What are the main differences between using a UK company to supply a new Euro Impreza compared to going direct to a Subaru dealer in Holland or Belgium?

Are there hidden pitfalls/paperwork or any extra services offered by either option?

I've got a bank account full of Euros so paying in those means no exchange rates to worry about but is there anything else to consider such as VAT, road tax, warranties?

Has anybody imported a Scooby direct from a european dealership themselves?

 

I'm just starting a Company to import Impreza's, its not fully operational yet but when it is there will be a banner appearing.

You dont realy have any additional services from such companies, as you have Euros thats helpfull for exchange rates. If you chose not to use a company and go it alone you then need to transport the car to the UK this can be either collected or transported, not a great cost. When the car arrives in the UK you have seven days to pay the uk VAT 17.5%, once this is paid you will need insurance for the car, with this all done you then need to register the vehicle,buy some road tax and get some number plates made up.
Euro cars dont come with alarms so you will need to get one fitted aswell.
Its essential that you have the original invoice for the car as well as a certificate of conformity, you will also need to ensure that you send the dealer proof that you paid the VAT.

Basically importation co,s take all the work out for you and the saving you make by going it alone is not that great.

Hope that helps a bit, Email me if you have any further questions.
We should be launching this month so keep your eyes out.

 

Daz, not doubting what you say, but...

The DVLA now inform HMC&E (customs) that there's a pound of flesh coming their way; you don't have to do anything.

HMC&E took around 3 weeks to send me my VAT invoice, which was wrong, then another 2 weeks to sort it out to the correct value.

Has something changed, or was I lucky, or are the rules slighly different for agents?

As Daz says tho, the savings made by going alone really are not much. On the other hand, it's worth looking at.

Good luck with your venture, Daz.

Cheers,
Nick.

 

I've done both and there are merits of both. The DVLA informed C&E for me and the bill arrived about two weeks later and was correct.

The lead time is usually the same unless you deal with a large import dealer who carries stock of the cars.

The effort involved in doing it yourself is minimal and I would probably do this again if the saving was more than say £1k over the saving that a UK based import dealer could offer.

The fact that IM have brought the price of their cars down makes the import option a harder choice (which is obviously why they did it) but I would still go the import option, but would have to weigh up the personal route or not very carefully.

I went for the UK company import route for a couple of reasons last time:

1. because they already had the car on order and so the lead time was less
2. because the EU pricing for the STi was not available when I ordered my car, it would have added an extra month onto the lead time, on top of the fact that the EU lead time was already longer.
3. It turns out that there would have been very little difference between the price for the personal import and the UK company I bought it through.

Hope this helps,

Ta,

Matt

 

Chiark,
you are correct the DVLA will inform C&E but you can inform C&E first to speed things up a little, more likely to get it right as well, sorry dont have to pay the VAT within 7 days just declare it to C&E.

Oh and thanks should be launching this month.

Matt, IM have made the pricing more compedative but there are still savings to be made. As you say it is easy to go it alone just what you prefer to do realy.

 

I imported a WRX from Belgium (Garage Knockaert), delivered in Nov 02

The whole process took 6 months but was not complicated.

Paid a deposit of 3750 euros by credit card.

Paid the balance by bank transfer in euros prior to delivery

Waited 6 months. went over to Belgium picked it up & drove home.

Registered it at the local DVLA office. Recived the registration number 1 day later, got number plates made up & had an larm fitted.

Got the VAT payment request from customs & excise after two weeks and had four weeks to pay the VAT (in pounds sterling).

Total Cost £16.5k.

You need to watch exchange rates however if you have euros already this won't apply.

Overall no real problems.

Kiwi

 

Thanks chaps.
So which UK based companies do any of you recommend?

 

I'd give The Import Company a try - www.importcompany.net

They did my MY00, Clio 172 and several other cars for my family and friends.

Planning to use them for my MY03 (if I decide to go for one).

Chris

 

You could try the following

Litchfield
Keyring Cars
Emperor

All have received good feedback from what I've read on here, failing that you could mail me per profile and become our first customer or even if you just want more info, bear in mind that the above may have ordered cars for short delivery so no long waits.

Cheers
Daz.

 

Daz, you should have mail!

John

 

Even though we’d never sourced a car from overseas before, myself and my partner imported a UK spec' WRX in August 2002 direct from Belgium.

Our thoughts were, why pay someone else to arrange a deal that we can make ourselves. Especially as some import companies don’t offer credit card facilities and you have to take a gamble on their trustworthiness/solvency, unless you set up an Escrow account - http://www.fortis-escrow.com.

Having read a couple of issues of “Car Import Guide”, it became clear that Belgium had the cheapest prices and we made contact with Garage Knockaert nv,Ypres.

One email later we had a very attractive price for a brand WRX, complete with Morettes, clear indicators/side reflectors, detachable tow-bar, roof bars & floor mats - they were happy for us to pay the deposit by credit card, which meant we had some security while we waited for the factory order confirmation to come though.

We have to admit that it gave us a very strange feeling buying a car by email & telephone, however we’re delighted to report that the whole deal went through without a hitch. And apart from the expected lack of a Cat 1 alarm (you do get a Cat 2), everything was the same as a MY02 UK car (including a 3 year warranty). Even after hours of searching, the only difference we’ve been able to find is the absence of locking wheel nuts - but we did get a warning triangle, fire extinguisher, first aid kit & a pair of protective gloves.

With a typical build time of between 4-6 months, to make sure you don’t get unexpectedly hit by a weakening pound it’s sensible to forward buy your euros (most High Street banks can do this) - if you don’t, the extremes in fluctuation in exchange rates can mean as much as an £800-£900 difference in the price of your car.

“Garage Knockaert” is a small family run firm with over 18 years experience of Subarus and the guy to speak to is Alain Knockaert. He was very helpful with all our queries and even though we chose to collect our car in person (filled up with cheap booze on the way home to help celebrate our shiny new toy), we could have had it delivered to our door (on a Transporter) just as easily.

Even the DVLA (loads of info on their website - http://www.dvla.gov.uk/welcome.htm) were very easy to deal with, the only painful part of the whole process was sending a cheque to HM Customs & Excise for the dreaded VAT........grrrrrrrrrr

Acid test, would we do it again? If the price is right, you bet-ya!!!!!

Contact details;
Alain Knockaert
Garage Knockaert nv
Tel : 0032 57 20 20 66
Fax : 0032 57 21 61 98
E-mail : knockaert.gar@pandora.be

 

ScoobyWon't, on Daz's behalf...

YOU HAVE MAIL

 

Very fast response! Excellent customer services
I replied around 17:00.

 

I've left the office for the day but will respond to your mail in the morning.

 

My import the 2nd time was with Litchfield Imports who I would highly recommend

Matt

 

Scooby Won't

YHM as promised.

 

Thanks for the info