Hello Chris

To us the most important thing in buying a van, after money, is LAYOUT.

Some prefer rear lounges, some like fixed beds, some don't mind making up a bed each night etc

So make sure the chosen layout suits you.

Arthur

Hi Chris can't help with importing a van from Germany but have read a lot about it on the web and seems German dealers are helpful with delivery plates info etc.

There's a Show at West Point the end of the month and there's a lot of dealers around Taunton with a large stock to help make up your mind on layout

Hi Chris and Gail :welcome3:

Would definitely agree about the importance of layout and dealers forecourts are great places to look around to see what might suit you.

If you are going to buy in Germany then this website may be useful to browse mobile.de - if you view it in Google Chrome it can automatically translate to English for you.

Hope this helps and let us know how you get on.

You will need to research whether you may need to change the speedo to mph and swap the headlights to right-hand dipping, both of which could cost you money and affect your sums.

Hi Chris,
I,ve imported mine from Germany a few years back,found it on the site recommmended by neil.Its straightforward and free to register on this site so that those that attract your interest can be parked in your garage where you can monitor them and compare them,some i have in my car park have increased in price but a few have come down over the last few months.You have to arrange with the seller to get some plates which cover you for basic insurance/tax to get home.Registration with dvla was easy enough,you have to get an mot and insurance using the VIN number first.I get my annual mot using the original headlights with beam deflectors,although later models have means of manually adjusting for them.My speedo is original in Km and this is noted on the mot,I,ve not had any notification to change it which suits me as I use it mostly for outside the UK.You will find that LHD is ok once you get used to it,also most european ones dont come with ovens.I raised the cash by getting a bit added on the mortgage.Good luck on your search. :-)

I have come across this description by someone who did buy a German motor home, may be of help

"In Germany, vehicles are given a new registration number every time they change hands, and also if the owner moves to a different part of the country. It seems that this process has to be done in person at the local registration office. We had to take all the documentation and the original registration plates to the Zulassungsstelle to get the registration changed into my name.
Well, we had a long wait. There was a ticket queuing system in operation, we took a numbered ticket and waited our turn. I was very grateful that Harry had come with us as my knowledge of German is almost non-existent, and I would have found it very difficult to find out what to do without his help.
The registration process seems to be done in two stages, I'm afraid I didn't follow exactly what was going on as Harry did all the talking. Basically, we were issued with a piece of paper giving the new registration number which we then took to a kiosk in the car park of the Zulassungsstelle to get the new plates made at a cost of DM50. German export plates are valid for 15 days and have an orange stripe at one end with the date of expiry stamped on them. We then took the new plates back to the Zulassungsstelle where they were validated by fixing a sticker on, and the paper work completed, the cost was DM76.
I have to say that I was not impressed with this system, I think it would be difficult to devise a less efficient one! I would also say that unless you speak good German, or have a very helpful vendor (as we did), that it would probably be advisable to buy from a dealer, who could sort out the registration for you
Once we had completed the registration we drove back to Harry's house and I handed over the cash (yes, we hadn't actually paid for the motorhome yet!) and got a receipt from Harry."