Buying a bike in Europe

[idb]

it isn't.
i'd buy a UK bike,go to TT,travel europe,back to the UK,ship out from Swansea etc...

bought mine back with me last year - alot less hassle than i expected!

hopin' and savin' to go back for IOM 07!!!

That might be the way to go, but I thought Italian bikes might be a bit cheaper in Italy.
I doubt that I'll be getting anything new (if it happens), I don't know if that makes any difference.

[idb]

So....has no-one got a Bikepoint-type website to point me at for Europe?

[Keeper]

be careful when you ship it back to nz

gst to be paid on the bike based upon purchase price and shipping cost

also make sure that the freight includes clearance at the NZ end

otherwise you may find the bill to handle the bike out of the container will cost almost as much as the cost of shipping it to nz

get a tax rebate when you ship it back from europe, one of them tourist rebates

[Posh Tourer :P]

So....has no-one got a Bikepoint-type website to point me at for Europe?

There isnt one. They all use ebay. There are a couple of sites in the uk, that you can probably find by going to somewhere like google.co.uk or uk.altavista.com

I bought my bike in the UK - no problems as I have a UK licence (swapped from NZ one) and an address I can use. Uk licence is not necessary, as I insured and registered my first bike while on a NZ licence. However, it would be necessary to have an address to register it somewhere in Europe. IIRC, you can drive on foreign plates for a few months before you ahve to change over to plates from the country of registration....
Otherwise, buy a bike with tax and WOF already on it, and pretend you bought it just before your return??

Wont be shipping it home though.......

[Mooch]

www.autotrader.co.uk, only really covers UK.
I looked into the Ducati buy / drive deals a few years back. Price didn't work out any better than buying local. For memory , Italy has a luxury tax on vehicles over a certain value , Duc, MV's and Aprilia models hit this bracket so didn't seem that much different in price to NZ. Higher model second-hand bikes in the UK are cheaper. Bikes like 999R's I've seen advertised for NZ high $20k with low miles. Someone mentioned shipping back bikes as parts, then registering when landed. I think that loop hole was closed down years ago after a few cars were being cut in half and then welded back together.

[Ogri]

Had a mate that went to Italy, bought a mint 900SS and then just rode it back into the UK. Re-vinned it, taxed & tested and bob's your uncle! On reflection, I think the god's smiled on him - a lot.

We are also heading for the TT Centenary - may see you there!!!!
Just a word of advice - if you are travelling via the Steampacket Ferry, make sure you book early - like a year in advance!!!

[classic zed]

Heard at weekend another option:
go overseas
buy bike
ride bike
dismantle bike
send to NZ as parts
reassemble bike
no tax as second hand parts.
Could be something to look into.

Even secong hand parts attract GST, if the cost of the parts is over $400 then you will have to pay GST on the full cost i.e. purchase price, shipping and customs clearance, you will also need a friendly shipping agent. Just mark the price of the parts lower than $400 and your ok, only problem you have then is insurance, they will only pay the marked value of the parts.

[Troll]

How come? If a pommy git comes over does he have to pay gst on all his stuff in his container? Its not like he is importing the bike, he is just returning home with it.

I liken it to going overseas and buying and using some leathers and then bringing them back, you wouldnt need to pay gst then. But if you bought them ebay and had them delivered here then you do pay gst tax duty and whatever else.

Seems like we get taxed more and more but never get more for our tax.

I didn't vote the labor party in but somebody must have

if you had lived overseas for over 12 months you could bring vehicles in gst free but then helen clarke and her cronies changed the rules

trying to encourage immigration and stop kiwis from leaving to prop the population up so she can tax you and give the money away to no hopers

[Troll]

get a tax rebate when you ship it back from europe, one of them tourist rebates

you might geta refund on the vat you paid in the uk

but you will still get stung on gst when teh bikes arrive in NZ

[Troll]

Even secong hand parts attract GST, if the cost of the parts is over $400 then you will have to pay GST on the full cost i.e. purchase price, shipping and customs clearance, you will also need a friendly shipping agent. Just mark the price of the parts lower than $400 and your ok, only problem you have then is insurance, they will only pay the marked value of the parts.

send them as lots of little parcells marked birthday presents / xmas presenst and they are exempt

have a contact in nz and we swap parts regularyily using this loophole

[dawnrazor]

buy some UK bike mags, MCN, BIKE etc, you send the staff of BIKE questions like this and they will gladly give you all the info you need, just buy a copy of the mag from witchoulls. I've questioned them on all sorts of stuf in the past and have got major helpfull replys.

The TT is FAN-BLOODY-TASTIC, if you haven't been before it'll be a life changing experience.

One thought, I assume you speak italian, otherwise an italian website is not going to be much help to you, most likely in anyways.

[idb]

One thought, I assume you speak italian, otherwise an italian website is not going to be much help to you, most likely in anyways.

Didn't people making assumptions cause a few ructions in one of your threads?

Anyway, the UK mags idea is a goody.
Cheers

[dawnrazor]

Didn't people making assumptions cause a few ructions in one of your threads?

Hmmmm yes, ...... ah nuts now I'm my own worst enemy, bad razor.... hey but that was a good assumption, if I was being prejudice I'd have assumed that you coudn't speak italian. ya can't win.

[emaN]

Only way to avoid GST is: living overseas for more than 2yrs, owning the vehicle for at least 12mths.
Saved me @ $600!

But i like the 'parts' option...