Buying A Motorhome From Europe

peterpan44

peterpan44

Free Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2011
Posts
61
Likes collected
13
Location
Watton Norfolk
Funster No
19,031
MH
A Class
Exp
Since 2012
Hi All,
We have decided to buy a motorhome again after not having one for 2 years. We are interested in buying from Europe as we keep reading second hand motorhomes are cheaper abroad! We do not need one until the end of August but it would be nice to have one earlier. Our last one was left hand drive and 24ft and we had no problems driving in the Uk.

Are the motorhomes cheaper and what country is best to buy from? Our requirements are satellite system, solar panels, 2 leisure battery's and able to sleep 3 adults and value for money. We have looked at a Hobby 600 3 berth to a Euramobil tag axle 6 berth.

Regards
Peter and Liz
 
I shall follow this with interest as I've given this some thought. :)
 
Having never owned a MH / imported a vehicle into the UK I have in the past 10 days gone to Germany and imported an A Class. I literally read loads of stuff on here and other experiences of importing on the Internet and off I went. I'm waiting now for all the paperwork to be done before we can use it in the UK. It has been a whirlwind of emotions and quite exciting especially as I felt that I didn't have a scooby but the I'd recommend it. Not only do you get far more choice on the continent they are by and large better built vehicles and better spec'd. Lots are winterised for example so you can use all year round. Try using suchen.de to have a browse on the web (has an English version).
 
Can't do better than searching on Link Removed.

Bought new twice, never had a problem and don't see why SH would be any different as long as you do the usual condition checks.

Mike
 
Best places to buy, Belgium or Germany, Belgium has the advantage most dealers will drive the van to the port for you.
We have brought 2 new Hymers in Belgium.

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It's a no brainer. Loads cheaper than here. We got ours from ze french bit.....
 
lennyhb said:
Best places to buy, Belgium or Germany, Belgium has the advantage most dealers will drive the van to the port for you.
We have brought 2 new Hymers in Belgium.
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Hi Lenny. Can you recommend any dealers in Belgium? Have found several in Germany, but Belgium would be more convenient.
Thanks
Chris
 
Campirama are the sole Hymer dealers, we have brought from them twice.
Here are some others from a Google search, Urbano have a good name don't know about the others.
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Thanks, Lenny. I'll take a look.
Chris

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I'd certainly look at buying overseas in the future, but what about selling it? Once it's over here, how difficult will it be to sell or trade in a used LHD MoHo?
 
YukonJac said:
I'd certainly look at buying overseas in the future, but what about selling it? Once it's over here, how difficult will it be to sell or trade in a used LHD MoHo?
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Not too difficult plenty about, with an A-Class it doesn't make much odds. biggest advantage of LHD drive is you can sell or trade it in any country with a RHD you are limited to the UK.
 
YukonJac said:
I'd certainly look at buying overseas in the future, but what about selling it? Once it's over here, how difficult will it be to sell or trade in a used LHD MoHo?
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Can't see it being a problem. Plenty of people out there who will see it as a bargain when and if you come to sell.
Would never px to a dealer unless you stand with yer legs wide open and get ready for a good kicking in the plums :)
 
Mr B said:
Can't see it being a problem. Plenty of people out there who will see it as a bargain when and if you come to sell.
Would never px to a dealer unless you stand with yer legs wide open and get ready for a good kicking in the plums :)
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If I had plums, I would be worried:)
 
Mr B said:
Would never px to a dealer unless you stand with yer legs wide open and get ready for a good kicking in the plums :)
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Only applies to UK dealers, Continental dealers work on far lower margins you will be surprised how much they will give you for a trade in, that's why it's an advantage to have a LHD.

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Everyone has a lower margin except them over here who will screw you for everything, I am looking for a new 610 and they want 6000 less in Germany. and that is for a Welcome not a bog standard Flash on a Ford base There is no restriction on the number made as there is with RHD, so plenty around new with a lot of very competitive quotes.
 
Thank you for all your reply's
I have found a possible motorhome in an auction on German Ebay.
The owner unfortunately does not speak English and I cannot insure the motorhome until it is safely on a boat back to England.
 
