New Member, Introducing myself

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Stuckmojo
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Hi All, 

I just joined GWOA to tap into the huge resource pool this forum has as well as hopefully contribute to it. 

Long story short:

- I have a 2008 G55 AMG here in Dubai (had it for 18 months) and this year I plan to relocate back to the UK and bring it with me. Home in UK is Newcastle 

I am not bothered that it's LHD, and it's just gone past 100,000 miles (160,000km). 

It's my only car here and I use it for work and to go in the desert with a trailer and my dirt bike. 

In UK I have other cars (really, the wife's car) for sensible driving. The G is staying!

in due course I'll seek some advice on insurance etc. Since the car was made in 2007 it's over 10 years old so I believe it just needs an MOT to get registered in UK.

 

Thanks for reading

prwales
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Re: New Member, Introducing myself

Welcome to the forum bonnie lad, I don't see any issue with lhd at all in most UK usage unless you live in the depths of rural Northumberland along single track roads. What will come as a shock is the petrol you'll get through. Driving to the NE from South Wales in my manual ge300 on a fairly regular basis I rarely got better than 20/22 mpg. If you are looking at keeping it long term you might want to consider lpg, 

Stuckmojo
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Re: New Member, Introducing myself

prwales wrote:

Welcome to the forum bonnie lad, I don't see any issue with lhd at all in most UK usage unless you live in the depths of rural Northumberland along single track roads. What will come as a shock is the petrol you'll get through. Driving to the NE from South Wales in my manual ge300 on a fairly regular basis I rarely got better than 20/22 mpg. If you are looking at keeping it long term you might want to consider lpg, 

 

Hi and thanks for the welcome!

My biggest worry is the insurance cost. I'd probably ask the question somewhere else but with the car being a LHD import with the G63 bumpers (it came with it ) I'm dreading the cost. Need to find a good insurance broker whom I can have a good conversation with. 

Good point on the petrol. The 5.5 AMG does single digits MPG in town, but my mileage won't be so high, maybe 3 to 4k miles per year. I have access to another car for longer drives. I thought of LPG but need to work out the cost/benefit of the conversion.

 

Theo
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Re: New Member, Introducing myself

insuring your G will be an interesting conversation, sounds like maximum complications; the good news should be that you are able to cap the yearly mileage and the G55 was sold in 2006/07 as well as 2011/ 2012 in the UK; try the multiple-car policy route as well and parking it overnight in a garage will have an impact.

Stuckmojo
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Re: New Member, Introducing myself

Theo wrote:

insuring your G will be an interesting conversation, sounds like maximum complications; the good news should be that you are able to cap the yearly mileage and the G55 was sold in 2006/07 as well as 2011/ 2012 in the UK; try the multiple-car policy route as well and parking it overnight in a garage will have an impact.

 

Thanks Theo, I'll start asking quotes around July - the car comes back just after the summer. 

 

Stuckmojo
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Re: New Member, Introducing myself

On the insurance process, any thoughts on good companies to contact? 

 

Thanks

Theo
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Re: New Member, Introducing myself

this subject has been discussed a few times in the forum, it appears that there can be significant variations;  I have four cars insured with Admiral (i.e. mainstream insurer), they were (and probably as important) have remained competitive over the years;  however, all the cars are RHD/ UK spec;  the easiest starting point is a price comparison website (this is how I found Admiral) but you try a broker as well you probably all imaginable complications, the transfer of your no-claims bonus might be one of them.

Stuckmojo
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Re: New Member, Introducing myself

Thanks, I had a look. Mainstream insurer, about 2k per year. 

i spoke to one broker, £1650, which is more than I want to pay but can almost stomach it. 

 

 

prwales
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Re: New Member, Introducing myself

I pay just over £100 for a 5k limited mileage policy on my ge300, fuel, then road tax is my biggest cost, sorry it's down to my age and the vehicles age but... if you keep it long enough

Arnie
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Re: New Member, Introducing myself

I have a LHD, G400 and eventually, after speaking to many brokers with ridiculously high quotations,  The insurance co with the red phone, agreed to insure it as a G55,, since the G400 is not on their list. This costs me £320 a year.

What you will find, is that for cars (first) registered after March 2006 , your road tax will be around £500 a year.

LHD is not a problem, except for slightly less visibility to on-coming traffic when turning left and ticket machines at car-park barriers.

 

 

Jdring
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Re: New Member, Introducing myself

I always found my G cheap to insure - buts its only a stock, old, 230GE.  Currently with Aviva on a multi-car.  About £230/year with a few SP30 speeding tickets.

There are so few G's around that insurance companies don't know what they are and when they are on their systems the stats are pretty good.

Make sure you get the value specified clearly though (even though its only a reference point) because in the event of an accident and having to repair the G, insurance companies always prefer to write-off the car and claim a low replacement cost.  Took me a lot of time to gather examples of G prices when my last G was pranged.  Still lost out.