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We looked into this and investigated 2 import firms available. Seemed OK, a lot cheaper but we ran into the usual warranty problems. The van we were interested in ended up being heavier than we had originally been told, so abandoned the idea because of that.

Hi one of the problems you will have will be that the van will not meet the uk spec on the gas side as they have to be modified on the pdi also the mains sockets will be wrong as there is only one importer of these vans you will have problems with wty issues the importer is Lowdham leisure in nottingham but they have other sites in hudderfield and Reading but wont do wty on imported vans

hopes this helps

Caratechs

We will definitely be looking to buy our next Hymer from Germany. The main Hymer dealers in Germany - here is one http://www.palmo.org/ are used to dealing with British and the UK requirements.

The price savings are huge. If you want more info, then go into the Hymer site and request a full caravan pack - but in German. You will also be able to see all the German Hymer dealers listed there.

A for Lowdhams not doing wty work on German purchased Hymers, I have news for you, they have to do this work. You simply need to contact Hymer Germany if you have a problem, and they will authorise it. The reason for any problems is that they can't handle the routine servicing etc for the number of vans that they actually sell.

In any event, you will be buying a Hymer, and the one we have hasn't had any problems, nor have the other three that we know.

A for Lowdhams not doing wty work on German purchased Hymers, I have news for you, they have to do this work.

How do they have to? My understanding is that they refuse point blank to work on vans imported from Germany as do some other dealers. I can't see that they are under any obligation to service such vans. Has it changed recently? Someone I know has a Hobby and he goes back to Germany with it every two years for the service to the dealer he purchsed it from and makes it a short holiday.

David

All this was sorted at the same time as the issue for cars. It also used to be the case that if you bought a car in Europe and imported it, then the dealer - Landrover, BMW or whoever wouldn't service it, and the warranty wasn't valid. This went to the EEC who ruled that the warranty was valid in the UK and work had to be done. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter to the dealer as they get paid for warranty work by the manufacturer. The real issue is that the dealer wants to sell a new car/caravan, and feels pretty p***ed off that you have eroded his margins by buying abroad.

Gary and Lesley  -  You might want to speak to Sandy at Jandi Caravans, his address is;

St Thomas Units,

Blackburn Road,

Addiewell,

WEST CALDER

EH55 8NF

Their telephone number is 01506 763000 or you can e-mail them at jandi.caravansatvirgin.net.

I know they are at the other end of the country from you and Sandi deals mainly with Eriba vans, part of the Hymer group.  But he does service and repair Hymers and is in close contact with the company in Germany.  At least he can give you some advice, tell you about the different national regulations and point you in the right direction. 

Be warned though Sandy loves a 'guid blether' so make sure you have a drink and a cumfy chair close by, LOL

Carr

The possible problem as I see it is does the privately imported van meet NCC/UK requirement?

Has it got fire retardant foam?, is the mains electrical circuits to UK standard?, has it got full earth bonding for instance? Might there be some issues with the gas setup? Are there other less important but nevertheless required standards to be met before a UK dealer could or would to get involved. After all if he sees an unsafe situation he has to do something about it, it's not an option for him to ignore it!!

Quote: Originally posted by JTQU on 13/2/2007

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Whilst it is legal for our continental visitors to tow thier 2.4 and 2.5 metre wide caravans in the UK using normal cars, it is not legal for a UK resident to tow anything over 2.3 metres wide with conventional cars. For us to tow our vehicle must be over 3.5 tonnes gross weight and we must hold the associated licence for a vehicle of that type.

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