You can get 3rd party insurance via the German registration system and plenty of companies will insure on the chassis number for 28 days. Try comfort or the C&c insurers (they are 14 days) Adrian flux too - there are others. As for language Google 'English-german' and use the translation service there. You can also get an iPhone app which will assist when you go over.
 
peterpan44 said:
Thank you for all your reply's
I have found a possible motorhome in an auction on German Ebay.
The owner unfortunately does not speak English and I cannot insure the motorhome until it is safely on a boat back to England.
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With the greatest respect and hopefully what I,m about to say doesn't cause upset,I see alarm bells ringing here.
Firstly and most important try before you buy,an ebay description will in more cases then one focus on the good points and gloss over the bad.If you cant converse then you may be missing out on something important here.
You will need export plates to book a ferry home,this may well need the motorhome going through a new TUV test,as the one I,ve just bought had to.You can insure on the VIN or chassis number but not all insurers do this .
I,ve bought twice through mobile.de and find that registering with them gives you an option to save the ones you like the look of to your garage,here you can compare and over time watch how the price changes,not always downwards.
The first time I bought I took a good look at the photos and flew out to hanover,thats when I found out the owner had shares in duct tape,it was everywhere,but not in the photos !I cut him down paid him 6000 euros and drove it home,had it for 5 years with some good holidays down to france and spain,sold it last year for £7350,minus the duct tape ,so LHD isn,t a problem.
I,ve just come back from heidelburg with another,this time flying out and hiring a car to travel round,with brother in tow,awaiting respons at this moment from DVLA.
Good luck in your endevours but I would advise caution if you have only one motorhome in mind when you travel out and find its not quite what you're looking for.
 
Thank you for the reply.
Its an auction and I have no plans on paying a penny until I have seen and inspected the van. If it is not as described or something obvious has not been mentioned I would just walk away. I have bought many cars from Ebay this way but always in the Uk. I can be in Germany within a couple of days and I have a Spanish Euro bank account.
The auction is Broken Link Removed
If there is any duct tape anywhere I will be walking away!
I have translated the description.
Safeguard said they can only insure the motorhome once its on the boat back to the uk. I am not covered to drive it in Europe until I have UK plates on it.
My last motorhome was LHD.
He is a dentist so educated, I would have expected him to be able to speak some English?
We shall just have to see what happens!

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That's pretty awesome. That said I'd be more interested in the splitty behind it!
 
Have you looked at Bundesvan?
A uk company who will do it all for you and their costs are very reasonable considering the savings to be had. Plus they have a working relationship with many dealers and will (apparently) get a better discount than you will which should cover the fees.
I was going to use them - till our plans changed!!! Very good and helpfull on the phone.
 
peterpan44 said:
Thank you for all your reply's
I have found a possible motorhome in an auction on German Ebay.
The owner unfortunately does not speak English and I cannot insure the motorhome until it is safely on a boat back to England.
Click to expand...
You can not drive it or take it out of Germany without export plates & 3rd party insurance, you should be able to arrange it at the local TUV station the seller should know all about it.
 
BreweryDave said:
Have you looked at Bundesvan?
A uk company who will do it all for you and their costs are very reasonable considering the savings to be had. Plus they have a working relationship with many dealers and will (apparently) get a better discount than you will which should cover the fees.
I was going to use them - till our plans changed!!! Very good and helpfull on the phone.
Click to expand...

Nick seems to have a lot of decent reviews and I'd agree with the sentiment. That said if the purpose of buying the vehicle is to save money - 2k plus expenses isn't cheap. On new vehicles with a full blown pan European warranty perhaps, but second hand armed with a lot of knowledge (from reading this and other forums) and a bit of intuition, I certainly went my own way. Plus it was a bit of an adventure and a story to tell...
 
Why can you not get it on German plates and drive around Europe for six months to make the trip worth it and get the mileage over 6000 to get rid of the VAT.

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does anyone have an idiots guide with who to contact and how to import a van from europe
 
bellabee said:
Take a look at this.
http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/importing-a-frankia-motorhome.81297/#post-958858
I think it's an excellent guide.
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Just read that and agree its excellent....

Only update I can offer is a few german dealers can do the headlight and speedo changes for you these days. This speeds up registration when vans home.

Reading it more difficult then the realities of doing it!lol Its straightforward and an easy DIY process. Pointless giving money to an agent IMO.
 
Judgemental said:
Just read that and agree its excellent....

Only update I can offer is a few german dealers can do the headlight and speedo changes for you these days. This speeds up registration when vans home.

Reading it more difficult then the realities of doing it!lol Its straightforward and an easy DIY process. Pointless giving money to an agent IMO.
Click to expand...
I agree, I was very nervous of the forms especially when you read statements on the VCA about requirements of precise wording, and the V55/4 says incorrect or incomplete forms will be returned. In practise I found the DVLA very helpful, they said any boxes not sure about just leave, the VCA I just copied the approved statement content and gave it to the garage to use, and on other advice provided the DVLA with a Janet and John letter. I would do it again without thinking.
 
Are they still active?
Can't find them....

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