If you’ve ever wondered why you don’t see quite so many used BMW 5 Series, Volkswagen Passats, Suzuki Grand Vitaras, Mitsubishi Shoguns and Mercedes E-Classes these days, go to the Port of Dover.
Every Sunday afternoon, a procession of ageing VW LT and Mercedes Sprinter vans, each dragging a one-car trailer, winds its way over the Jubilee Way ramp or, occasionally from the other direction, along the coast on the A20, and into the port.
Their registration numbers indicate they’re from Poland and Bulgaria but mainly from Romania. The registration plates of the cars they’re towing are UK. Mainly premium German cars and Japanese 4x4s, they also include Audi A6s, BMW 3 Series and Mercedes C-Classes.
Where inexperienced visitors might hesitate at the entrance to the port, deciding which lane to follow, the vans drive confidently towards border control. It suggests they’ve done this before and, indeed, many have been doing this journey, which begins on the French side on a Friday night, ever since Bulgaria and Romania joined the EU in 2007.
One Sunday afternoon in October, I joined Mark Torok at Dover to observe the latest convoy of used cars bound for Eastern Europe. Torok featured in Autocar last year in a story about his Skodas – he owns at least 80. He lives in Kent and his mother is from the Czech Republic.
“Every Sunday for the past few years, I have been treated to the sight of dozens of comically blinged-up and spectacularly knackered Merc Sprinters and VW LTs flying down the M2 and M20,” he told me when we met in the small public car park at the Torok’s fleet of Skodas came the other way entrance to the port. “They’re dashing for the ferries, each one towing a trailer with either an old German or Japanese diesel car or 4x4, destined for Poland but mainly Romania and Bulgaria.
“They must have depleted the UK of thousands of vehicles and, what with ULEZ and the demonisation of diesels helping to drive down prices, there’s every reason the trade will continue, assuming Brexit doesn’t stop it.”
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Import duty
If Poland is in the EU and hence trades freely how is it able to charge import duty on vehicles imported from another EU country?
Chris C wrote:
It won't be an import duty, its a vehicle excise duty and/or registration fee.
The same fees would be paid at some point in time on any car sold in the country.
I knew some styolen cars made
I knew some styolen cars made their way over there, i assumed for parts, but had no idea how big the trade was, and that RHD was not really a deterent to them.
But its our throw away culture to blame. I have known for years car depreciate far quicker here than most places, because too many new cars are registered, and its cheaper to buy another car than repair, or maintain properly existing cars. Our loss, but the gain of these chaps
And if we didn’t...?
And if we didn't throw away as some say, we'd have more unemployment, we already import too much, we employ people from outside the UK who have a better work ethic than us and we moan about them too! What ever happened to our pride in our own products?, and don't say it's the government that's at fault.....
Peter Cavellini wrote:
Give say ten meaningful and significant, by way of value examples of items "we already import to much" of?.
You moan about significant extra unemployment, but neglect to mention the extra revenues to the treasury that (most of the) workers from outside the UK generate, the money they earn that is spent in this country by way of living expenses.
Pride in home produced products, does NOT mean that we should therefore buy these goods, IF they are of inferior quality to those imported and you also forget this is a democracy, that encourages free trade and free choice...plain economics...do your sums, do your homework and don't post utter tripe again.
Don't forget to give those ten meaningful examples, or you will be guilty as usual of posting tommyrot and nonsense.
Throw away culture - bah !
Explain what you mean by 'throw away culture'? Or rather if you mean that some people buy a new car then throw it away after 3 years, can you explain what happens to that used car? As far as I know, they are not thrown on scrap heaps, rather people tend to buy them.
Of course there's an irony here. You post this comment on Autocar, a magazine which makes money from garages and car manufacturers. And if we didn't 'throw them away' so often, there would be no need for so many car magazines.
As for our 'throw away culture' to blame. Oh jeez, thee of short memories. It used to be the case we went over to the continent to buy our cars because they were cheaper. It's called economics, it's nothing to do with culture.
Once in Romania, where do you sell the car?
Romanian Autotrader? EBay?
My 2008 Passat estate is worth pennies here in the UK. Tempted to drive it to Romania to sell for a decent amount and fly back. Might make for a fun and possibly lucrative road trip.