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Friend is buying a new Golf from broker. Is there a easy way of telling if it is a genuine UK spec car as opposed to an import? Can you tell from VIN?
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Have you tried the website mentioned in HJ\'s Useful Websites list, in the Directories folder, in the red menu bar to the left?
Not sure if any help or not, but is does check VIN numbers and the country of origin.
www.autobaza.pl/ab/en/web/homeaa0100
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The VIN number will refer only to the factory where the car's made, so probably not very helpful. Who's the broker?
Most brokers dealing with UK cars will actually take their cut for introducing you to a dealer's fleet sales department and your final contract is then with that dealer. Therefore it should be pretty obvious that the car is UK supplied - if there's no dealer, there's a fair chance that it's an import.
The best way would be to get the VIN and ask VW UK. If the car is being ordered, make it a condition of the contract that the car be supplied via a UK dealer. If they won't do that, then the price has to be very, very competitive - brokers with links to UK dealers are remarkably good.
Prices from www.ukcarbroker.co.uk/volkswagenpricesmastercopy.h...m should give you a starting point.
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The "log book" includes a field "New at first registration". If it's "no" it might be an import, and if that's not the reason, you'll want to know anyhow...
No idea how easy it would be for an importer to get away with lying about that when applying for a log book.
Cheers,
Ben.
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Sorry, just re-read your original message and noticed the the "new" bit.
Kinda makes my reply irrelevant.
Of to hide...
Ben.
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I there are two questions here...
First how to tell if its an import. When I imported my Golf the V5 came through as 'New at First Registration'. There is nothing 'obvious' on the V5 which says that the car is an import. The only way you can tell if the car is an import is by looking at the dealer stamp on the PDI page of the service booklet. Also you'll have to get your car registered on the VW UK database for warranty purposes - at this point VW UK will probably know your car is an import by crosschecking the VIN with their worlwide database or by the fact that you are ringing up to do it yourself instead of a UK dealer doing so when he PDIs the car.
As to the UK spec question the only thing you can do is to get a UK brochure and check that the spec matches the purchase order specification you've got from the broker. When you get the car check that it has all the toys mentioned in the brochure.
Hope this helps.
ucjtckc
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