Importing From England

[gtst25]

Just in the UK at the moment, and yesterday hired a turbo diesel peugeot. It was a new car with only 2000 miles on the clock and man I was impressed with the performance!

Not as good as my r33 of course BUT it only used 15 litres of diesel for 198 miles of spirited driving! I didn't believe the trip computer when it said 58.5 miles per gallon but at fuel up time it was comfirmed.

So I was just interested in if anyone has looked into importing cars from the UK or do it at the moment? Also I haven't ever looked at turbo diesel cars available in AUS - it's not a thing I've ever been interested in. Just that cars depreciate in price very quickly in England - 2-3 year old cars go for 80% less than when they were purchased new.

With the way that car handled/drived I'd have no worries having it as a daily driver - the modern turbo diesel comes onto boost at about 1600 rpm and you can be really lazy, chugging along in a higher gear than normal. Taking off from lights is effortless and you leave a lot of similar sizes petrol cars for dead.

Anyway - I'm interested in what other people have to say!

Cheers

[madbung]

Sounds like a great little car, I don't mind Pug's well built units.

As for the Uk import scene terminal rust (chassis) is usually the biggest concern. But with late model cars like the pug you mention it wouldn't be an issue i'd guess...still I'd be looking underneath anything I was considering very closely.

[funkymonkey]

we've imported a few cars from England for clients... only really good for specialty cars though. Plus most of the newer cars can't be imported as they either don't meet SEVS requirements or are already sold locally. If the car is built before 1989 then it can be done, shipping is a little more expensive than from Japan, but other than that the process is virtually the same.

[gtst25]

Yeah I'd never purchase an old car here.

I was just impressed in how easy the car was to drive. I'd love to go for a drive in a new VW tdi golf - I've heard they are pretty quick.

[Big Rizza]

A lot of European manufacturers are releasing their diesel models in Australia these days, so there is probably no need to import. Even with the fast depreciation of the UK market, it probably wouldn't end up any cheaper due to the extra costs of importing. Plus compliance would likely be impossible.

As far as I know, it's only really BMW who refuse to sell diesel in Aust (except in the 4x4s), which is a real shame because I've heard good things about the diesel engines in the 1-series (122bhp, 0-100km/h in 10 secs, 6 litres/100km) and 5-series (272bhp, 560Nm, 0-100km/h in 6.5secs(!), 8 litres/100km). Peugeot, Citroen, Mercedes, Audi and a few others are introducing more and more of the diesel line up to Australian markets. If diesel is your thing, there are rumours of diesel variant for Holden Commodore (Isuzu sourced) and Ford Territory for the next generation of cars.

[saff_cossie]

I have imported from England on my own. Straight forward enough but mine came in under the 15 year rule. PM me if you want any more info as I dont come into this room regularly.

[gtst25]

Just had a look online on the Australian trading post and could only find one diesel peugeot, and no VW golf diesels.

Also just had a look at the friday add here in England and there's quite a few peugeot turbo diesels going for under 3000 pounds, and one was a 2003 model! Also got a performance car magazine, and they did a performance buyer hot hatch test.

One of the hatches tested is the Peugeot 206 HDI GTI, which has a 1.6 litre turbo diesel, 110bhp,180lb/ft torque, 58 MPG - with a purchase price of 13770 pounds after 3 years it will be worth only 4900 pounds....

[Big Rizza]

Just had a look online on the Australian trading post and could only find one diesel peugeot, and no VW golf diesels.

I did a search on CarSales.com.au for Peugeot with keyword "diesel" and got 3 private sales and 26 dealer sales. There were also 6 diesel Golfs in dealerships advertised. So they are definitely around!

But if you get a diesel, it's gotta be something like this :

"Headlining the offensive was the SLK's new performance-orientated triple turbo (yes, triple) 3.0-litre V6. The SLK320 CDI Vision, as it officially known, was equipped with the latest Piezo Injector technology and a trick water-to-air intercooler, which enabled the engine to produce 286hp and 630Nm of torque.

It's enough, according to Mercedes-Benz, to provide the compact roadster with 0-100kmh acceleration in 5.3 seconds, just 0.4sec slower than the V8-powered SLK55 AMG. Fuel consumption is said to average 7.5 litres per 100 kilometres on a mix of city and highway use. Translation: it's very frugal for its power."

http://www.drive.com.au/editorial/article.aspx?id=9427&vf=1