Importing from Germany is cheaper .. Fact or Fiction ? (1 Viewer)

[scotjimland]

It may be cheaper to buy NEW in Germany ..

but in my example, second hand prices are not much cheaper..

I bought a 2001 Hymer B644 from Becks, a reputable UK dealer with a full dealer warranty (not insurance)

It cost me £19k.. low mileage, one owner.. full service history.. immaculate.



Broken Link Removed

the first four are slightly cheaper or about the same as I paid.. . the others more expensive, . add the cost and time of going to Germany , bringing it back, having it converted to UK spec. and registering..and MOT.. and if you have a problem, having to go back to Germany for warranty work.

It 'may' be cheaper buying new or nearly new with a pan European warranty.. but older vans outside manufacturers warranty.. I don't see the advantage.. financial or otherwise..

Q the Judge who will prove me wrong.. and of course this is a small sample.. and just one model of van..


HYMER / ERIBA B644

DE - 25761 Büsum
Integrated / Used vehicle
HU 09/2015
94 kW (128 PS)
23,000 EUR
26,080 km
FR 05/2001
Dealer




HYMER / ERIBA B-Klasse 644 G 6 Sitz-und Schlafplätze

DE - 31535 Neustadt a. Rbge
Integrated / Used vehicle
90 kW (122 PS)
25,890 EUR
129,000 km
FR 04/2000
Dealer




New
HYMER / ERIBA B-Klasse 644 G Sat / Solar/Anhängerk./Markise
Broken Link Removed
DE - 56637 Plaidt
Integrated / Used vehicle
109 kW (148 PS)
27,900 EUR
69,100 km
FR 07/2001
Dealer




HYMER / ERIBA Sehr gut erhaltener B 644 grüne Plakette

DE - 50733 Köln
Integrated / Used vehicle
HU 12/2015
90 kW (122 PS)
28,000 EUR
120,501 km
FR 03/1999
Private




HYMER / ERIBA B 644 TOP ZUSTAND

DE - 85290 Geisenfeld
Integrated / Used vehicle
New HU
94 kW (128 PS)
29,900 EUR
90,000 km
FR 03/2001
Dealer




HYMER / ERIBA B644G Automatik Auf Fiat

DE - 73312 Geislingen
Integrated / Used vehicle
HU 05/2016
93 kW (126 PS)
33,500 EUR
92,500 km
FR 05/2002
Private

 

[DBK]

I guess you can always pick and mix adverts to show bargains or otherwise. This ones UK and £24K. http://www.usedrvs4sale.co/detail/uk/MaeuVoVVHuoCoCHNMHH/2001-Hymer-B644u

 

[9526]

You've probably demonstrated that after 15 years, residual values level out across Europe.

I suppose that also demonstrates that European buyers lose less money buying and selling their vans (new cost cheaper - 15 year residual value similar)

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[ojibway]

Here's a little British company - http://www.campervans4u.com/directsource.html - that will source a van for you, do all the importing etc and, they say, save you a couple of grand.
We got our motorhome from a similar importer in Deepcar (now not trading anymore) but we weren't looking for cheaper, just a van that you don't find many of over here, a Westfalia James Cook.

 

[sdc77]

Just realised I've run out of popcorn ... .

 

[Gellyneck]

Just realised I've run out of popcorn ... .

Here you go.

Keep a seat for me, please.
Ta

Seconds out, round ...........

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[chaser]

It may be cheaper to buy NEW in Germany ..

but in my example, second hand prices are not much cheaper..

I bought a 2001 Hymer B644 from Becks, a reputable UK dealer with a full dealer warranty (not insurance)

It cost me £19k.. low mileage, one owner.. full service history.. immaculate.



Broken Link Removed

the first four are slightly cheaper or about the same as I paid.. . the others more expensive, . add the cost and time of going to Germany , bringing it back, having it converted to UK spec. and registering..and MOT.. and if you have a problem, having to go back to Germany for warranty work.

It 'may' be cheaper buying new or nearly new with a pan European warranty.. but older vans outside manufacturers warranty.. I don't see the advantage.. financial or otherwise..

