UK cars in Romania
Discussion
The difference in value of LHD and RHD old cars is massive, so it's often viable (at Eastern European labour rates) to convert using bits from a written off car before re-selling them. As Romania is in the EU there are no import charges or taxes due when importing a car from the UK so particularly with old BMWs and Mercs it can be a reasonable business line.
Also, there are a lot of Romanians in the UK and they often drive back home rather than flying due to the prices and availability of flights so this is also likely to have an effect.
Also, there are a lot of Romanians in the UK and they often drive back home rather than flying due to the prices and availability of flights so this is also likely to have an effect.
hairyben said:
I'd say theres probably a wide range of standards, but a serious risk of similarities with what I deal with in my day job, which is addressing the dangers left behind by builders who were cheap and readily avaliable, but were primarily intersted in making something look good enough while lacking skills, interest or willingness to spend the money to complete a job to a reasonable standard. Some of the "pennies saved" bodges I regularly see might amaze you.
Standards vary everywhere and standards can be established and taught, but IMO the work ethic is better and that is an attitude issue and is a far tougher nut to crack.Agent XXX said:
Cold said:
I doubt if any of them are stolen cars. I doubt that very much.
Of course there are no stolen cars from here over there.The Romanians are an entirely trustworthy people.
they take pride in their work and would rather take longer over a job (and lose money) than rush it to a low standard. They make excellent tenants and the few Romanian friends I have are universally embarrassed by your oft-quoted stereotype.
Different strokes and all that but I don't share your view.
r11co said:
Standards vary everywhere and standards can be established and taught, but IMO the work ethic is better and that is an attitude issue and is a far tougher nut to crack.
100% of british people would probably have an enhanced work ethic if faced with a choice of work or starve. Theres also a fair few east europeans that have cottoned on to "their rights and entitlements" under our benefits system.A better work ethic doesnt directly equate to better job either, there are many examples of things being best when people feel able to object and complain rather than "get the job done and dont make fuss", the airline industry being a good example.
Iv sold 2 to Romanians.
First was a 2004 S320 (Cat C, Driver side damage and bent floor pans!)
They bent the door back in so it kinda closed, Cut the airbags and drove it back as is. (About 130miles away)
Next was a Land Rover Freelander, Drove it back at night (About 130miles away in heavy snow!) Didn't even have numberplates on it as it wasn't registered here and was off the road a few years.
Some just don't really give a s
t once it'll drive.
First was a 2004 S320 (Cat C, Driver side damage and bent floor pans!)
They bent the door back in so it kinda closed, Cut the airbags and drove it back as is. (About 130miles away)
Next was a Land Rover Freelander, Drove it back at night (About 130miles away in heavy snow!) Didn't even have numberplates on it as it wasn't registered here and was off the road a few years.
Some just don't really give a s
t once it'll drive.It can be a lucrative business from my experience. I have sold a few cars that have gone abroad now, an Audi A4 1.8T S-Line Special Edition that was exported to Romania, along with a number of other cars.
The chap who bought it was buying a lot of cars for his brother out in Romania, once they had enough stock the whole lot would be sent to Romania on the back of an artic. He was quite open with his plans for my car and the profit potential it had, it was worth triple what he had paid once out in Romanian and this was similar with most cars he bought in the UK.
He sourced the cars and his brother fixed any problems they had and converted them to LHD and things like sat navs to EU/Romanian specification. He loved cars with faults, as it made buying stock cheaper and with labour so cheap in Romania, fixing the car wasn’t a problem and maximized his profits.
I have also sold a Honda Civic Type R EP3 that was destined to be used as a parts car in Bulgaria. The young lad who bought it was planning to drive it, along with an extremely clean and low mileage EP3 he had bought in the UK to Bulgaria.
They never made the prefacelift model for the Bulgarian market, so those cars demanded a strong premium out there and especially spare parts as they are very hard to come by.
My Dad has also sold a Ford Capri 2.8i Special to a couple of chaps from Malta. They had bought a Sierra Sapphire Cosworth while in the UK too, and were driving both back to Malta. Prices are much cheaper over here, making the trip worth it.
I have found all these people great to deal with, no messing around and very fair bids on the cars. I suspect where the cars are so much more expensive in their native countries they aren’t as inclined to knock as much money off.
