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3 Jun 2001, 11:48 (Ref:100444) | #1 | ||
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Best place to buy a car
No!! This is not the usual question about dealers. This is about countries. Supposing I wanted to buy a car to tour Europe, and I wanted to buy a car, duty free, and drive all over Europe for about 3 months or more, and then sell the car, what's the best way to do it? I have heard some time ago that Denmark had the best duty free prices. I know that the airport in Amsterdam also offerd this deal some time ago. What's the latest situation. Car could be either a VW, or Volvo, or Audi, or BMW, anything sensible to tour with for a couple. (Or even the VW Eurovan).
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4 Jun 2001, 13:18 (Ref:101015) | #2 | ||
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VB,
I believe you can only buy a duty-free (new) car on the assumption that you are going to register it in another country (ie. tax payable in country of use rather than country of purchase). The usual Vat-free for tourists deal only counts if you're taking the item out of the EU? In the UK tax is only payable once on a vehicle, usually when new, the only exceptions usually are vans bought by businesses and then sold to private users. I don't know what the various laws are concerning non-residents buying and registering vehicles are around Europe. Here in the UK they system is fairly slack, there is no link between vehicles and drivers licences (other than name), so you just need an address for the registration docs to be sent. Most UK residents looking to buy a new car on the continent go to Holland as the deals there are good and most dealers speak good English and are used to dealing with the export paperwork. Are you not better off hiring? (then no need to worry about tax, registration, insurance, servicing, breakdowns, selling the damn thing etc.) |
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4 Jun 2001, 15:02 (Ref:101035) | #3 | |
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best place to buy second hand cars is france. they may have expensive log book changes (that take all day and must be done in person), but hell, they don't have road tax, and mots are every 3 years...
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5 Jun 2001, 00:12 (Ref:101263) | #4 | ||
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The downside to that, of course, is that the used car you are contemplating may have last been roadworthy 2 and a half years ago.
One thought - if going down the route of buying a VW van, then I would strongly recommend buying on the continent and selling in England. Why? Because every year there is a colossal influx of young Aussie, Kiwi and South African backpackers who make England their first port of arrival in Europe, for reasons of ease of Visa, language and short-term employment prospects. Once settled, then they find themselves in the market for a dormobile or camper for the European grand tour. And so they will be buying in London or the Home Counties, and left-hand drive is not a disadvantage to them because the van is going back to its natural habitat on the continent. Mark you, the unlikeliest of vehicles will fit the bill for the right backpacker. Ask Bluebottle sometime about the Bedford CF ambulance with the Opel Manta engine which he sold to a Kiwi a couple of years back... |
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6 Jun 2001, 04:11 (Ref:101666) | #5 | ||
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Thaks for the interest so far. I am exploring all avenues. I have been to the Australian High Commision some years back, and seen these guys with a sign VW COMBI FOR SALE hanging around their necks. Aparently this works very well.
I also want to know which country gives the best duty free deal on new cars - some years ago I read a publication that Denmark gave the best deal. Naturally, I would also want to know in which country it is the least expensive th register the vehicle. I am not that keen on rental because this is very expensive, I have rented from Martins, and there was insufficient time to check the van out before I took it. The electric cooling system for the fridge did not work, and GAZ was very expensive on the continent. After 6 weeks, I worked it out that I would have saved a lot more had I taken the time to buy a LHD Combi Van than drive around in a rented RHD Bedford Van. Still, the lure of buying a near new VW Eurovan, touring Europe for many weeks, and then selling it back in England in front of the Australian High Commision is very attractive. |
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6 Jun 2001, 11:58 (Ref:101755) | #6 | |
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i'd be inclined to get a vw caravelle or something similar. the appear to be very sellable in europe.
tim, in france, when you change ownership papers, i think you have to get it mot-d beforehand. i wouldn't worry about foreign plates, because in england especially, it discoreges people from nicking it. and check the internet. there are quite a few sites that explain this whole buying a car abroad deal, especially when it was very much in fashion in the last few years. top gear's web page is probably a good place to look (don't know the url, sorry). |
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