Importing 520D/320D from UK

Donie75

Hi,
I know there is a definitive thread on UK imports but it is getting a bit big now and I'm not sure if I would get a good answer by posting in it.
Basically, I may be able to sell my car privately so I am considering going to the UK to buy a 2007 or 2008 520D Sport or 320D Sport. I have seen a good few advertised in the UK for around £20Kstg.
I'm sure a few on boards have imported them so I was wondering if you could share your experiences.
Where did you buy? Main Dealer/private, etc.
How much VRT?
Did you get caught for extras and how much?

Thanks,

D

mickdw

Dont buy anything except a 2008 plate as the tax is €150 (manual version) on these compared to 600 approx on 2007 or older. I would buy at a reputable dealer in the uk. VRT on the current models in only 16% (manual) so cheap to clear. Expect revenue to hit ya for 16% of all extras fitted too.

Bandara

Donie75 wrote: »

Hi,
I know there is a definitive thread on UK imports but it is getting a bit big now and I'm not sure if I would get a good answer by posting in it.
Basically, I may be able to sell my car privately so I am considering going to the UK to buy a 2007 or 2008 520D Sport or 320D Sport. I have seen a good few advertised in the UK for around £20Kstg.
I'm sure a few on boards have imported them so I was wondering if you could share your experiences.
Where did you buy? Main Dealer/private, etc.
How much VRT?
Did you get caught for extras and how much?

Thanks,

D

Sorry Donie

I don't mean to have a pop here but the reason the UK definitive thread is so big is because there is has been so much good information posted in there by people who have done exactly what you are asking advice on.

Spend 20 minutes reading it and your questions will be answered with even more info there that will further assist you.

E92

Have a look at the 325d as well.

A 08 is only €302 on road tax, compared to the €1,230+ that you would pay for a 07.

When it comes to BMW, 6 cylinders are *much* nicer than 4, as I think you'll agree if you try one of the 6 cylinder models. Having said that for a 4 cylinder diesel the 320d/520d is still a fantastic engine. 60 mpg and 0-60 in under 8 seconds is rather handy shall we say. It's just that the 6 cylinder models are that bit better;)!

Better still would be the 325i with €448 road tax and 218 bhp rather than 177 bhp.

That would be my choice - even though it is a 3.0 litre petrol the average fuel consumption in one of these cars is no less than 40 mpg, and in fact is kinder to the environmnet than a 1.6 litre Toyota Avensis believe it or not.

Anan1

The problem with the 325d is that it (bizarrely)wasn't available with automatic until quite recently.

pipsqueak

Im looking at bringing in a 520d as well, is there an auto version of these and whats the vrt? because of the new emissions vrt is it cheaper to bring in an 08 as opposed to a 07? plus is tax on the 07/08 150 ?
thanks

moose52c

Im looking to get a 520d sport 2008 in feb better price than now on an 08. sport with as much extras as i can get however im not spending more than 22k stg cleared app 30keuro! hopefully the downturn will hit the 520d over there!!

Redsoxfan

pipsqueak wrote: »

Im looking at bringing in a 520d as well, is there an auto version of these and whats the vrt? because of the new emissions vrt is it cheaper to bring in an 08 as opposed to a 07? plus is tax on the 07/08 150 ?
thanks

There certainly is an auto and it is very attractive from an emissions viewpoint-I know someone who has a 2008 M Sport 520D.

VRT on the SE/M-Sport version that emits 149g/km is @ 20% of the OMSP. There is also a 185g/km version of the same car, not sure if that was the earlier model (I suspect it was).

Motor tax on the 149g/km version would indeed be 150 euro.

E92

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Motor tax on the 149g/km version would indeed be 150 euro.

It would be €302, the 08 MY 520d with a proper(i.e. manual) gearbox is €156:).

As I always say in BMW related posts, get one with 6 instead of 4 cylinders.

Now that the whole thing is done on CO2, you can have a 08 535d and tax it for €630. Or even better a 530i. That's far more enticing a proposition than a 520d if you ask me:)!

Those extra 2 cylinders make a *big* difference. They make a good car a great one.

Oh and the 520d is surprisingly popular in the UK, so don't be expecting any bargains over there. The Brits love diesel and because the 520d is so good on CO2 it is extremely popular as a company car and hence they are very desirable cars over there.

The 320d is the UK's favourite 3 series(over 50% of 3 series BMWs in the UK are for the 320d), so again no bargains to be had there either.

copacetic

you will get a much better deal on a 520d, they are very popular so there are loads of them available. The bigger engines are of course better, they are also rarer but cost a lot more both to buy and to vrt.

If you think there are no bargains to be had you need to actually have a look and you will see loads. Same on the 320d. The more popular cars are always cheaper second hand as there are so many of them to chose from.

