Importing new motorhome from Germany?

[PlymBob]

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]

Never having done this before, and to prevent getting tripped up by misunderstanding “official documents and processes” I approached ShipMyCar to arrange bringing the vehicle into the UK and sorting out the paperwork.

They quoted 3 to 4 weeks, though after every phone call I was always left thinking that they hadn’t fully answered my questions. It was to be approximately £1500 for the paperwork and £1500 for the shipping. When I tried to firm up on the prices the shipping cost became about £3000 but the paperwork reduced a bit. By then I was confident that I could drive it back myself on the German export plates, so I did. On July 31st.

The next day I sent all the paperwork to ShipMyCar by recorded delivery, which they signed for on August 2nd and very promptly got me to pay UK VAT by Aug 10th. At this time I contacted the German dealer with proof of payment of UK VAT and was told they also need proof of UK registration.

Very much later I found out that the girl at ShipMyCar who does the paperwork was away, so the initial Mutual Recognition application was not even submitted till August 17th. That process alone took nearly 6 weeks as VCA confirmed GB Conversion IVA Certificate had been mailed on the 18th September but apparently didn’t arrive with ShipMyCar till Sept 26th, so DVLA application not started till September 27th. 3 weeks later the DVLA returned the application because the details that ShipMyCar had sent them did not match the details that ShipMyCar had sent to UK Customs. Start process again on or after October 18th. Then it transpired that ShipMyCar had not arranged funds for Road Tax so DVLA returned the application again!!! Finally received V5 logbook November 27th, and got UK number plates made up and fitted by Nov 30th.

17 weeks, or almost 4 months to the day against ShipMyCar’s 3 to 4 week estimate.

I am still waiting for all my original documents to be returned to me by ShipMyCar.

I would not have used ShipMyCar if I had known the true timescale, although 2 months of that was due to their own mistakes and delays. Exacerbated by DVLA intransigence and returning documents by some kind of extra slow motion post when they could have sorted it out on the phone and by email. Probably I would not have bought abroad at all if I had known.

There were moments when I thought it would never get UK registration at all and I would have to attempt to return it to Germany. Now, of course, I've missed the autumn season to start my first ever experience of motorhoming and will have to wait even longer till Spring.

However, if I was to do it again, I would handle the whole process myself.

 

[Lenny HB]

Your mistake was using Shipmycar for something which is very easy to do yourself. It would have cost you about £30-£40 to get the van inspected by a local garage, £100 to VCA for IVA then the road tax and first registration fee.
I've imported 3 vans taken 4 or 5 weeks to get them on the road.

 

[PlymBob]

Thank you for your comment Lenny, but that is easy to say with the benefit of experience. Not so easy when you've never done it before and have no idea what the process is. But do know that rules and regulations are often written in a way that can make it easy to make a mistake.

 

[Lenny HB]

Thank you for your comment Lenny, but that is easy to say with the benefit of experience. Not so easy when you've never done it before and have no idea what the process is. But do know that rules and regulations are often written in a way that can make it easy to make a mistake.

I didn't have a clue when I first did it but it wasn't hard to find the info and there is a lot on this site.

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[Coastal Cruiser.]

Thank you for your comment Lenny, but that is easy to say with the benefit of experience. Not so easy when you've never done it before and have no idea what the process is. But do know that rules and regulations are often written in a way that can make it easy to make a mistake.

Wish you had asked on the forum as I would have sorted the paperwork out for you and it would have cost you is a chocolate biscuit
Have all the documents and forms on my computer so fairly easy to change

 

[Dutch 68]

Wish you had asked on the forum as I would have sorted the paperwork out for you and it would have cost you is a chocolate biscuit
Have all the documents and forms on my computer so fairly easy to change

Now there is a business idea, our own forum ship my motorhome agent

 

[kimndon]

Agree. Once you get your head around the UK paperwork with helpful German dealer no problem. My dealer - Dumo actually - sorted their side including charging me the the base price less vat which I paid to HMRC.

