As I drivelled on about a few minures ago on a totally unrelated thread. Apologies again everyone !............
I have been asked by an Italian friend to look into the implications and possibilities of sourcing a new LHD Fiat Panda here and exporting it to Italy for my friend's wife. Given the significant price difference between the two markets it occurs to us that even when all the appropriate taxes etc have been paid it might still work in his financial favour.
No problem getting it there, he comes to the UK regularly and I go there often so one of us could drive it or we could even work it so he comes here and we travel back together and split the driving.
Curious to know if anyone else has looked into this ?
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 28/11/2009 at 22:41
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Dave - Pandas are made in Poland aren't they ? What do you have to pay for one for EG? ( this could turn into a truly international deal yet ! )
Edited by Humph Backbridge on 28/11/2009 at 22:58
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I'll try and find their equivalent of autotrader and post a link - it's really funny.
If you find a car that approaches anywhere near UK prices, then it's been rolled or burnt out.
New car prices are more or less the same, but you can't get the discounts, you pay much closer to list than we ever would. But then the depreciation curve is shallow so you lose less of that money on resale.
People are starting to import American spec Nissans and Toyotas here which make quite a saving but require side indicators to be retro fitted and that kind of thing.
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The problem is Humph, the left-hookers in the UK are almost as expensive as they are in mainland Europe. There are some LHD centres, check them out, you'll be shocked.
Deja vu...
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For anyone who is confused or drunk....posts 2 and 3 should be read in reverse order !
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Get a RHD one. Learn to drive. No problem.
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According to:
ec.europa.eu/competition/sectors/motor_vehicles/pr...l
Fiat panda - Czech Republic cheapest (4% below UK); Poland 10% above UK; dearest Denmark 80% above UK!!. List prices converted to euros as at 1.1.2009
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For anyone who is confused or drunk....posts 2 and 3 should be read in reverse order !
Your reply to DDB was posted a minute before his though. How did you know what he was going to say? Don't suppose you could tell me what next weeks lottery numbers are?
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Have you heard of the "Force" ?
;-)
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Have you heard of the "Force" ?
These modern pop groups don't appeal to me ;o)
btw, I meant BBD, not DDB.
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I have been looking into this myself and came to the same conclusion as BBD - prices for LHD cars are way above list price. Strange thing is that I thought the EU squashed this sometime ago when manufacturers were refusing to supply RHD cars to dealers on the continent to prevent the UK dealers being undercut. I would have thought that the reverse would also be applcable and so I should be able to order a new car from a UK dealer but specify LHD not RHD.
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Last summer there was a girl from Poland working at the riding stables in our village.
At the end of her stay her father came over to buy a Freelander, to take back home and convert to LHD. It was still far cheaper than buying the equivalent vehicle secondhand in Poland.
He wanted a diesel but ended up with a petrol!
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A few years ago,Germans were buying cars in Italy! Denmark used to be the cheapest place for a new car if you weren't a Dane.Their Car Tax was about the same as the price of the car,so car manufacturers reduced the prices-very good for non-Danes who could claim the tax back.
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It's all to do with the base price you pay for the car in the country of origin + the taxes in the final destination country.
The conclusion I came to long ago was that it wasn't worth it in Spain - new cars are on a par with UK prices (exchange rate willing), but have already been subject to 15% VAT AND 15% registration tax. You'd have to get below that base price just to break-even.
Imports from outside the EU are dodgy - unless they have an EU CoC (certificate of conformancy) - then you'll have to pay for an inspection and / or modifications back to 'standard' EU spec.
The other conclusion I reached was that premium brands imported second hand with a CoC were an option. As an example I toyed with: a 12 year old jag costing £2,000 for a RHD might be as expensive as £5,000+ for a decent low-mileage LHD in the UK - but this will still be less than the 12,000 euros+ they'll want in Spain. Total cost imported would be 6,000 euros (car) + 1,500 euros (15% tax on the SPANISH value) + 1,000 euros other costs could mean 3,500 euros saved AND a pristine car vs the rubbish available over here.
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