Second thoughts and new plans

[Scottishdave]

So having decided to purchase the grand california 680 on Monday, by 3am on Tuesday morning I was pacing around the hotel room worrying about the extra height the aircon unit and satellite dish added to the vehicle and the overall length. Fortunately my very lovely, level headed partner was with me. Having woken her up with my unrest we talked it over and came to the decision that the van was just a bit too high and long for our requirements. We cancelled the order and headed home after breakfast.
The new plan is to purchase a Westfalia Sven Hedin. We have been to see a 2018 van today and lovely as it is we want a new one. As there‘s not a dealer in the UK with one available our thoughts turned to ordering from a German dealer. We have looked at mobile.de and found a dealer offering a two week delivery after ordering. I’m not sure that’s feasible but I have not contacted them yet.
Having never imported a vehicle before we are a little wary of what the process would be.
Another opportunity has presented itself however and we would be interested in Funsters thoughts. Caravan Salon is now on in Dusseldorf and we wondered if there would be an opportunity to actually see the new vans in the flesh as it were. The one we saw today was on a VW base. The latest model is on a MAN chassis.
Is it worth the trip to the show to talk to the manufacturer and would it be likely that there would be good deals to be had? We would combine a show visit with a short city break anyway as I have been to Dusseldorf before and enjoyed the city. Would it be better to order from a UK dealer and wait until March next year for delivery and just accept the inflated price for the peace of mind a local ish dealer can bring?
Your thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Lenny HB]

You need to check that Westfalia are going to be at Caravan Salon as a lot of manufactures have pulled out this year including Europe's biggest, Hymer.
You can often get very good deals at Caravan Salon so we'll worth a visit.
Importing is fairly straight forward, we have imported all of our vans from Belgium. if you buy in Germany it is difficult to get fuuly comp insurance to bring it back most people risk it on German 3rd party insurance, you can gest fully comp once on UK soil. You could g. Et it transported for around €1700 or dealer may drive it to the port (our Belgium dealer does that).

 

[Scottishdave]

Thanks Lenny
They are definitely going to be there according to theirs and the caravan salon’s websites.

 

[D2Ron]

Hi Dave. I have just joined and am interested in your thread about the Sven Hedin. After lots of research we ordered one in November from a UK Dealer. Have you got yours yet?

 

[rod_vw]

We've been keen on the Knaus Boxdrive but only found one new one to look at in the UK. That had cream leather upholstery which put us off along with the typical German omission of a grill. That is now also based on the MAN TGE instead of the VW Crafter but the base vehicle is identical it's only the final options that differ. The price is silly but aren't they all?

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[D2Ron]

Yes so expensive. I like the look of the Knaus but the extra cms will make a difference on our driveway and for getting in and out. There is a new Knaus dealer in Hayling Island (Hatbour Creek). Their website says it has some Knaus vehicles due in.