Importing new from EU (2 Viewers)

[Saucer]

Has anyone on here imported a MH from the EU since Brexit? My understanding is that VAT and import tax are payable on used vans, but only VAT on new. Also I believe that purchases in e.g. Belgium or Germany could benefit from VAT refunds from the country it was purchased in. I know that there are various hoops around satisfying UK registration standards, MPH on dash etc, but that doesn’t seem insurmountable. I’d be very interested in anyone who is considering it or (even better) done it since we left.

 

[Soycd]

I imported for the last time in 2018, so before B word kicked in. Having imported a number of times, I've gone for buying one in UK for our next van. To me it boiled down to the huge increase in prices in Europe (just like here), a poor exchange rate and the fact that there are too many hoops to jump through, in terms of vehicle approval, import duty, insurance for the import journey, it goes on. Personally I would not do it again, but others may have a different view. It's not insurmountable, however, for me it's just not worth it anymore.

 

[Spriddler]

Useful info re importing from EU in this thread here:

I have found a new motorhome that meets my requirements but it is at a dealer in Germany.

Can anyone advise as to what I need to do to purchase it in Germany and import and register it in the UK?

Preferably avoiding German tax and paying UK tax instead.

Or can anyone recommend an agent that could do it?

 

[PlymBob]

I imported a new Summit Prime from a German dealer last year. It is my first experience of motorhoming altogether, so quite a steep learning curve. I think I may have come out slightly ahead financially but the main motivation was that my model was not then freely available in the UK. So, here’s a few things I learned along the way:

The VAT paid in Germany was refunded after proof of paying it in UK, AND of registering the vehicle in the UK.

Fiat Ducato has 2 rear foglights, a user defined “central” part of instruments that can display MPH, and I’m told that full LED headlights dip neutrally. So no problems with having to convert things, although I’ve added an Amazon GPS speedo for £30 so that I can display other things on the instruments.

I used Ship My Car to do the paperwork for me. That was a big mistake. See here: https://www.trustpilot.com/submitted/review?correlationid=e16e75d7-480b-409d-bc05-8238284fd320

Most of the info is available on the .gov website. Be VERY CAREFUL, and if in doubt keep asking questions until you are sure you understand fully. If there is a next time I will do it entirely myself. The people on MHF are mostly helpful, although there is sometimes an assumption of a base level of knowledge that you may not have reached yet. Then it can be quite frustrating as you still don’t understand because of the “buzz words” being used or the abbreviations.

The German dealer arranged for German Export number plates and basic insurance so driving it back to UK was no problem. I did arrange fully comprehensive UK insurance from Germany as well, based on the VIN number.

Hope that helps. Do ask if I’ve missed anything.

 

[Saucer]

That’s so helpful thank you. Did you have any issue finding a German dealer who was happy to assist? Regarding the speedo I had read that there is a fully digital version that could be switched to show mph, but I thought it was an option. Really helpful to hear that there are two rear fog lights. Thanks again

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[PlymBob]

I used TruckScout24, among others, to find my vehicle in Europe:

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Yes, I had hoped for a fully digital speedo, but not available yet for my camper, so mine is analog km/h with a digital bit in the middle. Although the whole speedo disappears when you turn it off.

 

[Saucer]

Ahh, so that central bit displaying mph satisfied whoever inspected it for uk standards (whatever it is called)?

 

[PlymBob]

It wasn't inspected. But it is now UK registered with a UK equivalent of Certificate of Compliance from the UK authorities. So presumably they accepted the German CoC.

 

[Saucer]

That’s interesting. I thought it had to have something like an MOT in order to get UK registration. I keep thinking we should get a lhd model from the EU but then I get put off by how complicated it seems. Your experience gives me some hope.

 

[bigtree]

It wasn't inspected. But it is now UK registered with a UK equivalent of Certificate of Compliance from the UK authorities. So presumably they accepted the German CoC.

What UK insurance company gave you cover ?

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[Soycd]

Last LHD I brought over was in 2018. Adrian Flux were happy to insure it on just the chassis number until it was registered. Having said that, I was only allowed to use it to get it to my house and then to MOT etc. Once registered it was all good.

 

[PlymBob]

What UK insurance company gave you cover ?

Motor Caravanwise, (01425 280078) just on VIN number, fully comp inc. driving from Germany to UK on Export Plates. More expensive than some who wouldn't either cover Germany or VIN no.

 

[Rob Turner]

We have imported 3 vans from Germany, the last one was in April 22.
All easy enough to do and made considerable savings on them all.

 

[slowdriver]

I imported a new Summit Prime from a German dealer last year. It is my first experience of motorhoming altogether, so quite a steep learning curve. I think I may have come out slightly ahead financially but the main motivation was that my model was not then freely available in the UK. So, here’s a few things I learned along the way:

The VAT paid in Germany was refunded after proof of paying it in UK, AND of registering the vehicle in the UK.

