imported bmw320d vs golf 170bhp

jason31

alrite all

need help, me head is done in;)

ok, i am buying a new car, budget about 24,000k give or take a grand. at the moment i drive a 97 civic, brillant car owned her from new and never ever went wrong!! sorry to see it go but yea know its 11 years:(

anyway, new space ship civic does noting for me so its off to uk to pick up a good deal!!

so, narrowed it down. A 07 VW golf gt 170bhp coming in at E25,000 including VRT (which must be VRT before july as it going up). i like the car but as tad pricy prehaps, oh low tax been a pre july and 1.4, its not very green!!!

or a 2006 BMW320d coming in at E26,000 if i register it after July, the car a year older that the golf, and will alwas have the high tax rate near E600. better on fuel though and got the badge!!

so hard choice and just cant make the call on it!! any thoughs advice???

cheers all

j

Bulmers

2006 320d for 26k???...really??

fabsoul

def the 320d for me.

jason31

yep bulmer, although the figures are crude!!

heres the car

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+3+SERIES/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146,N-51-59-143-4294967201-4294967202/advert.action?R=200816308230872&distance=133&postcode=NW10+6RJ&channel=CARS&make=BMW&model=3+SERIES&min_pr=&max_pr=&max_mileage=

so currency.com will do the sterling for .76 well that was last weeks quote.

£12,380 / .76 = E16,289

ok now the vrt. right now its over 10,000 but less than 11,000k thats 30% vrt. however in july the vrt drops to 20% because its co2 is 153, so say its drops to 7,500 (upper end)

so now we got a total of E23,789

tossy

That car is rough!!

unkel

A 2 year old 2 litre diesel BMW 3-series (junior executive saloon) vs a 1 year old 1.4 litre petrol Golf (small family hatch)?

Amazing that the former would set you back as little as the latter. I'd go for the former!

masseyno9

Maybe the pics have bad reflections but the paint on the bmw looks in bad order. Also I'd be wondering why someone who took 5 pics of the car exterior didn't include 1 of the inside.

Is that the going rate for a 320d or is there a reason this one is so cheap?

E92

320ds are ultra desirable in the UK. They're the best selling version of the 3 series over there. That 320d has a lot of miles for a 2 year old car and is only the basic ES trim. Long gone are the days when BMWs here had a poverty spec compared to across the water, UK 320ds are no better than ours for standard equipment since 2004.

jason31

E92 wrote: »

320ds are ultra desirable in the UK. They're the best selling version of the 3 series over there. That 320d has a lot of miles for a 2 year old car and is only the basic ES trim. Long gone are the days when BMWs here had a poverty spec compared to across the water, UK 320ds are no better than ours for standard equipment since 2004.

thanks for that didnt know that about the trim been same since 2004, does that go for only BMW's or pretty much all uk cars??

think my mind made up anyway, not the golf although its fast, just not in the same league at the beemer, looking now at a 2005 one with lower miles, not cheap still, the search starts:eek:

E92

jason31 wrote: »

thanks for that didnt know that about the trim been same since 2004, does that go for only BMW's or pretty much all uk cars??

think my mind made up anyway, not the golf although its fast, just not in the same league at the beemer, looking now at a 2005 one with lower miles, not cheap still, the search starts:eek:

Only BMW AFAIK. When BMW took over from Frank Keane and started importing the cars themselves, they conveniently decided that they would treat the Irish and UK market as one. If you wanted a BMW to a particular spec, and there was one anywhere in Ireland or the UK in a BMW dealer awaiting a buyer then BMW would deliver you that car to whatever dealer was nearest to you rather than get one built specially for you in the factory which meant huge time saving in the delivery of your new car. This worked very well until our Government decided it wanted to use kilometres rather than good old fashioned miles, and now that idea is gone.

Our BMWs are still identical to UKs bar the km/h speedo though and have been since 2004, and of course the 316i, which fortunately will be disappearing after July because of the VRT changes.

sk8board

jason31 wrote: »

ok now the vrt. right now its over 10,000 but less than 11,000k thats 30% vrt. however in july the vrt drops to 20% because its co2 is 153, so say its drops to 7,500 (upper end)
so now we got a total of E23,789

I thought Gormley closed the loop-hole in his initial rules, re imported low-CO2 cars post July?

i.e. imported cars stay on the old system?

I had the same idea as you in mind post July. UK is full of cheap 320d's.

bazz26

sk8board wrote: »

I thought Gormley closed the loop-hole in his initial rules, re imported low-CO2 cars post July?

i.e. imported cars stay on the old system?

I had the same idea as you in mind post July. UK is full of cheap 320d's.

VRT is calculated on the new Co2 based rates, motor tax stays on the old engine capacity system for imports older than 2008.

sk8board

bazz26 wrote: »

VRT is calculated on the new Co2 based rates, motor tax stays on the old engine capacity system for imports older than 2008.

According to his press release last month:
"Minister Gormley stated that all new cars registered from 1 July 2008 will have their motor tax rate based on the CO2 emissions level. The new CO2 based system will not apply to the import of pre 2008 cars."

"http://www.environ.ie/en/LocalGovernment/MotorTax/News/MainBody,16861,en.htm

So in this particular case, its old VRT. If it was 2 years down the road, and you were looking for a late '08 or '09 car, then its the new system,

bazz26

sk8board wrote: »

According to his press release last month:
"Minister Gormley stated that all new cars registered from 1 July 2008 will have their motor tax rate based on the CO2 emissions level. The new CO2 based system will not apply to the import of pre 2008 cars."

"http://www.environ.ie/en/LocalGovernment/MotorTax/News/MainBody,16861,en.htm

So in this particular case, its old VRT. If it was 2 years down the road, and you were looking for a late '08 or '09 car, then its the new system,

Yes, Co2 based Motor Tax will not apply to the import of pre 2008 cars, they will stay on the existing engine size Motor Tax system but the VRT tax rate to be paid from 1st July on pre 2008 imported cars entering the country will be based on a Co2 rating, the same as new cars.

jason31

gormless gormley huh, decisions aint the mans strong point!!

yea the story is pre 2008 imports are the old motor tax system based on engine size for car tax, if registered after july 1 the new co2 for vrt only!!! risk of course is - gromless might change hes mind again (SIMI do pressure so well ).

actually wonder if total vrt collected on vehicles will be down, intresting times!!!!