You should also actually work out the cost difference rather than constantly advising people to buy the likes of a 535d when they are looking at a 520d. There is at least 15k to 20k in the difference on the total cost landed.

romperstomper

I'm also after the 520d, and although i'd prefer an auto, tax & more importantly VRT are dearer. Its not just '08s that have reduced tax/vrt, its everything made on or after week 39 of 2007. Anything marked as 177Bhp will be the newer type with efficient dynamics.

how can I get a competitive rate for a largish amount of sterling? i plan to buy a 520d up north, a few percentage points either way will be hundres of euros.

(thanks)

Padraig Mor

romperstomper wrote: »

I'm also after the 520d, and although i'd prefer an auto, tax & more importantly VRT are dearer. Its not just '08s that have reduced tax/vrt, its everything made on or after week 39 of 2007. Anything marked as 177Bhp will be the newer type with efficient dynamics.

how can I get a competitive rate for a largish amount of sterling? i plan to buy a 520d up north, a few percentage points either way will be hundres of euros.

(thanks)

Road tax on a 07 ED car won't be reduced (but VRT will). You can get a great transfer rate on currencies using XETrade - they charge about 0.5% on the live XE rate.

Ice_Box

Now with the euro worth over 91p Im getting tempted too. But would the suspension and tyres on the 520D sport not be too hard for Irish roads?

rebel.ranter

Ice_Box wrote: »

Now with the euro worth over 91p Im getting tempted too. But would the suspension and tyres on the 520D sport not be too hard for Irish roads?

If you are a grandad! This is the motoring press just filling column inches. A friend of mine bought a 530D with 16' wheels back in 2004 because he read that the ride quality of 17' or 18' was going to be too hard. He now has an M5 with 19' & obviously the stiffest suspension you can get. He doesn't find it hard at all.
Hop into my Dad's old Avensis (now moved on) & you'll know about a hard ride (the seat is crap!).

mickdw

romperstomper wrote: »

Its not just '08s that have reduced tax/vrt, its everything made on or after week 39 of 2007. Anything marked as 177Bhp will be the newer type with efficient dynamics.


(thanks)

You would be making a mistake buying an 07 Efficient dynamics model 520d as the road tax will be on the old system €600 + compared to €156.

Redsoxfan

E92 wrote: »

It would be €302, the 08 MY 520d with a proper(i.e. manual) gearbox is €156:).

Apologies, I was looking at the rates in Band B and those that applied pre-Budget.

Turbury

E92 wrote: »

It would be €302, the 08 MY 520d with a proper(i.e. manual) gearbox is €156:).

As I always say in BMW related posts, get one with 6 instead of 4 cylinders.


Are the 6 Cyls turboed? thinking on same lines myself in 09 - Non turbo would be a big plus for me, cannot tolerate turbos at all.

Do-more

Keep an eye on autoquake.com they had a Black '08 320D M-sport with 7000mls on the clock for £17,700 a few weeks back, didn't last long...

rgiller

Those Autoquake guys any good? They've got some fantastic prices...

E92

Turbury wrote: »

Are the 6 Cyls turboed? thinking on same lines myself in 09 - Non turbo would be a big plus for me, cannot tolerate turbos at all.

All 6 cylinder petrol 3 and 5 series have no turbo bar the 335i and US/Canada only 535i.

Like I say, 6 cylinders are *much* nicer than 4.

BMW's 6 cylinder petrols are a work of art, and now with the EfficientDynamics programme even the 530i will do 37.7 mpg on average, so they're no dearer to run than a 1.6 litre Ford Mondeo.

Even my ancient 1993 520i's 6 cylinder engine is a real peach of an engine, smooth as silk, really quiet when you want it to be but when you put your foot down it makes a great noise and the newer ones are faster(the only thing I don't like about my one, but the lack of power means I have to rev it more and that means I have the pleasure of hearing that delightful sounding 6 cylinder engine more often:D) and better on mpg as well.

BMW has a habit of making extremely reliable 6 cylinder engines as well, but then again 6 cylinder models are the company's bread and butter - and effectively have been since the 1930s.

Turbury

E92 wrote: »

All 6 cylinder petrol 3 and 5 series have no turbo bar the 335i and US/Canada only 535i.

Like I say, 6 cylinders are *much* nicer than 4.

BMW's 6 cylinder petrols are a work of art, and now with the EfficientDynamics programme even the 530i will do 37.7 mpg on average, so they're no dearer to run than a 1.6 litre Ford Mondeo.

Even my ancient 1993 520i's 6 cylinder engine is a real peach of an engine, smooth as silk, really quiet when you want it to be but when you put your foot down it makes a great noise and the newer ones are faster(the only thing I don't like about my one, but the lack of power means I have to rev it more and that means I have the pleasure of hearing that delightful sounding 6 cylinder engine more often:D) and better on mpg as well.

BMW has a habit of making extremely reliable 6 cylinder engines as well, but then again 6 cylinder models are the company's bread and butter - and effectively have been since the 1930s.

Sorry I should have metioned I'll be going for diesel - are the 6 cyl diesels turboed

E92

Turbury wrote: »

Sorry I should have metioned I'll be going for diesel - are the 6 cyl diesels turboed

Yes. There is no such thing as a non turbo diesel car anymore, all diesels have turbos these days and have had turbos since about 2003 realistically.

