Buying bikes abroad - UKRMC KOF needs a hand

This request really comes out of a discussion I had with TOG a few
weeks back when he was thinking about buying a Piaggio Ape in Italy.

Basically, most countries other than the UK make it a bit harder to buy
or sell a vehicle due to the paperwork involved and special local
pitfalls. As UKRMC seems to attract a fair share of people living
"elsewhere" I thought it may be a good idea to collect a set of basic
guidelines describing what you have to keep in mind when buying a
vehicle.

I can cover Germany - dog knows I've bought enough vehicles there,
although my knowledge is a tad out of date as I haven't bought one
there for at least seven years.

I guess we'd need information for the following countries:

- USA
- Italy - I know a little about it, but not enough for "official" advice
- France?
- Spain?
- Switzerland
- Canada, eh?
- Norway, Sweden, Denmark?

Of course that's not a complete list but I'd say that this would
probably cover 95% of the areas where a UKRMCer would consider
purchasing a bike.

 

Wotcha TOG.

Si c'est ukrmc, pour quoi ce n'est pas dans la liste de groupes? (Fixed
now)

Pas évident.

Je n'y ai jamais pensé (pour exporter une (veille) becane). Si personne
ne connait pas la reponse, je demanderai à la Préfecture.

 

Right, I've thrown together a guide about buying something in the
Fatherland:

http://www.unixconsult.co.uk/bike/buying_bikes_abroad.html

So, if we can have similar guides for other countries, please...

 

Because muggins here got the cross posting/follow up to wrong....

 

Ah-HA.

This explains the problem I reported on UKRM.

 

Norway[1] and Denmark would not be a logical place to look in the first
place, since the import/registration tax roughly doubles the cost of
vehicles. This premium keeps the second-hand value much higher than in
"normal" European countries.

Sweden, however, do not charge MC (or car buyers) with this 100% mark-up
on the cost of vehicles.

 

Fair enough, I wasn't sure which of the countries did charge this tax.

Any info about buying in Sweden? They seem to have a thriving classic
car and classic bike scene...

 

That might depend what you're after. If you want, say, a Wooler moped
[1] then there might be nowhere else to get it.


[1] Yes, they do exist... and I *think* they're Danish... Scandinavian
anyway.

 

OH- has been a fairly regular and knowledgeable lurker here. If he had
read this thread, he might have filled in by now. I've sent him an
e-mail.

 

Thanks.

 

He replied much sooner than my update here; unfortunately he did not
know much about the topic. Seemed to be more interested in how to import
bikes, which is fair enough.

 

ts scribbled on the back of a napkin:

Thanks. Oh well, maybe someone will come forward eventually...