PART A - FROM IDEA TO OFFER
[Note: I wanted to write all this down before we forget all the details of the excitement (there was a bit) and stress (lots of that) of our project over the past few months. Please don't feel obliged to read on - but for those of you with an interest in these things, please be our guest...]
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| Our old VW T2 Danbury camper van |
We looked at various marques. I'd always liked Hymers, especially the fully-integrated type: quirky and continental in style - reference Terry and Sue's "Love Bus". Hymer is the Mercedes/BMW equivalent of cars - fully insulated for cold winter travelling, plus excellent build quality. But the Hymer integrated cab style was a long way outside our price range, plus we didn't need or want the drop-down driver's cab bed, as there's just the two of us. We thought about second hand, but our dream was to buy a brand new one that had never been used or abused by anyone else - or their pets. Something that was our own. Both of us liked the idea of a fixed, transverse (sideways) double bed, with a large garage underneath that could take lots of outdoor gear as well as two road bikes - rather than having them exposed on a rear-mounted rack.
Whilst trawling the internet one day, I came across Erwin Hymer World GmbH - the largest Hymer dealer in the world, based at Wertheim, in southwestern Germany. In their online market they were heavily discounting some brand new Hymers - obviously needing to be shifted to make way for shortly arriving 2020 models. Having given up on the dream of affording the integrated version, we were particularly attracted by the Exsis low-profile T 594 model, of which they had two identical vehicles for sale, with a Fiat Ducato 2.3 Multi-jet diesel base, upgraded from 130 to 150 bhp.
The fixed transverse double bed with under-garage style doesn't appear to be so popular in continental Europe, where most motorhomes are sold with two longitudinal single beds. So these T594s were being offered with crazy prices - a discount from list of 22%! Plus the generous accessories: well, we could have written the list of extras ourselves, they were so well aligned to our wish-list.
The cheapest equivalent Hymer Exsis T594 we could find in the UK was a similar last-year's sale model at Knowe Park Caravans in Livingston. After a good look round the motorhome, the salesman wrote on a business card his best price. It was £18k more than the Germany price!
Over the next few weeks we trawled round several other showrooms, comparing the Hymer with other makes - British, Italian and Spanish. Whilst everything was still pricey, bargains were definitely to be found, however nothing was as cheap as the Wertheim offer. And these others just didn't quite match our specification or have the allure of the prestigious German marque. OK, the German import is left-hand-drive, but I'd coped OK with that for six years with the VW camper.
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| This is what it's all for |
Obviously it's quite a lot more than "just a bit of paperwork", as I found out in the ensuing months. But, having researched the process, I believed it was something that could be achieved by an individual buyer. After all, paperwork and processes were supposed to be my thing. Give me a form and some complex finances and I was (usually) happy to give it a go.
So, we agreed a strategy. I offered a reduced price for the slightly dearer of the two "identical" T594s. We waited a day or so, and then a reply came by email - our offer had been accepted!! Gulp! We'd secured 25% off a beautiful, posh German motorhome. Our unaffordable Hymer dream was becoming a reality. I knew we'd have some additional costs to add to the purchase price, but even then, we were looking at a £15k saving on the cheapest UK-sourced price.
PART B - COLLECTING THE HYMER
[NB this is the 2nd of 3 parts of my blog, describing how we came to offer, collect and import our new Hymer Exsis T594 motorhome]
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| Ian at Wertheim-am-Main |
Do you ever get that panicky feeling, when you've gone and done something crazy? Like had an offer accepted for a new German motorhome you've then got to import? Yikes! What do we do now?
There were many occasions during this process where I was so much outside my comfort zone - with a lot of money at stake! It occurred to me several times when in difficulties that if we couldn't get past the current sticking point, we were well and truly stuffed.
So some concerted research was called for. The actual collection of the vehicle would be the relatively easy part. We discovered that once the vehicle arrives back in the UK it has to be registered with the DVLA. You can't carry on driving a permanent import without a UK registration plate.
First, the collection process. We realised we could quite simply arrive at the German dealership and drive the van back to the UK, so long as it was fitted with export plates for the journey. Then after arriving home, our insurance prevented us from driving the vehicle again until it was fully registered as a UK vehicle, except to take it to be modified (see below).
Google is an amazing thing. But every piece of quality information out there is dwarfed by the vast quantity of irrelevant, uninformed or misleading comments. I trawled through several motorhome forums that discussed importing, and eventually came across a comment from one "lennyhb", buried deep in a forum discussion. I copied his advice and referred back to it at almost every point in the ensuing process. Unfortunately, at one crucial point I forgot to review this checklist, but we'll come to that in PART C. Anyway, here's a summary of lennyhb's process notes, refined with the subsequent benefit of my own experiences. Read carefully - this could save you a fortune and your sanity:
MINTY's & LENNYHB's KEY STEPS TO IMPORTING A LEFT-HAND-DRIVE MOTORHOME INTO THE UK FROM THE EC:
1) Once back in the UK with your new import, you must pay the UK Vat due by registering with the Government Gateway and paying via the HMRC NOVA (Notification of Vehicle Arrival) service. Make sure you receive confirmation that the Vat has been paid or the DVLA will reject your subsequent V55/4.
