Hi all.

I have just spotted a snippet in the February edition of Car magazine, stating that sometime in March, the laws are set to change regarding personal importation of vehicles from the EC, although it does not state what changes will take place.

Following up, I decided to ring the DVLA, and was told by a chap that the laws are indeed about to change for the worse, although precise details were not available.

Anyone know any details? I was all set to order my next new Scooby from Holland, but now I am not so sure..

I've just had a quick look at the (crap) DVLA website and can't find any mention of this but would be very interested to know more myself as I am just about to hand over my deposit to a dealer in Holland.

Why is it so impossible to find out information on this sort of thing from our beloved bureaucrats? I thought Blair was going to buy all of them computers and take away their pencils so that they can join the rest of us in the 21st century!

Just to add, this is where I looked:

Folks,

The new laws will apply to imports from outside the EU, so if you had a brand new STiVI on order you might be in trouble.

EU rules mean that they *can't* clamp down on imports from other EU countires.

Apparently according to "Car Imports Guide" magazine, this is for non-EU Personal Imports.

The rules from March are that to qualify as a personal import, you must have been abroad for 12 months and used the car for 6 months.

Thanks

Gavin

So does this really mean no more WRX's and STi's?

I didn't realise that IM had such an influence on the EEC http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/wink.gif

Its yet another good reason to get out of Europe.

I agree with the Doc.
Brussels and their meddling can go jump. Toby Jug Blair is trying to make anyone who bring objections to Europe, and the Economic and Monetary Union he is so fond of, look like they don't understand anything. - Reminds me of the kids story about the Emperors new clothes !!!

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr....

Mick

Went off on one and was wrong - so post deleted. I'm all happy now.

Regards
James




[This message has been edited by James Neill (edited 23-01-2000).]

Fear Not !! Changes in March will mean an end to the 'Personal Import' way of bringing in cars. Many people have bought cars and had to go via Holland France etc, to 'qualify' their purchase as a personal import. SVA Rules prevented more than 50 cars of any one type coming directly into the UK. Dealers and importers used the 'personal import' route as a way to buck the system. march 2000 sees an increase in imports from 50 to 3000 rising to 10,000 by end of year and Unlimited in 2001. All cars up to 10 years old will then need SVA test (more money for the Gov.)as opposed to up to 3 year old cars. I'ts getting easier not harder so panic ye not... http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/biggrin.gif

PS This does ONLY apply to WRX/STi's, Euro's not affected at all...so sleep well

I have also heard a rumour that the price of the sva test is set to rise dramatically.This additional cost will therefore be passed on to the customer thus making the imports that bit less of a bargain...oh yeah..and more money for our good old government.

Showtime

The problem is that although the commercial rates are rising significantly this will surely mean that companies will be able to buy to stock for sale. This can only mean an increase in prices as they recover the effective interest costs of holding cars in stock - i.e they suffer all the upfront costs of inporting, whereas previously on personal imports most people paid up front to get the car released from Jap land and the associated import and other costs before they even saw the car.

Ah well, can onyl see this as good news for people who already have imports, or rather even better news for those who have ordered the P1 as it will be more of a bargain. Bsad news for the smaller importer, as I see them going out of business. I suspect that some will still try and take peoples money up front to secure an order on commercial terms.

Oh, yeah, and very bad news re the SVA - very few stations and much stricter rules re Exhaust emissions means most people will be shafted.

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