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 Topic: First campervan - Import?
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14/8/2017 at 1:12pm
Location: Worcestershire
Outfit: Autotrail Tracker
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I'm not recommending you get a Bongo, just sharing a positive import story. Imported ours 10 years ago, it cost £6000. We could not afford a VW of similar age/specification, and I'm glad we couldn't!
We've had 10 years of hassle free motoring and traveled thousands of miles in France and the UK, never missed a beat.
Never had any issues with insurance or parts, the local garage has looked after it for several years with no problems.
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15/8/2017 at 7:12am
Location: kent
Outfit: Adria Twin 640 SPX
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Quote: Originally posted by Westward on 13/8/2017
Quote: Originally posted by Lianne1978 on 13/8/2017
Thanks for th advice. Are there any issues with spare parts or servicing?
That will depend on the vehicle, but not usually a problem. However, insurance can be a pain, as some brokers will not touch them. I have an import, and insurance on that is noticeably higher than on my other, larger vehicle. So bear that in mind.
I imported a van from Germany in 2015 and have had no issues with insurance at all. The whole process of registering it here was very simple and the DVLA were very helpful.
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16/8/2017 at 1:12pm
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Grey imports from outside EU Ie Japanese van might be more of an insurance problem. Imports from another EU country despite being lhd will comply with Euro regs so ok to insure.
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16/8/2017 at 6:28pm
Location: East Herts
Outfit: 1992 Elddis Wisp 450CT + X Trail
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When we had our Bongo, we had no problems whatsoever getting insurance. We had a choice of companies willing to insure it, and the prices were reasonable. Were we just lucky?
We heard of people having many more problems insuring LHD vehicles in this country, and having had a LHD Smart car, we found the same. As soon as we said it was LHD, many insurers didn't want to know.
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Best Regards,
Colin
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17/8/2017 at 10:06am
Location: Paisley
Outfit: Chausson Flash 22
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Bongo is far too small for 4 and quickly becomes very tiring when living in.. they are also very thirsty for their size returning low 20s mpg in town, can I ask why you are looking for a petrol as most Import vans are automatics and many are 4x4 making them very uneconomical to drive...?
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17/8/2017 at 11:40am
Location: Paisley
Outfit: Chausson Flash 22
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I certainly don't see this happening any time soon as there is no real alternative for larger vehicles at present. Have a look on the new van sales pages, they are all still diesel.
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18/8/2017 at 8:21am
Location: Pembrokeshire
Outfit: None Entered
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Quote: Originally posted by Colin21 on 16/8/2017
When we had our Bongo, we had no problems whatsoever getting insurance. We had a choice of companies willing to insure it, and the prices were reasonable. Were we just lucky?
Well, I would say "yes", but then we are each talking about a sample of one vehicle, so it's hard to extrapolate to the broader market.
Every year I go out there and get quotes. Yes, I do find insurers who cover imports. No, it is not as easy, partly because all the major insurance comparison web sites seem to assume that the vehicle is a UK model, so our import is simply not on the list that such websites use. So I google around, then fill in forms for individual insurance companies or ring to get quotes.
Also, we run three vehicles in this household, and the import is the smallest, the least valuable and, far from being exotic, it is almost identical to the sister model sold in the UK. Yet it is also the most expensive to insure.
I suggest to the OP that they find a vehicle that looks interesting, like an Alphard, then try getting quotes for that specific vehicle. There may be no issue at all.
On the other hand, what the OP does not want to happen is buy an import and only then find that the insurance will cost twice what they expect. Forewarned is forearmed, and all that.
EDIT That aside, I really like Alphards and nearly bought one new myself when I lived in Asia.
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