2) Your LHD van must be certified - and modified if necessary - to conform with UK standards on three factors: Headlamp beam (to the left), speedometer (must include mph) and rear fog lamp (not just on left side). A Vat-registered or MoT garage must modify/verify the van and provide a letter or an invoice certifying to this effect.
3) Apply to the VCA (Vehicle Certification Agency) with your proof of conformity invoice/letter, the converter's (Hymer) Certificate of Conformity (CoC) and £100 fee for an IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) certificate. The IVA is an essential pre-requisite to the ensuing DVLA registration.
4) Send your IVA certificate, together with your Certificate of Newness & completed V55/4 new vehicle import registration form, to the DVLA along with payment for VED (vehicle excise duty, or road tax, £245 for PLG or £165 for PHG) and first vehicle registration fee (£55). When your vehicle is fully registered, the DVLA will issue you with a random registration number reflecting the age of the vehicle.
NB) To clarify the point about Vat, we had to pay the German dealer the agreed price before collection, which included German Vat at 19%. To import a vehicle into the UK, you're required to pay UK Vat of 20%, and once you have proof of payment from HMRC, you can claim back the foreign Vat paid - in our case the 19% German Vat. So there was a small additional cost for us to factor in, ie an extra 1% Vat (approx. £500).
Lennyhb also made the following observations, which proved to be spot-on:
VCA service is usually very good - you get you IVA back in a few days.
NOVA can be a pain as these days they only do financials on Tues & Thur so it can take over a week and their message system is flakey.
DVLA are slow and inefficient and can take 4 weeks or more and the slightest thing wrong with your application they won't query it they will just reject it.
There were many occasions during this process where I was so much outside my comfort zone - with a lot of money at stake! It occurred to me several times when in difficulties that if we couldn't get past the current sticking point, we were well and truly stuffed.
So some concerted research was called for. The actual collection of the vehicle would be the relatively easy part. We discovered that once the vehicle arrives back in the UK it has to be registered with the DVLA. You can't carry on driving a permanent import without a UK registration plate.
First, the collection process. We realised we could quite simply arrive at the German dealership and drive the van back to the UK, so long as it was fitted with export plates for the journey. Then after arriving home, our insurance prevented us from driving the vehicle again until it was fully registered as a UK vehicle, except to take it to be modified (see below).
Google is an amazing thing. But every piece of quality information out there is dwarfed by the vast quantity of irrelevant, uninformed or misleading comments. I trawled through several motorhome forums that discussed importing, and eventually came across a comment from one "lennyhb", buried deep in a forum discussion. I copied his advice and referred back to it at almost every point in the ensuing process. Unfortunately, at one crucial point I forgot to review this checklist, but we'll come to that in PART C. Anyway, here's a summary of lennyhb's process notes, refined with the subsequent benefit of my own experiences. Read carefully - this could save you a fortune and your sanity:
MINTY's & LENNYHB's KEY STEPS TO IMPORTING A LEFT-HAND-DRIVE MOTORHOME INTO THE UK FROM THE EC:
1) Once back in the UK with your new import, you must pay the UK Vat due by registering with the Government Gateway and paying via the HMRC NOVA (Notification of Vehicle Arrival) service. Make sure you receive confirmation that the Vat has been paid or the DVLA will reject your subsequent V55/4.
2) Your LHD van must be certified - and modified if necessary - to conform with UK standards on three factors: Headlamp beam (to the left), speedometer (must include mph) and rear fog lamp (not just on left side). A Vat-registered or MoT garage must modify/verify the van and provide a letter or an invoice certifying to this effect.
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| A glimpse inside the Exsis T594 |
4) Send your IVA certificate, together with your Certificate of Newness & completed V55/4 new vehicle import registration form, to the DVLA along with payment for VED (vehicle excise duty, or road tax, £245 for PLG or £165 for PHG) and first vehicle registration fee (£55). When your vehicle is fully registered, the DVLA will issue you with a random registration number reflecting the age of the vehicle.
NB) To clarify the point about Vat, we had to pay the German dealer the agreed price before collection, which included German Vat at 19%. To import a vehicle into the UK, you're required to pay UK Vat of 20%, and once you have proof of payment from HMRC, you can claim back the foreign Vat paid - in our case the 19% German Vat. So there was a small additional cost for us to factor in, ie an extra 1% Vat (approx. £500).
