Potential move to Europe prompts LHD car search

[V6Matty]

Well I'm hoping the title is self explanatory, but if not, then, in the not too distant future I may be moving to eastern Europe. As I won't realistically be able to keep the 212 out there, and the fact I'd feel safer with a Left Hand Drive car, what are the thoughts on purchasing LHD cars and from where?
I've had a look on AT and there is a S123 300TD for sale, now it's not going to blow me away with it's power but might be comfortable and reliable in a place where my language could leave me being ripped off, essentially no hassle motoring and something I can work on myself with the little mechanical experience I have.
Anything else I need to be considering while I'm at it?

 

[js190d]

Apparently in Poland it is not uncommon to see rhd cars on the road, due to the popularity of second hand UK VW, Skoda & Audi's.
Much cheaper in the UK than they are in Poland. Don't know about the rest of this part of Europe but i would imagine it is not much different due to the low standard of living in this part of the glorious EU.
As lovely as a S123 is would you maybe not be better off with a nice W124 for spares availablity etc.

 

[Flyinspanner]

W124, and you could probably get a body shop tidy it up much cheaper than in the UK, and spares would be easy to source....

Or on eBay search “mercedes LHD” and a whole raft pop up...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LHD-LEFT...875065?hash=item288a3bed79:g:HicAAOSwSRtdwtO~

MLs, GLs, ragtops, - will an Estate be more practical if you drive to/from the uk ? Or carting stuff locally as you set up home....

 

[V6Matty]

just happened to be a 123 on AT that looked well cared for no other reason than that, it's not set in stone that I'm going to be moving there, just putting plans together just in case it comes back a yes. If it makes any difference I'll be leaving to Slovakia, where my wife is from and with having the little one now, the standard of living we could have there compared to here is so much better.

 

[Frontstep]

Well I'm hoping the title is self explanatory, but if not, then, in the not too distant future I may be moving to eastern Europe. As I won't realistically be able to keep the 212 out there, and the fact I'd feel safer with a Left Hand Drive car, what are the thoughts on purchasing LHD cars and from where?
I've had a look on AT and there is a S123 300TD for sale, now it's not going to blow me away with it's power but might be comfortable and reliable in a place where my language could leave me being ripped off, essentially no hassle motoring and something I can work on myself with the little mechanical experience I have.
Anything else I need to be considering while I'm at it?

A bit left of field but ask someone from the country your going to, most of us haven't been.
Our country has an awful lot of people to ask.

 

[V6Matty]

A bit left of field but ask someone from the country your going to, most of us haven't been.
Our country has an awful lot of people to ask.

unfortunaly PCP out there is as bad as here if not worse, so the number of new cars that just aren't cared for is really bad. So buying in country isn't going to be an option. Even my BIL say try Germany or other Western European cars, likely to be better cared for even if a higher mileage.

 

[js190d]

just happened to be a 123 on AT that looked well cared for no other reason than that, it's not set in stone that I'm going to be moving there, just putting plans together just in case it comes back a yes. If it makes any difference I'll be leaving to Slovakia, where my wife is from and with having the little one now, the standard of living we could have there compared to here is so much better.

I have been on holiday to the Tatra mountains in Slovakia some years ago, very nice place indeed. If you look up Tatra cars you may end up wanting one of them. Like a big Czech 911!

 

[umblecumbuz]

Whichever country you buy from, check the import regulations involved with bringing the car into your country of domicile, and especially any import duty or hidden extra costs.
Obviously, if you buy within your new country, these should not apply.

 

[V6Matty]

I have been on holiday to the Tatra mountains in Slovakia some years ago, very nice place indeed. If you look up Tatra cars you may end up wanting one of them. Like a big Czech 911!

It the Tatra's we would move to, big ish town called Poprad, it's a lovely place to live for sure, seen the tatra cars, they are unfortunately rare these days though, not totally surprising I guess.

 

[V6Matty]

Whichever country you buy from, check the import regulations involved with bringing the car into your country of domicile, and especially any import duty or hidden extra costs.
Obviously, if you buy within your new country, these should not apply.

Good point Umble, that was one part I'd not really considered that much. I'll have to look things up.

