Cayman Islands

Why Import cars to the Cayman Islands.

Most cars in the Cayman Islands are either imported from Japan or form the USA.

Due to the strength of the Japanese Yen, British second hand cars offer some of the best value cars to buy globally. In 2007 £1 bought you 250 Yen now it only buys you 130 Yen! This means that a Japanese export has nearly doubled in price compared to a British export.

In addition second hand cars and SUV’s with large petrol engines are not popular in the British market due to the high price of petrol (Gas) in the UK with a gallon of petrol (Gas) costing around £6.20 or US$ 9.50. Some of these cars can lose up to 75% of their value over the first three years of their life.

The shipping cost from the UK to Grand Cayman is also likely to be cheaper when compared to shipping a car from Japan, and in our experience has been, please check with your shipping company for up to date quotes as shipping rates are constantly changing.

Right Hand Drive Imports can supply Petrol (Gas), Petrol/Electric and Diesel cars with either Manual or Automatic transmission at competitive prices.

We can also supply an increasing number of American brands such as Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Chevrolet in right hand drive.

You can either purchase a one of our stock cars, which are all sourced from franchised dealers in the UK and the cars have all qualified under the manufactures approved used schemes.

Or for the biggest savings you can buy a car from auction; however some remedial work will probably be necessary to get the car into showroom condition

Elvey Auto Ltd, Trading as Right Hand Drive Imports is a member of the largest car auction group in the United Kingdom and passes all benefits of our purchasing power on to our customers.

We are your auction representatives. You can view pictures and details before auction and send your bids. We inspect the cars(s) based on the official auction Mechanical and Condition report and reject most cars. We only bid on those cars that are of sufficient quality (grade 1 or 2)

CLICK HERE FOR CAR PRICE ESTIMATES

Cayman Island Import Rules & Duties.

Unlike some other Caribbean islands, there are no size restrictions on cars in Cayman (except Hummers which cannot be wider than 6.7ft), there are also no restrictions on the age make and model you can import into the Cayman Islands except 100% electric vehicles.

Hybrid Cars

After years of lobbying the Cayman Islands Government has given approval to license and register hybrid cars (which use a combination of gas and electric) has finally been achieved.

Duty Costs of Importing a Car

As a way of raising revenue, because there are no direct taxes, the Cayman Islands Government charges import duty on all vehicles being imported into the Islands. The percentage charged depends on the value of the car and is worked out using the Kelly Blue Book. See www.kbb.com. However as cars from the United Kingdom have different specifications to US cars and are right hand drive you may be able to argue that you have paid a fair market price for your car in an arm’s length transaction. Click here for customs valuation methods. The import duty is calculated on what is known as CIF. This is the Cost of the car plus the Insurance premium for its journey by ship plus the sea Freight charges.

All pick-up trucks are rated at 29.5%
CIF up to CI$20,000 = 29.5%
CIF up to CI$25,000 = 32%
CIF up to CI$30,000 = 37%
CIF from CI$30,000 and upwards = 42%

Click here for current rates of duty.

Environmental Disposal Fee

An environmental fee of CI$250 is added to cover the cost of disposing of the vehicle in years to come if the vehicle is valued over CI$12,000. If the vehicle is valued under CI$12,000 the environment fee is CI$1,000.

CLICK HERE FOR CAR PRICE ESTIMATES

Shipping your car to Grand Cayman

Shipping will be organised by www.rhdimports.com your vehicle will be shipped in either a 20ft or a 40ft container. This has been said to be one of the safest and most secure forms of transport by sea, your car will be loaded and secured inside the container by the use of chocks and straps then the container will be sealed until it arrives at its destination.

Approximate cost of shipping a 20ft & 40ft Container is £2,655 & £4,055 respectively, plus an extra charge of £225 to load and secure a third vehicle should you purchase 3 cars that would fit inside a 40ft container. These costs are current estimates only; firm quotes can be obtained when you place your order to purchase a car(s)

Approximate cost of shipping multiple vehicles

1 Vehicle = £2,655
2 Vehicles = £2,028 each
3 Vehicles = £1,395 each

We can arrange for 3 different buyers to ship their cars in one 40ft container (assuming they will all fit) so why don’t you get together with your friends or family to purchase and consolidate vehicles to reduce your shipping costs.

The above car shipping quotations are priced up to arrival port only; it is your responsibility to pay for customs clearance, port handling fees, duties and taxes upon arrival. Unfortunately due to our economic climate, the international shipping lines will frequently adjust their shipping costs i.e. Fuel increases and/or currency fluctuations without notice

Please contact us for shipping costs to Little Cayman or Cayman Brac.

Paperwork required to ship your vehicle.

The only additional paperwork required from you is a copy of your passport (the shipper who is paying for the shipment) photo page only; we will supply the shipper with all the other necessary documentation.

Insurance

Insurance is an optional extra and is charged at approximately 2% of vehicles value. We strongly recommend that you purchase insurance as we cannot be held liable for any damage sustained to your vehicle once we have handed it over to the shipping company, and containers do fall overboard in rough seas! A condition report is completed and digital photos are taken of the vehicle as standard to offer proof of its condition when it is handed over to the shipping company.

Payment

The balance is due before shipping, we can either invoice the shipping charges together with your final payment for your purchase and pay the shipping on your behalf, or you can pay the shipping agent directly. They accept payments by either credit or debit card from major banks only or you can opt for a bank transfer to their bank account. To pay by either credit or debit cards there is an additional 2.5% surcharge.

Documents

We will receive the documents from the shipping company approximately one week after the vessel has departed, this is industry standard practice. They will then couriered on to you. The documents we will send to you are as follows and you will need to deliver them to your appointed customs broker, if you have one.

• Bill of Lading. This is an extremely important document which signifies the ownership of the vehicle. You will not be able to collect your car without this document.
• Invoice. Vital proof of what you paid for your car
• Registration Certificate. Signed by the previous owner to signify transfer of ownership. This document replaces the need for a separate export certificate.

Clearing Your Car through Cayman Customs

We recommend that you appoint a local Customs broker as clearing the car through customs is time consuming. You will need to let us know who your customs broker is prior to shipping, so that the shipping company knows who to contact when your vehicle arrives. Please click here for a list of local customs brokers

If you chose to clear your vehicle through customs yourself, the shipping company will notify you once your vehicle has landed at the port in Cayman, the following steps are then required to clear and register your vehicle for use.

• Collect paperwork from the shipping company and pay shippers.
• Go to Customs, pay the duty for your vehicle and pay the environmental fee (CI$250 or $1,000).
• Go to the Port Authority and pay port charges of about CI$50 depending on the weight of your vehicle.
• Obtain car insurance. You will need proof of insurance on the vehicle before going to Licensing.
• Pick up your vehicle.
• Go to the Vehicle Licensing Department (DVDL) to license your vehicle for one year (CI$160*), have it inspected (CI$25*) and purchase Cayman Islands licence plates (CI$50). They will also need to see the vehicle’s certificate of title.

*Note: the cost depends on the type of vehicle being licensed. Also note that as per the Cayman Island’s Traffic Law, it is an offence to keep a vehicle in the Cayman Islands without it being registered with the DVDL.

CLICK HERE FOR CAR PRICE ESTIMATES

We do not currently have any arrangements with local banks to provide finance for your purchase. Please click here for a list of local banks. Please note finance must be in place prior to ordering your vehicle.

CLICK HERE FOR CAR PRICE ESTIMATES