Euro hits 92p Sterling today!!

E92

romperstomper wrote: »

E92, take your fan-boy nonsense elsewhere. I pointed out a massive difference between 2 cars. If you want to be picky then here is a full spec 520d with EVERYTHING:

http://search.autotrader.co.uk/es-uk/www/cars/BMW+5+SERIES/Ne-2-4-5-6-7-8-27-44-49-53-61-64-67-103-133-146-236,N-39-51-59-112-141-157-180-240-4294967178-4294967202/advert.action?R=200846323201843&distance=285&postcode=BT34+2NQ&channel=CARS&make=BMW&model=5+SERIES&min_pr=20000&max_pr=27500&max_mileage=20000&vehicleYearOfManufacture=2008&vehicleRegLetter=08

on the road for €35K.

You have VRT of at least €10,135 on top of this, and that's before the VRT office anally rape you for all the extras.

They will make you pay additional VRT on all those lovely extras featured there, 20% VRT will have to be paid on the leather, Satnav, Connected Drive, Bluetooth prep, mixed wheels, Sun protection Glass and any other extras feature.

So you'll probably be talking closer to €11,500 or maybe even €12k and it could even be more, I genuinely don't know.

Now we're up to €47,000 and then there is the cost of flights and the hassle of going abroad. So you could easily be onto about €47,500.

The UK 520d has higher mileage and of course won't have the speedo in km/h, so it will be less desirable than an Irish car when you want to sell it. You might say sure I can get the speedo changed but then how are we supposed to verify the mileage then?(oh and it costs upwards of €1,000 or so I'm told) the only reason I would want an mph speedo in a car is so that the car could tell me what mpg as opposed to l/100km I'm doing and the mileometer would be guaranteed to show me everything in miles but guess what 5 series with km/h speedos have the facility to switch everything over to miles and mpg, so I have no reason to want a 520d with an mph speedo as a result.

Anyway here is an Irish 520d with plenty of gadgets and gizmos, admittedly not as high a spec and with a few more miles and it's a private sale but still look at the price - €40,650.

The point I'm trying to make is that just because in general it is better to go to the UK doesn't mean that it's universally true, and in the case of the 520d - there is little point in going to the hassle of it IMHO.

romperstomper

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

BUT - just bear in mind that the UK roads authorities still use salt on the roads - this does cause corrosion to a car no matter how small an amount. Also bear in mind - UK dealers are not stupid or ignorant - they see a market at the minute where irish customers are desperate to buy cars - they are unloading their sh*te on us too.
I spoke to a friend on a Lexus dealer yesterday, last week they had to 07 IS 250's in - UK imports from seperate people -that had had work to them in the uk - that the drivers did not know about. It happens over here too iknow, but for some reason people think that buying a car in the UK completely removes the risk of these problems.

exactly how much salt corrosion (or other damage) is there going to be on a 6 month old, 4K mile car??? If they are damaged after that little use, then maybe we should all stay away from them altogher. I'm sure UK dealers are trying to drop junk, maximize profits, but its ALWAYS been and ALWAYS will be caveat emptor. 6 months old, 4K miles RAC full check, HPI done, how is that any risker than buying the same car from an Oirish dealer? Any paying a HUGE premium for the pleasure?

BTW rang BMW Ireland and they told me that a 08 UK car is covered under warranty until 2 years after the date of its first registration (e.g. june 2010). if it remained in the UK it would be until 2011, but moving it over here loses the last year of warranty for some reason. Thats still 18months warranty from any BMW main dealer in the country, that HAS to be honoured

Cionád

**

Cionád

E92 wrote: »

Anyway here is an Irish 520d with plenty of gadgets and gizmos, admittedly not as high a spec and with a few more miles and it's a private sale but still look at the price - €40,650.

I thought there were meant to be some great "bargains" over there, no:rolleyes:?

I would be fairly confident that that is an import itself going by the high sequence on the registration plate, while also having 12,500 miles - which is an exact figure unlike the 20,117 km figure, would also suggest that the odometer is in miles.

