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Diesel cars a bit of a bargain in the Netherlands.
Due to the fact that the Netherlands has significantly higher rates of road tax for diesel cars when compared to petrol powered, the purchase of a used diesel car over there can work out less expensive than from neighbouring countries.
In Holland most of the new diesel cars registered are to large companies. The very high rate of road tax that has to be paid for diesel cars is offset by the cheaper diesel price which is currently around 1,30 euro per litre.
As an example the road tax for a diesel Nissan Primera 2.2Dci works out at around 1200 euro per year, somewhere around £1000 GBP. Whereas the road tax for an equivalent vehicle but petrol powered, would be around half of this.
It is therefore evident that for older diesel cars, the annual road tax which an owner will have to pay in Holland, is more than the car’s value.
This means that unless a high mileage is done, then the benefits of having a diesel car are gone and most private owners elect to buy petrol engined cars.
Hence when ex company diesel cars come up for sale, which is often through large lease companies, the resale market is really limited to either the export market or otherwise the cars have to be cheap enough to appeal to the few private Dutch buyers who are willing to pay the high road tax.
The second hand price difference between petrol and diesel cars in Holland is very noticeable, with the diesel cars being the cheapest, especially those over three year old.
Convert a car from Right Hand Drive to Left Hand Drive.
I am frequently asked whether it is possible to convert a vehicle from RHD to LHD or vice versa. Answer is of course, conversion is nearly always possible, but you will need to source the parts first, they may not be readily available. Also the complexity of the vehicle could make the conversion prohibitively difficult. Bear in mind that there is little or no information covering a conversion of most cars so any knowledge will be gained just through carrying out the job. Common sense will have to prevail.
It may be possible to buy new parts for the conversion, but this would obviously work out expensive, so sourcing second hand parts would be best. Search the internet for related forums and post a message on there about which car you want to convert. There could be someone who has already done a similar conversion whose advice and knowledge could prove invaluable to you.
There is a company in the Phillipines who convert brand new Toyotas. Obviously the more complicated the vehicle (i.e. with air conditioning) the more difficult the conversion. You should also check to ensure that you are not infringing on technical specifications regards type approval if the car is to stay within the European Union. there is simply no point in doing all the work to discover that the authorities will not allow you to drive the car.
Registration Papers and Registering a Left Hand Drive Car.
All vehicles in Europe must have a registration document (log book). If it does not, walk away from it as there is probably something wrong with it, no matter what excuse the owner comes up with.
Also check the VIN number on the chassis. It should be easy to find as this forms part of the cars annual inspection. The owner should know where it is located.
If you cannot find it or it appears to have been tampered with, damaged or altered, forget the car, there are plenty more good ones out there.
If you buy the car, the owner should be able to arrange an export document and temporary registration plates for the drive home.
To register a left hand drive car in the United Kingdom, the DVLA needs a certificate of conformity from the manufacturer (normally a formality), as the vehicle has already been registered within the EU, but it is a red tape rule that needs to be conformed to. It can cost up to £100 for certain cars, so check it out first.
In addition the vehicle will need a UK MOT and do not forget that you will need to change the LHD headlamps to UK RHD ones. Then you need to register the vehicle with the DVLA (check out their website). You will also have to insure the car, pay a fee for registration and 6 or 12 months road tax.
Beware the Cheap Left Hand Drive “Bargain”
The police and local authorities are toughening up on unregistered foreign import cars and their illicit use. Surveilance is now being kept at ports, motorways and other places of all foreign cars as they enter the UK.
Police are now using the very latest digital photography with automatic number plate recognition to trace and identify the owners of left hand drive cars who have failed to register their vehicles which have been in the UK for six months or longer.
The law is that if an imported car (i.e. one without a UK registration) is used on the road in the United Kingdom for 6 months or longer it has to be UK registered with the relevant road tax paid. The vehicle also needs a valid MOT and insurance and must conform to current UK road use requirements.
Owners of cars who fail to follow these rules face having their vehicles clamped or impounded together with hefty fines.
This should be borne in mind if you are considering buying a LHD car in the UK which still has foreign plates on it and it has not yet been UK registered. It may well be priced cheap because there could be an unpleasant surprise waiting for you - an outstanding fine on the car which the seller has failed to pay - So, I suggest, buyer do beware!
Driving on the Other Side of the Road.
