]

As it's a 2007 vehicle, then no IVA is required. I've imported cars from Japan before now and - even when they've spent some of the time in another country - a vehicle over ten years of age doesn't have to meet the requirements of IVA.
In practical terms, this means that all it will need is headlamps that dip to the left for our roads, so if there's no extra lughole in the shells to allow the bulbs to be rotated by the required 120 degrees clockwise (as seen from behind the shell) or if the lens are not equipped to take either LH or RH bulbs, fit some from a UK supplier on import. You'll also need either one rear fog lamp between the centre and the UK offside of the car, no higher than one metre from the floor and no closer to a brake lamp than 101.6mm. You can fit a pair if you wish, same rules apply to the left one.
Then, having insured the car with the frame number (or VIN if it's already been stamped for a country other than Japan), book it in for its MOT and have that carried out, again using the frame number or VIN instead of the - as yet unissued - registration on the test certificate.
Once you have the MOT, provide the details of that and the NOVA certificate to the DVLA and they will issue the registration number which will be updated on VOSA's records to show the reg. and not the frame number on the test history and that's it!
ON a vehicle of over the ten year cutoff point, which is a rolling ten and not a fixed year, there's no requirement to change the odometer or speedometer readings to MPH and this is a good thing as using one of those £55 (£11 from electronics component suppliers mind!) speedometer "converter" chips will play havoc with the change points of any automatic transmission made during the past couple of decades since the TCU will still "see" the reading in KM/H as there's no direct link between the transponder in the dashboard and the TCU. It's the matter of a few days at worst to get used to knowing the critical speeds and the MOTs will continue to be shewn in KM unless the tester is informed of any changes there. Emissions aren't tested in the way that they are on UK market cars from 2001 on, since it's assumed that the richer mixture required by Japan's mostly hot, dry climate and its often high altitude minor roads cannot be brought easily within UK requirements. It can in most engines, but for practical purposes, emissions are tested on cars of ten or more years old on the visible smoke basis (pre-1975) or the CO and unburnt HC figures for any 1975 on vehicle.
It's as well to set the emissions to meet current standards where possible as it will prevent the inevitable argument should you use a testing station that's not well up on imports and their differing requirements, but if you are unable to meet the figures, that's not an issue since neither Construction & Use nor MOT need this where IVA would.

Last off for now; no VIN stamp is needed though Mitsubishi - if my Paj Mini is anything to go by - do at least use a riveted plate on the bulkhead to show the frame number but some makers' products, such as those of Toyota who use a sticker (which will self destruct if anyone tries to remove it)  inside a door shut to display the frame number, are nonetheless still accepted for UK use when under the magic ten years, later imports must be stamped with a UK VIN.

[Simon_W]

Wow! That's an amazingly detailed response from JPB!

One other thing to consider is that the 3.8 litre wasn't ever offered on the UK market. So apart from parts that are shared with the 3.5 engine, you might need to import them.

Do the road trip if you possibly can! It will be a great experience and you'll never forget it.

[Gulf ExPat]

That is a very helpful response JPB, thank you. And Simon_W the road trip would indeed be wonderful but for the risk incurred by non-combatants north of the Red Sea.  The decider will be how cheaply I can get it containered over - we want to have a car in the UK for 6 months before we officially repatriate.  May be better to sell and buy. But the 3.8 is an awesome car. I think we'd have fun with it.

[Gulf ExPat]

Me again. I ended up selling the SWB 2007 3.8....I am about to return and also have a 2013 3.5 petrol 5 door Gulf specs Pajero, which I am now thinking of bringing home as I am only being offered peanuts for it here and would be very happy to use it in the UK; I will be a low mileage driver so the fuel consumption won't cripple me.  From the previous advice from my helpful respondent above, I expect to have to change the headlights and the speedometer to MPH.  I remember when I had an imported motorcycle all the dealer did for the speedo was to put on a cellophane decal with mph.  Does anybody think it is sensible to bring this car home? Is there any demand if I were to sell it? And are the emissions of a Gulf spec Pajero different from the requirements in the EU/UK?

[JPB]

Whether it's sensible is a thing that only you can judge, but as it's younger than the ten year cutoff, it will need to have an IVA test as well as an MOT and that means that once registered, it will then be subject to VED at a rate relating to its emissions figures, usually in the mid £500s for large 4x4s. So assuming that the vehicle is otherwise in better condition than any used example you'd find within its value here in the UK, it may make loads of sense to bring it, but if an example in RHD, already UK registered and on the road, ready to roll could be had for less, then maybe not so much.
If this were mine, I'd bring it with me under the circumstances but that's just me and I've never been one to let logic or common sense get in the way of bringing a car from outside the EU into the UK and jumping through the odd hoop along the way.

Good point about the emissions by the way. Yes, it probably does need to be set up differently for a climate that's so much hotter but the difference may well be within the scope of the ECU and could be very simple to achieve if so.

[Gulf ExPat]

Again, many thanks for these helpful comments. Sounds like it may just be worth it.  I am reasonably hopeful that servicing should not be too much of an issue but will speak with a local dealer before deciding.