E92

pipsqueak wrote: »

but isnt there only a slight difference in co2 emissions in man vs auto?

It varies from model to model.

In the 520d's case it raises the CO2 from 136 g/km to 149 g/km.

That's assuming that you're talking about the EfficientDynamics model.

If it's the non EfficientDynamics model then it goes from I think it is 157 g/km(can't remember off hand) to 184 g/km.

So anyone who is thinking of bringing in a 520d - do your homework - make sure it's got EfficientDynamics!

By contrast with the 523i the CO2 goes from 176 g/km to 178 g/km and in the 530i it decreases with the automatic going from 182 g/km to 178 g/km.

I would seriously consider bringing in one of the large engined 6 cylinder models from the UK like the 530d or 535d.

They're still gonna be at most €630 a year on motor tax and you would be paying a lot more VRT when you bring it in but they wouldn't be a lot dearer than the 520d over there to buy.

I definitely think that there are plenty of savings to be made with these larger engined models because they are less popular here, it's with the smaller engined models like the 520d where there is little point in going over because these models are very popular here and as I've shown are now finally being priced to sell.

copacetic

E92 wrote: »

I definitely think that there are plenty of savings to be made with these larger engined models because they are less popular here, it's with the smaller engined models like the 520d where there is little point in going over because these models are very popular here and as I've shown are now finally being priced to sell.

As you have shown? You posted the cheapest lowest spec on on carzone from a private buyer and it is still 6k dearer that a full spec one from the uk
before you have even haggled! :rolleyes:
Even for the smallest difference that isn't comparable that is €6000, and that is 'little point' to you?

Maybe the savings aren't always fantastic, but you would be doing very well not to save at least 10k importing.

Tell you what, find a reasonable spec 520d msport and get the best price off the dealer and I will find the exact same spec in the UK and price to land it.

See who shows who what then..

E92

romperstomper wrote: »

BTW rang BMW Ireland and they told me that a 08 UK car is covered under warranty until 2 years after the date of its first registration (e.g. june 2010). if it remained in the UK it would be until 2011, but moving it over here loses the last year of warranty for some reason. Thats still 18months warranty from any BMW main dealer in the country, that HAS to be honoured

The first 2 years of a new car's warranty are legally valid throughout the entire EU.

Any subsequent warranty is up to the manufacturer's discretion and in the case of BMW the third year is provided by BMW dealers not by BMW UK.

romperstomper

problem with road tax is that its every year. 150 is the 2nd lowest it can be. winner.

problem with VRT is that it funds the muppets in leinster house. 14% is the second lowest it can be. winner.

regardless of the fact that i can only barely afford this car to the extent that I must wait until Jan 2 for the VRT to drop another €500, and I'm watching exchange rates IN REAL TIME so that I can afford the draft.

6 cyclinders, 28% VRT and €600+ road tax every year (plus higher insurance)??
not for me

E92

Cionád wrote: »

I would be fairly confident that that is an import itself going by the high sequence on the registration plate, while also having 12,500 miles - which is an exact figure unlike the 20,117 km figure, would also suggest that the odometer is in miles.

You are 100% correct - the speedo is in mph - an instant giveaway:o:o!

E92

copacetic wrote: »

Even for the smallest difference that isn't comparable that is €6000, and that is 'little point' to you?

The UK one is €35k before you pay the VRT.

As I outlined previously, there's at least €10k in VRT to be paid and as the high spec 520d in the UK that's "€35k" has lots of extras you'll have to pay VRT on those too.

That 520d in the Auto Trader will be at least €47k, compared to the one on sale here for €40,650. €35k plus flights and most of all VRT, and we know the revenue like to anally rape you for extras in BMWs, Mercs, Audis etc.

But like you say there is "little point" in saving €6k on a car already here - why would you do that when you could go to the hassle of bringing in a car from the UK and paying for the flights etc and then watch the VRO see how much they feel like adding on to the €10,135 they'll want you to cough up minimum for that car?

pipsqueak

romperstomper wrote: »

problem with road tax is that its every year. 150 is the 2nd lowest it can be. winner.

problem with VRT is that it funds the muppets in leinster house. 14% is the second lowest it can be. winner.

regardless of the fact that i can only barely afford this car to the extent that I must wait until Jan 2 for the VRT to drop another €500, and I'm watching exchange rates IN REAL TIME so that I can afford the draft.