 

[V6Matty]

okay so not quite as troublesome as I'd thought. a little paperwork and time sat at the local transport office (local police station as well in Poprad) and it should all be sorted http://www.slovak-republic.org/car/import/

 

[daibevan]

Apparently in Poland it is not uncommon to see rhd cars on the road, due to the popularity of second hand UK VW, Skoda & Audi's.
Much cheaper in the UK than they are in Poland. Don't know about the rest of this part of Europe but i would imagine it is not much different due to the low standard of living in this part of the glorious EU.
As lovely as a S123 is would you maybe not be better off with a nice W124 for spares availablity etc.

My neighbour sold their VW to a young Polish couple. Every time they went home they bought a car, drove it back, sold it on and the proceeds paid for their holiday, including a flight back to Blighty.

 

[Frontstep]

unfortunaly PCP out there is as bad as here if not worse, so the number of new cars that just aren't cared for is really bad. So buying in country isn't going to be an option. Even my BIL say try Germany or other Western European cars, likely to be better cared for even if a higher mileage.

Sorry I didn't make myself clear, I mean't ask say a Polish person here, Latvian here etc.

 

[d215yq]

Im not sure about Slovakia but in many poorer countries/even richer countries where a car is a tool and not a status symbol all used cars are worth a lot more than in the UK market which has some of the most depressed used cars anywere - particualrly if they are durable easy to fix cars with a good mpg which an S123 diesel would be. Even if not so old, my mate in Spain has just bought an 11 yr old Honda Accord diesel with 140k miles for 8500€ - Im guessing that would be a couple of grand tops here.

If that's the case the value isn't really in the LHD but the fact it's registered in the country. As a long shot I'd be searching in ebay/pistonheads/autotrader for "slovkian registered" in UK. If you happen to find something that's here on slovakian plates and they're selling then I'd imagine it would be quite a bargain as the audience must be slight.

As for your comment about them not being cared for don't mistake mechanical for aesthetic condition. In Spain cars are smashed about and the state of the bodywork is something to be hold. That said as mechanics are cheap and families rely on cars to last 20yrs old and do 300k miles they are generally serviced and mechanically OK.

If you are worried about the condition mechanically I suppose you could do what I sort of inadvertently did 5 yrs ago and buy a 300€ neglected W124 and then spend a lot of money making it all mechanically OK to your standard. Mine cost a bit to get working well again but the last 4 years it's done 80k miles without hardly any problems and certainly nothing expensive. I just got home to the UK after 1300 miles and not missed a beat other than a bit of a misfire for the first few seconds as it warms up. I have no quarms doing the 1300 miles back in 2 weeks. And another thign with a W124 is they have a following in almost every country (and the poorer the more they tend to have) so you would be able to find people who know how to get them up to scratch, and probably a lot more cheaply in Slovakia than here...

 

[davemercedes]

Matty, in the beginning you mentioned the possibility of being ripped off. I would ask those who know whether arriving somewhere in an S Class is a good idea - because lovely though it is, as it's an 'upmarket' market would it make you more likely to get ripped off?

 

[V6Matty]

Sorry I didn't make myself clear, I mean't ask say a Polish person here, Latvian here etc.

Ah, understand what you mean now, yes done that as well (very few Slovak's here unfortunately and they often don't advertise the fact either). One thing I've found is if we buy a UK registered car I'll have to ensure we then get a certificate of conformity (or what ever it will be called in SK), there will likely be the odd modification needed like lights as well.

 

[V6Matty]

Matty, in the beginning you mentioned the possibility of being ripped off. I would ask those who know whether arriving somewhere in an S Class is a good idea - because lovely though it is, as it's an 'upmarket' market would it make you more likely to get ripped off?

yep, know where you're coming from, personally I wouldn't be looking at anything too new, one due to the complications of needing STAR or similar, the other being finding a Indy there that can really take care of things.

 

[V6Matty]

Im not sure about Slovakia but in many poorer countries/even richer countries where a car is a tool and not a status symbol all used cars are worth a lot more than in the UK market which has some of the most depressed used cars anywere - particualrly if they are durable easy to fix cars with a good mpg which an S123 diesel would be. Even if not so old, my mate in Spain has just bought an 11 yr old Honda Accord diesel with 140k miles for 8500€ - Im guessing that would be a couple of grand tops here.

If that's the case the value isn't really in the LHD but the fact it's registered in the country. As a long shot I'd be searching in ebay/pistonheads/autotrader for "slovkian registered" in UK. If you happen to find something that's here on slovakian plates and they're selling then I'd imagine it would be quite a bargain as the audience must be slight.