Lennyhb also made the following observations, which proved to be spot-on:
VCA service is usually very good - you get you IVA back in a few days.
NOVA can be a pain as these days they only do financials on Tues & Thur so it can take over a week and their message system is flakey.
DVLA are slow and inefficient and can take 4 weeks or more and the slightest thing wrong with your application they won't query it they will just reject it.
So, back on with the story...
We booked our Lufthansa flights from Birmingham to Frankfurt for the weekend of 23rd November 2019, arranged car hire and Friday night hotel at Wertheim, near to the Erwin Hymer World dealership.
Then we paid the balance of the full price over to the German dealership a week or so before collection. I was pleased that we managed to save ourselves around £1,000 in bank foreign exchange (Fex) fees, when a kindly business acquaintance agreed to let us use their Euro bank account to make the payment, thus avoiding the rather eye-watering High Street bank conversion fees.
It wasn't all plain sailing though. Relations with Axel [not his real name], our contact at the German dealership were becoming a little strained, as we weren't getting the quality of service one would expect from a UK new vehicle sales dealership - far from it, in fact. Calls weren't answered, emails sometimes went unresponded to, and any replies were often vague and open to being misconstrued. The language barrier became increasingly an issue, as when we encountered difficulties, Axel would sometimes appear to forget how to speak English. I was also less than ecstatic about Axel asking for an extra €550 to cover their supply of the essential export plates, as I'd researched this and found that I could have paid a tiny fraction (less than €100) of that amount if I'd organised it myself with the local authority. But our schedule didn't give us enough time to attend the council office and sort this out ourselves.
Then it all blew up. One evening, a few days before we were due to collect the van, I wanted to find a photo of the model we were buying, and was browsing their internet market page. Upon checking their list of sale vehicles, I noticed that there remained one of the T594s, but it was at the higher price of the original two. I was expecting only the lower priced one to be still on sale, as my original offer was specifically for the one I was told was the more expensive.
I contacted Axel, who, after several chasing emails, eventually conceded that they'd selected the cheaper one for us. I voiced my displeasure and threatened to write a letter of complaint to his MD unless they swapped it. When Axel finally responded, he said: "It's too late now; the other vehicle is sold - write the letter if you want to, either have your money back or take the one we've prepared for you." My breath was well and truly taken away!!!
Well, what to do about that? Axel said that, anyway, the two vehicles were identical. So why was one on sale for €1,000 more than the other? I was fuming; what they'd done was so unethical. Yes, I'd offered - and we'd agreed - a price less than the cheapest one was on sale for, but that doesn't give them the right to switch vehicles. Julia and I discussed the options, and both agreed it would be "cutting off our nose to spite our face" to back out at this late stage, having booked flights and a hotel. After all, we were still getting a great deal.
In the end we decided to proceed with the project. After much grumbling on my part, Axel agreed to waive the charge for the export plates and would include the reversing camera we desperately wanted because of the 7 metre vehicle length and LHD. I quote from an email of 21st November: "the export plates will be tomorrow done and the camera should be today here.". Still, it all left a bitter taste in the mouth.
Finally, Friday evening came, and we were off. The flight and drive went well, and we arrived in Wertheim around 10:30pm. The town itself is striking and majestic, with its landmark castle and medieval town centre. We strolled out for a late-night walk and squeezed into a very nice olde-worlde bar just before closing time. Everyone was very friendly - and rather drunk on what was exceptionally tasty beer!
Saturday morning, 9am on the dot as agreed, we arrived at Erwin Hymer World GmbH to be greeted by... no-one. The place was all locked up. I rang Axel and he eventually came to the door. As I went to shake his hand, the first thing he did was to tell me off! "It is bad manners - first I must shake the hand of the lady, then you." Not sure if this impressed Julia - although I suspect she found it rather amusing. I wasn't too enamoured (we later Googled German handshake customs and yes, it is something they make a point of). Apart from this, there was no welcome greeting, no cup of coffee offered - we followed as he walked us quickly past all the gorgeous showroom motorhomes, and over to ours. Despite our trepidation, it looked immaculate, and there was a sign next to it:
We booked our Lufthansa flights from Birmingham to Frankfurt for the weekend of 23rd November 2019, arranged car hire and Friday night hotel at Wertheim, near to the Erwin Hymer World dealership.
Then we paid the balance of the full price over to the German dealership a week or so before collection. I was pleased that we managed to save ourselves around £1,000 in bank foreign exchange (Fex) fees, when a kindly business acquaintance agreed to let us use their Euro bank account to make the payment, thus avoiding the rather eye-watering High Street bank conversion fees.
