alistair Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 As a result of responses to a previous thread, I’ll start searching the internet classifieds for an Autosleeper Topaz or Duetto 2.5 turbo, although they seem to be in short supply in my price range at present. I may also stumble across other vans that I become interested in. Buying from afar (New Zealand) is a bit daunting, but with the help of emailed photos and faxed documentation, it’ll hopefully work out. Can anyone advise if there are organisations that carry out mechanical appraisals of vehicles? Here I would use the AA, but I’m not sure about membership requirements for using the UK AA services. Obviously, I don’t yet know where a van may be located, but it would be helpful if anyone can suggest what internet or telephone yellow pages headings I could look under for someone I could hire for an independent appraisal when the time comes. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 Why not AAsk the AA (or the RAC) who their parallel equivalent is in NZ (or anywhere else for that matter) No doubt they have reciprocal arrangements with other organisations in other countries. C. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Clive, I think you may have mis-understood alistair's posting, He's in NZ and wants to buy a camper in UK by remote as it were. I know the AA (UK) do pre purchase examinations but wasn't sure if it's a service only available to members. D. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docted Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 The AA do not do inspections anymore they recommend the company on the following web site www.dekra-assured.com.The "car data check" see below is included in the price starting from £142. The AA still however do "car data checks" at a cost of £37 to non-members just go to their web site www.theaa.com. For Alastair buying site unseen this could lead to a potential farily large bill just to have vans discountedand I would suggest that he contacts dealers to see what they have available and get appraisals done when he gets here and has seen the van personally. Docted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clive Posted August 25, 2006 Share Posted August 25, 2006 Ah!, I did wonder why someone in the UK wanted to purchase a British motorhome in NZ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docted Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 Good to see you are awake Clive! (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted August 26, 2006 Share Posted August 26, 2006 I suggest you also investigate registration and insurance. I believe the former is fairly straightforward, but check the UK DVLA website and if necessary e-mail them for confirmation. From conversations with other Kiwis around Europe, insurance can be very difficult and tends to be expensive. Problem is, you aren't UK resident/domiciled, and insuring a UK registered vehicle when resident overseas seems to cause a real problem. There is a specialist that does the insurance, with NZ connections of some sort I believe, but all those I spoke to said it was difficult and expensive, so start now! I'm sorry, but I don't have any details of the firm. Others may be able to help.Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistair Posted August 26, 2006 Author Share Posted August 26, 2006 To Brian: Thanks for your comments. Thanks to warnings from others, I started early on the insurance investigation, and yes, it is a problem. After about 35 contacts with UK insurers and brokers, I've found two that said yes and one that said maybe to covering our situation. The company you refer to is probably Downunder Insurance. They seem to be very good, but I imagine all companies offering cover for non-UK residents will charge more than average because of the perceived greater risk. I fail to see why we are seen as being undesirable insurance risks (I've been driving for 43 years, but a UK resident with one year's experience could get UK insurance easier than I could) but that's the culture in the UK market. I don't think there are any problems with registration as we will have a UK contact address. To Docted: Yes, it would be easier to wait until we get there, but we then risk wasting an excessive amount of our precious holiday time looking for a suitable motor home, and at a time of year (May) when prices and demand are likely to be higher. While we're looking we're also incurring accommodation and travel costs. I weighed all that up against the problems created by buying from afar, and decided that if something suitable comes up before we go to UK, I'll be pursuing it and doing all I can to ensure we don't end up with a heap of junk. I'm getting in early with my research, including questions to this forum, to minimise problems when the time comes, whenever that is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistair Posted August 27, 2006 Author Share Posted August 27, 2006 To Docted again: Thanks for the Dekra website. Looks like the sort of organisation I was looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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