The origins of driving on the right or left hand side of the road are believed to date back to the middle ages.
What it means is that as a result today more than 60% of countries now have right hand traffic and around 40% drive on the left.
In some of these countries the rules decrees right or left hand drive and no exceptions are allowed. Because there are so many countries which have leftdrive, the demand for left hand drive is so much greater.
There are some seventy six countries where vehicles drive on the left hand side of the road. The most important is the United Kingdom which in the late 19th century was at the forefront of car development , the UK pioneered right drive cars designed to drive on the left of the road.
Because of the lasting influence of the British Empire many commonwealth countries still drive on the left hand side of the road today. These include Australia, New Zealand, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and South Africa. Interestingly this has meant that while in mainland China people drive on the right hand side of the road in the former British colonies of Hong Kong and Macau people still drive on the left.
Almost all Pacific nations drive on the left hand side of the road, and in 2009 Samoa joined these left hand side driving countries. This is quite the rarity as before that it had been almost three decades since anyway else had decided to switch sides. Asian countries including Thailand, Indonesia and Japan also drive on the left hand side of the road. Thanks to Japans adoption of left hand side traffic many of its second hand cars end up in left hand driving countries such as the UK, Australia and New Zealand. This helps to account for the seeming overabundance of Japanese cars you see in those countries.
Probably the most problematic situations occur when the left hand driving country borders a right hand driving country. In parts of Africa, Asia and South America there are land borders where the uniform traffic side switches. Traffic lights and crossover bridges are employed in order to switch over the flow of traffic between the neighbouring countries.
One of the most interesting situations occurred in Japan where the island of Okinawa was occupied by the US Military. Because of this the people were forced to adopt right hand driving even though the rest of the country drove on the left. This lasted until 1978 when Okinawa switched to driving on the left like the rest of the population.
In Europe, Sweden, surrounded by countries with vehicles which drove on the rhs of the road likewise elected to drive on the right side in 1967, the last country on the European continent to do so. The timing of the changeover was early morning when there would have been little traffic, but would still have been exciting as cars switched from one side of the road to the other.
Driving on the left hand side is common practice in many of the world’s nations. Whilst right hand traffic is in the majority, it is good to be aware of which countries drive on the left. Being aware of a change in uniform traffic flow can help prevent a nasty accident when abroad.
All countries, whether they adopt right hand or left hand traffic, require by law that vehicles follow a uniform traffic flow. The obvious advantage of this is that it prevents head on collisions. The less obvious advantage is that it promotes the free and steady flow of traffic.
In countries that require people to drive on the left hand side of the road, the configuration of the cars are built to match. The important differences between right and left side cars include where the steering wheel is placed and where the controls in the car are to be found. The reason that is important to change the configuration of the steering wheel is so that the driver is positioned to have the longest line of sight when overtaking.
As a retired dealer I formerly specialised in lefthand drive cars, particularly 4x4, (Land Rover, Toyota Land Cruiser, Nissan Patrol and other four wheel drive vehicles) and have been trading in mainland Europe for over 20 years.
I also have experience in other makes of left drive cars, such as Mercedes, BMW, VW, Citroen, Peugeot, Audi, Renault, Ford, Jaguar, Opel, Porsche, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Smart, Mini, numerous American cars, diesel cars, motorhomes, trucks, vans and commercials, plus various other manufacturers.
A few years ago (2005), road taxes also changed in the Netherlands. It had been possible for anyone to have a 4x4, which if it was prepared as a commercial vehicle, ( i.e. removing some of the seats, blanking out side windows plus other changes) then it was taxed at around a fifth of the regular road tax. In the Netherlands, where the road tax is based on weight, it meant that the tax on a Land Rover Defender of around 2 tonnes weight would work out at around 360 euro per year instead of around 1350 euro.
A tightening of the rather lax regulations, meant that the owners of these commercial 4x4 had to have a VAT (BTW) registered business to qualify for the reduction. This wiped out hundreds if not thousands of owners eligibilty. This meant that there was a glut of such vehicles and there was a sharp drop in prices. Land Rover 130 crewcabs were especially affected, with many bargains to be found.
But, this is in the past. Now as in Germany, the market in the Netherlands has settled down and things are back to almost as they were before. There are no real bargains as such and if there are they will not be around for long.
