Importing a car from Germany?

Danr

Hi folks,

I'm due to travel abroad with work soon. I'll be in Germany for about 3 months, then will be coming back to Britain. I'm considering buying a car there. What rules and laws etc. do I need to abide by?

I've heard about simply importing a car from Germany to the UK, but every guide I've read assumes you're simply buying in Germany and immediately bringing it back to the UK.

Specifically, I'm looking at getting a 5 Series BMW, approx 10 yrs old (depending on price, including the price of returning it to Britain). Do I need to get insurance in Germany in the same way I'd get it here, or is insuring it in the UK while I'm still in Germany possible?

Many thanks, Dan

forgotmyname

Steering wheel on the wrong side. When you put import and left hand drive all your savings maybe gone on the increased insurance premiums.

Lights will need to be altered or changed.

vaio

Kid brother lives over there and reckons second hand cars are really expensive to the point where he comes over here and buys even though it means that he ends up with RHD in a LHD country.

Iceweasel

vaio wrote: »

Kid brother lives over there and reckons second hand cars are really expensive to the point where he comes over here and buys even though it means that he ends up with RHD in a LHD country.

I would agree about the price difference - but I feel it's not so much that cars are expensive in Germany and other mainland European countries - it's 2nd hand cars in the UK that are so cheap by comparison.

Nowhere else could you buy a 2 year old BMW at around half the price when it was new.

Owning a LHD is not a major problem in the UK - the lights do NOT need to be changed - masking will pass an MOT and eventually you can export the car to a LHD country and sell it there.

AdrianC

Iceweasel wrote: »

I would agree about the price difference - but I feel it's not so much that cars are expensive in Germany and other mainland European countries - it's 2nd hand cars in the UK that are so cheap by comparison.

Agreed. There's a big trade in used cars between LHD countries, and virtually zip between RHD countries.

the lights do NOT need to be changed - masking will pass an MOT

True.

You will almost certainly need to change the fog light to the RH side (unless it's central or both currently), and you will need to change the speedo to MPH/KPH dual-marked (not MOT, but C&U). If it's under 10yo, you will also need a Certificate of Compliance from the manufacturer.

Herzlos

I assume the value of used cars is lower in the UK because they don't last as long due to the weather and road salting?

AdrianC

Herzlos wrote: »

I assume the value of used cars is lower in the UK because they don't last as long due to the weather and road salting?

The average car in the UK does not die of rot. They haven't for mebbe 20yrs. The average car in the UK is scrapped because of the value being lower than the cost of minor maintenance.

WTFH

Iceweasel wrote: »

I would agree about the price difference - but I feel it's not so much that cars are expensive in Germany and other mainland European countries - it's 2nd hand cars in the UK that are so cheap by comparison.

Very true. Depreciation in the UK is far higher than (most of) Europe, so our second hand cars are cheaper.

Iceweasel wrote: »

Owning a LHD is not a major problem in the UK - the lights do NOT need to be changed - masking will pass an MOT and eventually you can export the car to a LHD country and sell it there.

Depending on the car, it may be possible to switch the lights (either by a lever, or using the car computer system), or they might not even have the tick - just producing a flat beam

worried_jim

When on holiday in the Southern European countries I see loads of cars that I haven't seen on the UK roads for years as they have been scrapped but are still going strong in the Sun- esp older Fiats.

Herzlos

AdrianC wrote: »

The average car in the UK does not die of rot. They haven't for mebbe 20yrs. The average car in the UK is scrapped because of the value being lower than the cost of minor maintenance.

So why are our used car prices so low? Aspiration and people wanting new shiny cars?

AdrianC

Herzlos wrote: »

So why are our used car prices so low? Aspiration and people wanting new shiny cars?

<points back up to post 5 in thread>

Go to Spain or southern Italy, and every other used car dealer has German export plates across the forecourt, or advertises their stock as being "Fresh from Germany". Then, later in their lives, those same cars go east.

RHD cars don't do that. There isn't that ready secondary market. Apart from huge registration fees and road taxes, the Irish get a lot of their used cars straight from Japan, who have a very expensive and involved MOT. The Japanese also send to the Kiwis - plus, for the antipodes, there's huge transport costs. Which really just leaves Malta. TfL sold all the London BendiKenBuses there.