 

[Soycd]

Having imported five motorhomes/campers into UK, I have now knocked it on the head and am buying our next, new, in UK. All the ones I imported were 6 month old ex-rental, so if I were to do the same again I'd get stuffed twice for both MWST and VAT. The last one I brought in was 2018, so during the 'transition' period so no double whammy. How smooth things go varies a lot. The first one I imported back in 1999 I drove it over, walked into DVLA Portsmouth and was out again 15 minutes later. No fuss about lights, tacho etc. No other paperwork apart from insurance. It got gradually more complex, but still managable the more I did. If you could get a vehicle that has switchable lights, had a KM/MPH tacho and two rear fogs then that is a huge bonus. I never did! Now, according to DVLA you can be prosecuted if you drive an imported vehicle from the port to home. There does seem to be a movement towards discouraging personal imports.

 

[Soycd]

Now there is a business idea, our own forum ship my motorhome agent

It would be an excellent way of importing. If you set up as a commercial importer you can use the 'secure registration scheme' which allows all the applications to be done online.

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[kimndon]

Am I right in thinking that the MWST would be either refunded when the VAT paid when the campervan is in the UK or exempt as an export?

 

[Machbuster]

Am I right in thinking that the MWST would be either refunded when the VAT paid when the campervan is in the UK or exempt as an export?

Three years ago I bought my moho in Germany including MWST (German VAT), when I had paid UK VAT I got the MWST refunded

 

[Speve]

Am I right in thinking that the MWST would be either refunded when the VAT paid when the campervan is in the UK or exempt as an export?

When we imported in 2018 we had to send proof of paying UK vat before being refunded (we actually made a profit on it then)

 

[Motörhead Fun]

Thinking, just thinking of buying a new Hymer Free (on a Fiat Ducato). When I say new, it is a 2022 model. Speedo can be changed to mph but dealer says the headlights cannot be adjusted. Does anyone have any experience of this on a similar van? Thanks

 

[Machbuster]

On my Hymer Exsis-i 504 (on a Fiat Ducato) from 2020, imported from Germany, and on my first MOT four months ago, they fitted headlight deflectors, those you stick onto the head light glass, these to be used when driving in the UK. Intend to sell it July/August next year, due to my age, if that could be of interest.

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[PlymBob]

If it has "Full LED" headlights then they probably have a flat dip which doesn't much matter whether LHD or RHD. In the user changeable middle part of the dashboard you can display speed in MPH which seems to be acceptable. Alternatively you can buy a GPS speedo to stick on the dashboard for about £30 from Amazon. You've already got twin rear foglights.

Try to get the German dealer to commit to either not charging you German VAT or refunding it as soon as you have proof of paying UK VAT. Mine wanted proof of UK registration and I'm still waiting for the refund (19% of purchase price).

Are you going to import it yourself?

Having had the misfortune of ShipMyCar doing the paperwork I would strongly urge you to do it yourself. But first be absolutely sure you know all the intricacies of paperwork and understand the jargon. Some people will tell you it's easy and then lose you in all the jargon and initialised buzz words so you still don't understand. The .gov website has guidelines but it is in complicated governmentese. Some of the people here can help, so long as they avoid the buzzwords. Keep asking until you are sure you understand

 

[PlymBob]

Sorry, I've just noticed it's not new. You WILL NOT

 

[PlymBob]

WILL NOT be able to claim back the German VAT. But YOU WILL have to pay UK VAT.

 

[Motörhead Fun]

It is advertised as new by the dealer, it is just a 2022 model. They have said that VAT will be charged on purchase and returned once proof of VAT payment in UK is sent. I have imported three times in the past; all pre Brexit though.

I'm minded to wait until after the election though. If there is a genuine move to move closer to the EU it could benefit the exchange rate and may reduce bureaucracy.