It should also be noted that in the Netherlands there is another tax on non commercial vehicles (called personnewagens), which is a one off payment from when the car is new, of around 40% of the vehicles new sale price, including all options. It is not reclaimable, except for newer vehicles which were first registered October 2006 and thereafter.
This means that generally in the Netherlands, regular LHD cars are significantly more expensive than elsewhere in Europe, until they get to around ten years old then they more or less fall in line with other countries. This is because the Dutch are not so keen on older vehicles, which means that if they want to sell older cars, they have to look to export them, so the price has to be competitive with neighbouring countries. Commercial vehicles however, are generally cheaper than the surrounding countries and there are a few good buys around.
Another influence on the price of left drive cars is from the ex Soviet block countries. The further east you go the higher the price as there is more demand. But that does not mean that the Polish for example will not be seen in the UK buying RHD cars, because the price is a lot cheaper. They will take them back to Poland and then convert the car, truck, 4x4 or van from right hand drive to left hand drive and still make a profit.
If you want the best price for your car then don’t block bidders from outside the UK when selling on eBay.co.uk
I hear that more and more people selling on eBay.co.uk are blocking bids for their items from bidders outside the United Kingdom. Worried about foreign scammers, (particularly the infamous Nigerian type) they take the opinion that all bidders outside the UK are fraudulent and ready to rip them off, ultimately stealing whatever they are offering for sale on eBay or other UK auction sites.
The problem is that whilst there are many scammers out there just waiting for the right opportunity, there are many more honest bidders in Europe and elsewhere who are being blocked from bidding as a result. The more bidders you have the more you will obtain for your car or other goods you want to sell.
Scammers do not have to be from other countries anyway. They can obtain buyer accounts in the UK which means that their bid will not be blocked. eBay feedback is an excellent indication of a bidder’s integrity. If you are selling on eBay monitor your bidders and if you feel uneasy about them, contact them.
If you get no reply or are still uneasy about the bidder, send them another mail to say that you are not happy as you have concerns and then remove their bid, but advise of this first and state the reason for removing their bid. You can block individuals from bidding for your items.
Alternatively, include a sentence in the item description, telling bidders from outside the UK to contact you before placing a bid. If they make no contact and still place a bid, remove it and advise them why their bid has been removed.
Take the bidder on face value, evaluate them from their feedback and go from there. In the end you’ll get a better price.
Maybe Holland is finding things tougher than other EU member states, or the over stocking of cars by some car dealers in Holland means that if they need to sell they have to price keenly. Whatever the reason, Holland seems to be the place to look for a bargain left hand drive car right now.
Buying a car in Europe can work out to be cheaper than buying in the UK for certain left hand drive.
However the recent economic turmoil caused by the credit crunch has seen the value of the GBP £ sterling tumble, not only against the US$Dollar but also against the ever stronger European currency, namely the Euro.
This now means that it has never been a better time for people to buy cars from England and export them. Cars in the UK have never been so cheap for people from the rest of Europe. - Just hunt down that bargain buy.
eBay UK seems to be the foreign car buyers favourite hunting ground, being able to choose from a wide selection of LHD cars on eBay from the comfort of their own home whilst sat in front of their computer.
It has surprised many eBay sellers in the UK, one in particular, Steve Jones from South Wales, who sold his LHD car to a buyer from the Ukraine. A pleased Mr Jones said, “I had been trying to sell my car elsewhere for weeks when a colleague down the pub suggested I try eBay. It was a absolutely cracking suggestion - the car sold for more than I wanted to some foreign chap. I think he was from the Ukraine. I’ll be buying my mate a pint tonight.
Shortage of second hand RHD cars drives dealers to buy LHD.
With the unprecedented shortage of secondhand cars in the UK market and the resulting hype in prices, some wily dealers are buying LHD cars to supplement their low stocks.
One frustrated dealer from London said that he had never known the market like it in all his 25 years of trading.
Another concerned trader said that he needed a minimum of 12 vehicles on his forecourt to survive and currently only has 8.
He was seriously considering buying in a couple of LHD cars as stock to see how well they sold and if this proved successful then he would try more.
BCA are reporting buoyant sales, with many second hand cars achieving 10% and more than they would have been at the beginning of 2009 as vehicle prices appreciate rather than depreciate, something not seen in the used car market since the end of the Second World War.
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