You’ve saved a packet on your imported car – but can you save on the car insurance? Find out in our imported best car insurance guide.

What’s different about imported car insurance?
A few things about imported cars make getting car insurance more difficult:
• your car might not be built to European specifications
• parts can be harder to find
• organising repairs can be more difficult

Because of this some insurance companies will refuse to insure you or hike up your car insurance premiums.

But don’t worry – there are specialist insurers offering imported car insurance, and many general insurers cover it at a reasonable price.

Insuring European versus Japanese imported cars

Shopping for imported car insurance is easier if you’re buying a European import – a left-hand drive car from the continent. Cars like this are EU-approved, and may not cost any more to insure than the right-hand drive model.

If you’re buying a car from outside the EU – usually from Japan – it may not be registered against EU specifications. This means it’s harder for insurers to work out the risks, and they may want more information from you before agreeing to sell you car insurance.

Making imported car insurance cheaper

• Don’t automatically go with a specialist insurer – they might not be the cheapest, so make sure you compare quotes before you buy.

• Make your car more secure – if you opt for a car with an approved alarm and immobiliser your premiums will probably go down.

• Watch the modifications – if your car is modified it may be harder to insure, so keep the special features to a minimum. Always declare all modifications when you buy car insurance, or you may not be covered.

How to find imported car insurance

There are plenty of specialist vendors available online, but sometimes they can be tricky to find. Plenty of bigger national insurance vendors will provide cover for imports and you can usually find good deals on comparison sites like http://www.comparethemarket.com/