Classic cars

How do you import a Mercedes SL Pagoda to the UK?

Every W113 Pagoda (230, 250 and 280 SL, built from 1963 to 1971) is now over 40 years old. As long as the car is in original condition, and as a model long out of production, it can come in as a collector’s vehicle at 0% duty and 5% import VAT, needs no vehicle approval, and can go into the historic tax class, with nothing to pay, once you apply. The work is in the detail: US-market specification, left-hand drive, and proving the car’s age to the DVLA.

Published 26 September 2026 · 7 min read

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1. Which Pagodas qualify, and for what

The W113 SL was built in three versions, and every one of them is now more than 40 years old (Hagerty):

Age opens three doors at once. Over 30 years old, in its original state and of a model no longer in production, a Pagoda can be imported as a collector's vehicle at 0% duty and 5% VAT. Over 10 years old, it needs no vehicle approval. And because every Pagoda was built before 1 January 1986, it can go into the historic tax class with nothing to pay from 1 April 2026, once you apply for it, and may not need an MOT if it has had no substantial changes (GOV.UK).

2. Duty and VAT: why "original" matters on a Pagoda

The collector's rate under heading 9705 covers vehicles at least 30 years old, of a model no longer in production, in their original state without substantial changes to the chassis, body, steering, brakes, transmission, suspension or engine. Restoration is allowed. Modernised or modified cars are not.

On a Pagoda, the questions come from the American market, which took a large share of the 48,912 cars built. Hagerty notes that US 280 SLs left the factory with a different camshaft and less power than European cars, softer bushings and, on early cars, a 4.08 axle, and that owners often fitted European headlamps and later 14-inch alloys. A ZF five-speed gearbox was a late US option. Some of these are factory specification and some are later changes. Which ones HMRC sees as substantial is a case-by-case call, so it is worth knowing exactly what your car has before it ships.

3. Left-hand or right-hand drive?

Right-hand drive Pagodas exist but they are the minority. For the 250 SL, RM Sotheby's states that of 5,196 built, around 1,388 are believed to have been right-hand drive (RM Sotheby's). Most cars you will find abroad, and nearly all American ones, are left-hand drive. A left-hand drive classic can be registered and driven in the UK as it is; over 10 years old, it does not need the GB conversion approval that newer cars need.

4. Buying one in the USA

Because so many Pagodas went to the US, that is where much of the choice is. Two things matter on the American side. The seller must hand over the original certificate of title, and the title plus two copies go to US Customs and Border Protection at least 72 hours before the car is exported (CBP). On the UK side, a US-built car does not get a preferential duty rate, but a Pagoda qualifying as a collector's vehicle pays 0% duty anyway. Our USA import guide covers the shipping paperwork.

5. Proving its age and specification

The DVLA registers an imported car using the original foreign registration document to show when it was made. If that is missing, it may accept other dating evidence (GOV.UK). For the specification, every Pagoda left the factory with a data card listing how it was built and optioned (Palm Beach Classics), and a surviving original is worth asking the seller for. When the foreign papers do not show the date, a dating letter proves the car's age to the DVLA, and we obtain it for you. It usually costs from about £60 to £90 through an owners' club, or from about £120 to around £300 directly from the manufacturer. A good data card and a clear record of the car's history also help if its originality is ever questioned.

6. From the dock to UK plates

1. Import declaration, claiming the collector's rate if the car qualifies.
2. NOVA, telling HMRC the car has arrived, within 14 days.
3. MOT, only if the car does not qualify for the historic exemption.
4. First registration on a V55/5 with the foreign title or registration document, then an application for the historic tax class and an age-related number plate.

If you want the car's original UK number back, for a Pagoda first registered here, that is a separate application on form V765.