importing car parts from uk

[gottogetoutoffhere]

Looking for some input on this idea i have been doing some research into cars and spares prices between uk and france as im sure some of you know prices for cars in france are much higher than in uk

I work at the momment in the motor trade  selling mainly second hand parts prefer this to doing repairs !!

I feel i could make a reasonable living cherrypicking the best/easiest to sell parts in the uk and taking them to france to sell as some parts seem to be worth much more in france

I would be living in france full time so would be paying tax etc in france but would travel to uk monthly to collect parts

trying to find some info regarding import duties if any and any rules regs regarding selling second hand parts in france

 

There are some regs to deal with in the uk but nothing to difficult do not know where to look for french rules

 

can anyone offer any help ?

 

Gary

[Nick Trollope]

Good idea - but I think you should do some more research.

Broadly speaking, I have found second-hand parts (from the scrapyards) pretty reasonable (when you consider the cost of running a business - any business - here). Scrapyards here are a bit more basic than some of the posh UK dismantlers, but there are plenty of them.

New parts are more expensive here and, when I buy (bigger) new parts I get them mail order from the UK - takes about 3 days, I'm afraid I wouldn't wait a month. (As an example, I bought a cat for my Master in the UK £170 incl delivered, locally it was 430€ + TVA).

There are no restrictions on bringing second-hand car parts into France, no duties and (assuming the vehicle broken was previously registered in the UK), no additional VAT.

 

[mmaddock]

It does sound like a good idea, however I tend to agree with Nick - I tend to buy new parts over the Internet in the UK and have them deivered within a couple of days - most of the suppliers who deal [for me in LR parts] do up to 30kg European delivery for just £5.  There would be no real advantage in me buying 2nd hand locally in France. 

Is there such a big market for 2nd hand car part from ex-pat community to keep you going?

There is a very good 2nd hand car parts/scrappie near us (over the counter jobbie with a huge stock of parts) but they don't tend to do much LR stuff for obvious reasons! anyway, my point being that they do exist, meaning you're not likely to get trade from the locals, only from ex-pats and then only when their car breaks down and again only when they decide to use a 2nd hand part rather than buy new.  When you factor in that you're going to pay [a lot of] tax here regardless of whether you earn anything or not, I think you need to make certin it is going to pay before doing anything.

Matt

[Chancer]

If you are believe that your customers are going to be the English speaking community you need to do a bit of demographic research - blimey that was hard to remember, I have lost so much English vocabulary, one of the reasons I use this forum.

 It is my belief and I hope that you prove me wrong that the majority of "English settlers" (I dont like the word ex-pat) are perhaps older, retired or early retired and no longer work on their own cars.

You could start by asking the question do you do your own car repairs and do you use/would you buy 2nd hand car parts if they were available at the right price?

I can answer yes but suspect that I am in a small minority.

[gottogetoutoffhere]

I am thinking more of larger items to be honest engines especially and no im not looking at being an extension to england i intend to learn french properly i can do some but would need to learn more

Certain parts are plentifull in the uk at much lower prices than i have seen in france

 

[Chancer]

So you intend to specialise in honest engines?[:D]

[gottogetoutoffhere]

I intend to specialise in whatever i can make a reasonable sum on [:)]

cars seem to be kept for longer in france without the badge snobery of the uk so will be repaired when in the uk they would get scrapped

I know that run of the mill stuff is easy enough to come by and i already do this in the uk so have good contacts and know my market

Was also looking at left hand drive cars in the uk to import to france but the paperwork and timescale would probably mean this is not worthwhile except for certain models

I do not want to become a millionaire overnight just enough to live on

I am also interested in renewable energy and am hoping i would get more time to dable with this

[mmaddock]

[quote user="gottogetoutoffhere"]

Was also looking at left hand drive cars in the uk to import to france but the paperwork and timescale would probably mean this is not worthwhile except for certain models

[/quote]

I reckon a lot of LHD cars are now more expensive in the UK than in France!  I guess expats buying them in the UK because they feel it is easier willing to pay a premium.  I'm sure that prices of 2nd hand French cars have lowered quite a bit in the past year or two, they are almost becoming affordable from what I've seen!!  You certainly see a lot more new/newer cars on the road around here than I ever recall, suggesting that the French are starting to buy more new cars than they used to.

Matt

[gottogetoutoffhere]

[quote]

You certainly see a lot more new/newer cars on the road around here than I ever recall, suggesting that the French are starting to buy more new cars than they used to.

Matt
[/quote]

All the better for me then as newer cars break even more !!

[dave21478]

I do this on a small scale for a bit of extra money. Im not sure how well I could scale it up for a full time living though.

I am good friends with a local mechanic, and I make regular trips back to UK for other reasons and often have space on my return to France. I usually ask him before I leave what is in demand, or if he has a customer looking for something specific. When im back in UK, I will see if I can find whats required cheap enough, then bring it down and sell it to him at a profit, and he then fits it for his customer, charging him a bit more too.

Someone with something like a 405TD here with a dead engine could expect to pay 500-600euros for an average used engine, where in uk I could buy a whole car for £100 or less from auction, remove the engine, weigh in the shell for scrap, and bring the engine down here to sell to my friend, making a few hundred pounds profit. If I had the room, I could also bring sellable stuff like the alloy wheels if the tyres are good etc too.

I ONLY make this profit as I am making the journey anyway, and having the space to carry the parts is a bonus. If I made trips especially to get the parts, I would need to be bringing back a LOT of stuff to break even on fuel, ferry and toll costs etc, not to mention making enough to live from. In my location, there are still a lot of people driving older cars, so parts demand is reasonably high, but my mechanic friend only knows so many people who need parts, and bringing back large quantities on the off-chance of selling them is abit risky. The few Brits who live in and around the area all tend to drive much newer cars so I would imagine they have little need for used parts.