6 cyclinders, 28% VRT and €600+ road tax every year (plus higher insurance)??
not for me

the new shape 5 series is a nice car dont get me wrong but would you not consider a 03 e39 530 d sport? nice clean one in uk is 8 grand vrt 4 grand, i mean i know it looks a little dated but behind the m sport wheel you cant really tell the difference can you? well except the surging rush from the 214 bhp engine!!!!

romperstomper

pipsqueak wrote: »

the new shape 5 series is a nice car dont get me wrong but would you not consider a 03 e39 530 d sport? nice clean one in uk is 8 grand vrt 4 grand, i mean i know it looks a little dated but behind the m sport wheel you cant really tell the difference can you? well except the surging rush from the 214 bhp engine!!!!

isn't that 1300 every year in tax???

Cionád

romperstomper wrote: »

isn't that 1300 every year in tax???

Yea, but what a car, and you wont be losing much in depreciation.

deffin

E92 wrote: »

The UK one is €35k before you pay the VRT.

As I outlined previously, there's at least €10k in VRT to be paid and as the high spec 520d in the UK that's "€35k" has lots of extras you'll have to pay VRT on those too.

That 520d in the Auto Trader will be at least €47k, compared to the one on sale here for €40,650. €35k plus flights and most of all VRT, and we know the revenue like to anally rape you for extras in BMWs, Mercs, Audis etc.

But like you say there is "little point" in saving €6k on a car already here - why would you do that when you could go to the hassle of bringing in a car from the UK and paying for the flights etc and then watch the VRO see how much they feel like adding on to the €10,135 they'll want you to cough up minimum for that car?

This guy is definately in car park in dublin airport - that's full of cars that are not selling.....!!!!!

pipsqueak

romperstomper wrote: »

isn't that 1300 every year in tax???

4k vrt better than 6500 vrt, and about 30k cheaper ! plus depreciation wont be as harsh, But i suppose looking good up to date is all that counts these days! Oh and there is a recession on nearly forgot!:cool:

Drummerboy08

romperstomper wrote: »

exactly how much salt corrosion (or other damage) is there going to be on a 6 month old, 4K mile car??? If they are damaged after that little use, then maybe we should all stay away from them altogher. I'm sure UK dealers are trying to drop junk, maximize profits, but its ALWAYS been and ALWAYS will be caveat emptor. 6 months old, 4K miles RAC full check, HPI done, how is that any risker than buying the same car from an Oirish dealer? Any paying a HUGE premium for the pleasure?

BTW rang BMW Ireland and they told me that a 08 UK car is covered under warranty until 2 years after the date of its first registration (e.g. june 2010). if it remained in the UK it would be until 2011, but moving it over here loses the last year of warranty for some reason. Thats still 18months warranty from any BMW main dealer in the country, that HAS to be honoured

Romper - i understand where your coming from, but a lot of people would not be buying a 4/5/6 month old car - more like a 3/4/5 years old.

On the warranty issue - i am not encouraging this, and my uncle in law and myself have experienced this - I have brought up this issue before. Something goes wrong with you UK BMW, you think it is a warranty issue so you bring it to say, Joe Duffys, but Duffys wont do the warranty work on your car because it is an English Import. Why? Because they will believe that they lost the business of you buying the car in the first pleace, you will be viewed as one of "those" people who import a car instead of buying one here. They will not refuse to do the work, but they will say something along the lines of "Sorry, but we are fully booked up for the next 6-8 weeks, we cant work on your car". This does happen and is happening with dealers all over ireland. BMW Ireland cannot do anything because Duffys have offered to do the work, but not for another few weeks.

In a perfect world, yes the warranty should be honoured, but this is not the real world and there are ways around not honouring a warranty.

E92

romperstomper wrote: »

isn't that 1300 every year in tax???

