Where to buy BMW in the UK

aoife24

I have no doubt this has been asked here before but i didnt find anything in my search. Im looking for a 08/09 320d and the best value is in the UK so im looking for a dealer with a good choice in the 3 series. Any help would be much appreciated

dingding

Got a 1 series a couple of years ago in Syntner in birmingham.


This is a good time to buy as they have cars that they registered in January which will come in with a 11 plate but will be more than 6 months old which is important for VAT.

The car I purchased was first registered very early in January.

There were loads of cars on BMW's website in the used cars section.

Also very handy as it only took a few hours to get to holyhead and flights are easy to get to birmingham. Train from Birmingham airport to the city centre and a few minutes in a taxi will bring you to the garage.

Also might be better to do the deal towards the end of the month as they may need the sale for their targets. Got a bit of discount to buy car by end of July.

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/bmwauc/details/0,,1156___ask-12%40adm-xx,00.html?ch=_V0JBUE4zMjA3MEE0NzY5MTU=

Spipov

how do you get a car from where you buy it to holyhead?does it not have to be taxed and insured?

Maldjd23

Bought a car in Birmingham myself a few years back..Ring your insurance company and you should be able to get insurance on your new car on its British reg till you change it over to Irish plates. Regards tax, i took a chance..Drove to the port without tax..TBH it may be a case of taxing it for a day in the UK i am not sure..Am sure others here will give better advice

coylemj

If you have a ticket for the next ferry home from Holyhead and an Irish driving licence I can't see the British cops giving you any grief because the tax is up.

ballsymchugh

be wary of the welsh police though, they can be a bit of hassle when they know someone won't be back.

dingding

ballsymchugh wrote: »

be wary of the welsh police though, they can be a bit of hassle when they know someone won't be back.

I asked the garage to tax the car for me. I then claimed a refund of the unused portion when I reregistered the car. I think in total I paid for a months tax after the refund.

Worth it for the piece of mind.

I paid the garage the cost of the tax.

I transferred my insurance to the car under the uk reg. And after I got it reregistered I got it insured under the new number.

Atlantic Dawn

www.cargiant.co.uk has a good selection of diesel 3 Series, the price you see though is the price you pay +£91 admin fee so there's no haggling. They are based in London.

Gumbo

Spipov wrote: »

how do you get a car from where you buy it to holyhead?does it not have to be taxed and insured?

simple, you drive it.
you just transfer your irish insurance policy to the k car at a set time on the day of pick up then drive home.

copacetic

dingding wrote: »

Got a 1 series a couple of years ago in Syntner in birmingham.


This is a good time to buy as they have cars that they registered in January which will come in with a 11 plate but will be more than 6 months old which is important for VAT.

The car I purchased was first registered very early in January.

There were loads of cars on BMW's website in the used cars section.

Also very handy as it only took a few hours to get to holyhead and flights are easy to get to birmingham. Train from Birmingham airport to the city centre and a few minutes in a taxi will bring you to the garage.

Also might be better to do the deal towards the end of the month as they may need the sale for their targets. Got a bit of discount to buy car by end of July.

http://www.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/bmwauc/details/0,,1156___ask-12%40adm-xx,00.html?ch=_V0JBUE4zMjA3MEE0NzY5MTU=

I bought from Synter Birmingham too, around then same time, did me a good deal. They picked me up from the airport though!

Best to search on BMW.co.uk OP as you can check all dealers then ring around to see who is willing to move on price. You'll find some will not want to discuss price moves on phone as they'll assume you aren't a serious buyer. Just keep trying until you find the car and dealer which suits you.

tw0nk

just looked up VRT for 525d m sport 08 and its nearly 6k, probably more with leather interior, totally ridiculous, OP do you think you can save money by bringing it in from UK ?

Del2005

coylemj wrote: »

If you have a ticket for the next ferry home from Holyhead and an Irish driving licence I can't see the British cops giving you any grief because the tax is up.

You'd be wrong about that. Once it pops up, on ANPR or otherwise, as no tax it's lifted, there's no leeway over there.

Trhiggy83

Big motoring world in london specialises in BMW cars, i bought my car there and got good value. They offer a good service with all the paperwork required

PM me if ya need more info

Trhiggy83

tw0nk wrote: »

just looked up VRT for 525d m sport 08 and its nearly 6k, probably more with leather interior, totally ridiculous, OP do you think you can save money by bringing it in from UK ?

You need to look at a car 5 years old or over to get good value, the vrt is not charged on the extras for these cars after this period which saves a lot when they are being brought in. Ideally you want to buy a car with all the extras that is 5 years old and has low mileage.

Trhiggy83

Del2005 wrote: »

You'd be wrong about that. Once it pops up, on ANPR or otherwise, as no tax it's lifted, there's no leeway over there.