Some of it I expect is just people wanting cars they cannot buy in their country, the Civic I sold being a good example; and thus no different to over here, I own two imported cars!
The chap who bought it was buying a lot of cars for his brother out in Romania, once they had enough stock the whole lot would be sent to Romania on the back of an artic. He was quite open with his plans for my car and the profit potential it had, it was worth triple what he had paid once out in Romanian and this was similar with most cars he bought in the UK.
He sourced the cars and his brother fixed any problems they had and converted them to LHD and things like sat navs to EU/Romanian specification. He loved cars with faults, as it made buying stock cheaper and with labour so cheap in Romania, fixing the car wasn’t a problem and maximized his profits.
I have also sold a Honda Civic Type R EP3 that was destined to be used as a parts car in Bulgaria. The young lad who bought it was planning to drive it, along with an extremely clean and low mileage EP3 he had bought in the UK to Bulgaria.
They never made the prefacelift model for the Bulgarian market, so those cars demanded a strong premium out there and especially spare parts as they are very hard to come by.
My Dad has also sold a Ford Capri 2.8i Special to a couple of chaps from Malta. They had bought a Sierra Sapphire Cosworth while in the UK too, and were driving both back to Malta. Prices are much cheaper over here, making the trip worth it.
I have found all these people great to deal with, no messing around and very fair bids on the cars. I suspect where the cars are so much more expensive in their native countries they aren’t as inclined to knock as much money off.
Some of it I expect is just people wanting cars they cannot buy in their country, the Civic I sold being a good example; and thus no different to over here, I own two imported cars!
I live in Poland and the cost of used LHD cars here is totally insane, 2-3 times the UK price The huge import duty on vehicles with an engine bigger than 2.0 means that loads of locally bought and pretty much totalled cars are rebuilt literally from the ashes when they shouldn't be. (Mechanic earns 15pln an hour tops)
Imported cars which are classed as "Junk" in the USA or Cat B in the UK are exempt from this duty or can be imported with greatly reduced tax. Hence why US spec cars are cheaper as its assumed they have been repaired. Its not unheard of for them to be imported and customs cleared after arriving in 2 separate containers and pieced back together once they are here. 99% of which shouldn't be on the road at all.
More and more Polish people are starting to question this and there has been a surge in VAG stuff and BMWs coming in from the UK to have "Przekladka" (Steering wheel being moved from RHD to LHD) With the older Audi's VWs and also most BMWs the bodyshells and firewall are symmetrical meaning theres no cutting or welding involved in the conversion which makes for a less problematic and ultimately cheaper car.
We had our e46 converted to LHD and it cost around 700 GBP with an engineers report. Sold for the equivalent of 6k GBP after a year of driving it. (Car cost 3k in the UK) This approach is definitely worth doing. Given the amount of cars stolen there is an abundance of parts available to undertake these conversions.
I'm assuming that many if not all the former communist countries have used car markets similar to Poland and its eye opening, The used prices really are insane!
The scary thing is the local newspapers report literally every accident on the roads with graphic pictures (Not edited or blurred out like in the UK) and its always very sad when they state how many people are killed. Looking at the images the car is usually spread across a large area and certainly didn't provide the crash protection intended by the manufacturer as most have been badly repaired.
Polish bodywork repairers are absolute masters when it comes to piecing something together and making it look good (short term anyway) however I still have my doubts about the actual quality of the work.
My brother in law bought a used Polo which had allegedly been used by a elderly man to go to church and back, (for all 300k kms) It was pretty much a Polo shaped carving made entirely of body filler. On further inspection it had been on its roof at some point, old roof and pillars cut off and a new one welded on, Replace airbag covers, stick a few pairs of socks and a resister where the airbag once was, Skim of body filler and its ready to go.
Imported cars which are classed as "Junk" in the USA or Cat B in the UK are exempt from this duty or can be imported with greatly reduced tax. Hence why US spec cars are cheaper as its assumed they have been repaired. Its not unheard of for them to be imported and customs cleared after arriving in 2 separate containers and pieced back together once they are here. 99% of which shouldn't be on the road at all.
More and more Polish people are starting to question this and there has been a surge in VAG stuff and BMWs coming in from the UK to have "Przekladka" (Steering wheel being moved from RHD to LHD) With the older Audi's VWs and also most BMWs the bodyshells and firewall are symmetrical meaning theres no cutting or welding involved in the conversion which makes for a less problematic and ultimately cheaper car.
