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Matter of import

I'm looking at a 2007 Audi S3 with 14,000 miles and two owners. I've been informed the car was originally imported from Germany to Jersey by the first owner. The dealer has said that technically all Audis are imported from Germany. However he can't tell me why this one is classed as an import. It has now been sold back to an Audi garage in the UK. I would like to know what sort of implications there are with buying an imported car?

Asked on 24 October 2009 by

Answered by Honest John
Firstly, it will have German warranty, not an Audi UK warranty and if it was two years it will have expired. Secondly it has a reduced value. It was imported before Sterling fell against the Euro so there was an advantage in importing from Europe. Thirdly, no VAT will have been paid because it was imported to Jersey, then imported from Jersey to the UK after it had been in Jersey. Collectively, not allowing for discounts, people have saved between 25% and as much as 40% on this car compared to UK retail price. At the moment I'd say it's worth 10% less than normal retail which is £20,625 with 30k miles minus £2,063 = £18,562.

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