Fiat Ducato has 2 rear foglights, a user defined “central” part of instruments that can display MPH, and I’m told that full LED headlights dip neutrally. So no problems with having to convert things, although I’ve added an Amazon GPS speedo for £30 so that I can display other things on the instruments.

I used Ship My Car to do the paperwork for me. That was a big mistake. See here: https://www.trustpilot.com/submitted/review?correlationid=e16e75d7-480b-409d-bc05-8238284fd320

Most of the info is available on the .gov website. Be VERY CAREFUL, and if in doubt keep asking questions until you are sure you understand fully. If there is a next time I will do it entirely myself. The people on MHF are mostly helpful, although there is sometimes an assumption of a base level of knowledge that you may not have reached yet. Then it can be quite frustrating as you still don’t understand because of the “buzz words” being used or the abbreviations.

The German dealer arranged for German Export number plates and basic insurance so driving it back to UK was no problem. I did arrange fully comprehensive UK insurance from Germany as well, based on the VIN number.

Hope that helps. Do ask if I’ve missed anything.

I went through a similar process just before the Brexit deadline for a new La Strada EB , Ducato-based van, and used the Left Drive Place to do the work on the van - speedo - lights, and all the paperwork. They were outstanding.

LHD Cars for Sale | Left Hand Drive Cars | LHD Place, Basingstoke

At the Left Hand Drive Place you will find a wide selection of Left Hand Drive vehicles - Give us a call today on 01256 461173 the latest LHD cars.

lhdplace.co.uk

I'd be interested to know if you had to pay anything other than the VAT to HMRC such as import duty?

 

[Saucer]

We have imported 3 vans from Germany, the last one was in April 22.
All easy enough to do and made considerable savings on them all.

We were thinking Germany. What happens if anything needs sorting under warranty? I guess it has to wait for you to return?

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[Woollyoak]

Has anyone on here imported a MH from the EU since Brexit? My understanding is that VAT and import tax are payable on used vans, but only VAT on new. Also I believe that purchases in e.g. Belgium or Germany could benefit from VAT refunds from the country it was purchased in. I know that there are various hoops around satisfying UK registration standards, MPH on dash etc, but that doesn’t seem insurmountable. I’d be very interested in anyone who is considering it or (even better) done it since we left.

We have owned a lhd Neisman Aclass in the past, m/h was lovely, but nah never again would we have lhd - did not prove easier or as easy as rhd in Europe, here it was a nightmare.

 

[slowdriver]

We have owned a lhd Neisman Aclass in the past, m/h was lovely, but nah never again would we have lhd - did not prove easier or as easy as rhd in Europe, here it was a nightmare.

Since we drive almost exclusively in Europe apart from the odd festival in the UK, LHD was a no brainer. I am surprised you did not find having a LHD vehicle in Europe easier that a RHD.

 

[Soycd]

We were thinking Germany. What happens if anything needs sorting under warranty? I guess it has to wait for you to return?

You just have to take the chance. We imported a LHD Challenger Vany (PVC) in 2018. There are no Challenger outlets/franchise in the UK, however, as the van was a 6 month old ex-rental most of the niggles/ problems that can be found with a new vehicle had been ironed out.

 

[Woollyoak]

Since we drive almost exclusively in Europe apart from the odd festival in the UK, LHD was a no brainer. I am surprised you did not find having a LHD vehicle in Europe easier that a RHD.

Maybe it’s the amount of time spent driving a LHD in Europe, for us it’s 4 wks during the summer, most driving is in the uk, until we retire so maybe we will revisit LHD - buying new from Europe, at less cost, does appeal definitely appeal!

 

[Saucer]

You just have to take the chance. We imported a LHD Challenger Vany (PVC) in 2018. There are no Challenger outlets/franchise in the UK, however, as the van was a 6 month old ex-rental most of the niggles/ problems that can be found with a new vehicle had been ironed out.

The issue is now that second hand seems to attract import tax as well as vat, whereas new only the latter.

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[OldAgeTravellers]

We have just (two years) imported our Motorhome & Scooter from our home in France. The Motorhome was easy as it had been previously registered in the UK. The Scooter however became an 18 month nightmare. Not with the VAT as it came over with a Transfer of Residence (ToR) form. But DVLA were a nightmare constantly returning it after a couple of months for individual things. Not accepting photocopies but needing originals etc. but only one problem at a time. The final straw was they rejected it because the CofC didn’t say if it was left or right hand drive (scooter!). They insisted I had to submit it for full type approval and giving a telephone number which was no longer manned. Finally after getting stroppy on the phone till I spoke to a manager I was given the info that should have been given at the start. I needed to go for: Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval (MSVA) which is either full at £85 or partial at £10. For some reason they couldn’t do partial but did the full. But very busy so two months wait. The inspector couldn’t stop laughing when I asked him to specifically put a note on the certificate that it could be either left or right hand drive. So just a cursory look and him constantly saying what a waste of time I got the certificate and DVLA finally registered it on 1sr Jan just before we came away. Actually two years to the day that we imported it.
I think the problem is that the DVLA are still working from home so between stroking the cat and feeding the kids they are just rejecting things for nonsense reasons. So…. Get everything right. Original documents everything clear. Covering letter with clear concise bullet pointed requests so they have to read it all.
Out of interest I love my left hand drive Motorhome no problems in the UK whatsoever but I do drive with a Co-pilot who herself is a very good driver so I trust her instructions. I also love my “Left Hand Drive“ scooter!
Good luck, I think European spec motorhomes are much better than UK spec.

