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Last September we went to Düsseldorf to buy a Hymer A class. We then saw the Frankia I6800BD. This is on the new Mercedes cab with the Alko chassis. We were given the hard sell from a dealer in Southern Germany but felt that we should look for a dealer closer to home. On our way back we dropped in to Jumpertz at Julich near Aachen and tried to negotiate a deal.
The clinching factor was meeting Samantha and John (FrankiaMH) who were parked up waiting for some minor warranty repairs. Having heard their glowing report on the dealer and Frankia (Not the delivery time) we were quite confident in going ahead with the purchase especially as the deal was better than that we got at the show.
So here we are 4 months later, we have sold our old MH and we have a delivery date of March (They wanted to deliver in February but we want an 07 plate). We went through a series of emails, ordering upgrades, as our translation of the options list improved. We visited the NEC in September and saw the same mock ups that we saw in Düsseldorf (I hope they get the cab mouldings sorted out). We got the English version of the options list, which resulted in even more emails, and had a pleasant surprise when we compared the UK prices to what we had paid. So now we only have to deal with the importing and any issues that arise from that, add all the extras – alarms, solar panel, refillable gas bottles, reversing camera, etc.
I would be interested to know the type of insurance given by the German dealers and how long it is valid for. Safeguard have agreed to insure the vehicle on the VIN but only from arrival on UK soil.
The following members of MHF thanked howardandsue for this posting
I bet you'll concentrate especially hard until you get to Calais!
The lack of comprehensive insurance on something that costs a small fortune seems the only nightmare scenario with buying a LHD vehicle on the continent. Can't think I can recall any horror stories though.
Start planning those trips!
Dave
The following members of MHF thanked DABurleigh for this posting
Welcome to MHF and well done so far, you've obviously done your homework.
There doesn't seem to be any way to get comprehensive insurance for getting the M/H back to Calais, the insurance offered by the German scheme is strictly third party only with one named driver who must be the person that registers the vehicle for export. It may be possible to arrange for the dealer to drive it to the port but their insurance may be no better - or may not cover at all as the vehicle will then be registered to you with the appropriate export plates. If you look through the "Importing" forum you'll find numerous posts on the subject.
We've always used the German insurance and just taken care on the journey home, at least it's not far to Calais from Aachen.
If you are really woried about driving on third party insurance, why not approach a transporter firm in the South East of England?
It might cost a fair bit, but....
I will do a little hunt around later and see what the price might be.
Russell
______________________________________________________________ Never been here before
I´m intrigued, I´m unsure
I´m searching for more
I´ve got something that´s all mine
I´ve got something that´s all mine
Take me somewhere I can breathe
I´ve got so much to see
This is where I want to be
In a place I can call mine
In a place I can call mine
The following members of MHF thanked Rapide561 for this posting
As Europe becomes an even more cohesive trading entity, there will be more and more personal importing, until the UK dealers get their act together on pricing. Look what happened to car pricing across the UK.
Gerald
The following members of MHF thanked geraldandannie for this posting
Having been through this loop recently I can confirm that there is more than one insurance deal available from the licensing centres in De. I think that these vary only in duration of cover tho' - we bought the cheapest at 38 euros for 14 days. There is a 28 day option also but I imagine that you'd want to get back fairly smartly, I know we did....
gut reise...
CnV
Well after a month's delay we have the message from Germany that the van is ready. Can you pick it up in 3 days time? No, the logistics are too great, flights, ferries, time off work and time to transfer the money mean that we can't go until Friday.
Well at least we have the VI and can get it insured for the UK, can make appointments at Vanbitz, book Peterborough and arrange for Gaslow, solar panel etc to be fitted.
Let's hope it all goes smoothly, flights on time, connecting rail times, no faults on pickup, registration office open on Saturday, no faults on return trip and no accidents whilst on 3rd party insurance. Was it worth it?
I will let you know next week!
Howard
The following members of MHF thanked howardandsue for this posting
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