Yes but look at how much cheaper it is than a 08 520d.

It never fails to amaze me how many people will pay upwards of €10,000 to €15,000 more for a car9in this case though more like €30k) just because you might have to spend €2 a day extra(the cost of a newspaper ffs) on road tax. I can never understand this mentality, but I won't be complaining when I change my 2.0 for a 2.2 or even a 2.5 next year:D!

If the €500 or €600 extra pains you that much then don't buy a newspapaer - they're all online these days so it's not like you'll be missing out on anything, especially as most of them are full of crap:D!

Darsad

romperstomper wrote: »

enjoy your 'Oirish price car', i'm sure it was great value. Best of luck telling the person you sell your car to that it has €X amount of factory extras, therefore they should be happy to pay €X amount more than the market price of that model when you come to sell it on

No doubt you will expect the full Oirish cover when you have a problem which you probably will
but then you can always take a spin up North to have it fixed and get the train back as many people with Uk imports have had to do !

copacetic

E92 wrote: »

The UK one is €35k before you pay the VRT.

As I outlined previously, there's at least €10k in VRT to be paid and as the high spec 520d in the UK that's "€35k" has lots of extras you'll have to pay VRT on those too.

That 520d in the Auto Trader will be at least €47k, compared to the one on sale here for €40,650. €35k plus flights and most of all VRT, and we know the revenue like to anally rape you for extras in BMWs, Mercs, Audis etc.

But like you say there is "little point" in saving €6k on a car already here - why would you do that when you could go to the hassle of bringing in a car from the UK and paying for the flights etc and then watch the VRO see how much they feel like adding on to the €10,135 they'll want you to cough up minimum for that car?

You simply haven't a clue. Do as I asked and post your best m sport pricing

Brewster

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

Romper - i understand where your coming from, but a lot of people would not be buying a 4/5/6 month old car - more like a 3/4/5 years old.

On the warranty issue - i am not encouraging this, and my uncle in law and myself have experienced this - I have brought up this issue before. Something goes wrong with you UK BMW, you think it is a warranty issue so you bring it to say, Joe Duffys, but Duffys wont do the warranty work on your car because it is an English Import. Why? Because they will believe that they lost the business of you buying the car in the first pleace, you will be viewed as one of "those" people who import a car instead of buying one here. They will not refuse to do the work, but they will say something along the lines of "Sorry, but we are fully booked up for the next 6-8 weeks, we cant work on your car". This does happen and is happening with dealers all over ireland. BMW Ireland cannot do anything because Duffys have offered to do the work, but not for another few weeks.

In a perfect world, yes the warranty should be honoured, but this is not the real world and there are ways around not honouring a warranty.

I think this is a very important point Romper. You might be quick to see these savings up front, but there are alot of negatives to consider too. Im in the market myself and I am considering the UK myself, but other factors to consider other than just price! Just have a think about it.

Padraig Mor

delete - Cionad got there first.

Padraig Mor

romperstomper wrote: »

BTW rang BMW Ireland and they told me that a 08 UK car is covered under warranty until 2 years after the date of its first registration (e.g. june 2010). if it remained in the UK it would be until 2011, but moving it over here loses the last year of warranty for some reason. Thats still 18months warranty from any BMW main dealer in the country, that HAS to be honoured

UK 3 year warranty is fully valid here. I have that in writing from BMW UK.

Stevie Dakota

We have a UK Renault and Ford. The Renault has been back a few times for warranty work, every time the service had been outstanding and they have no issue with it being a UK car. When the Ford recently needed something minor I was told it would be the middle of January and that they can only take 2 warranty cases a week. I got the feeling Ford where making an issue of the UK aspect.

Not sure what the above illustrates, maybe one of the above dealers is simply good and the other is simply poor.

Renault Sandyford
Ford Esmond Motors

E92

copacetic wrote: »

You simply haven't a clue. Do as I asked and post your best m sport pricing

If I was standing right next to you and I told you the Sky was blue you'd say I was wrong and that it actually is black even if it actually was blue.