 

[Rob Turner]

We were thinking Germany. What happens if anything needs sorting under warranty? I guess it has to wait for you to return?

European wide warranty, we have never had any issues

 

[Soycd]

The issue is now that second hand seems to attract import tax as well as vat, whereas new only the latter.

Yes, thats sort of why I have not bothered this time around.

 

[PlymBob]

We were thinking Germany. What happens if anything needs sorting under warranty? I guess it has to wait for you to return?

The base vehicle, in my case Fiat, can be taken to any Fiat dealer anywhere. With the caveat that some Fiat dealers are far from "Professional" and may try to rip you off. I have experienced this with Vospers in Plymouth, but this could similarly apply if you had bought locally.

The camper part is a potential problem. I have contacted local Globecar dealers and they do not appear interested. My current plan, if nothing major goes wrong, is to return to the German dealer before the first 12 months is over with a list of any problems that need fixing.

 

[PlymBob]

I went through a similar process just before the Brexit deadline for a new La Strada EB , Ducato-based van, and used the Left Drive Place to do the work on the van - speedo - lights, and all the paperwork. They were outstanding.

LHD Cars for Sale | Left Hand Drive Cars | LHD Place, Basingstoke

At the Left Hand Drive Place you will find a wide selection of Left Hand Drive vehicles - Give us a call today on 01256 461173 the latest LHD cars.

lhdplace.co.uk

I'd be interested to know if you had to pay anything other than the VAT to HMRC such as import duty?

Nothing more than VAT, no import duty.

Wish I'd known about Left Hand Drive Place.

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[PlymBob]

We have just (two years) imported our Motorhome & Scooter from our home in France. The Motorhome was easy as it had been previously registered in the UK. The Scooter however became an 18 month nightmare. Not with the VAT as it came over with a Transfer of Residence (ToR) form. But DVLA were a nightmare constantly returning it after a couple of months for individual things. Not accepting photocopies but needing originals etc. but only one problem at a time. The final straw was they rejected it because the CofC didn’t say if it was left or right hand drive (scooter!). They insisted I had to submit it for full type approval and giving a telephone number which was no longer manned. Finally after getting stroppy on the phone till I spoke to a manager I was given the info that should have been given at the start. I needed to go for: Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval (MSVA) which is either full at £85 or partial at £10. For some reason they couldn’t do partial but did the full. But very busy so two months wait. The inspector couldn’t stop laughing when I asked him to specifically put a note on the certificate that it could be either left or right hand drive. So just a cursory look and him constantly saying what a waste of time I got the certificate and DVLA finally registered it on 1sr Jan just before we came away. Actually two years to the day that we imported it.
I think the problem is that the DVLA are still working from home so between stroking the cat and feeding the kids they are just rejecting things for nonsense reasons. So…. Get everything right. Original documents everything clear. Covering letter with clear concise bullet pointed requests so they have to read it all.
Out of interest I love my left hand drive Motorhome no problems in the UK whatsoever but I do drive with a Co-pilot who herself is a very good driver so I trust her instructions. I also love my “Left Hand Drive“ scooter!
Good luck, I think European spec motorhomes are much better than UK spec.

Completely agree with your assessment of DVLA. One "minor" problem at a time, weeks in between, and 2 weeks to post anything back. Don't understand the stupidity and inefficiency of it. Nor how it manages to take 2 weeks to post anything back???

 

[Rob Turner]

When I imported my last van in 2022, after 8 weeks of waiting for the DVLA to reply I contacted the then Transport Minister (Grant Shapps)
The following day, a Team Leader from Swansea contacted me and by the end of the week I had a registration number and a V5 in the post.
The previous van I imported in 2019 went through in 4 weeks.

 

[MGDavid]

The issue is now that second hand seems to attract import tax as well as vat, whereas new only the latter.

I imported secondhand from France last April and can confirm no import duty liable just VAT.
If you can’t get the digital dash software to display MPH just buy an overlay from Lockwood’s.
Stick to Germany or Belgium where they understand the vat rules, i effectively paid vat twice but I wanted a particular model in LHD on a Ducato chsssis and it was the only way to get one

 

[Saucer]

Thank you for all the very helpful replies to the thread. Lots to ponder

 

[MGDavid]

Thank you for all the very helpful replies to the thread. Lots to ponder

If you’re good at admin , process and form-filling it’s a doddle; if you’re not so confident then ask us who’ve done it, always happy to help