recent disastrous trip to italy!!

well folks was away in turin last week trying to buy a 320is

now as some of you may know im a hard core veteran when it comes to bring stuff in from the continent - been to the uk many times - germany and france as well - so i know the score!

now i knew italy would be tough but not this tough.
I had been in email and telephone conversation with the garage selling the car for a full week prior to flying out. I was assured both orally and by email that there would be no problem whatsoever what me taking the car away on the day with the licence papers

so i arrived at the garage at 10am that morning. met the guy i had spoken to previously and he told me that the car was elsewhere and was been valeted. at 11.30 car arrived. I inspected it and drove and was very haapy. this took about an hour.

deal was done and i paid by credit card. I signed about 6 bits of documentation and had to meet 2 provisios before leaving with the car
1. a copy of my insurance to show i was covered on that car - not a problem. rang FBD - explained the situation, got a temp transfer request and they faxed it through to the garage.
2. they would only give me a photcopy of the tax book. Once i returned to Ireland I was to post back the no plates and then they would send me the original - no problem with that


1.30 arrived and they were still completing documentation. I was told to go for lunch and come back an hour later and that everything would be ready

so after lunch i came and there was a problem - there was 3 15" wheels on the car and 1 14". they wanted me to sign a document to say I accpted that - I said no problem. While they went away to get this document the head sales guy came up to me to say that I couldnt drive the car out of the country as the no plate belonged to them and they were financially and legally resposible for the no plate.

so after arguing with them that i had met their conditions, was assured by email that there would be no problem, the only option they would give me was to have the car transported out of the country which I wasnt prepared to pay for or do.

at the latter end i said forget about it and got a refund on my credit card.

i then left and needless to say got absolutely twisted that night in Turin. had to stay an extra 2 nights more than planed cos ryanair only do 2 flights a week to turin

So I ve missed out on the car but I will be back!!



Edited by Eamo

Difficult trip that.

It just shows that the novice would be on a "hiding to nothing" in a similar situation, when as you said yourself you have experience of importing.

Hopefully next purchase attempt goes better

 

Typical italians!! I can only imagine the volume of shrugging, gesticulating, "tutti-bene"'s and jumpers over shoulders that came off during the whole debacle. Not what you want so far from home. It'd have been a nice razz back too.

 

 

I've heard about the number plate difficulties before... Italy is a notorious place to get a car out of...

If I ever try to get a car from there I'll be making use of my tuscan family!!

That's a bit crap. Buy why on earth were you going all the way to Italy to buy
a BMW? I might buy a Ferrari from there but I'd buy a BMW from Germany.
there has to be plenty of well looked after examples there and the Germans
are generally more efficient and speak better English then most of us!

How much of a pain would it be to  do it again (but come home with the cat), now you know what's involved?   

Edited by JohnH

S14 block too IIRC Eamo..

 sorry to hear that. Even in my days growing up in bavaria everone there was horified to buy a car in Italy (and the bavarians love the italiens so that wasn't the reason). My brother emigrated to Italy with his family 6month ago and he gets screamin fits ever so often.....

Try to get garage plates here and you should be ok to transit the car trough europe. Maybe they give you some money of seeing that they said it's ok but changed the goalposts while you were there?

Oh and to the german question they have special plates to export cars if the garage sorted that for you peace of cake.

I for sure

yes i did ask about temp plates but the garage were not keen on it

Never mind Eamo, 2 months later you'd only flog it anyway 

..right pain tho' going through all that and then being let down at the last minute.