L&K 2018 - Stick or twist

[The Wanderer]

Am looking for some forum wisdom on my situation.

 

I am a British expat who has lived outside the UK for the past twenty years (last 8 in France). I am returning to the UK in June. I have a Superb L&K estate (2 litre 150 hp DSG, 2018 MY - bought Nov 2017) which has done just under 115,000 kms. Have been very happy with it and if I was staying in France would almost certainly hang on to it for a few more years till an electric car was more viable. Now I am returning to UK I have two options:

 

1. I could import it to the UK and continue to use it for a similar amount of time (don't find the LHD a problem in the UK and will still be driving a lot in Europe in any case). 

OR

2. I can sell it to a UK dealer that specialises in LHD cars. I've been offered £15k for it - which strikes me as a fair price given it does have damage to one of the panels under the right hand doors, which would need replacing. 

 

I have to make my mind up before I go to the UK, as if I import it it will get a UK registration. This would reduce the value of the car to the dealer as they want cars with European registrations. I am concerned that if I do hang onto it when I come to sell it its' value will have diminished significantly both for this reason and the fact that by that time the mileage will be in excess of 150,000 kms (100k miles).

 

Also - should I be expecting things to start going wrong/need replacing given its' already significant mileage? I have recently had to replace the brake discs and pads for example, which was a pretty significant expense. Should I be anticipating further issues for a car of this age/mileage? 

 

If I did change cars I'd probably go for a used approved one that's less than 3-4 years old. This comes with the peace of mind of a two year warranty. In addition, I'd probably get it on PCP - chiefly to insure the value of a diesel/petrol car which may have depreciated a lot in a few years when probably hybrids and EVs will be becoming dominant. 

 

Keeping the current car will be easier and cheaper (at least in the short term), but is it the sensible option?

 

What would you do? 

[komoornik]

Why do you plan to sell it in UK, and not in France? 🤨

[The Wanderer]

Partly for convenience - I can drive back to the UK with the car full and not have to return to France to sell the car. But also £15k seems like a fair price compared to what I gather I would get from  a French dealer.

[freelunch]

I don't know what the law is these days, but it used to be that you had to pay import duty on a vehicle if you sold it within a year of importation. 

 

This might help: https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-registration

 

[J.R.]

Be aware that many of these LHD buyers will tell you what they think you want to hear regarding price knowing that once you have made the journey over with the car they can offer much less and will have you over a barrel.

 

You also run the risk of being pursued for speeding fines etc as they will insist that a certificat de cession is not completed, them reselling the vehicle with a foreign registration is borderline legal, if they sell it to someone moving to or returning to France they will provide a falsified reciept & paperwork in your name with your French address, it's the only way that the new owner could register it and the dealers details wont appear anywhere, worst case scenario is they sell it to someone intending to use it in the UK on the French plates & having immunity from speeding fines, parking tickets etc, if they rack up a lot then an investigation would lead back to you albeit at your old address in France.

[J.R.]

Be aware that many of these LHD buyers will tell you what they think you want to hear regarding price knowing that once you have made the journey over with the car they can offer much less and will have you over a barrel.

 

You also run the risk of being pursued for speeding fines etc as they will insist that a certificat de cession is not completed, them reselling the vehicle with a foreign registration is borderline legal, if they sell it to someone moving to or returning to France they will provide a falsified reciept & paperwork in your name with your French address, it's the only way that the new owner could register it and the dealers details wont appear anywhere, worst case scenario is they sell it to someone intending to use it in the UK on the French plates & having immunity from speeding fines, parking tickets etc, if they rack up a lot then an investigation would lead back to you albeit at your old address in France.

 

I would sell it on Ebay UK in the first month of your return with its French identity, if you look at sold listings you will see that vehicles go for strong money, it will likely be purchased by someone doing the same as you in reverse.

 

That way you would do the paperwork correctly with the certificat de cession etc and have relative peace of mind.

 

Of course it could still be bought by someone wanting to use it in the UK but you will insist on the certificat de cession being filled out to cover your back.

 

If you find that LHD vehicles are no longer making strong money (I've not looked for a couple of years & Brexit may have changed things) then you can be fairly sure that the dealer is nevr going to pay you the high price floated.

Edited 7 May, 2022 by J.R.

[The Wanderer]

freelunch - LHD dealers in the UK prefer cars that have not been (formally) imported. They are driven into the country as a normal European registered car and sold to people who want a car in the country of registration. As J.R. points out, there are many potential grey areas arising from this.

 

Thanks for your very useful post, J.R. I had wondered about the potential complications arising from the sale of a French car through a UK dealer. To be fair my impression of the dealer I spoke to was very positive - but who knows how accurate this assessment is. I will look into ebay - I hadn’t considered that.

[J.R.]

"Grey area" was the term I was searching for in what remains of my English vocabulary, much better than "borderline legal"!

[brettikivi]

Check Mobile.de for similar cars. The sale price over there is a hell of a lot more than £15k/€16.5k. Karlsruhe isn't that far from you. 

[Patent]

I always thought cars on mainland Europe held their value much better than in the UK. It seemed odd there was a higher price available in the UK for a LHD. Seems like it's just bait as above. 

 

If the car's been reliable and you don't mind LHD in the UK, I'd just re register it? Brakes are a consumable item after all

 

Otherwise drive it back within 6 months on French plates and trade it in on the continent?

 

 

[The Wanderer]

Patent - I think current circumstances have pushed up s/h prices to European levels (or above). I actually test drove a Karoq here to see if it was something that I could live with after being used to the Superb. Came to the conclusion that I could - it was very good - only to find, to my surprise, that similarly specced/aged Karoq's were if anything more expensive in the UK. (Last time I compared prices s/h hand cars here were so much more here than in the UK). In fact, generally speaking the price demanded for s/h Skodas in particular in the UK seems very high at the moment - in comparison to amongst others VWs, and even Audis when you take into account residual value. Skodas have long been known for their VFM - however, I would say that's just not the case any more if you're buying s/h. I would have considered consider buying new, but of course the wait time is so long at the moment (over a year in some cases).

 

brettikivi - £15k was worth over 18,000 euros at the time of the offer (the £ has gone down since). Having looked at mobile.de I see prices are higher though. If I do go down this route I seem to have room to negotiate. However, I'd say keeping the car is most likely at the moment.