Anytime you try to correct someone(which you do a lot, like if I said a car has 175 bhp as opposed to 177 you'd be straight on to it and tell them it has 177) and they correct you and show up your mistakes you still insist they are "wrong".

So that's me done with this thread. You asked me to show something, I did and you're still not happy, particularly as I (correctly) contradicted you.

Drummerboy08

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

We have a UK Renault and Ford. The Renault has been back a few times for warranty work, every time the service had been outstanding and they have no issue with it being a UK car. When the Ford recently needed something minor I was told it would be the middle of January and that they can only take 2 warranty cases a week. I got the feeling Ford where making an issue of the UK aspect.

Not sure what the above illustrates, maybe one of the above dealers is simply good and the other is simply poor.

Renault Sandyford
Ford Esmond Motors

Certain dealers wont give a f*ck where the car comes from - they still make money on the work regardless. Other dealers are a lot more territorial, especially those with a high end franchise such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes, etc.

I'm not saying all of them, but a lot of them.

Bear in mind - in a dealers eyes - if you buy a car from the UK, he will take the view that you have taken money out of his pocket, food from his families table etc. He will most like do everything in his power to inconvienence you.

And lads? I dont want to hear the "but irish dealers have been taking money out of our pockets for years". I've heard it all before, thats a different arguement and nothing to do with me.

copacetic

E92 wrote: »

If I was standing right next to you and I told you the Sky was blue you'd say I was wrong and that it actually is black even if it actually was blue.

Anytime you try to correct someone(which you do a lot, like if I said a car has 175 bhp as opposed to 177 you'd be straight on to it and tell them it has 177) and they correct you and show up your mistakes you still insist they are "wrong".

So that's me done with this thread. You asked me to show something, I did and you're still not happy, particularly as I (correctly) contradicted you.

I asked you to post your best price for a 520d msport. So I could do same for an import. You have refused to do so. Says it all. Anyone reading will know who to trust, people spending their own money, not keyboard warriers.

Drummerboy08

Hey, take it easy there.

I wouldnt buy a car based on the information from this thread either way. Not when there are people arguing over this - your all getting your judgement clouded here.

Both sides have made valid points. Some bad some good.

Granted, it may be cheaper to buy a car in the UK in some instances, but it might also be the case that if you do and something goes wrong with it you will have 100 times more hardship with it, than say an Irish car.

There, are and will be plently of bargains on both sides of the border to be had. Its a case of shopping around and finding what your looking for.

This is just my opinion, but i would not advise my friends or family to buy in the UK, because i know people who have experienced warranty problems.

Just my 2c.

ninty9er

romperstomper wrote: »

SE and M spec are THE EXACT PRICE as the VRT is based on emissions
feel free to tell me where I have miscalculated, but as far as I can see it will be in my driveway (including flights etc) for €31,500 and its in JoeDuffy's for €56K !

That is wholly incorrect. You are getting a good deal, but emissions determine the rate of tax. M Spec vehicles have a higher OMSP therefore the VRT would be €7421 on an M Sport 520d.

You are still getting a very good deal. Fair play. How old is it. It doesn't qualify for VAT does it??

One note of caution I'd sound is that I'm not sure there would be much of a resale market for a manual 5 series of any kind.

pipsqueak

ninty9er wrote: »

That is wholly incorrect. You are getting a good deal, but emissions determine the rate of tax. M Spec vehicles have a higher OMSP therefore the VRT would be €7421 on an M Sport 520d.

You are still getting a very good deal. Fair play. How old is it. It doesn't qualify for VAT does it??

One note of caution I'd sound is that I'm not sure there would be much of a resale market for a manual 5 series of any kind.

whats the big prob with manuals? leaving out vrt for the moment whats so much better about automatics? i have had a few e39 530ds and always prefer the manual even if the bloody gear stick is huge!!

L-M

pipsqueak wrote: »

whats the big prob with manuals? leaving out vrt for the moment whats so much better about automatics? i have had a few e39 530ds and always prefer the manual even if the bloody gear stick is huge!!

Twasn't huge in the last 530D i drove lol.