Buying Abroad - Where?

md99

I've been saving for many months and plan to buy a used car abroad this Summer. Originally I'd planned to buy a BMW 316 or 318 from the North, having around 8-10 grand to spare, assuming I'll be able to get at least two for my current car ('97 Toyota Corolla Saloon, silver, impeccable condition).

Anyway.. From what I hear there are many places in the EU which are a lot cheaper to buy used cars - specifically interested in BMWs - from. I was wondering where exactly are the best places?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Anan1

The UK and ROI are the only two RHD markets in the EU.

md99

Right, not necessarily a big issue

Where is cheap?

Lex Luthor

md99 wrote:

Right, not necessarily a big issue

Where is cheap?

Germany/Switzerland/Spain....you don't want to be going further than that.
Problem with buying on the continent during the summer months is that you will pay top dollar to get the car on the ferry home. Best to buy your car abroad in low season

I priced a new 330d coupe with leather/6cd/metallic here on the BMW IE website and it was €68k...same car on the swiss site was €42k and was cheaper again in Germany

md99

any more input?

peasant

I doubt that you are going to save much ...

Don't forget, you have to pay VRT on your import, plus all the cost of going there (wherever) and bringing the car back.

Onother thing ...even though new or nearly new cars are a lot cheaper on the continent (due to lack of VRT), slightly older ones (and at 8-10k a BMW is going to be a good few years old) seem to hold their value much better than over here. I blame the Irish reg system for that.

Anan1

md99 wrote:

Right, not necessarily a big issue

Where is cheap?

It will be when you try to sell it, i'm afraid.

Max_Damage

Anan1 wrote:

The UK and ROI are the only two RHD markets in the EU.

Don't forget Malta and Cyprus.

Anan1

Max_Damage wrote:

Don't forget Malta and Cyprus.

I stand corrected.:)

pburns

md99 wrote:

Right, not necessarily a big issue
Where is cheap?

As previously stated...

(a.) by the time you pay VRT, travel costs etc. you're not going to save a fortune.
(b.) Inconvienience of LHD - even if it doesn't bother you it will be a huge factor when you go to sell it on...

irishpartyboy

My old man buys a huge amount of stock from Cyprus, mostly Kia private & commerical jeeps. They're all very high spec that aren't available in Ireland so high in demand over here. He buys maybe 20 at a time and saves alot of yoyos even with all related expenses for shipping them over.

Do-more

You could consider a "Stolen recovered" or lightly damaged car from the UK, this site has a good selection of 3 series Beemers, you really need to check the site daily and be prepared to act quickly, as the best cars/value are never in stock for more than a couple of days.

Do-more

irishpartyboy wrote:

My old man buys a huge amount of stock from Cyprus, mostly Kia private & commerical jeeps. They're all very high spec that aren't available in Ireland so high in demand over here. He buys maybe 20 at a time and saves alot of yoyos even with all related expenses for shipping them over.

Are those new or secondhand that he buys IPB?

irishpartyboy

All new.

md99

Do-more wrote:

You could consider a "Stolen recovered" or lightly damaged car from the UK, this site has a good selection of 3 series Beemers, you really need to check the site daily and be prepared to act quickly, as the best cars/value are never in stock for more than a couple of days.

Class... just what I was looking for!

md99

Do-more wrote:

You could consider a "Stolen recovered" or lightly damaged car from the UK, this site has a good selection of 3 series Beemers, you really need to check the site daily and be prepared to act quickly, as the best cars/value are never in stock for more than a couple of days.

Never done anything like this before, is it pretty much hit & miss? The cars mostly look great, best if I went to inspect with my friend who's a mechanic maybe?

And what exactly is meant by 'salvage cars'? Are they written off or road-worthy?

TCP/IP

would the vrt be less on a crashed model

Do-more

md99 wrote:

And what exactly is meant by 'salvage cars'? Are they written off or road-worthy?

The term "salvage" covers a wide spectrum, normally anything that an insurance company has had to pay-out on.

In the UK the different types are catagorised as follows:

Category A: SCRAP
Where a vehicle has been destroyed by fire or so badly damaged, destroyed or deformed that it has no commercial salvageable parts, or the vehicle has been involved in a flood over seat level. The vehicle must be decontaminated and then the bodyshell crushed.

Category B: BREAKER
Where a vehicle has sustained serious damage, is beyond economical repair and cannot be safely repaired. The vehicle should not be repaired but sold for parts only to authorised breakers / dismantlers. These vehicles can only be purchased by authorised breakers / dismantlers

Category C: REPAIRER
A vehicle where the repairs are assessed by the inspecting engineer as, exceeding the pre-accident market value. These vehicles are repairable and can be purchased by anyone

Category REPAIRER
Where the cost of repairs do not exceed the value of the vehicle but either the insurer or the insured does not want to repair the vehicle. These vehicles are repairable and can be purchased by anyone

STOLEN RECOVERED: MINIMAL DAMAGE
Where the insurer has settled the claim with the policyholder and then the stolen vehicle is found and the vehicle has no damage or very little damage in respect of the value of the vehicle. These vehicles can be purchased by anyone.

All the above are recorded on a central database and and a "recorded" car will normally have a lower value even if it has been expertly repaired.

You can also come across "Unrecorded" salvage, normally in the case of a car that was insured "third party only" and on which there has been no insurance claim.

TCP/IP wrote:

would the vrt be less on a crashed model?

VRT rates assume that the car is in good condition, if it is not then you can appeal the rate to the Revenue, however they will probably argue that you are going to repair the vehicle back to good condition and are unlikely to discount the rate.

I am not personally aware of anyone getting lower VRT on a crashed car, does anyone else on here know of it happening?

Hope the above helps...

md99

Do-more wrote:

The term "salvage" covers a wide spectrum, normally anything that an insurance company has had to pay-out on.

In the UK the different types are catagorised as follows:

Category A: SCRAP
Where a vehicle has been destroyed by fire or so badly damaged, destroyed or deformed that it has no commercial salvageable parts, or the vehicle has been involved in a flood over seat level. The vehicle must be decontaminated and then the bodyshell crushed.

Category B: BREAKER
Where a vehicle has sustained serious damage, is beyond economical repair and cannot be safely repaired. The vehicle should not be repaired but sold for parts only to authorised breakers / dismantlers. These vehicles can only be purchased by authorised breakers / dismantlers

Category C: REPAIRER
A vehicle where the repairs are assessed by the inspecting engineer as, exceeding the pre-accident market value. These vehicles are repairable and can be purchased by anyone

Category REPAIRER
Where the cost of repairs do not exceed the value of the vehicle but either the insurer or the insured does not want to repair the vehicle. These vehicles are repairable and can be purchased by anyone

STOLEN RECOVERED: MINIMAL DAMAGE
Where the insurer has settled the claim with the policyholder and then the stolen vehicle is found and the vehicle has no damage or very little damage in respect of the value of the vehicle. These vehicles can be purchased by anyone.

All the above are recorded on a central database and and a "recorded" car will normally have a lower value even if it has been expertly repaired.

You can also come across "Unrecorded" salvage, normally in the case of a car that was insured "third party only" and on which there has been no insurance claim.



VRT rates assume that the car is in good condition, if it is not then you can appeal the rate to the Revenue, however they will probably argue that you are going to repair the vehicle back to good condition and are unlikely to discount the rate.

I am not personally aware of anyone getting lower VRT on a crashed car, does anyone else on here know of it happening?

Hope the above helps...

I see, but how do we know which category each of the cars on the site belong in?