I've been quoted just under £1000 for a new Eriba to be delivered from Germany to Poole (1 mile from the ferry terminal)

I was wondering...for that price is the caravan pulled over by unicorns in a jewel encrusted trailer?

Why can't I go to Germany and just pick it up and have a short Black Forest holiday myself?

It's not called rip off Britain for no reason

We bought our Burstner and prior to that 2 VW campers in Germany, saved 50% on the Burstner and at least 25% on the VW's. If we ever buy a caravan, camper or motorhome again it would be German (we like the style) and we would travel there to buy it I speak some German as I lived there for 17 years. People say you can't save well we bought a new to us German car which ws made in March 15, we bought it in June, and it had less than 1000 miles on the clock list was £45000 (for this spec) window price was £35500 from a main dealer, I haggled and paid less than £31000 had a 5 year service plan thrown in as well as a few non car accesories

I think you'll find they won't play on delivery charges but you might secure a small discount (but you'd have to try hard and at the right time of the month / year)

It is a bit pricey, I got charged £829 delivery in August from Lowdhams in Huddersfield who also sell the Eriba touring range. ....

Quote: Dr Nigel wrote in post #1

---

I've been quoted just under £1000 for a new Eriba to be delivered from Germany to Poole (1 mile from the ferry terminal)

---

Couldn't agree more with Deeps - we just got back from Holland on Thursday with an Eriba in tow.
In addition to the cost of the caravan we had to pay :
"making curb cost" ; 533 euro
"disposal fee" ; 17 euro
"reistration fee" ; 75 euro
Thats a total of around £460.00 over and above the cost of the caravan - but the vans are much cheaper over there anyway.
We used www.marktnet.nl - there are a lot of Eriba dealers advertising on there - it will give you an idea of what you can get
for your money.

That's excellent news! Holland it is then!

Dr Nigel, just bear in mind that if you buy new from abroad your warranty will not be valid in the UK and you will not have the UK compliant flame retardant labels on the upholstery. It will be a trade off from a large saving to after sales care....

If you buy new from Germany or Holland can you choose what optional extras you have - like an electric element in the heater, or a three burner hob?

I presume so - we bought a stock item with the spec we wanted but I guess you could e-mail a dealer to see what the procedure is if you wanted to spec up your own Eriba.
Please dont think I'm some sort of Dutch evangelist by me banging on about buying abroad ! - I am only telling the forum of our own
research and experience There are pros and cons and buying abroad may not be for everybody but it was for us.

Quote: Magpie wrote in post #8

---

If you buy new from Germany or Holland can you choose what optional extras you have - like an electric element in the heater, or a three burner hob?

---

Good explanation of the basic and dealer options Deeps but the battery and hot water options may be necessary requirements for many people.

TonyP

If we all purchased our new Eriba's from over the water then the UK Dealers would not be there to provide warranty or service to these vans.
I to had to pay a delivery charge for my new Nova Light 465 which although expensive but given the trailer delivery from Germany and the ferry cost there is no real profit for the dealer in this charge.
From my understanding of the profit a UK dealer makes on each Eriba Touring sold it's not that great and certainly if it were not for servicing and warranty work most would go out of business.

David

Don't forget you can buy new in the UK and export the vehicle, claiming tax back, have a holiday abroad and then re-import your van, you will have to pay taxes but these will be on a "used" vehicle. To some it may not be worth it especially with Eriba residuals, therefore the difference between new and a used imported would not be that significant BUT if buying a car at the same time then you could double up onn your savings if you did the same export / import, just a thought.

Hi,

I know this is an old thread but felt I had to reply to this. You could only get the VAT back on a new van if you were exporting to outside of the EU and the mountain of paperwork as you made your way in and out of say Russia or Turkey would make it a nightmare, to get it back in free of VAT YOU would then have to have to be resident for 6 months outside of the EU before re-importing it oh and if it's less than 6 months make sure you come back into the EU to a low VAT country because that's where you'll pay any VAT due.

The Customs aren't stupid and would probably sieze the van if it was deemed that this was an attempt to evade the VAT due.

Chris