Turbo diesels became the norm in the mid 90s - the only non turbo diesels since then were the likes of the smallest diesel for the VW Polo or Toyota Corolla - everything bigger than that has had a turbo for the best part of 15 years at this stage.

If you're looking for a non turbo 6 cylinder diesel similar in size to a BMW(BMW have only ever sold turbo diesels in RHD, in the 80s they had a non turbo diesel for brief period in the continent) you'd have to go back to the mid 90s Merc E250 or E300 diesel - which like all Mercs back in those days was bulletproof.

Turbury

E92 wrote: »

Yes. There is no such thing as a non turbo diesel car anymore, all diesels have turbos these days and have had turbos since about 2003 realistically.

Turbo diesels became the norm in the mid 90s - the only non turbo diesels since then were the likes of the smallest diesel for the VW Polo or Toyota Corolla - everything bigger than that has had a turbo for the best part of 15 years at this stage.

If you're looking for a non turbo 6 cylinder diesel similar in size to a BMW(BMW have only ever sold turbo diesels in RHD, in the 80s they had a non turbo diesel for brief period in the continent) you'd have to go back to the mid 90s Merc E250 or E300 diesel - which like all Mercs back in those days was bulletproof.

Thanks - I cant understand why the six cylinders are fitted with turbos, one of the big advantages or 6 cyl engines is the extra torque, especially at low revs, fitting a turbo screws this up and makes no sense, especially when the same power could be achieved from a slightly larger 4 cyl turbo. Anyway looks like a 6 cyl turbo will have to be bought.

E92

Turbury wrote: »

Thanks - I cant understand why the six cylinders are fitted with turbos, one of the big advantages or 6 cyl engines is the extra torque, especially at low revs, fitting a turbo screws this up and makes no sense, especially when the same power could be achieved from a slightly larger 4 cyl turbo. Anyway looks like a 6 cyl turbo will have to be bought.

A 4 cylinder engine won't have anything like the refinement and smoothness of a 6 cylinder. 6 cylinder diesels are usefully quieter than their 4 cylinder counterparts - common rail technology can only do so much.

That's the advantage of 6 cylinders - they greatly enhance the driving experience. They are much more pleasant than a 4 cylinder engine to drive when you're not in a rush. But when you are in a rush they make a far superior sound and are much more fun. And straight 6 engines are the smoothest engine type bar a V12. V8s and V10s will make a better sound, a much better sound if you ask me - but they won't be as smooth as a trusty straight 6.

Oh and because 6 cylinder engines are bigger, they will be more reliable too. Bigger engines are more reliable because they don't need to be worked as hard due to the greater power and torque they naturally produce. You can put twin turbos on a 4 cylinder engine and crank up the power to levels previously unthought of in a diesel but you cannot and will not ever get the superior refinement of a straight 6 and I would argue the reliability either.

moose52c

Lads just wondering if I bring in the bmw520d sport and a few extras ie bluetooth, media package would our fine man in the vrt charge a great deal more?..

unkel

moose52c wrote: »

Lads just wondering if I bring in the bmw520d sport and a few extras ie bluetooth, media package would our fine man in the vrt charge a great deal more?..

Yes. 16% of the value of the extras for a 520d manual. There's no escaping this as the VRO will get a list with all the optional extras based on your chassis number

moose52c

unkel wrote: »

Yes. 16% of the value of the extras for a 520d manual. There's no escaping this as the VRO will get a list with all the optional extras based on your chassis number

Do you think if it would make a big difference for the extras?:mad:

Climate Expert

E92 wrote: »

It would be €302, the 08 MY 520d with a proper(i.e. manual) gearbox is €156:).

As I always say in BMW related posts, get one with 6 instead of 4 cylinders.

Now that the whole thing is done on CO2, you can have a 08 535d and tax it for €630. Or even better a 530i. That's far more enticing a proposition than a 520d if you ask me:)!

Those extra 2 cylinders make a *big* difference. They make a good car a great one.

Oh and the 520d is surprisingly popular in the UK, so don't be expecting any bargains over there. The Brits love diesel and because the 520d is so good on CO2 it is extremely popular as a company car and hence they are very desirable cars over there.

The 320d is the UK's favourite 3 series(over 50% of 3 series BMWs in the UK are for the 320d), so again no bargains to be had there either.

Usual fantasy stuff recommending a 530i or 535d over a 520d. Why not just tell people to get an M5 or a a Ferrari. Those two models will cost massive amounts more in VRT. Not to mention tax, fuel, insurance and depreciation. Its just not worth it for a the notional smoothness of a 6 cylinder engine.

BostonB

Is the difference in road tax between 07/08 that much compared to what you lose in depreciation on a 08 car?

Esel

When you consider the higher tax on the 07 payable every year, and the resale scenario....

BostonB

But what is the depreciation?