It wasn't all plain sailing though. Relations with Axel [not his real name], our contact at the German dealership were becoming a little strained, as we weren't getting the quality of service one would expect from a UK new vehicle sales dealership - far from it, in fact. Calls weren't answered, emails sometimes went unresponded to, and any replies were often vague and open to being misconstrued. The language barrier became increasingly an issue, as when we encountered difficulties, Axel would sometimes appear to forget how to speak English. I was also less than ecstatic about Axel asking for an extra €550 to cover their supply of the essential export plates, as I'd researched this and found that I could have paid a tiny fraction (less than €100) of that amount if I'd organised it myself with the local authority. But our schedule didn't give us enough time to attend the council office and sort this out ourselves.
Then it all blew up. One evening, a few days before we were due to collect the van, I wanted to find a photo of the model we were buying, and was browsing their internet market page. Upon checking their list of sale vehicles, I noticed that there remained one of the T594s, but it was at the higher price of the original two. I was expecting only the lower priced one to be still on sale, as my original offer was specifically for the one I was told was the more expensive.
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| 23rd Nov'19 - first sight of our new Hymer |
Well, what to do about that? Axel said that, anyway, the two vehicles were identical. So why was one on sale for €1,000 more than the other? I was fuming; what they'd done was so unethical. Yes, I'd offered - and we'd agreed - a price less than the cheapest one was on sale for, but that doesn't give them the right to switch vehicles. Julia and I discussed the options, and both agreed it would be "cutting off our nose to spite our face" to back out at this late stage, having booked flights and a hotel. After all, we were still getting a great deal.
In the end we decided to proceed with the project. After much grumbling on my part, Axel agreed to waive the charge for the export plates and would include the reversing camera we desperately wanted because of the 7 metre vehicle length and LHD. I quote from an email of 21st November: "the export plates will be tomorrow done and the camera should be today here.". Still, it all left a bitter taste in the mouth.
Finally, Friday evening came, and we were off. The flight and drive went well, and we arrived in Wertheim around 10:30pm. The town itself is striking and majestic, with its landmark castle and medieval town centre. We strolled out for a late-night walk and squeezed into a very nice olde-worlde bar just before closing time. Everyone was very friendly - and rather drunk on what was exceptionally tasty beer!
Saturday morning, 9am on the dot as agreed, we arrived at Erwin Hymer World GmbH to be greeted by... no-one. The place was all locked up. I rang Axel and he eventually came to the door. As I went to shake his hand, the first thing he did was to tell me off! "It is bad manners - first I must shake the hand of the lady, then you." Not sure if this impressed Julia - although I suspect she found it rather amusing. I wasn't too enamoured (we later Googled German handshake customs and yes, it is something they make a point of). Apart from this, there was no welcome greeting, no cup of coffee offered - we followed as he walked us quickly past all the gorgeous showroom motorhomes, and over to ours. Despite our trepidation, it looked immaculate, and there was a sign next to it:
Ian and Julia Minty
herzlichen Glückwunsch zu Ihrem Traumfahrzeug
Hymer Exsis T 594
Wir wunschen Ihnen viel Freude beim Reisen!
[Congratulations on your dream vehicle, Hymer Exsis T 594,
We hope you enjoy traveling! Your ERWIN HYMER WORLD team]
[Congratulations on your dream vehicle, Hymer Exsis T 594,
We hope you enjoy traveling! Your ERWIN HYMER WORLD team]
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| Julia and our new van at Wertheim |
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| Bar near Maastricht Saturday evening |
Finally, we drove the vehicle away... well, all of 250 metres to a petrol filling station, as Axel had kindly left all of three teaspoons of diesel in the tank for us. After that we were off. We had a long journey ahead of 1,000 km via northwest Germany, and an overnight stay in the Netherlands on the Saturday night. Then on through Belgium, France, the Eurotunnel and finally up to Warwickshire, England on the Sunday.
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| Camping Vinkenhoff, Netherlands |
The trip went very well. Saturday night camping near Maastricht in the southern-most tip of Holland went without a hitch. It was rather late when we arrived, and with no pots or pans bought yet, we were unable to try out the motorhome. So we found a pleasant bar nearby and enjoyed a nice meal washed down with a tasty glass of local beer. After that we walked back to the van, and simply crashed out for the night, using just the sleeping bags we'd brought over in our suitcase on the flight and the campsite facilities.
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| Ian relaxing - eventually |
Sunday morning we were on our way bright and early; I was enjoying the luxury of the Fiat cruise control. Before too long we'd found our way to Calais, where luckily the authorities allowed us to catch an earlier train than planned, and eventually arrived home around 7pm Sunday. Quite a busy weekend.
Little did we know at this point how much stress and angst lay ahead with the final part of the process still to come...
PART C - IMPORT & REGISTRATION PROCESS
[Conclusion of a 3-part blog of our experiences with offering, collecting and importing a brand new German motorhome. This isn't for everyone, but if you want to read the conclusion, put the kettle on - or pour yourself a large one - and read on...]