 

[kimndon]

Yes, German ex commercial vans are sold plus vat which can be negated by the dealer or if he charges it, refunded when UK VAT is paid. I am in the process of importing a VW Grand California - the dealer is holding a €5,000 deposit refundable when I pay the UK VAT.
The same actually applies in the UK. If my company purchases a commercial van I can get the VAT back.

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[kimndon]

The headlight question is interesting. Does anybody know what happens with a LHD VW Crafter?

 

[gus-lopez]

Now, according to DVLA you can be prosecuted if you drive an imported vehicle from the port to home.

If it is legally insured I cannot see how it can be illegal to drive? It isn't 'imported' until you want to start the process . If I moved back to the Uk & brought my van with me it is legally taxed,mot'd & insured & I have 6 months before I have to start the process.

There does seem to be a movement towards discouraging personal imports.

It all used to be done quite easily long before brexit & long before we were even in the eu? can't see why we are now having far stricter rules to do something that was done , as you said , in 15 minutes before?

 

[Soycd]

If it is legally insured I cannot see how it can be illegal to drive? It isn't 'imported' until you want to start the process . If I moved back to the Uk & brought my van with me it is legally taxed,mot'd & insured & I have 6 months before I have to start the process.

It all used to be done quite easily long before brexit & long before we were even in the eu? can't see why we are now having far stricter rules to do something that was done , as you said , in 15 minutes before?

I think there are two different situations. If you own a vehicle registered in your name in a foreign country where you live then coming back to uk is not a problem. When I lived in Germany with BFG we could bring cars back without too much fuss as the vehicle was already registered to us, insured etc. There would be some issues if LHD, but on the whole not too much of a problem.
Using Germany as an example. As a uk resident things seem to be different. Firstly as a non-resident in the country you won’t have an address (unless you have a home there as well as uk) so getting insurance other than the dealer’s temporary trade 3rd party is not possible. A uk insurer won’t insure the vehicle until it’s back in uk. Even then most are reluctant as it won’t be registered, a small handful will do it on VIN. According to the Gov website, you can be prosecuted if you drive an imported unregistered vehicle in uk unless it’s to a pre-arranged MOT or vehicle approval test. Glad I didn’t know that when I last imported! The main issue post B word seems to be that you now have to pay tax on a secondhand vehicles when you import as well as MWST in Germany so effectively you pay tax twice. This was not the cast pre B.

 

[PlymBob]

I found several UK Motorhome insurers that would insure me on a VIN and include driving back from Germany. The one I used was Motor Caravanwise ltd. Tel: 01425 280078

 

[CazPaul]

AIB insured us on a vin number all the way from Hamburg, albeit 2018

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[Soycd]

AIB insured us on a vin number all the way from Hamburg, albeit 2018

Ours was also in 2018. We did it on the insurance provided by the dealer plates insurance (third party only) and Adrian Flux insured it on VIN once it was in UK. Proviso being we could not drive it unless getting it home and then to MOT etc.

 

[CazPaul]

Ours was also in 2018. We did it on the insurance provided by the dealer plates insurance (third party only) and Adrian Flux insured it on VIN once it was in UK. Proviso being we could not drive it unless getting it home and then to MOT etc.

Ours was fully comprehensive all the way from Hamburg on just the vin number.

 

[PlymBob]

Motor Caravanwise were also comprehensive all the way from Germany on just the vin number. I don't think they had any restrictions on where you could go, but the German export plates are very short duration and time out after about a couple of weeks.

 

[loggy]

Great Thread! Message to PlymBob really. I'm looking to import a Summit Prime (very similar to yours). Can you tell me who you bought from in Germany? It seems like the lights and speedo won't be such a problem.

I have a VAT registered limited company. Maybe this helps in some way. I could buy using the company then sell it to myself and pay VAT then? That might avoid the paying and reclaiming of the German VAT?

Maybe this thread has gone a bit quiet but hopefully others can advise on any more recent developments. The savings seem quite large if we can figure out the best way to import without too much hassle.