22 Apr 04
A few years back, there was widespread publicity over "rip-off Britain" and how it was much cheaper to buy a car from abroad than via dealers in the UK. Large numbers of vehicles were imported through unofficial channels, by private individuals or enterprising agents and brokers. Since then, changes in EU legislation to break up price cartels and a change of policy in the industry - in response to falling sales at the franchises - has led to an evening-out of average price differentials between British dealers and their Continental counterparts.
However, there are still savings to be made; many independent sales outlets now offer cars sourced from outside the UK as a matter of course, and there are still a large number of agents and brokers who can get you the car you're after at a good price. There is also a continuing market for models not officially sold in the UK, usually specialist performance cars and exotica from Japan, or American muscle cars.
Yes, we've all heard the horror stories about agents running off with deposits, or the Continental dealers charging over the odds for right-hand-drive vehicles, sending the wrong car over, refusing to honour warranties... But no, it's not really that difficult, and buying a car from abroad need be no more risky than buying a car in the UK.
