Imports

[david_e]

Are there any problems buying a non uk sourced merc?

 

[Shude]

Are there any problems buying a non uk sourced merc?

Only the usual problems associated with an imported car:

Sometimes hard to verify mileage / service history
stupid insurance companies refuse cover
stealerships try to get out of servicing or warranty arrangements
the odd option turns up that either it hasn't got or the opposite and it's not expected

it mostly depends on the age/model and the country it was specified for, in some cases there will be very little trouble indeed if you can play the "European" card for when the car was specified for somewhere else in the EU

 

[Benzowner]

Can you import Mercs from Japan, and if so, are there any pitfalls other than previously mentioned, and how does the specs compare. Certainly Pajeros and Bighorns seem to have a higher spec than their UK counterparts

 

[Dave Kerr]

I imported my own MB C220 CDI in 2003, It was avantgard spec to full UK spec + a bit.
I did it over the internet with a broker in Holland, he never received any money from me, all monies were paid to Baan MB in Hengelo.
You get a two year warranty instead of three but you can still use the option to extend your warranty.
The stealership were quite happy to service the car, I don't know about any warranty problems because as of 28K miles there have been no problems.
The MB dealer in Hengelo know down to the last nut what the UK spec should be, it is a major source of income importing cars to the UK.
My import was completely trouble free and I saved over £3K :bannana: , if you need any more info just ask.

Dave

 

[david_e]

The car is a C270 cdi a/g auto for £21k at Motorhouse 2000. Seems cheap.

 

[C240Sport97]

make sure it's an EU sourced car .. as opposed to Japan or Cyprus etc.

Only EU sourced cars have the 2 year warranty. Not sure whether there is such a thing as 1 year worldwide warranty, like watches

The car is a C270 cdi a/g auto for £21k at Motorhouse 2000. Seems cheap.

 

[jimmy]

Mine was originally an import from Germany (aren't all MB's?), a bloke in the forces bought it and then imported it. I have had trouble with MB using it as an excuse to try and wriggle out of a corrosion warranty claim, but I got them too eventually.

I also had trouble with insurance, in that only 5 out of 60 odd companies on confused.com would insure it because it is classed as an import. My current insurers are OK and do not charge a premium.

 

[Shude]

I also had trouble with insurance, in that only 5 out of 60 odd companies on confused.com would insure it because it is classed as an import. My current insurers are OK and do not charge a premium.

They do this because they think that they will have problems getting hold of parts if your car is damaged! How stupid is that? We're talking about MB here, where as we have regularly demonstrated you can order any part you want off anything and it arrives in a couple of days!

 

[gary350]

My sister bought a CLK 320 Cab from Hamburg, by the time she actually got it the initial saving of about 10K had whittled down to a few hundred pounds plus all the agro when the first MB dealer in Hamburg closed. Also there is the money up front before seeing the car, I could not do that.

gary

 

[Dave Kerr]

You should never pay out any money until you have seen the car, all monies except the minimum deposit are paid into an escrow account, the bank verifies that the money is there to the dealer, once you have examined the car and given the OK your bank pays the dealers bank. It usually takes about an hour to complete the deal.

Dave

 

[spnracing]

My E320 CDi is an Irish import from a car supermarket. I saved about 4-5K on the price but in reality if I'd bought a UK car I would got about 4K worth of extra kit - xenons, headlamp wash, folding mirrors, etc. I'm always concerned that it will be harder to sell because of some of the (many) minor differences.

But 5K is 5K.

 

[glojo]

What an excellent and informative thread. Brilliant, interesting read.

It was reassuring to read that there are foreign dealers that do not require a large up front deposit.

I looked into buying my E-class from abroad, but I could NOT get anything near a price that would tempt me. If my recollections are correct, I think I could have made at most a £2000 saving after all the required options, BUT then I would have had to sell my own three year old E-class privately for cash.

I also found a site on the Internet that would purchase a UK sourced E-class at a similar price to the European quote, but the price they quoted for my trade-in prevented a deal. I made the best deal with my local dealership, HOWEVER if I had wanted a C-class or ML, then the savings might have tempted me to look abroad (dunno about the trade in aspect)

Another item worth considering and it MIGHT not apply to all dealerships, is the issue of courtesy cars. My dealer sends me a courtesy car and collects my vehicle for any servicing, or fault rectifying. I live in Torquay and the dealership is in Exeter. In summer periods it can easily be one hours travel EACH way. Would a dealer do this for someone who has imported a car and perhaps they complained about the memory on the seat settings keeps loosing the setting. Would the dealer send down a new ML350 as a courtesy car and take their vehicle away for investigation????? (Mine did)

I note the remarks of spnracing, has anyone else purchased an E-class from abroad please????

Great thread,
John

 

[mikemoss]

Jimmy's post was most welcome to me - I've just bought a 1999 E320 estate to find it was originally bought in Holland by an RAF guy who then imported it in 2000 and sold it through the MB dealer in Bristol. And hence to me. Luckily it has its Mobilo Life stuff with it, plus European conformancy document and a fully stamped-up MB service history. So when the rust strikes I should be OK, yes? I'll be sticking to the service schedule and using the local main dealer just in case. When speaking to the previous owner, it transpires that many UK services people posted to Europe bought locally-sourced Mercs at that time, then made a packet by selling them here when they got back. Mine was around £1500 less than a main dealer would have charged, and appears to be in pristine condition complete with that ludicrously expensive plug in tow bar which is ideal for my caravan!

 

[Satch]

Are there any problems buying a non uk sourced merc?

If EU sourced with a Certificate of Conformity only the usual cautions apply.
Outside the EU becomes more difficult.

But beware: there are a lot of places where MB's are "locally assembled" from parts or semi finished vehicles and sometime these can creep out into the Europen markets. Examples are Egypt, Malaysia, Thailand and India where the vehicles are sold at a substantial discount to what an imported model would cost. (mostly down to import tariffs).

Very soon China will join this club.

The standards are said to be the same as in the mainstream plants and indeed sometimes "locally assembled" just means the absolute minimum of parts & work to avoid being treated as an import but it can be a lot more.

For example the E class assembled in India are actually painted at the Tata plant.