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Importing Laguna Coupe from France or Germany

5K views 14 replies 5 participants last post by  coup 
#1 ·
Hi all,

I would like to get a Laguna Coupe in the next few months but as they are no longer sold over here its becoming hard to find my ideal model. This would be white, diesel, GT with no more than 20000 miles.

I have seen on sites like Trovit (France and Germany) low mileage cars in the right spec with lots of kit (i.e white, 150bhp diesel, 4 wheel steering, electric leather seats, BOSE sound system) but I need a bit of advice about buying LHD. I would be getting the car from a dealer - is there anything I should be aware about such as electrics (radio, headlights, dash dials, sat nav), warranties & servicing, and generally importing a car from any of these countries?



Any help would be much appreciated
 
#2 ·
There are a number of changes that would be present - the dash will be in metric, and the headlights would need replacing, before the car could be re-registered. You would also need to obtain a certificate of conformity.

The balance of the manufacturer's warranty would remain.

Personally, I would advise against this step, as LHD-specific parts will be delayed. The insurance will be higher (as its a 'grey import' and the driver is seated on the wrong side) - plus, it will be worth a lot less when it's time to sell on.

I would contact a broker who can search dealer stock for a RHD version, as even if it's a £1000 or more expensive, it will be worth the investment to avoid the hassle & costs on the longer-term.

HTH,

Paul
 
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#4 ·
Yeh youll find a good model in UK im sure.

If you were interested in a new one, there is an eu law that if a car model is available is for sale in rhd in the eu the manufacturer/dealer has to provide you with one if you want it even if the country you order in has LHD cars.

Ie the lag coupe is still for sale in EIRE rhd..you wouldnt want to buy it here tho ! £38000 for the cheapest lag coupe.

I mean you could order a new one in France lets say and theyre obliged to provide you with a rhd one if you want it.

Im sure there would be a few comments of "sacre blue" and "les Anglais.. ils sont plein du sheet" and the like but its an option. :)
 
#5 ·
I never realised they would still be supplying RHD versions in Eire, in all honesty.

That seems such an illogical move to remove the models from the UK, as surely there would be no additional costs involved in selling the model they already have homologated for the British Isles, and the tooling exists and is being used... (I thought they were doing a 'Vel Satis' whereby the small numbers being sold meant RHD production & specific parts couldn't be justified)

Whoever thought Renault were logical - zut alors, right enough...:confused:

Thanks for the insight & suggestion.

Paul
 
#12 ·
I never realised they would still be supplying RHD versions in Eire, in all honesty.

That seems such an illogical move to remove the models from the UK, as surely there would be no additional costs involved in selling the model they already have homologated for the British Isles, and the tooling exists and is being used... (I thought they were doing a 'Vel Satis' whereby the small numbers being sold meant RHD production & specific parts couldn't be justified)

Whoever thought Renault were logical - zut alors,
Thanks for the insight & suggestion.

Paul
I wasn't aware either that you could order right hand drive from Eire either
 
#6 ·
Maybe it was a case of "zut alors part deux! nous avez unsold 2011 lag coupes.. lets send em to ireland!
It does seem strange,but I got the sales bumf thru the post recently.. the renault 2013 range order now for January etc and the lag coupe is in it and the regular lag.
I dont think they could get away with old stock either cos the lag coupe got a few changes mid 2012 , the aston martin front grille reduced in size a bit etc.
They did sell 3 all electric fluences here last year so the marketing is really spot on!
 
#7 ·
Oh, they'll be up-to-date models, but it just seems such a folly to remove oneself from a larger market, yet still have the same (or possibly increased) overheads.

Manufacturers negotiate discounts from component suppliers based upon the order volume, so to reduce the volume of those parts required; means Renault has to pay more for each item. Then of course there are the marketing & brochure costs apportioned to a smaller number of vehicles, etc, etc.

More madness in the method, than method in the madness - IMO.

Well, who knows - the next step will be to remove themselves from Eire, and still sell RHD models on the Isle of Man & Channel Islands...:d

Paul
 
#9 · (Edited)
:d renault Isle of man. :
Definitely something wrong with this picture tho.
It wouldnt suprise me if there were no lagunas in the 2014 Ireland brochure following the logic above they have to be ramping down here too..they must have some new bigger than a megane model in mind?
I mean theres nothing wrong with a scenic/grand scenic and maybe they dont make much money on the bigger luxury saloons/gt's but all the other big manufacturers seem to have one or 3.

I just googled (renault laguna replacement) seems laguna sales were poor all over europe.
Check the first link that comes up.

As Ive probably mentioned a lot..Id be interested in a lag coupe myself , the huge price difference here wasnt worth it when getting my megane..
In 1.5-2years time ill see whats available in the UK second hand market up to 2011 models,( I wont be going anywhere near lhd models, I had one of those once and the inconvenience you can get used to but its not worth it now with mot's etc.)
Importing cars over 3 years old here means youre outside the extreme"please sir may I have another" import taxes.
 
#10 ·
Looking at the Nissan range for a possible platform-share, it's really city-cars/superminis; mini-mpvs; cross-over/suvs (and an electric oddball - obviously to offset the 370Z & GTR).

I guess they think all those traditional buyers can be tempted into Infiniti's???:confused:
 
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