"Hello Mr Minty", said the Fiat garage manager, "I'm afraid it's not possible to simply adjust the headlamps, you'll need two new ones that have to be imported from Italy. So, with fitting, that will be £1,500, sir". Do I now have a sign on my forehead saying "this idiot has more money than sense"? Ownership of a new motorhome apparently indicates this to some businesses. Well, it's not true in my case. We had a set amount available, and every additional cost really hurts the pocket.
Did anyone else know headlamps were so expensive? Apparently, for older models they become a lot cheaper, as specialist companies start flogging copies. No good for a current year Fiat Ducato, though. In the end I managed to get a pair supplied and fitted elsewhere for around £1,200, only £900 over my original budget. Arghh!
Next task was to get the speedometer changed so it displayed miles per hour. You'd think that would be easy, but the market-leading instrument cluster repair company based in Hampshire said they couldn't do it on this model! I was beginning to get a bit worried. I mean, how hard could it be to stick a new dial in with different amounts? I read that used imports are allowed to be altered with just a marker pen, but new vehicles must be properly calibrated by experts. In the end, a company in Leicester took it on, and eventually sorted it. That set me back £198.
And fortunately the rear fog lamps were already displayed on both sides of the vehicle, so no issues there. Finally, with the new headlights and UK compatible speedo fitted, I received my certified invoice from the MoT garage and submitted my IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) application to the VCA. Et voila! One week later, a very hefty cardboard certificate arrived through the post. All going great so far!
In the meantime, there was a hiccup with HMRC's NOVA (Notification of Vehicle Arrival) process. It was really quick and easy to complete online, their form asking just a few simple questions. Within a few minutes I received a formal HMRC letter with a UK Vat demand for... an amount that looked rather more than my original budget. Around £1,500 more, in fact. Armed with a calculator and after some head-scratching, I worked out they'd computed 20% Vat on the full price I'd paid the German dealer. Stay with me on this one (please!), they'd charged (UK) Vat on top of (German) Vat, which in my book was plain wrong.
I had the presence of mind to query this, and the process was suspended. But it was a real struggle to get my reasoning through to HMRC. The form never asked for a price paid excluding Vat, simply "What price did you pay for the vehicle?" I resubmitted the NOVA form with the net amount paid, ex Vat, but because the process had been halted, my application then went into a black hole for 10 days. Finally, they accepted my case and sent a revised demand for the amount I was originally expecting. I do believe that lots of people in my position have likely overpaid Vat on their imported new motorhomes.
"Hello Mr Minty", said the Fiat garage manager, "I'm afraid it's not possible to simply adjust the headlamps, you'll need two new ones that have to be imported from Italy. So, with fitting, that will be £1,500, sir". Do I now have a sign on my forehead saying "this idiot has more money than sense"? Ownership of a new motorhome apparently indicates this to some businesses. Well, it's not true in my case. We had a set amount available, and every additional cost really hurts the pocket.
Did anyone else know headlamps were so expensive? Apparently, for older models they become a lot cheaper, as specialist companies start flogging copies. No good for a current year Fiat Ducato, though. In the end I managed to get a pair supplied and fitted elsewhere for around £1,200, only £900 over my original budget. Arghh!
Next task was to get the speedometer changed so it displayed miles per hour. You'd think that would be easy, but the market-leading instrument cluster repair company based in Hampshire said they couldn't do it on this model! I was beginning to get a bit worried. I mean, how hard could it be to stick a new dial in with different amounts? I read that used imports are allowed to be altered with just a marker pen, but new vehicles must be properly calibrated by experts. In the end, a company in Leicester took it on, and eventually sorted it. That set me back £198.
And fortunately the rear fog lamps were already displayed on both sides of the vehicle, so no issues there. Finally, with the new headlights and UK compatible speedo fitted, I received my certified invoice from the MoT garage and submitted my IVA (Individual Vehicle Approval) application to the VCA. Et voila! One week later, a very hefty cardboard certificate arrived through the post. All going great so far!
In the meantime, there was a hiccup with HMRC's NOVA (Notification of Vehicle Arrival) process. It was really quick and easy to complete online, their form asking just a few simple questions. Within a few minutes I received a formal HMRC letter with a UK Vat demand for... an amount that looked rather more than my original budget. Around £1,500 more, in fact. Armed with a calculator and after some head-scratching, I worked out they'd computed 20% Vat on the full price I'd paid the German dealer. Stay with me on this one (please!), they'd charged (UK) Vat on top of (German) Vat, which in my book was plain wrong.
