importing from uk

pa990

i'm thinking of going to the uk to get a bmw f800s

Is it worth my while ?

Van rental is about 35per day
+ AA check £70 i think
+ return ferry (commercial van)
+ fuel
+ misc

thebullkf

pa990 wrote: »

i'm thinking of going to the uk to get a bmw f800s

Is it worth my while ?

Van rental is about 35per day
+ AA check £70 i think
+ return ferry (commercial van)
+ fuel
+ misc

no

KTRIC

thebullkf wrote: »

no

Seems like a nice informed decision you came to there. Care to share with us why you think it might not be a good idea ?

Personally I think it depends on the value etc. Might be a better idea to drive it back and save yourself a couple of quid.

thebullkf

KTRIC wrote: »

Seems like a nice informed decision you came to there. Care to share with us why you think it might not be a good idea ?

Personally I think it depends on the value etc. Might be a better idea to drive it back and save yourself a couple of quid.

exactly.

no mention of funds available,year,mileage etc.

based on the fact that the OP is quoting petrol,van rental charges its safe to assume imo he's not spending big money{i could be wrong:))
In which case its not worth it-based on exchange rates and the fact that prices here have dropped.

I ride a bike myself.

jimmyendless

If you can trust the seller that the bike is as described, a bike courier could get it to a ferry terminal from nearly anywhere in GB for 140GBP. You get a foot passenger ticket over and a motorbike ticket back on the ferry. Depending on how good a deal your getting, it can make financial sense.

pa990

i was planning on going over and back in one day.
and looking at more than one bike, so i would need the transport ie van

i have £4k to £5k to spend on a bike, and was thinking that the ferry etc would be about €600

ogriofa

Lucky you! Those bikes are getting rave reviews.

I bought a bike in the UK a few weeks ago and probably saved about a grand. But the condition of the bike is a LOT better.

Obviously buying off a dealer, check them out. Ask on regional forums for feedback. 99% of them will be fine.
I insisted on close up picks of certain areas of the bike. If they are pissey about doing this for you (you coming from Ireland) Id walk. My guy couldnt have been more helpful. Couple of emails and a phone call and I was happy.

Problem:
Dont forget the VRT. On an early 2008 bike with 800cc > €690

Money saver:
Depending on where you're going go for the stena "sail & rail". Itll save you £20 - thats free dinner. Its also 1 less qeue you have to join. And then ride the bike home. Good fun/exciting. The van would cost an extra few quid. Make a day of it

Good luck

KamiKazi

I plan on getting a Firestorm when I pass my test in the next month or two, and there are some seriously cheap, very clean ones over there. The fact that roads in the UK are generally much better than here and the fact that UK bikes are MOT'd every year means you'll probably be getting a much better looked after bike too.

Worth the trip over I think.

pa990

i wouldn't be entirely confidant about driving it all the way back, I haven't been up on a bike in 4yrs
and 4yrs ago, it was only to do the test. I'd feel happier transporting it back.

I feel that having a van will give me the option to view a few different dealers.

Also i'd be sailing on the cork-swansea ferry.


(ferry leaves cork at 9pm tue and arrives at 7am wed
then leaves swansea 9pm wed, arrives in cork 7am thurs)

The reason i was looking at going to the UK, was that there seems to be very little f800s in this country.

I'd be happy if i ended up paying the same price as here, but got something in better nick

pa990

i'm gonna do my math and research over the next few days, with a view to going over in the next few months.

i might even try and recruit someone who also wants to get a bike to come along.. that way the transport costs could be shared

ogriofa

pa990 wrote: »

Also i'd be sailing on the cork-swansea ferry.

(ferry leaves cork at 9pm tue and arrives at 7am wed
then leaves swansea 9pm wed, arrives in cork 7am thurs)

Jesus! Didnt know it was that bad. THatll cost you b&B meals etc!
I get ya now.

Try up north. If you dont see anything on autotrader maybe ring around. THat would solve a lot of your problems.