Q the Judge who will prove me wrong.. and of course this is a small sample.. and just one model of van..


HYMER / ERIBA B644

DE - 25761 Büsum
Integrated / Used vehicle
HU 09/2015
94 kW (128 PS)
23,000 EUR
26,080 km
FR 05/2001
Dealer




HYMER / ERIBA B-Klasse 644 G 6 Sitz-und Schlafplätze

DE - 31535 Neustadt a. Rbge
Integrated / Used vehicle
90 kW (122 PS)
25,890 EUR
129,000 km
FR 04/2000
Dealer




New
HYMER / ERIBA B-Klasse 644 G Sat / Solar/Anhängerk./Markise
Broken Link Removed
DE - 56637 Plaidt
Integrated / Used vehicle
109 kW (148 PS)
27,900 EUR
69,100 km
FR 07/2001
Dealer




HYMER / ERIBA Sehr gut erhaltener B 644 grüne Plakette

DE - 50733 Köln
Integrated / Used vehicle
HU 12/2015
90 kW (122 PS)
28,000 EUR
120,501 km
FR 03/1999
Private




HYMER / ERIBA B 644 TOP ZUSTAND

DE - 85290 Geisenfeld
Integrated / Used vehicle
New HU
94 kW (128 PS)
29,900 EUR
90,000 km
FR 03/2001
Dealer




HYMER / ERIBA B644G Automatik Auf Fiat

DE - 73312 Geislingen
Integrated / Used vehicle
HU 05/2016
93 kW (126 PS)
33,500 EUR
92,500 km
FR 05/2002
Private

When you are spending this sort of money is a couple of grand much to not have to traipse around Germany to find and fetch one when you can get one down the road with a uk warranty.

 

[Poohbear]

 

[DBK]

When you are spending this sort of money is a couple of grand much to not have to traipse around Germany to find and fetch one when you can get one down the road with a uk warranty.

I think that's a good point, and given the difference in prices on fifteen year old vehicles isn't huge then the attractions of a local warranty are fairly significant.

However, one Funster I have heard of seems to have done very well buying MHs in Germany and bringing them back here to sell on at a profit after a year or so of use.

Which suggests if you are very good at finding bargains then Germany is probably a good place to look. But for folk like me who pays too much for a bag of sweets at the corner shop this route probably isn't the best one.

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[Chockswahay]

Wot? steady @ScotJimland The Judge @Judgemental will hand out his sentence

 

[Gellyneck]

The Judge @Judgemental will hand out his sentence

As a community service - update your avatar to read "Location : Cloud Cuckoo Land". That's obviously where you are if you think Eddie will limit response to a sentence!

 

[bellabee]

You've probably demonstrated that after 15 years, residual values level out across Europe.

I suppose that also demonstrates that European buyers lose less money buying and selling their vans (new cost cheaper - 15 year residual value similar)

Well that's very nice to know. I hadn't looked at second-hand prices in Germany, but buying new in Germany is certainly considerably cheaper and - in spite of what many people might fear - not at all difficult or fraught with hassle.

There's no way we would have been prepared to fork out the amounts of money demanded for a brand new Hymer in the UK. What this thread seems to suggest, is that should ever decide to trade in our current van in Germany, we might get an amount approaching that which we would get for it in this country, but against a new vehicle with a much lower price! Good to know! I hope I'm right!

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[Judge Mental]

You've probably demonstrated that after 15 years, residual values level out across Europe.

I suppose that also demonstrates that European buyers lose less money buying and selling their vans (new cost cheaper - 15 year residual value similar)

Spot on.....much younger family's can afford vans in mainland Europe. Our market a disgrace....

I have advertised vans here in winter, had no interest and ended up PX'ing in Germany..ended up with same price as I was advertising it for here...

edit: forgot...... hows about 10,000 lashes and 400 years sound?

 

[Chockswahay]

As a community service - update your avatar to read "Location : Cloud Cuckoo Land". That's obviously where you are if you think Eddie will limit response to a sentence!