I had the presence of mind to query this, and the process was suspended. But it was a real struggle to get my reasoning through to HMRC. The form never asked for a price paid excluding Vat, simply "What price did you pay for the vehicle?" I resubmitted the NOVA form with the net amount paid, ex Vat, but because the process had been halted, my application then went into a black hole for 10 days. Finally, they accepted my case and sent a revised demand for the amount I was originally expecting. I do believe that lots of people in my position have likely overpaid Vat on their imported new motorhomes.
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| It's all just getting too much! |
... and if you were missing stories of my lovely new friends at Wertheim, I presented the HMRC certificate of Vat paid to Axel, and he responded after a few days saying they wouldn't refund my German 19% Vat paid until I could provide them with a UK vehicle registration, contrary to HMRC guidance. So we were out of pocket for two lots of Vat paid. As it happened, I'd have to wait weeks more to get the German Vat refunded. Oh Axel, how I don't miss you in my life now!
OK, back to the present. Fingers crossed, there was just the DVLA vehicle registration process left to complete. But I'd lost a couple of weeks, what with the ordering and fitting of the headlamps, the instrument cluster and the Vat problem. Now we were already 5 days into December, with Christmas looming.
The DVLA's V55/4 new vehicle import form, is - as life goes - almost up there with the theory of quantum physics in its complexity. Especially as much of the information I needed was from the three Certificates of Conformity (CoC) from the manufacturing stages of the motorhome. The Fiat CoC was in Italian, the AL-KO chassis conversion CoC plus the Hymer CoC were both in German. And they were dealing with a subject area I had no knowledge, training or history in. But I scanned the CoCs, and used Google to translate them the best I could, mapping out where I needed information to be transferred to the V55/4.
I was also aware that the VED, or car tax as it's sometimes known, could be charged at a new "luxury tax" motorhome rate if I wasn't careful. I needed to avoid adding CO2 emissions levels to the V55/4, on the basis that the final CoC in the manufacturing process, ie. the Hymer CoC, didn't state CO2 levels, as they had no means of testing them. By omitting this data, I would be charged the standard £265 for a PLG vehicle, rather than a vehicle cost-driven rate of £2,000 or more. Complex, yes, but also essential to my budget.
Finally, I completed and sent off the V55/4, together with my IVA, the 3 CoCs and cheques for £265 VED and £55 new registration. And then waited, and waited... and waited.
And waited. The DVLA was shutting down for the holiday period and nothing was getting processed. What had "lennyhb" said about the DVLA being slow and inefficient and taking up to 4 weeks?
There was to be no Christmas excursion in our new motorhome. The DVLA finally dealt with my application on 28th December. Two days later I received a thick envelope back from them containing all my submitted documents, the two cheques and a letter.
"Dear Mr Minty... ...you have not sent in all the necessary information. Please re-submit including a Certificate of Newness."
I couldn't believe it. In all the rush I'd forgotten a key document. It was on lennyhb's list. How had I managed to forget it.This was slowly beginning to break me.
And worst of all, I needed Axel's help! Knowing what he was like, I scripted and typed out a letter he needed to send me, requiring him to simply print it on company letterhead, sign it and scan it over to me, confirming the vehicle was new when supplied to me. This probably only took a couple of days to turn round, but it felt like an age. Finally, though, the document arrived from Axel I and re-submitted the pack to the DVLA. And I had to wait, and wait... and wait all over again. There's no fast track for re-submissions at the DVLA!
Oh, and during this process, just to really turn the screw, my UK insurance company contacted me to advise that their underwriters insisted they cancel my insurance as I couldn't yet provide them with a UK reg number after four weeks. I was so worried about this, thinking it could add a black mark against my name and I may be declined vehicle insurance down the line. So I decided to preemptively cancel the policy myself, with the Hymer rather riskily being uninsured for a couple of weeks at the locked compound where I store it.
My head was bursting by this time. I couldn't think straight. My stress was exceeding Victor Meldrew levels. I really thought "I don't belieeeeeve it!"
Finally, on 17th January 2020, 8 weeks to the day after collecting the van from Germany, a DVLA V5C log book arrived on the doorstep. We were finally in possession of a UK-registered motorhome, with a "69" plate registration.
OK, back to the present. Fingers crossed, there was just the DVLA vehicle registration process left to complete. But I'd lost a couple of weeks, what with the ordering and fitting of the headlamps, the instrument cluster and the Vat problem. Now we were already 5 days into December, with Christmas looming.
The DVLA's V55/4 new vehicle import form, is - as life goes - almost up there with the theory of quantum physics in its complexity. Especially as much of the information I needed was from the three Certificates of Conformity (CoC) from the manufacturing stages of the motorhome. The Fiat CoC was in Italian, the AL-KO chassis conversion CoC plus the Hymer CoC were both in German. And they were dealing with a subject area I had no knowledge, training or history in. But I scanned the CoCs, and used Google to translate them the best I could, mapping out where I needed information to be transferred to the V55/4.
