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Wanted - Left hand drive 80 series

LeCruiser

LeCruiser

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May 16, 2010
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I'm moving to France soon so an 80 series is in order! Looking for a left hooker as it will mainly be used over there. Prefer manual, diesel and the latest one so 95/96? :icon-biggrin:

Anything else I need to keep an eye out for apart from the obvious in other posts? Thought a lefty from the UK may be cheaper? I know there's the new Eco import tax in France now :?

Thanks
 
Hiya, where are you heading for? We are in the (not so) sunny Dordogne. Just a tip, make sure whatever you buy was origionally an EU car, and its chassy number proves it - not too modified either (origional wheel sizes etc) Why? Cos you wouldnt belive the red tape here. (once you have it registered its not so bad) Anything not from EU will have you jumping through hoops made of gold that you have to buy and leave with them! I have a R/H drive Collie, and its not a problem, was easy to register & insure. CT (MOT) test every 2 years & insurance is pretty reasonable. The eco tax is on a sliding scale ie 10 yr old = nothing. You may pay a bit for initial registration, (350 rings a bell, but dont quote me) but there is no annual road fund to buy. If I can help any, let me know. used cars are incredibly expensive here - ie 10 year old tatty Collie with high kms about 11,000€
hth
Steve
 
Cheers! I've looked at the prices there :shock: So maybe one from the UK would be better! Left hand drive may be difficult to find but there cant be that much demand for one here? I'm only heading to Arras so within easy reach of the UK to pop back!
In no rush so can wait for the right one :wtf:
 
Because i have a dodgy right leg i spent a considerable amount of time searching for a left hand drive 4x4 . In the end i had to accept anything in decent nick costs a good bit more than its right hand drive equivilant , i guess there is a far larger market for used LHD's . Would you believe an LR Defender usually sells for double its worth if its LHD simply coz they aint sold new in America . Heres a few i found for you to look at anyway .

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-La...697?pt=Automobiles_UK&clk_rvr_id=478170699201

http://cars.mitula.co.uk/detalle/10298/97060488683754109/16/1/left-hand-drive-landcruiser

http://cars.mitula.co.uk/detalle/10298/97654424232319420/38/1/left-hand-drive-landcruiser
 
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Cheers for the suggestions! Looking specifically at a diesel, manual 80 series... I may have to settle with a RHD ... We'll see
 
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Its the GX spec, not basic like a GS. Cloth seats have so many advantages over leather in any weather and are far more durable. Whether its worth any given figure can only be ascertained by an inspection by an interested party. I doubt its worth £9K but if everything works as it should, its bodywork is dead straight and its very tidy underneath and inside then it should be worth £5.5 to £6K in my opinion.
It depends on how far one would have to go to get a better one.

Andy
 
Just a thought, a lot of Romanians import s/hand cars from Germany, or did do up to when they increased the taxation here for personal car imports, to an exorbitant level.

Maybe the tax system in France is equally punishing, but I wouldn't be too happy driving a RHD on the right (or should it be the wrong) side of the road!

I have no idea of prices in Germany, but it shouldn't be too difficult to research.

Only my opinion of course.
 
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clivehorridge said:
Just a thought, a lot of Romanians import s/hand cars from Germany, or did do up to when they increased the taxation here for personal car imports, to an exorbitant level.

Maybe the tax system in France is equally punishing, but I wouldn't be too happy driving a RHD on the right (or should it be the wrong) side of the road!

I have no idea of prices in Germany, but it shouldn't be too difficult to research.

Only my opinion of course.
Click to expand...

Driving with the wheel on the wrong side isnt so bad, once you get used to it. Now a van on the other hand is a right mare! No windows along the side to see out of. I drove my l/h drive van back to UK a couple of times, and once or twice ended up reversing back (dont forget, no windows) to re-position it so I could see if anything was coming at a junction!
Steve
 
The biggest problem here is on the narrow roads (even a lot of the main/national roads have not been upgraded) following HGVs. The only way to overtake (because they're probably only doing 50 kph) is to get a looksee past them without crossing the line. Because the lanes are so narrow, chancing crossing the line means you end up dead. We see 2 or 3 "contrasense" fatalities every evening on TV.

Getting a sighting would be almost impossible in a RHD vehicle, here IMO.
 
Good point, I guess similar to here on the smaller 'D' roads, but I think more French are killled doing daft over takes in l/h drives than r/h ex pats. They really can be bonkers! They follow so closely, they need to put there nose out on the other side of the road to see if anything is coming, generally in a swervey way! Chill and enjoy the scenery;)

Steve
 
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froggy Steve said:
Good point, I guess similar to here on the smaller 'D' roads, but I think more French are killled doing daft over takes in l/h drives than r/h ex pats. They really can be bonkers! They follow so closely, they need to put there nose out on the other side of the road to see if anything is coming, generally in a swervey way! Chill and enjoy the scenery;)

Steve
Click to expand...

Agreed, driving here is an eye-opener, you can see "accidents waiting to happen" and in many cases the drivers are to impatient to wait for that!

I had a go at a taxi driver yesterday, my 80 is having a facelift paint job so I'm stuck with taxis. He was nudging his way into traffic with one hand on the horn and stopstarting in half meter bursts. I told him, "...drive properly you A-hole, you're making me sick!"

He understood straight away although he'd declared that he didn't speak English. Quite funny that, when his tip was at stake!

Anyway, it's only my opinion, I'm very glad that I'm not struggling here in a RHD, it would certainly be a disadvantage in my point of view.
 
Thanks everyone! My 70 series is RHD and not an issue really... Found a tidy 80 series but RHD again si going to take a very closer look next week!

Local prices here are over double for the same vehicle!
 
Our Collie is RHD and we have never had a problem, just gotta adapt! LeCruiser, make sure its not a South African or Jap or Ozzy 80, it will be almost impossible to register it here unless it has Euro approval! But you probably already know that ;)
Steve
 
What you need is a reverse camera facing forward on the left hand wing, maybe a roof rack level or in the side mirror. That way you could look along the side of an HGV without having to swing out, or at least not too much.

clivehorridge said:
The biggest problem here is on the narrow roads (even a lot of the main/national roads have not been upgraded) following HGVs. The only way to overtake (because they're probably only doing 50 kph) is to get a looksee past them without crossing the line. Because the lanes are so narrow, chancing crossing the line means you end up dead. We see 2 or 3 "contrasense" fatalities every evening on TV.

Getting a sighting would be almost impossible in a RHD vehicle, here IMO.
Click to expand...
 
SpinDrift said:
What you need is a reverse camera facing forward on the left hand wing, maybe a roof rack level or in the side mirror. That way you could look along the side of an HGV without having to swing out, or at least not too much.
Click to expand...

What a good idea Reinhard, didn't think of that! These gizmo's are cheap these days too, it wouldn't cost more than a few quid to install.
 
Don't know would I trust my life to the camera though Clive........
 
Agreed to an extent yogi, but it would only be a supporting measure to real sight and common sense. There's plenty of operators of cranes, diving equipment, tanks, aircraft, nuclear power installations and other machines that rely 100% on virtual imagery as opposed to the real sight image. Makes driving a bit like a walk in the park.... MIND THAT TREE!
 
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