I am not sure if you are being rude and offensive or simply tongue in cheek, please will you explain? (because it does offend me)

I know Eddie and he will know the humour in my post, this is why I tagged him

 

[Judge Mental]

Just realised I've run out of popcorn ... .

always have a jar of corn in ..takes minutes to make fresh....

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[Charlie]

For us newbies buying from Europe was not really an option.. It was bad enough deciding what we wanted let alone traipsing round Germany trying to decide if we were paying bargain prices or not...
OK we may have ended up spending a bit more than we did but I didn't want a LHD vehicle Or the pain of buying abroad when or if things go wrong.
I think its fair to say as vehicles get older the chances of problems get higher so surely this has to be factored in ?
If buying a near new van the risk should be lower so maybe an easier prospect ?

 

[gus-lopez]

It may be cheaper to buy NEW in Germany ..

but in my example, second hand prices are not much cheaper..

I bought a 2001 Hymer B644 from Becks, a reputable UK dealer with a full dealer warranty (not insurance)

It cost me £19k.. low mileage, one owner.. full service history.. immaculate.

I thought it was a bargain& about 5 or 6 k under priced when you obtained it.
Friend of mine his son has just shifted a compass ,1994 at 18k .

 

[gus-lopez]

This is what they go for here.
A 2003
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A 2005

Broken Link Removed

This is why people buy in Germany & import them here.

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[Judge Mental]

For us newbies buying from Europe was not really an option.. It was bad enough deciding what we wanted let alone traipsing round Germany trying to decide if we were paying bargain prices or not...
OK we may have ended up spending a bit more than we did but I didn't want a LHD vehicle Or the pain of buying abroad when or if things go wrong.
I think its fair to say as vehicles get older the chances of problems get higher so surely this has to be factored in ?
If buying a near new van the risk should be lower so maybe an easier prospect ?

A bit?

its no different them buying here if new..I've probably saved over £100K over the years ( 9 vans 25 years?)

Go to a show, ID the van, look around, get talking. transfer money pick it up. drive back, register it...Simples

I looked at one of the vans mentioned earlier and its £50k cheaper in Germany...

 

[Charlie]

I'm not sure how this relates but some years ago it became popular to import super bikes into the UK from Europe. Mostly it was simply to save money. But come time to sell on or trade in the bikes were very unpopular with many UK franchised dealers refusing to buy or take the machines in part exchange.

The idea of doing it fizzled out with buyers returning to buying back here in the UK.

Insurance on the machines was more expensive. Only real differences between a UK supplied machine and one from Europe was the direction of the headlight.

Yet still they were cheaper and still few wanted to buy them after a time.

For me it would be the LHD that would be the killer. Those that own them say this makes no odds but they would .

I suppose it must be possible to buy a RHD one from Europe but still it would be classed as an import so that would dictate the value moving forward .

Me ? Well like everyone I want to pay less but I also want to know my money is reasonably safe.

 

[deleted-member02]

I bought a 2001 Hymer B644 from Becks, a reputable UK dealer with a full dealer warranty (not insurance)

It cost me £19k.. low mileage, one owner.. full service history.. immaculate.

That's a cracking price Jim, as well you know - I'm not sure you can do a true comparison based on a specific model, at a given moment in time - simply too many variables...
Someone on MHF recently posted an ad from mobile.de for a 2007 B544 for 30,000euros (£23k ?) that's almost 10k below UK prices.

I don't read too much into it, just hope I'm the lucky person in the market at the right time !

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[scotjimland]

I don't read too much into it, just hope I'm the lucky person in the market at the right time !

Nor do I..

my point was that while there are no doubt good second hand deals in Germany you can also find them in the UK.. Germany doesn't have a monopoly on good deals..

plus you don't have the cost and hassle of traipsing around the fatherland .. then driving back and having it made ready for Vosa and passing an MOT.. it all costs, and has to be factored in.

If you go to a UK dealer with no trade in as I did, you have a good chance of negotiating a great deal..
However, I will concede there is a bigger choice of (continental) vans in Germany... and they are generally well looked after.. but many have starship miles on the clock.. Germans do use their vans..