Are bike price up north more expensive than the mainland uk? Or does the rip-off ireland bit stop at the border?

pa990

don't see the need for b&b
I can sleep on the ferry on the way over and back.
I'll have all of wed to do my business.
I'd be arriving at 7am.. And sailing back at 9pm

Alkers

Think I've seen a couple of times on biker.ie, lads that will collect bikes in the UK and bring them back in a van or drive them back, my be worth a look if you're sure which bike you want to get.

ifah

KamiKazi wrote: »

I plan on getting a Firestorm when I pass my test in the next month or two, and there are some seriously cheap, very clean ones over there. The fact that roads in the UK are generally much better than here and the fact that UK bikes are MOT'd every year means you'll probably be getting a much better looked after bike too.

Worth the trip over I think.

what's it like with a restrictor in ? would have thought handling/insurance would be a bear.

KamiKazi

ifah wrote: »

what's it like with a restrictor in ? would have thought handling/insurance would be a bear.

Restrictor won't effect it as much as an inline4 due to the low down torqueeness of it. Have to get a Grade2 assessment, providing I get that & full licence I was quoted €1500.

TheZohanS

pa990 wrote: »

don't see the need for b&b
I can sleep on the ferry on the way over and back.
I'll have all of wed to do my business.
I'd be arriving at 7am.. And sailing back at 9pm

Have you tried Crossans? They have a few BMWs on their site. Saw one for 4300stg think it was an '06

pa990

insurance will be about 550 tpft
And thats with on driver training

The joy's of being old

RosieJoe

KamiKazi wrote: »

Restrictor won't effect it as much as an inline4 due to the low down torqueeness of it. Have to get a Grade2 assessment, providing I get that & full licence I was quoted €1500.

How young are you to get that quote :eek: Nearly choked on my lunch when I saw that figure!

KamiKazi

RosieJoe wrote: »

How young are you to get that quote :eek: Nearly choked on my lunch when I saw that figure!

23

Paying €1000 on a CB400 though

KamiKazi

Anyone know how much VRT would be on something like this?

1,400.00 GBP = 1,647.66 EUR

Could be a hell of a deal.

EvilMonkey

According to this

€135

KamiKazi

EvilMonkey wrote: »

According to this

€135

Not too bad at all, €1,800 plus delivery.

pa990

OK...

I've contacted the AA in the UK, and they have told me that they don't do vehicle inspections for motorbikes


Does anyone know of any other company that will do a vehicle inspection on a bike that with a dealer/ private seller in the UK

KamiKazi

click

No idea if they'll check the bike out for you though, worth checking out.

KamiKazi

Or this

pa990

i've being doing my research and maths..

i dont want to buy a bike unseen.
so driving a van over and back was the only option for my peace of mind.

by the time i have added up all the costs of ferry, fuel, vrt, exchange rate, etc i dont think i'll be saving a huge amount.. prob less than €1000.. more like €500 ..


for that reason i think i'll stick to buying a bike here.


it would be cheaper if i flew over and drove back, but as i said.. in a previous post, i wouldn't be confident doing a long journey since i have little biking experience, and it has been a few years since i've been up on a bike.


Thanks to everyone for their input.

KamiKazi

Think I'm gonna buy from the UK myself.

Cheap flight over, buy bike, ride to port, ferry back to Ireland.

webels

Hi Kamakazi

What is the difference between the VTR 1000 and the VTR 1000f (one a road bike and the other a tourer I think)

Have a look here a VTR1000 for €2200 (year younger and less miles)

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/motorbikes/1147018

Not my bike by the way...

BTW a great choice of bike there though, good luck with it.

KamiKazi

webels wrote: »

Hi Kamakazi

What is the difference between the VTR 1000 and the VTR 1000f (one a road bike and the other a tourer I think)

Have a look here a VTR1000 for €2200 (year younger and less miles)

http://www.donedeal.ie/for-sale/motorbikes/1147018

Not my bike by the way...

BTW a great choice of bike there though, good luck with it.

AFAIK, and I'm far from knowing all but I think that is the F.

To my knowledge there are three different VTRs; the Firestorm, SP1 and SP2.

webels

Whichever one you go for it looks a great bike Kamakazi, I drive a Pan myself and it is great old bike, but when I grow up I want one of these...

http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2007/06/28/2008-suzuki-hayabusa/

Some move from the pan I know but saw a few in the flesh and they are some bike

richiet

I bought my bike from these guys, http://www.goodallsmotorcycles.com/

They are in Belfast, but get they're bikes from mainland UK. They will go find a bike for you.

Worth sending them an email anyway, thats what I did and they came up trumps for me.