I was also aware that the VED, or car tax as it's sometimes known, could be charged at a new "luxury tax" motorhome rate if I wasn't careful. I needed to avoid adding CO2 emissions levels to the V55/4, on the basis that the final CoC in the manufacturing process, ie. the Hymer CoC, didn't state CO2 levels, as they had no means of testing them. By omitting this data, I would be charged the standard £265 for a PLG vehicle, rather than a vehicle cost-driven rate of £2,000 or more. Complex, yes, but also essential to my budget.
Finally, I completed and sent off the V55/4, together with my IVA, the 3 CoCs and cheques for £265 VED and £55 new registration. And then waited, and waited... and waited.
And waited. The DVLA was shutting down for the holiday period and nothing was getting processed. What had "lennyhb" said about the DVLA being slow and inefficient and taking up to 4 weeks?
There was to be no Christmas excursion in our new motorhome. The DVLA finally dealt with my application on 28th December. Two days later I received a thick envelope back from them containing all my submitted documents, the two cheques and a letter.
"Dear Mr Minty... ...you have not sent in all the necessary information. Please re-submit including a Certificate of Newness."
I couldn't believe it. In all the rush I'd forgotten a key document. It was on lennyhb's list. How had I managed to forget it.This was slowly beginning to break me.
And worst of all, I needed Axel's help! Knowing what he was like, I scripted and typed out a letter he needed to send me, requiring him to simply print it on company letterhead, sign it and scan it over to me, confirming the vehicle was new when supplied to me. This probably only took a couple of days to turn round, but it felt like an age. Finally, though, the document arrived from Axel I and re-submitted the pack to the DVLA. And I had to wait, and wait... and wait all over again. There's no fast track for re-submissions at the DVLA!
Oh, and during this process, just to really turn the screw, my UK insurance company contacted me to advise that their underwriters insisted they cancel my insurance as I couldn't yet provide them with a UK reg number after four weeks. I was so worried about this, thinking it could add a black mark against my name and I may be declined vehicle insurance down the line. So I decided to preemptively cancel the policy myself, with the Hymer rather riskily being uninsured for a couple of weeks at the locked compound where I store it.
My head was bursting by this time. I couldn't think straight. My stress was exceeding Victor Meldrew levels. I really thought "I don't belieeeeeve it!"
Finally, on 17th January 2020, 8 weeks to the day after collecting the van from Germany, a DVLA V5C log book arrived on the doorstep. We were finally in possession of a UK-registered motorhome, with a "69" plate registration.
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| Gleaming new moho - outside Coombe Abbey, Warwickshire |
But the story doesn't end there!
A week later, Julia and I took our Hymer for it's inaugural trip away, up the M6 and M74 to Balmaha for the WHW race training weekend. We had a great time, although we found that the gas hobs didn't work properly. They lit OK, but when releasing the knobs, the flame cut every time. I thought it would be an easy fix once we returned home, but as it transpired, it took visits to three separate Dometic-approved engineers, and much head-scratching, before a warranty claim was submitted on our behalf.
Dometic, to their credit, agreed without quibbling to replace the whole unit, I'm sure at considerable expense to themselves. It needed to be imported from Germany with a 4-week lead-time. The unit finally arrived with the engineer yesterday (13th April), and of course it can't be fitted now until the Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
In case you were wondering what happened to the reversing camera, which is actually built-in to the rear brake strip, this became another saga. If you recall, Axel finally agreed to supply it but it hadn't arrived when we collected the van back on 23rd November. Well, I waited and waited. It never came. When I chased up the German Vat repayment, on 20th Jan, Axel replied about the Vat refund, and also stated "The cam will be sent tomorrow". Nothing came. I sent more emails.On 29th Jan he replied "I will sent you later the tracking-nr. for the cam.". Still nothing came. Then it all went cold. I never heard from Axel ever again after that...
But I couldn't let this one lie. Not after the unscrupulous vehicle switch, and the many promises. I contacted their reception, I listed all the occasions the camera was promised, quoting Axel's emails. By this time I was emailing everything in German, courtesy of Google Translate, to ensure that they understood what I was requesting. Nothing was heard, then finally one of Axel's colleagues wrote back on 6th March (translated from German): "unfortunately I have not found any information in this regard with us. I would be happy to organise such a camera for you. You would then have to pay for this in advance and we can send it to you."
Not sure if I cried, or shouted or banged my head against the nearest wall. Probably all three.
I wouldn't give in. Maybe it would have been best if I had. But they owed me this, after all my suffering. I wrote a formal letter, detailing the original vehicle switch leading to Axel offering the export plates and the cam. Plus I included his various email quotes promising it to me. And then I said I would complain to Hymer themselves about the dealership if the cam was not forthcoming.