As for your comment about them not being cared for don't mistake mechanical for aesthetic condition. In Spain cars are smashed about and the state of the bodywork is something to be hold. That said as mechanics are cheap and families rely on cars to last 20yrs old and do 300k miles they are generally serviced and mechanically OK.

If you are worried about the condition mechanically I suppose you could do what I sort of inadvertently did 5 yrs ago and buy a 300€ neglected W124 and then spend a lot of money making it all mechanically OK to your standard. Mine cost a bit to get working well again but the last 4 years it's done 80k miles without hardly any problems and certainly nothing expensive. I just got home to the UK after 1300 miles and not missed a beat other than a bit of a misfire for the first few seconds as it warms up. I have no quarms doing the 1300 miles back in 2 weeks. And another thign with a W124 is they have a following in almost every country (and the poorer the more they tend to have) so you would be able to find people who know how to get them up to scratch, and probably a lot more cheaply in Slovakia than here...

Interesting you say that, but I can see exactly where you're coming from, certainly more to consider I think.

Slovakia isn't in the same mindset these days unfortunately, cars are now seen as a commodity and status symbol, it's why I see people driving around in almost new cars and there being 2+ cars per household the same as here (bear in mind most still live in the communist 2/3 bed flats). In the towns themselves parking is a nightmare, so much parkland is being turned into carparks, and if not already tarmacked then they just park on the grass which just turns to mud.

If it had been 15 years ago, that would have been a very different conversation, but they just want to keep up with the Jonses now with credit and PCP rife. That said there is likely still a number of places that are good old fashioned mechanical garages that just care about keeping cars on the road, it's this sort of thing I'll know I'll need to sniff out, just going to take time and asking in all the right/wrong places.

 

[d215yq]

Interesting you say that, but I can see exactly where you're coming from, certainly more to consider I think.

Slovakia isn't in the same mindset these days unfortunately, cars are now seen as a commodity and status symbol, it's why I see people driving around in almost new cars and there being 2+ cars per household the same as here (bear in mind most still live in the communist 2/3 bed flats). In the towns themselves parking is a nightmare, so much parkland is being turned into carparks, and if not already tarmacked then they just park on the grass which just turns to mud.

If it had been 15 years ago, that would have been a very different conversation, but they just want to keep up with the Jonses now with credit and PCP rife. That said there is likely still a number of places that are good old fashioned mechanical garages that just care about keeping cars on the road, it's this sort of thing I'll know I'll need to sniff out, just going to take time and asking in all the right/wrong places.

Well the flip side of everyone having new cars like here is depressed values of old cars (unless many people who've never had cars are acquiring their first old cars as well) and thus keeping that side of the market afloat.

Regardless of what you choose, given all the other stuff with relocating to a new country and you already have an estate which should be handy for moving, I'd just go there in the S212... if you are being 100% legal you've got 6 months before you need to think about reregistering, and in practice as that sort of thing is not policed a lot more (I was 3 yrs here in my UK regd W124 estate before changing to a Spanish car). So in that 6 months + you can look to buy a local car that suits and then once you have that you can have a trip home in the S212 and sell it here.

I really wouldn't worry about finding an indie/foolproof way of maintianing a car in Slovakia, just buy something others drive in Slovakia and as labour is already cheaper it shouldn't be an issue even if the first repair/service is done at foreigner prices. To be honest, as I don't think many expats live there there probably isn't the market for that sort of thing. Unless there are lots of expats to make a thriving career out of ripping off the foreigner then most of them will just not really think of a strategy and be honest about price/work. Besides it's quite small scale in the list of reliable services/things you need to find when relocating.

Perhaps this way is not as fun as finding a bargain and importing but with all the associated hassle, and local laws/importers and legal stuff trying something like that is rarely as cheap or worth the bother as it seems and there'll be plenty of other stuff to think about atleast at first, especially with your kids going too! That said moving country was the best thing I've ever done so sounds like 2020 will be a great year for you!

 

[Ricardo_e220]

Interesting proposition, personally I wouldn’t be worried taking a RHD car there but you’ll struggle to sell it I suspect. Lhd cars hold their value a lot more in Europe, the buying second hand in Germany has always been a big thing due to their MOT/TUV check miles will be a lot higher than traditionally in uk as Europe 200k kms is deemed ok...

Also I suspect that like lots of Eastern Europe they’d be fine with most merc/vw type cars...

when I’ve travelled through Slovakia and Kosovo all taxi were merc/Skoda mostly with check engine and dpf (deleted) lights illuminated on about 300k kms minimum...