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How to tell an import
- Thread starter PJVTS
- Start date
No, because the car was registered over here.
Insurance companies only really care about grey imports, not EU ones as the car is the same as sold over here in most cases.
Being a pre reg car doesnt really tell you anything as lots of UK cars get pre registered also. The difference being an import will usualy show to have changed hands after 1 day, a UK car after 3 months I think.
a couple of things to check would be the chassis number etched in the windows and the registration details on the national security register and the cat 1 alarm with the flashy light thingy in the right place. If these two are both there then maybe check with renault but if either isnt there then it is obviously an import (or has had all its windows smashed and replaced and the alarm changed!)
i got my import 182 a few month ago now, and cant see why its a big deal if the cars an import or not.
anyways the car only has a lock for the key on one door. Ive noticed the locks on the passenger side on my import but its on the drivers side on my girlfriends mams clio and her brothers clio, both of them been non imports.
my imports same as uk spec minus - locking wheel nuts, window etching and alarm as far as i can tell. Of course all these things can be added so u cant rely on using this to try and tell if the cars been imported.
U still get the full Renault 3 year warranty and all manuals etc. are in english. and i am the only registered owner on my car.
Mines not alarmed yet but still has the red flashy light, it just shows the immobilizers armed.
[Edited by partyboy on 25 August 2004 at 6:07pm]
the uk 182s with alarm fitted have another flashing light on the centre console by the base of the gearstick.
The main reason people are not keen on the imported 182s now is that Renault have got clever and you cannot get the all important cup packs on an import, and thats what most buyers are after.
You pay less for an imported car but you get less for it when traded in, this wasnt a problem a few years ago when there was a massive difference between uk and imported cars but now the difference in price is not that big, when you added all the on the road costs, the cat 1 alarm fitting, the window etching it comes to about £500 off what I paid for my 182 fully loaded without just satnav and when you add the options i had on to the cost of the import it actually comes to the same as what i paid, and i got mine form a uk dealer!
The import trick just isnt as good as it used to be (my last car was an import but that was when there were massive saving to be made)
just for you dogmaul, look at the time this was posted... thats how long it took to find it!
http://forum.cliosport.net/display_topic_threads.asp?ForumID=2&TopicID=88288&SearchPagePosition=19&search=fUbAr&searchMode=allwords&searchIn=Author&forum=0&searchSort=dateDESC&ReturnPage=SearchCLICK ME and read some of the comments
i thankyou.
This isnt quite true, although what im about to say isnt 100% fool proof.
Check the windows for etchings of the vin numbers, these are done at the uk import centre and are therefore not on parallel imports. The only reason i say its not foolproof is someone might of gone to the bother of getting hold of an original etching kit from renault UK and done it them self, although i doubt this because theyre not cheap.
3 Series xdrive
check the service book, the stamp on the first page should be a british dealers stamp, if its in French then it an import, it makes eff all difference anyway, its still the exact same car made in the same factorty by the same ppl to the same spec, only diff is it might not have a cat1 renault alarm(but you can get a better one fitted for around £200, and the windows wont have registartion number etchings(autoglass can do that for a small fee)
For the love of god just phone Renault UK and ask them. They will know from the VIN which country the car was originally sold in. Why bother playing detective when a simple phone call can answer your question.
With regard to the etching, its not the reg that gets etched, its the cars number on the National Security Register.
My import 172, had no locking wheel nuts, alarm or etching, there was no dealer stamp in the service book either.
Quote: Originally posted by daz182 on 26 August 2004
only diff is it might not have a cat1 renault alarm(but you can get a better one fitted for around £200, and the windows wont have registartion number etchings(autoglass can do that for a small fee)
Mine is a parallel import & didnt come with the alarm (getting one fitted for 200-250) nor the locking nuts. I got my windows etched by Autoglass free of charge through my insurance company (liverpoolvictoria).
Quote: Originally posted by Liam182 on 26 August 2004
the lock on all 182s is on the passenger side as in the right hand side when looking head on at the car.
Same here - whats the reason behind it, anyone know?
Quote: Originally posted by b0redtodeath on 26 August 2004
Same here - whats the reason behind it, anyone know?
Yep..its a french car!!!...would be left hand drive ..the drivers side in france ..the french couldnt be arsed to make any effort for us brits..still good though...means you can park the car very tight on the passenger side and thats where the only lock is.
Thats what I assumed but thought there might have been another reason - lazy tw*ts eh?
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