Then, on 17th March, I received this email from Axel's colleague (translated from German): "I consulted with my boss. We will send the camera to you as discussed." On Saturday 4th April, 19 weeks after collecting the motorhome, a DPD parcel arrived with our reversing camera. Hallelujah!
So, we're reaching the end of this saga; I'm now waiting for the new hob and the cam to be fitted, as like everyone else's, our moho is stuck gathering moss. But that's fine, there will be plenty of time to enjoy it when we're all let out again.
Was it all worth it? I'm sure that over time the memories of the difficulties will fade way and we'll be enjoying lots of great trips away. Without the decision to import from Germany, we'd have never got our dream new Hymer. But the associated damage was quite excessive. I found it hard to focus on anything else, including my health and fitness. Other paperwork and jobs were being left to stack up. I'm sure I was rather grumpy to live with at times - yes, even more than normal! Over the past couple of weeks all that stress has been falling away from me, and I'm finally getting back to my normal energy levels.
Would I recommend this route to others? Well, even after everything, yes I would, if the money saved is more important to you than the potential stress. And that was one reason for writing this blog - so that I could provide a guide and help others avoid some of the difficulties and pitfalls we came across. We were unlucky with a few factors. Our contact in Germany really was as unhelpful as the picture I've painted - at least. And waiting for the Vat to be sorted pushed the DVLA process towards the Christmas slowdown. And of course my own blooper with omitting the Certificate of Newness. But at the end of the day, we've still saved £15,000.
POSTSCRIPT
There was one really nice part of the final phase. I indulged myself, luckily spotted and purchased a private plate. I had to agree with Mrs M that it would be funded solely by me. It wasn't cheap, around the cost of the Vat saved when I spotted HMRC's NOVA overcharge. But I like it. And so does Julia.
Welcome to M121NTY
A week later, Julia and I took our Hymer for it's inaugural trip away, up the M6 and M74 to Balmaha for the WHW race training weekend. We had a great time, although we found that the gas hobs didn't work properly. They lit OK, but when releasing the knobs, the flame cut every time. I thought it would be an easy fix once we returned home, but as it transpired, it took visits to three separate Dometic-approved engineers, and much head-scratching, before a warranty claim was submitted on our behalf.
Dometic, to their credit, agreed without quibbling to replace the whole unit, I'm sure at considerable expense to themselves. It needed to be imported from Germany with a 4-week lead-time. The unit finally arrived with the engineer yesterday (13th April), and of course it can't be fitted now until the Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.
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| Rev cam - one day ours will look like this! |
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| "I vill write it - but vill not mean it!" |
Not sure if I cried, or shouted or banged my head against the nearest wall. Probably all three.
I wouldn't give in. Maybe it would have been best if I had. But they owed me this, after all my suffering. I wrote a formal letter, detailing the original vehicle switch leading to Axel offering the export plates and the cam. Plus I included his various email quotes promising it to me. And then I said I would complain to Hymer themselves about the dealership if the cam was not forthcoming.
Then, on 17th March, I received this email from Axel's colleague (translated from German): "I consulted with my boss. We will send the camera to you as discussed." On Saturday 4th April, 19 weeks after collecting the motorhome, a DPD parcel arrived with our reversing camera. Hallelujah!
So, we're reaching the end of this saga; I'm now waiting for the new hob and the cam to be fitted, as like everyone else's, our moho is stuck gathering moss. But that's fine, there will be plenty of time to enjoy it when we're all let out again.
Was it all worth it? I'm sure that over time the memories of the difficulties will fade way and we'll be enjoying lots of great trips away. Without the decision to import from Germany, we'd have never got our dream new Hymer. But the associated damage was quite excessive. I found it hard to focus on anything else, including my health and fitness. Other paperwork and jobs were being left to stack up. I'm sure I was rather grumpy to live with at times - yes, even more than normal! Over the past couple of weeks all that stress has been falling away from me, and I'm finally getting back to my normal energy levels.
Would I recommend this route to others? Well, even after everything, yes I would, if the money saved is more important to you than the potential stress. And that was one reason for writing this blog - so that I could provide a guide and help others avoid some of the difficulties and pitfalls we came across. We were unlucky with a few factors. Our contact in Germany really was as unhelpful as the picture I've painted - at least. And waiting for the Vat to be sorted pushed the DVLA process towards the Christmas slowdown. And of course my own blooper with omitting the Certificate of Newness. But at the end of the day, we've still saved £15,000.
POSTSCRIPT
There was one really nice part of the final phase. I indulged myself, luckily spotted and purchased a private plate. I had to agree with Mrs M that it would be funded solely by me. It wasn't cheap, around the cost of the Vat saved when I spotted HMRC's NOVA overcharge. But I like it. And so does Julia.
Welcome to M121NTY
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