Now is the time to buy!!!!!
Discussion
The $/£ spot rate is now 1.98!!!!!.
There has never been a better time to buy and import your own vette!
I wonder what stratsones foreward buying rate has been.
Incidentally, went to my local Stratsone at *******, no salesman, no cars, and little interest.
It would appear that Stratsone's effort is concentrated at a number of centres with Mayfair being the dominent.
I am all for devolution, this country is being goverened by the situation in the home counties etc etc.
Bring back pre 1275 ad.(I wonder if anyone will know the significance of this date.)
Incidentally, I am bringing in an 06 (June manufacture) black on black with Z51,3lt,polished alloys,6sp manual etc etc with 102 miles for a purchase price of $****** ( thats for me to know, and you to wonder)
A lot of total b******t is stated against direct import, but usually by the ill-informed, and you can cheaply buy a warrenty (even from the Times!)
Best regards,
Celtic warrior.
There has never been a better time to buy and import your own vette!
I wonder what stratsones foreward buying rate has been.
Incidentally, went to my local Stratsone at *******, no salesman, no cars, and little interest.
It would appear that Stratsone's effort is concentrated at a number of centres with Mayfair being the dominent.
I am all for devolution, this country is being goverened by the situation in the home counties etc etc.
Bring back pre 1275 ad.(I wonder if anyone will know the significance of this date.)
Incidentally, I am bringing in an 06 (June manufacture) black on black with Z51,3lt,polished alloys,6sp manual etc etc with 102 miles for a purchase price of $****** ( thats for me to know, and you to wonder)
A lot of total b******t is stated against direct import, but usually by the ill-informed, and you can cheaply buy a warrenty (even from the Times!)
Best regards,
Celtic warrior.
Hi James,
Being deliberately provocative, but you understand the underlying message.
Its all well and good having keen, knowledgeable and dedicated staff in a few centres, but does little for the remaining provinces, and indeed has the potential for destroyng otherwise hard earned reputations.
I would have bought from Stratsone's some 6+ months ago, but the brokerage even for european sourced vettes appeared not in place, but I accept that you may well be now competative with the importers.
I however doubt that any commercial factor can compete with direct personal import even allowing for absence of GM warrenty ( and the legality of that may be doubtful)
They are great value irrespective of source, and deserve to succeed in the competitive marketplace.
A June 06 C6 coupe with glass roof, Z51,3LT, 6sp,etc etc , with "102" miles will cost me £29k after purchase, import, taxes and SVA, can you mach this.? I will take my chances on the warrenty issues.
Being deliberately provocative, but you understand the underlying message.
Its all well and good having keen, knowledgeable and dedicated staff in a few centres, but does little for the remaining provinces, and indeed has the potential for destroyng otherwise hard earned reputations.
I would have bought from Stratsone's some 6+ months ago, but the brokerage even for european sourced vettes appeared not in place, but I accept that you may well be now competative with the importers.
I however doubt that any commercial factor can compete with direct personal import even allowing for absence of GM warrenty ( and the legality of that may be doubtful)
They are great value irrespective of source, and deserve to succeed in the competitive marketplace.
A June 06 C6 coupe with glass roof, Z51,3LT, 6sp,etc etc , with "102" miles will cost me £29k after purchase, import, taxes and SVA, can you mach this.? I will take my chances on the warrenty issues.
owenemyr said:
Hi James,
Being deliberately provocative, but you understand the underlying message.
Its all well and good having keen, knowledgeable and dedicated staff in a few centres, but does little for the remaining provinces, and indeed has the potential for destroyng otherwise hard earned reputations.
I would have bought from Stratsone's some 6+ months ago, but the brokerage even for european sourced vettes appeared not in place, but I accept that you may well be now competative with the importers.
I however doubt that any commercial factor can compete with direct personal import even allowing for absence of GM warrenty ( and the legality of that may be doubtful)
They are great value irrespective of source, and deserve to succeed in the competitive marketplace.
A June 06 C6 coupe with glass roof, Z51,3LT, 6sp,etc etc , with "102" miles will cost me £29k after purchase, import, taxes and SVA, can you mach this.? I will take my chances on the warrenty issues.
Being deliberately provocative, but you understand the underlying message.
Its all well and good having keen, knowledgeable and dedicated staff in a few centres, but does little for the remaining provinces, and indeed has the potential for destroyng otherwise hard earned reputations.
I would have bought from Stratsone's some 6+ months ago, but the brokerage even for european sourced vettes appeared not in place, but I accept that you may well be now competative with the importers.
I however doubt that any commercial factor can compete with direct personal import even allowing for absence of GM warrenty ( and the legality of that may be doubtful)
They are great value irrespective of source, and deserve to succeed in the competitive marketplace.
A June 06 C6 coupe with glass roof, Z51,3LT, 6sp,etc etc , with "102" miles will cost me £29k after purchase, import, taxes and SVA, can you mach this.? I will take my chances on the warrenty issues.
Hey Em you could do this job
People buy from people - I accept and understand from previous conversations why you have not bought from Stratstone. As with any franchised business, the underlying standards of that company will be national, but the quality of implementation may vary greatly depending on individual members of staff.
