Buying a year old UK import from a Simi reg dealer but problem

the culture of deference

I am looking at buying a year old UK import from a Simi reg dealer in Dublin, I asked about the car and it's history, it looks lovely but the problem is he refused to give me the UK reg. The call was going good until I asked him. Then he got very annoyed and asked Why would I want the reg.

This was a total end of conversation for me. Why do dealers insist on getting p1ssed off by legitimate questions. I can understand if you are selling 10 year old cars, but a 2012 20 grand car ..........

goochy

Walk away or if it's local go and see car and find out reg or ask in person about reg maybe he's just bring odd rather than dodgy what dealer is it ?

Anan1

File a complaint with the SIMI, see what happens.

colm_mcm

Or don't bother - outcome will be the same.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

mickdw

Just take it that he is trying to hide something of its previous life. Walk away.

Anan1

You guys are literal today.

dar83

For once I agree completely with Anan.

stimpson

I looked at a uk import A4 last year in Audi North Dublin. When I looked in the boot the old uk plates were sitting there. A quick google showed the car on a UK auction site for £17k. They were asking €33k. I walked.

Harcrid

Why would knowing the auction price make you walk? I presume you knew they were asking 33k for the car before you looked at it. The price they paid for it is irrelevant in fairness.

Sam Russell

If it was in an auction, I would think it loses its history and is sold as seen. Not good if you are the ultimate buyer but do not get the discount.

Of course it matters if it was sold cheap at auction.

corktina

Celtxx wrote: »

Why would knowing the auction price make you walk? I presume you knew they were asking 33k for the car before you looked at it. The price they paid for it is irrelevant in fairness.

=+transport+VRT+ profit margin

Cee-Jay-Cee

Go and see the car and look at the service history. The car reg will be written on the paper work. Make a note of it and tell him your going to do finance and mileage check and watch his face drop. More than likely the car has been clocked or has finance owing on it otherwise he'd have no problem giving you the reg.

mathepac

Sam Russell wrote: »

If it was in an auction, I would think it loses its history and is sold as seen. Not good if you are the ultimate buyer but do not get the discount.

Of course it matters if it was sold cheap at auction.

It depends. Ex lease cars in the UK don't lose any history, in fact they are often the ones guaranteed to come with reliable service and recall records, and the history is verifiable before you bid at auction.

stimpson

Celtxx wrote: »

Why would knowing the auction price make you walk? I presume you knew they were asking 33k for the car before you looked at it. The price they paid for it is irrelevant in fairness.

Because I knew I could pick one up in the UK for that price. VRT was 3.5k I think. Which makes for a 10 grand saving if I did it myself.

ABajaninCork

OP. If you're looking for a UK import, then you might be better off sourcing one yourself.

goochy

No way u could save 10k on a used a4 ! Vrt would. Be more than u say and few grand in changing over ur money if it was selling for 33k it was obviously nearly new ?? The auction it was bought at was likely to be trade only ??

the culture of deference

CJC999 wrote: »

Go and see the car and look at the service history. The car reg will be written on the paper work. Make a note of it and tell him your going to do finance and mileage check and watch his face drop. More than likely the car has been clocked or has finance owing on it otherwise he'd have no problem giving you the reg.

My concerns would be Cat or D, or it might be an ex rental. The car has only got 12,000 km on it so no service history yet, will be 1 year old in Sept.

stimpson

goochy wrote: »

No way u could save 10k on a used a4 ! Vrt would. Be more than u say and few grand in changing over ur money if it was selling for 33k it was obviously nearly new ?? The auction it was bought at was likely to be trade only ??

I just checked - VRT on a 18 month old A4 2.0TDI 118bhp, 30K miles is €3900.

It was back in Sept 2011, exchange rate was 1.15 = ~ €19,500

It was listed on was a public auction site.

steve04

If you know what you're doing and you're happy doing the leg work and taking the risk on the import yourself (final VRT will be approximate until VRT inspection) then you'll save yourself a few grand. It's really up to you.

I'd second doing a background, finance and mechanic check on the car to rule any skeletons as a previous poster said.

As a matter of interest how did you find the car on the public auction by the reg number? That's some good investigative work Sherlock.

stimpson

steve04 wrote: »

As a matter of interest how did you find the car on the public auction by the reg number? That's some good investigative work Sherlock.

1. Unlock Phone
2. Run Browser
3. Type reg into Google
4. Click on the first link.



I know there is a risk buying in the UK, and I would have done a HPI check if I was going that route, but 10 grand is a hell of a saving.

BigEejit

stimpson wrote: »

I just checked - VRT on a 18 month old A4 2.0TDI 118bhp, 30K miles is €3900.

It was back in Sept 2011, exchange rate was 1.15 = ~ €19,500

It was listed on was a public auction site.

There are many dealers on this forum, some of whom are doing exactly what the seller of this car is doing. Buying cheap in the UK and selling in Ireland for a handy profit.

You cant blame them for doing it, its a nice little earner and they pick clean cars with better service histories than many Irish cars .... Also, you can see why they would say that importing is not a great idea and is hard work and there is no profit in it etc etc etc

If you don't want to pay Irish prices, go over to the UK and get a car yourself.