Purchasing Abroad

[Guest Andrew& Jo]

We are 1st timers in waiting looking at the advantages /disadvantages of purchasing a motor home abroad We have already taken a trip to Germany and looked at possible vans However we don’t wish to jump in blindly therefore can any one advise us about the pitfalls of purchasing abroad Or any reputable dealers on the continent that preferably speak English We have looked on www.mobil.de and found many interesting leads Does any one know any more

[Guest Mel B]

The advantage is how cheap you can get the vans compared to the UK. The disadvantage is that you have to be a bit more careful what you buy and from where - suggest you see the posting below called 'No Show Deals' and get the info from Mel E before you commit to buying abroad. If we didn't already have a van, which we bought in the UK, we'd seriously consider buying in Germany as you can really make good savings.

[Guest Derek Uzzell]

Having recently purchased a new motorhome from Germany I'd go much further than Mel B and say that Mel Eastburn's 'Buying Abroad' fact-sheets will prove invaluable for anyone contemplating this method of acquiring a motorhome and should be considered a must-have. Although the basic pros and cons of Continental purchase are largely self-evident, there are some aspects that aren't (like normally having to up-front with a very substantial deposit and having to pay both German and UK VAT and then recover the former from the German dealer). Mel Eastburn covers all such points in depth and you'd be nuts not to exploit the research and expertise that he's put into his buying-guides. My own experience is that Continental dealers who are prepared to sell motorhomes to UK customers will have more than adequate spoken/written English to handle the transaction efficiently.

[Guest Teresa]

We found purchasing in Belgium was cheaper than Germany. We bought our Hymer from Campirama. They picked us up from Brussels Airport and then drove the van back to Calais for us.

[Guest Brian]

Mel's fact sheet should be considered as a buyer's bible.It saved me £16000 compared to the UK list price.As has been said before on this forum the savings are vast for very little effort.I really don't understand why buyers are falling over themselves to line the pockets of UK dealers.

[Guest Roy Hamilton]

Where do we get Mel E's guides from, please?

[Guest Mel B]

To get Mel E's guide to down to the posting 'No show deals' as he's given his contact details there.

[Guest Derek Uzzell]

Roy: See Mel E's reply to "No show deals" posting of 27/9/2005. Besides the general guide, Mel has additional fact-sheets for certain countries (eg. Germany) so, if you have a particular country (or countries) in mind from which to purchase a motorhome, it would be sensible to mention these when applying for the literature.

[Guest Roy Hamilton]

Thanks all for info.

[Guest Mel E]

Thanks for all the praise, Folks! Since asking for a small contribution to my favoutrite charity (MacIntyre Care, which provides facilties all over the country for children and adults with learning difficulties), I've collected over £3,000, mostly 5£, and occasionally £10 at a time. So an awful lot of people have used the Fact Sheet!

[Guest Andrew & Jo]

Thanks all for your help I have posted the letter to Mel B & await the fact sheet

[Guest Brian]

If you buy abroad make sure you can get it serviced here and that you can get any spares or parts for it in the future.The main dealer in this country for my motorhome has refused point blank to have anything to with it unless I can prove that it conforms in all respects to British specifications. Ive had great difficulty getting any response from my converters when I neededit.Fortuneatly I have a couple of excellent garages in my area who have always been able to cure any problems Ive encountered.I bought mine in this country from a chap who origionately purchased it in Holland.

[Guest Brian Kirby]

We purchased our Fiat based motorhome in France, in April. We followed Mel's advice to the letter, which was totally reliable (thanks Mel), and saved a substantial sum. The process is a bit tedious, but not ultimately difficult, and it does work. We also found that by buying a LHD unit in Europe we gained access to a slightily wider model range than is available RHD in the UK. I doubt if you would have much luck trying to buy a RHD abroad, though. I think this is really only truly viable if you want LHD for use in Europe. Our 'van was delivered one month later than quoted at the time of order, which I thought very good since the dealer had only a non specific allocation for the model we wanted for March, but we then added the 146hp engine with ABS (Europe only), cab aircon, twin airbags and seatbelt pre-tensioners. All these had to come from Fiat, so I guess will have slowed delivery to the converter. The chassis was "born" in February, went to the converter in March and was delivered April, so all nice and new! Also, the 'van was spotless and fault free on delivery. Thoughts: do ensure the maker has a reliably established presence in the UK (just in case), do check availability of servicing facilities near where you live (remembering that these are commercial vehicles so the local car dealer won't be able to touch it), do remember also that motorhomes are larger than the vans upon which they are based, so check that your local service agent can accommodate it on his workshop vehicle lift and above all, do check insurance availability for the 'van you want. This last is potentially the biggest hurdle. UK insurers - with the one, possible, expensive, exception of AXA - cannot insure a vehicle until it is in the UK. There is some complication with obtaining insurance in France if you are not resident in France. In the end our very helpful Calais dealer drove the 'van and us to the terminal on his insurance. Can't comment on German insurance, but Germany is much further away for delivery and a long way to go back if problems require this - that is why we elected to buy in France, as close to the channel ports as possible. Your vehicle will be insured on its chassis number only, and only once it is in the UK. You can then drive it to your home, or to a garage for work, or to an inspection facility if your local DVLA office require this (ours didn't), but that is all until it is registered. Also, the vehicle must not be foreign registered while in the UK insured on it's chassis number. I knew that to drive it in France it would have to be French registered on temp plates, so went armed to remove these before entering UK. However, I didn't know that under French law the plates now have to be rivited on, and no, I didn't take my drill so ended driving home on the French plates. You need left dipping lights (just over £200 the pair for Ducato, easy DIY fit, allow 30 mins) speedometer to read in MPH (don't get a replacement speedo, it seems there are some compatibility problems between the KPH sender and the MPH head), get a replecement dial. Mine cost £40 from Lockwood International (see internet) and is indistinguishable from the Fiat product. Fitting is fiddly, so allow a couple of hours. Finally, the rear fig light must be UK offside or centre. I got the dealer to swap the reversing light for a further fog, so now have one each side - why don't they do that in the first place ?? And that's about it. If your base vehicle is not Fiat, Peugeot, Citroen or Ford some of the bits may not be so easy so do check. If you are considering any A class van with converter's headlamps, do also check if you can get appropriate left dipping lamps, and at what price/availability. Some are, I understand totally unavailable and beam benders will not pass an inspection if one is required and may later fail MOT tests. Not good if you've just spent £30,000 plus and can't legally use it on UK roads!!