I believe that we are now competitive with established importers, but we will never be able to match the cost of a personal import (which does not take into account the value of your time spent researching and the risk of damage with personal shipping). A manufacturer warranty is paid for by the concessionaire of the supplying region, which is why warranty specifics such as term and mileage vary with all manufacturers from country to country. GM will honour essential safety items regardless of the issuing country (as far as I am aware), but Cadillac and Corvette Europe are under no obligation to honour non safety related items for vehicles that they did not supply.
Fortunately for me there are many people out there who have had unfortunate experiences of personal import, poor customer service from specialists or would not even entertain having an imported vehicle to keep me in business.
We have progessed to the point the respected established american vehicle sales and/or service centres are referring business to us, so we must be doing something right
I believe that we are now competitive with established importers, but we will never be able to match the cost of a personal import (which does not take into account the value of your time spent researching and the risk of damage with personal shipping). A manufacturer warranty is paid for by the concessionaire of the supplying region, which is why warranty specifics such as term and mileage vary with all manufacturers from country to country. GM will honour essential safety items regardless of the issuing country (as far as I am aware), but Cadillac and Corvette Europe are under no obligation to honour non safety related items for vehicles that they did not supply.
Fortunately for me there are many people out there who have had unfortunate experiences of personal import, poor customer service from specialists or would not even entertain having an imported vehicle to keep me in business.
We have progessed to the point the respected established american vehicle sales and/or service centres are referring business to us, so we must be doing something right
parklane said:
GM will honour essential safety items regardless of the issuing country (as far as I am aware), but Cadillac and Corvette Europe are under no obligation to honour non safety related items for vehicles that they did not supply.
In my experience, Cadillac Europe will NOT pay for anything on a personally imported car regardless of what the problem is. I had a wiring failure on the main loom caused by a factory error whereby the fuel pump failed due to a broken wire where the factory fitted the loom so that it rubbed on the battery tray. This left me stranded requiring recovery and the car also had to be sent by lowloader to Bauer Millett (the only GM warranty UK outlet at the time). Bauer Millett identified and fixed the problem and I went to Manchester to collect the car and no further issues. I tried claiming the more than £1,000 bill back from Cadillac Europe with no success. They first trying ignoring my letters and phone calls and eventually I was told that since I had personally imported the car I was not covered by the GM Worldwide warranty as "Worldwide" obviously means North America! The problem occurred about 14 months after purchase and about 16 months after the car was built.
This is my personal experience of Cadillac Europe which is why I would NEVER give them my business.
While I think within the GM warranty period - is it 3 years? - there could be an arguable price-premium for officially-sold cars over imports, I'd find it much harder to argue a price premium after this point: other than perhaps European tuning radios (and some other bits and pieces), an imported and SVA'd car will be just as good.
Despite the current official import situation of Cadillac and Corvettes [and previous spates in the past], the majority of Caddy's and Vettes over here have been imported - either personally, or by companies but nevertheless they started as American/Canadian spec cars. And the majority of these are still on the road, no particular issue from the viewpoint of where they came from and how they got here.
I think having personal imports [or similar] at this good £:$ rate is a good thing for the market most of us are in - i.e. used cars. It should keep a reality-check on the prices of used 'vettes.
... gosh, early morning reply and ramblings. Not quite sure what I'm saying... except, good on those willing to import and save £££s, hopefully means cheaper 'vettes for all somewhere along the line. After all, the Corvette's unique selling point really is what you get, for the price...
Despite the current official import situation of Cadillac and Corvettes [and previous spates in the past], the majority of Caddy's and Vettes over here have been imported - either personally, or by companies but nevertheless they started as American/Canadian spec cars. And the majority of these are still on the road, no particular issue from the viewpoint of where they came from and how they got here.
I think having personal imports [or similar] at this good £:$ rate is a good thing for the market most of us are in - i.e. used cars. It should keep a reality-check on the prices of used 'vettes.
... gosh, early morning reply and ramblings. Not quite sure what I'm saying... except, good on those willing to import and save £££s, hopefully means cheaper 'vettes for all somewhere along the line. After all, the Corvette's unique selling point really is what you get, for the price...
vetteheadracer said:
In my experience, Cadillac Europe will NOT pay for anything on a personally imported car regardless of what the problem is. I had a wiring failure on the main loom caused by a factory error whereby the fuel pump failed due to a broken wire where the factory fitted the loom so that it rubbed on the battery tray.
This type of problem would not be covered under safety recalls and is a good example of why people prefer to have manufacturer warranties. The warranty is there to cover any items that should not wear or break during normal use.
My understanding is that GM and other major manufacturers don't want their cars killing their customers so they tend to sort out major safety issues anywhere anytime. IIRC some people have had C5 steering locks changed by GM at its own expense on cars which were originally purchased outside the EU.
On a fundamentally reliable car retailing at £40 to £65k I reckon the value of the full 3 year warranty is in the region of £5k to £8k. Others may put different value on it. Either way, you pays your money and you takes your choice.
On a fundamentally reliable car retailing at £40 to £65k I reckon the value of the full 3 year warranty is in the region of £5k to £8k. Others may put different value on it. Either way, you pays your money and you takes your choice.
5 USA said:
3 year warranty is in the region of £5k to £8k. Others may put different value on it. Either way, you pays your money and you takes your choice.
Exactly right and even having the problem I had which cost about £1k I was still way better off as a. the UK dealers didn't sell the Z06 and b. if they had they money I paid for the car versus the amount they would have charged me over that amount means I still quids (dollars) in!
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