Best place to buy a car

[zansi]

I am thinking of purchasing a Honda HRV and understand that vast savings are possible in Europe, has anyone any experience in these matters?

2old i believe that the Netherlands is the Mecca of the car importer is this true?

Zansi.

 

[2old4this]

ha!
It may be cheaper for you Brits buying a car on mainland Europe, but it sure ain't for we mainland-European residents...
What all those sensationalist "rip-off Britain" media campaigns conveniently forget to say is that although the base price of cars may be cheaper in some countries, the taxation on them in many cases more than compensates. It is probably much more expensive for me (tax-resident in NL) to buy a particular car in NL than you (tax resident in the UK). I don't know what kind of purchase tax you guys pay on your vehicles but I would bet they are significantly lower than ours (most are).
We Dutch pay two large taxes on all new cars that together average out to about 25% on the base price (plus we pay BTW - the equivalent of VAT - but higher than VAT). And let's not even start on the annual road tax...
Same principles apply to many other countries.

But the bottom-line is: I'm afraid I have no idea what kind of deals a non-Dutch resident might get given that those taxes would be replaced by your own equivalents (whatever they be)...

2old

 

[Pligs76]

Zansi,

You might even get it cheaper in Denmark where they pay 180% duty + 25% VAT which means the basic price without any taxes are amongst the lowest in the world.

One Danish company specialised in selling ‘Danish’ cars to the EU is http://www.carprices.dk/.

Every brand is different though. Heard that Holland is quite cheap on Renaults.

Anyways, everybody knows that you guys in the UK are being ripped off and since warranties are EU wide I certainly would buy one in mainland Europe.
Your only problem might be dealers being upset that you didn’t let them rip you off.

I bought a taxfree car in Denmark and registered it in Germany saving 20% - on a car made in Germany.

Pligs

 

[2old4this]

>> everybody knows that you guys in the UK are being ripped off

are they??
How can anyone seriously claim they are being ripped off knowing that the purchase price to the customer (regardles of base price) is amongst the lowest in Europe???
That's the kind of ripped off I'd like to be!

 

[rolfw]

It'll all be academic when the taxes are harmonised and the euro comes in for everyone. Nowhere to run , nowhere to hide, no excuses, no "well the spec is different" it should all be transparent......Then I woke up!.

Rolf

 

[Pligs76]

2old has of course right: Whether you are being ripped off by the dealer or the government is the same.

In the UK car prices are subject to VAT only i.e. no import duty / registration fees which you have in countries like Holland and Denmark.

According to the European Commission the UK is still the most expensive country in Europe to buy a car.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog/reports/transport/wnewcars.shtml

Believe the fact caught everybody’s attention when BBC’s TopGear in 1999 went to Holland and bought a right hand drive Rover, imported it to the UK, paid all fees and VAT and in the end saved almost 40%.

Today in the UK you even have special “car buying tours” going to Belgium and Holland to buy cars – right hand drive cars of course. A quick search will reveal a long list.

Like Rolf, don’t think these things will be harmonized. Loosing the taxes deriving from car sales in countries like Holland and Denmark will have a major effect on the economy.

Pligs