I think common sense would prevail if you had all the paperwork

Henry Ford III

Trhiggy83 wrote: »

I think common sense would prevail if you had all the paperwork

UK cops take the view that there's no excuse for not having valid road tax. It doesn't matter to them if you are headed for the boat.

tw0nk

Trhiggy83 wrote: »

tw0nk wrote: »

just looked up VRT for 525d m sport 08 and its nearly 6k, probably more with leather interior, totally ridiculous, OP do you think you can save money by bringing it in from UK ?

You need to look at a car 5 years old or over to get good value, the vrt is not charged on the extras for these cars after this period which saves a lot when they are being brought in. Ideally you want to buy a car with all the extras that is 5 years old and has low mileage.

ah ok, so currently wouldn't be able to import car and avail of low emission tax rates,thanks for info on optional extras over 5 years though

dubal

Dont see a problem, - some garage's will drive it to Holyhead for ya.

I bought mine in Park Lane motors in the London, then a couple of days later they arranged to meet me in Birmingham (I wanted to do some shopping on the way :-) ), worked out well, the guy in Birmingham had the paperwork with him and it took only 15 mins.

Its a nice garage, "apparently" its the only BMW owned dealership in the country (I didn't check this).

The car was already taxed and I had transferred the insurance in advance.

Regards
Dubal

copacetic

Trhiggy83 wrote: »

I think common sense would prevail if you had all the paperwork

It wouldn't, they expect you to have the car taxed. Any garage worth buying a car off won't let you off the forecourt without the car taxed.

veetwin

copacetic wrote: »

Any garage worth buying a car off won't let you off the forecourt without the car taxed.

Why would the garage care whether you taxed it or not? How could they stop you driving your car off the forecourt?

Say you go into a garage, see a 20k BMW and hand over the money. Are you suggesting that they won't sell the car unless it is taxed?

Marcusm

veetwin wrote: »

Why would the garage care whether you taxed it or not? How could they stop you driving your car off the forecourt?

Say you go into a garage, see a 20k BMW and hand over the money. Are you suggesting that they won't sell the car unless it is taxed?

Definitely the case that any reputable uk garage will not let you off the forecourt unless the car is taxed. Most main dealers will be able to provide you with free 7 day insurance to get the tax etc sorted. Will check out if this is a legal or SMMT type requirement.

copacetic

veetwin wrote: »

Why would the garage care whether you taxed it or not? How could they stop you driving your car off the forecourt?

Say you go into a garage, see a 20k BMW and hand over the money. Are you suggesting that they won't sell the car unless it is taxed?

They care because they take tax seriously in the UK. While you are sorting the transaction they'll send someone to the post office to tax it for you.

rai555

The tax is way cheaper then here, do not try to save £100, no excuse for this if cought

Northern Monkey

Trhiggy83 wrote: »

Big motoring world in london specialises in BMW cars, i bought my car there and got good value. They offer a good service with all the paperwork required

PM me if ya need more info

In fairness the cars there are well priced, but I have seen nothing but bad reports about them with regard to customer service

Trhiggy83

copacetic wrote: »

It wouldn't, they expect you to have the car taxed. Any garage worth buying a car off won't let you off the forecourt without the car taxed.

I have done it the two times i bought my cars over - no problem

Trhiggy83

Northern Monkey wrote: »

In fairness the cars there are well priced, but I have seen nothing but bad reports about them with regard to customer service

I done my homework on the car i bought beforehand so i knew exactly what i was buying. They are only middlemen in theory, i would expect you to check the vehicles history etc before you buy any car.

Dont believe everything you read, i know it has had bad reports but my experience was pleasant and they were actually very helpful when i could not get through to my insurers back here.

Trhiggy83

tw0nk wrote: »

ah ok, so currently wouldn't be able to import car and avail of low emission tax rates,thanks for info on optional extras over 5 years though

You can import it alright but it wont be cheap. Look at buying a 08 reg in 2013 from the UK if the rules stay the same here in relation to vrt but i doubt they will. I reckon the government will change the criteria because they are losing money due to the new system

Operator

aoife24 wrote: »

I have no doubt this has been asked here before but i didnt find anything in my search. Im looking for a 08/09 320d and the best value is in the UK so im looking for a dealer with a good choice in the 3 series. Any help would be much appreciated

I bought my last two cars in CArgiant in London, and id go back again. Last car was an 06 520D SE two years ago. They are great, fixed price, hpi check, most have full service history, they have a warranty that in the event of you discovering it was damaged they will take the car back.

In fact the fist cat I bought an 04 Mondeo Zetec S, when they were inspecting it before handing it over they discovered the aircon wasnt working, they wanted to repair it but i explained I needed to get to the boat, so they suggested I bring the car to a dealer in Ireland and send them the bill!!!

You can fly over in the morning and if you dont faff around you can be back that night.