New cars MUCH cheaper in Germany

[was8v]

Rip off Britain?

Example:

Skoda Rapid Spaceback 1.2TSI list here: £14500, in Germany €15170 ~ £10700
VW Golf 1.2TSI Hatch here £17175, in Germany €17650 ~£12461

The German list price for both cars is below dealer best offers (£12k and £16k) I've had.


Will the German dealers sell me a RHD car for the same price? I understand the export and import procedure will cost a few hundred and a day of my time.

Anyone done this recently?

[PHlL]

Usually the European specification isn't as good as the UK cars.

Also, you'll find most Europeans will think our cars are cheap because of the finance deals we have available to us.

But in answer to your question, yes you can order RHD spec. You will get an pan-european warranty rather than a UK one so may not be as good. If you are genuinely considering it, I'd find a Belgium or Dutch retailer as their English will usually be better (assuming your German isn't great).

[groundcontrol]

sharp910sh said:

The euro is now very strong thats why.

Against the pound?

German cars cheaper in Germany isn't really a revelation, surely.

[Alex]

sharp910sh said:

The euro is now very strong thats why.

The pound is at its strongest against the euro since 2007.

[Fox-]

sharp910sh said:

The euro is now very strong thats why.

No, the Euro is very weak, thats why.

Everything in Europe is getting very very cheap because of the exchange rate. It's not 'ripoff Britain' that we can buy items from abroad cheap due to currency devaluation.

[Superhoop]

sharp910sh said:

The euro is now very strong thats why.

Err.....

Are you sure about that?

[jamoor]

yes the low for the past 12 months has been 1.2, do the maths for the german car with that rate!

[SamPet]

Exchange rate today was 1.41

Therefore more Euros for your £

[budgie smuggler]

Superhoop said:

Err.....

Are you sure about that?

Presume he meant to say 'not' and auto correct messed it up.

[McSam]

Astonishing that people really think manufacturers still pick a profit they fancy and set the price accordingly, rather than being completely controlled by competition in a saturated market.

[was8v]

Emails fired off to a few dealers in Munich.

Dutch and Belgian dealer list prices are higher than Germany. But I will email them also.

Looking at bottom spec cars - air con and electric windows. Not much spec to lose....

Warranty may only be 2 years.

Fingers crossed they will get me RHD cars for export to UK.

Edited by was8v on Wednesday 11th March 22:17

[krallicious]

Erm, I can assure you that a lot of cars in Germany are not cheaper than those in the UK, even taking the current weak Euro into account. They have just reached parity.

New Porsche GT4 to my spec is 100k Euros 70GBP
New M4 to my spec is 95k Euros 67GBP
Porsche turbo S is 230k Euros 160GBP

Cars here come with just about no options and the leasing rates are huge compared to the UK.

[GroundEffect]

was8v said:

Emails fired off to a few dealers in Munich.

Dutch and Belgian dealer list prices are higher than Germany. But I will email them also.

Looking at bottom spec cars - air con and electric windows. Not much spec to lose....

Warranty may only be 2 years.

Fingers crossed they will get me RHD cars for export.

You mental? They will not get RHD cars. That's not how it works.

Germany typically is MORE expensive for cars, than the UK. We just have a strong pound at the moment.

Also, have you actually considered VAT?

[was8v]

I just worked out if I buy a car in Denmark with their bigger tax on cars, then bring it here, get a tax refund and pay UK VAT on it I can save a little more.

[MrBarry123]

krallicious said:

Erm, I can assure you that a lot of cars in Germany are not cheaper than those in the UK, even taking the current weak Euro into account. They have just reached parity.

New Porsche GT4 to my spec is 100k Euros 70GBP
New M4 to my spec is 95k Euros 67GBP
Porsche turbo S is 230k Euros 160GBP

Cars here come with just about no options and the leasing rates are huge compared to the UK.

At those UK prices, can you order me 10 of each please?

[jamoor]

GroundEffect said:

You mental? They will not get RHD cars. That's not how it works.

Germany typically is MORE expensive for cars, than the UK. We just have a strong pound at the moment.

Also, have you actually considered VAT?

did you actually just make all of this statement up off the top of your head or do you have a source of your misinformation?

[was8v]

GroundEffect said:

You mental? They will not get RHD cars. That's not how it works.

Germany typically is MORE expensive for cars, than the UK. We just have a strong pound at the moment.

Also, have you actually considered VAT?

"there is some sort of EU ruling allowing nationals of one country to buy cars in another EU country at the price of the normal cars in that country. Some manufacturers (Mercedes included) have been fined for not complying. "
http://www.toytowngermany.com/lofi/index.php/t1515...
http://www.toytowngermany.com/lofi/index.php/t3575...

Who knows, I have emailed to ask them.

VAT in Germany is 19%. When I get the car to the UK, I pay UK VAT 20% - once I have evidence of paying this I can get my German VAT I paid back.

Edited by was8v on Wednesday 11th March 22:26

[ging84]

GroundEffect said:

You mental? They will not get RHD cars. That's not how it works.

Germany typically is MORE expensive for cars, than the UK. We just have a strong pound at the moment.

Also, have you actually considered VAT?

Germany 19% vs 20% uk
not a huge difference

[Bodo]

GroundEffect said:

was8v said:

Emails fired off to a few dealers in Munich.

Dutch and Belgian dealer list prices are higher than Germany. But I will email them also.

Looking at bottom spec cars - air con and electric windows. Not much spec to lose....

Warranty may only be 2 years.

Fingers crossed they will get me RHD cars for export.

You mental? They will not get RHD cars. That's not how it works.

Germany typically is MORE expensive for cars, than the UK. We just have a strong pound at the moment.

Also, have you actually considered VAT?

German rate is 19%; UK rate is 20%. Another percent saved.

Also, what makes you think German dealers will not sell RHD?

[Herman Toothrot]

In 1981 my parents bought a 728i from a dealer in Germany spec' RHD, the German delivery plates are still hanging on the garage wall. So considering it wasn't a problem back then I don't see why it would be now, the world has got smaller after all.