We had our e46 converted to LHD and it cost around 700 GBP with an engineers report. Sold for the equivalent of 6k GBP after a year of driving it. (Car cost 3k in the UK) This approach is definitely worth doing. Given the amount of cars stolen there is an abundance of parts available to undertake these conversions.
I'm assuming that many if not all the former communist countries have used car markets similar to Poland and its eye opening, The used prices really are insane!
The scary thing is the local newspapers report literally every accident on the roads with graphic pictures (Not edited or blurred out like in the UK) and its always very sad when they state how many people are killed. Looking at the images the car is usually spread across a large area and certainly didn't provide the crash protection intended by the manufacturer as most have been badly repaired.
Polish bodywork repairers are absolute masters when it comes to piecing something together and making it look good (short term anyway) however I still have my doubts about the actual quality of the work.
My brother in law bought a used Polo which had allegedly been used by a elderly man to go to church and back, (for all 300k kms) It was pretty much a Polo shaped carving made entirely of body filler. On further inspection it had been on its roof at some point, old roof and pillars cut off and a new one welded on, Replace airbag covers, stick a few pairs of socks and a resister where the airbag once was, Skim of body filler and its ready to go.
CDB1983 said:
The scary thing is the local newspapers report literally every accident on the roads with graphic pictures (Not edited or blurred out like in the UK) and its always very sad when they state how many people are killed. Looking at the images the car is usually spread across a large area and certainly didn't provide the crash protection intended by the manufacturer as most have been badly repaired.
Polish bodywork repairers are absolute masters when it comes to piecing something together and making it look good (short term anyway) however I still have my doubts about the actual quality of the work.
My brother in law bought a used Polo which had allegedly been used by a elderly man to go to church and back, (for all 300k kms) It was pretty much a Polo shaped carving made entirely of body filler. On further inspection it had been on its roof at some point, old roof and pillars cut off and a new one welded on, Replace airbag covers, stick a few pairs of socks and a resister where the airbag once was, Skim of body filler and its ready to go.
Seen the work this guy does?Polish bodywork repairers are absolute masters when it comes to piecing something together and making it look good (short term anyway) however I still have my doubts about the actual quality of the work.
My brother in law bought a used Polo which had allegedly been used by a elderly man to go to church and back, (for all 300k kms) It was pretty much a Polo shaped carving made entirely of body filler. On further inspection it had been on its roof at some point, old roof and pillars cut off and a new one welded on, Replace airbag covers, stick a few pairs of socks and a resister where the airbag once was, Skim of body filler and its ready to go.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEu3HaSINRE
TooMany2cvs said:
Seen the work this guy does?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEu3HaSINRE
That is truly horrifyinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEu3HaSINRE
PTF said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Seen the work this guy does?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEu3HaSINRE
That is truly horrifyinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEu3HaSINRE
A bodyshell is formed from multiple sub assemblies, straighten it, unpick it at the seams and replace the panel or use a smaller repair section, is what is done everyday.
A cut and shut is where rather then unpick at the seams, the section is just cut out flush and butt welded back in, that is not what is happening in that vid.
Edited by PAUL500 on Thursday 23 January 15:05
PAUL500 said:
PTF said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Seen the work this guy does?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEu3HaSINRE
That is truly horrifyinghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEu3HaSINRE
A bodyshell is formed from multiple sub assemblies, straighten it, unpick it at the seams and replace the panel or use a smaller repair section, is what is done everyday.
A cut and shut is where rather then unpick at the seams, the section is just cut out flush and butt welded back in, that is not what is happening in that vid.
Colleague of mine sold an 51 plate Citroen estate MOT failure to a Romanian guy for £100. That went away on a trailer destined for Eastern Europe.
Some Romanian guys live in a house down the road and have a huge LWB sprinter that’s been crudely converted into a camper - every few weeks they hook a double car trailer up to it with a couple of knackered VAG cars on and off they go.
Back the following weekend with an empty trailer, ready to go again.
Some Romanian guys live in a house down the road and have a huge LWB sprinter that’s been crudely converted into a camper - every few weeks they hook a double car trailer up to it with a couple of knackered VAG cars on and off they go.
Back the following weekend with an empty trailer, ready to go again.
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