About to view in Germany - Burstner Ixeo IT 640 (1 Viewer)

[justdoit]

Good morning all,

I've never owned a motorhome before and having watched from the sidelines for a while, I've finally made the decision to, 'just do it'. I have seen a Burstner for sale with a dealer in Germany. It is 'brand new' and unregistered, although a 2017 manufacture. Having spoken with the dealer he informs me it is part of a cancelled order due to be retailed in France through a Burstner franchise. That French dealer had cancelled the order and the vans were subsequently distributed throughout the German dealer network. As the french dealer had to pay a significant upfront non refundable deposit on ordering, the vans are now being offered at, what seems, a ridiculously low price.

The same new van is currently being offered by a UK dealership for £65.5k. Aesthetically it is the same as the German van. However, it does have an oven and microwave, whereas the German van does not. These are not things that would bother me too much as the German van comes with awning and bike rack, which for me more than compensates. The German van is LHD. Again, not an issue, as a retiree I have the time and inclination to travel throughout Europe. Even after the poor exchange rate the German van can be bought for £39k (inc German vat).

I am flying out to Germany tomorrow to view and make a decision. Having seen the UK variant the layout is good for me. I have researched importation procedures and have the necessary DVLA information and paperwork for post import registration. Before I view I'd welcome any feedback on the following questions:-

Whilst the van has a 2 year European warranty from date of first registration, will I have to return to Germany should any warranty work be required. Or are UK Burstner dealers likely to want to take on this work.

Will I be able to have service and habitation checks in the UK to maintain any warranties.

The German dealer says, that as the vans were made for the Southern European market they do not have ESP and hill hold assist (?). Would this be an issue for UK and Northern European driving and site conditions. There must be thousands of vans out there without it that seem to manage.

Any advice on initial viewing and, if successful, handover checks will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Regards,
Tony

 

[Lenny HB]

That sort of price difference is quite normal especially if they are trying to offload stock, looking at the German info ESP was an option, and hill hold is normally only standad on vans with a Comfomatic gearbox.
The Fiat part of the warranty will be Pan European just like a car and you can take to any dealer. The Burstner side I'm not sure about most German manufacturers offer a Pan European warranty but usually UK dealers are a right pain will put you at the back of the queue. We buy our Hymers in Belgium and find it just as easy to pop back over to Belgium also you find the foreign dealer just do things without argument much easier to deal with.
As for habitation checks and damp checks UK dealers will do them but at a price. We don't bother with hab checks but do have the damp check done in Belgium £60 (€70) UK price between £150 to £250.

 

[ambulancekidd]

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[berni109]

Looks like a great find.
At that price I could be tempted.
Good luck.
Let us know if it's as good as it seems

 

[Xabia]

I have bought 2 new Hymer from dealers in Germany and would do so again without hesitation. They are much more efficient than their U.K. compatriots and easier to deal with.

 

[MHdreaming]

Looked at this myself a few years ago but in the end bought a UK van. There are UK dealers that will do damp tests to maintain the warranty however they may want you to have the unnecessary habitation checks. Could just go to Germany should you need warranty work. The Fiat chassis service and warranty is not a problem.

Think you will probably find the upholstery is not leather whereas most UK Burstners are. Many German vans don’t have the usual Pioneer AVIC 160 sat-nav and reversing camera as standard or the multi-function leather steering wheel, are alloy wheels included and does it have a passenger airbag? At 44,000 euros looks an absolute bargain however check the spec when comparing prices. I would suspect the UK version at 65K will have an Auto gearbox and possibly the 150 engine?

The main problem I found was having to drive your new Motorhome back from Germany on Third party insurance.

Be very interested to know how you get on

Good Luck

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[gus-lopez]

The main problem I found was having to drive your new Motorhome back from Germany on Third party insurance.

Once a vehicle is over a certain age here in Spain, that along with fire & theft , is all that is offered.& after 85,000kms over the last 4 years it only worries me in the UK.

 

[MHdreaming]

Not sure where in the UK you are this may be of interest from Camper UK not only do they have a 2018 Ixeo640 with auto box for sale at an incredible £67495 that’s only 28k more expensive than the 2017 German van lol

https://www.camperuk.co.uk/motorhom...end-bathroom-white-automatic-diesel/id-26537/

Their servicing/repairs page says the following

“Manufacture authorised repair centre

For warranty for every make that we sell (Whether you purchased from us or not)”

Near the bottom of the box on the right hand side of this page under “Our service centre features”

On this page https://www.camperuk.co.uk/aftersales/repairs/

I think Heart of England Motorhomes will also take on warranty work on vans they have not supplied

 

[The Wino]

Sounds a cracking deal to me almost too good to be true! Does it include german VAT and will you be liable for VAT in the import?

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[justdoit]

Thank you all,

The information and advice you've given is really helpful and encouraging. I love the positivity and can do, should do, attitudes on this forum.

Regards,
Tony

 

[buttons]

Hi and Welcome.....

 

[CazPaul]

What engine is in it, 130 or 150, if the former take it out for a good test drive to see if enough power, Has it been stood for a couple of years then, check batteries, engine etc thoroughly.
It's a good price if all is well, not sure how burstner construct them, are they wood free bodywork?

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