In July 1993, Autocar put its money where its heart was and bought a first-generation Renault Twingo. Because the cute new city car wasn’t on sale in the UK, we had to buy a left-hand-drive example in its native France (price: £6500) and import it.

Months of living with it justified our faith in the Twingo. Everyone on the team loved its styling, packaging, refinement and driving manners. Soon more of these quirky cars began appearing on UK roads.

Now, 31 years later, another Mk1 Twingo, coincidentally also a 1993-reg model painted in Vert Coriandre, has arrived in Britain. It has done 80,000 miles but is in good condition.

Explaining his reasons for buying and importing it, Nick Bailey says: “I’ve always been captivated by the first-generation Renault Twingo. While studying in France in 1993, I promised myself that one day I’d have one.”

Unfortunately, at this point our old friend Brexit must enter the story. Prior to the UK’s departure from the EU, importing a car from Europe was fairly straightforward, but since 31 January 2020, it has been a bit more complicated. 

Most people will go first to the UK government website’s page that explains how to import a car. A key requirement is that you must inform HMRC within 14 days of receiving it, using something called the Nova (Notification of Vehicle Arrivals) service.

This also calculates how much VAT and duty is owed on the car.

The rules concerning VAT are, at first glance, quite simple, with cars older than 30 years, no longer in production and unmodified attracting a 5% tax on their purchase price and younger cars a 20% tax.

However, there’s also VAT to pay on shipping and on the import duty.

The website says that importers can call HMRC to find out what they owe in taxes, but in October 2022 it stopped offering that service, and now someone wishing to import a car must employ an import agent to liaise with it.

Usually for around £120, the agent will complete the relevant Nova sections and submit the evidence (original registration certificate, vehicle purchase and shipping invoices) that HMRC requires to calculate what is owed.

On receipt of payment, HMRC will issue a C384 ‘application for release’ form enabling the importer to proceed to the next step: registering the car.

Those less than 10 years old require a European Certificate of Conformity and a certificate of GB conversion IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) confirming that the headlights and rear foglight, for example, are legal.

Cars older than 10 years will have their lights checked during the MOT test.

A speedometer that reads in MPH isn’t a legal requirement on cars older than 10 years. Cars more than 40 years old don’t require an MOT certificate, but importers recommend they have one to establish that they’re safe and to speed up the registration process.

If the DVLA has any concerns about an older car with no MOT, it will have it inspected.

Back to Nick. Early Twingos are increasingly sought-after in France, and on leboncoin.fr, France’s answer to eBay, Nick found his 1993 car priced at £3500.

Deal done, his next job was to insure it. Insuring a foreign-registered car is usually no easy task for a Brit but, being fluent in French, Nick managed to negotiate a 30-day policy that insured him to drive not only in France but also to his home in the UK.

Meanwhile, the import agent he used took care of the car’s import and registration applications.

Including 5% VAT, the first registration fee of £55, £300 road tax and the agent’s fees, Nick paid a total of £1400 to have the car cleared for UK use. 

Another enthusiast tempted by the prospect of buying a rare car abroad for a lower price than they would have to pay in the UK is Jeff Ruggles.

He recently bought a 1977 Mk1 Ford Fiesta 1.1 S for £2100, also advertised on leboncoin.fr. To avoid insurance problems, he had a France-based friend buy and insure the car, who then sold it to him.

Because insurance in France is on the car, rather than the driver, Jeff was able to drive the Fiesta to the exit port before, once in the UK, trailering it home.

“The going rate for a UK car is around £5000, so I’m happy,” he says. “Because I already have an [Italian-made] Innocenti Mini, the Fiesta being left-hand drive is no problem to me.”

The DVLA couldn’t tell Autocar how many used cars are imported from Europe and registered in the UK, but one agent, My Car Import, says it imports up to eight per week.

“The low 5% VAT on older cars is no discouragement to enthusiasts seeking a rare vehicle in good condition,” says Will Smith, a director of the company. “Our transporter is out every week collecting cars.”

Reunited with his now UK-registered Twingo, Nick Bailey is looking forward to getting to know the little car.

One thing he won’t be doing is restoring it: “I’m doing a little bit of tidying up. Otherwise, I’m going to leave it dans son jus.”