Just to repeat my OP.. I am talking about second hand vans outside makers warranty .. not new.

I have no experience of buying new.. here or abroad.. never had the finances nor the desire to lose so much money in such a short time...

 

[deleted-member02]

I too have never had the inclination to buy new. I'm sure folk have their reasons for doing so but spending money like that isn't in my nature.

We had a very short list of potential vans, criteria was four belts, double bed plus bunks or two singles, around 7m long and not British built...
We were resigned to buying abroad then by some miracle our van came up for sale at Simpsons in Great Yarmouth, immaculate, low mileage with history and marketed at a fair price (we did negotiate further).

I was reluctant to buy from Germany, knowing that the vans are often well used and the roads well salted...
Euro was 1.2 when we were looking two years ago.
Today at closer to 1.4, it seems a no-brainer to go abroad, as UK registered vans have not dropped in price by a similar margin.

I was recently talking to a motorhome importer, they said business was very brisk, bringing vans back from Germany three or four times a week. Must say, their vans looked tremendous value compared to similarly priced UK spec vans.

 

[gus-lopez]

Insurance on the machines was more expensive. Only real differences between a UK supplied machine and one from Europe was the direction of the headlight.


For me it would be the LHD that would be the killer. Those that own them say this makes no odds but they would .
.

Why would the insurance be dearer ?
They are just insuring a vehicle & where it comes from & who imported it isn't anything to do with them.Probably easier to insure a UK vehicle here using a Spanish company that has a subsidiary in the UK.+ on MIDatabase Less aggro.
I used to drive lhd cars in the UK from age 20ish so were the steering wheel is doesn't really bother me. Never found a problem with moving any on & even sold some direct to left hand drive dealers up in the midlands.Some of them have been in business longer than I have been alive & sell only lhd.

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[chaser]

I once had an imported isusi four wheel drive trooper, from Japan , just the same as one from here but better with auto everything and immaculate but it was a hell of a job to insure it at sensible money.

 

[Minxy]

Are those that are 'self-imported' classed as grey imports?

 

[Larrynwin]

Are those that are 'self-imported' classed as grey imports?

No they're white

Correction , yes.

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[Speve]

This year I looked at buying a used Hymer picked out three from Germany on their auto trader was then offered a brand new Hymer with most of the extras we wanted for around €33000 less no brainer for us we bought new LHD it's great.
Took a couple of days to get used to driving in the other seat but now doesn't make a lot of problems,I suppose turning left could be but I just keep square at junctions and the missus is usually with me anyway.
Not to worried about resale value as they seem to be pretty good LHD or red and not changing anytime soon.

 

[Spanishsteve]

I'm not sure how this relates but some years ago it became popular to import super bikes into the UK from Europe. Mostly it was simply to save money. But come time to sell on or trade in the bikes were very unpopular with many UK franchised dealers refusing to buy or take the machines in part exchange.

The idea of doing it fizzled out with buyers returning to buying back here in the UK.

Insurance on the machines was more expensive. Only real differences between a UK supplied machine and one from Europe was the direction of the headlight.

Yet still they were cheaper and still few wanted to buy them after a time.

For me it would be the LHD that would be the killer. Those that own them say this makes no odds but they would .

I suppose it must be possible to buy a RHD one from Europe but still it would be classed as an import so that would dictate the value moving forward .

Me ? Well like everyone I want to pay less but I also want to know my money is reasonably safe.

I remember this as I have been into bikes for years, I recall that so many people were buying abroad that the UK dealers had no option but to lower their prices. I bought a new Yamaha R1 in 99/2000 for approx £7500, from a UK main franchise dealer. Previously they were going for £9500. The grey imports as they were called gave a kick up the backside to the UK dealers.

 

[Gellyneck]

I am not sure if you are being rude and offensive or simply tongue in cheek, please will you explain? (because it does offend me)

I know Eddie and he will know the humour in my post, this is why I tagged him

I'll pm you.

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