Mon Jun 16 12:27:15 1997 - Message No. 1047
From: "Robert Rowe"

Subject: Re: UK Grey imports


Kevin Stokes wrote:

> Just a quick comment on Grey imports in the UK.
>
> I recently paid GBP #7,360 for my 97' AT from Motorcycle City, I was
> offered
> the same AT abeit a Grey import from another dealer for GBP #5,999.
> The only
> difference being the import had a Kilometer speedo. How can there be
> such a
> huge price difference? How will this affect the secondhand price
> market?
>
Were you offered a Grey Import or a Parallel import?

A Grey Import is where the Bike is not imported by the UK distributor,
e.g. the 400cc pocket rockets that Honda builds for the Japan home
market. A Parallel Import is where you have something that is available
in the UK from the distributor but where the bike has come via a third
country, typically European and is therefore a carbon copy of the UK
Bike, apart from items like headlights and clocks, and possiably power
rating.

The difference in your case sounds massive. So even after lights have
been changed, as they must and allowing for the 80 pounds a dealer was
quoting a friend of mine for changing clocks, there is a lot of money
left over there for someone.The only time the difference has any chance
of being justified is when have to fall back on a manufacturers
warranty. So if you bought a Ducati or a BMW where you could be
expecting a number of trips back to the dealer in the first year of
ownership,  having the Factory warranty might be a worthwhile
investment.

Your second hand price will be effected, though here is where we all
must be carefull in the future. A number of dealers are now offering
Bikes as Grey Imports but retro fitted with UK clocks.

That will mean that in a few months there will be second hand bikes
appearing on the second hand market which on the surface, as they have
mph clocks, appear to be genuine UK imports with all the associated
warranty arrangements that go with that.

The problems comes when someone who bought a vehicle in all good faith
goes to make a warranty claim and finds that their bike is not covered
as they thought it was.

I know of one situation, involving the dealer you purchased from ( me
too in the past :-{  ) where Parallel Imports have been passed off as
genuine UK Imports. When warranty claims have been made as other
dealers, the fact the Bike is a Parallel Import is revealed when the
dealer goes to read the frame number which is not in a UK sequence.

Just in case you're worrying, the Bike in question was actually sold
with Kilometer clocks but Honda UK documents.

For me, I just wish that the UK Importers would get their finger out and
start importing the number of Bikes the market currently demands. That
way the price of the Genuine Imports would be lower and people trying to
source bikes would not get taken by the nice and shiney syndrome which
seems in the experience of two friends to have left them with something
that is not all it might have been.

Yours

Rob



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