Anyone Actually Been To Brazil?

I lifted up the engine compartment door the other day and found the "Volkswagen Do Brasil" sticker.

It did start me thinking of "Debbie Does Dallas" or something similar, but it also set me thinking...... has anyone here been to the VW factory in Brazil? Do VW sell many T2s in Brazil, and what do people in Brazil think of those people the other side of the world who seem to want to buy them?

Here's how they sell them over there:
- http://www.volkswagen.com/br/pt/carros/kombi.html

CHRIS

They sell like hot-cakes in Brazil, Chris. They are 'the' mpv for the home market. Despite the fact they only come in white. (Apart from the red 50 year special edition and the silver end of aircooled edition.)

im sure ive seen something on the forum where they are around the £18000-19000 mark. Someone might be able to expand on this?

That is roughly what they go for.

Quote :

something on the forum where they are around the £18000-19000 mark.

They used to have prices on the VW Brazil website, but they dont any more, either that or I just cant find them!

Last time I checked a VW dealer in Brazil told me a brand new Kombi was R$36,192 dont know if there are any taxes to go on or off that due to export and import, but at todays exchange rate that would come out at just under £14K

You still have to ship it half way round the world, but thats what the cost would have been to buy one in Brazil.

There is no way they would cost £18-£19K in brazil, there would not be any money in it for anyone, and anyone that brings them over is not doing it for the good of human kind, they are doing it to make money.

yeh makes sense. its great that there is a choice of importers and converters and of course they have to be rewarded for the hours put in and import costs etc

You will be surprised how much it does cost to ship something from Brazil, its not as much as you may think. Its all about filling boxes

I have read (probably on here) that you cant export a vehicle from Brazil unless you have an address there, which might be the hardest thing to sort, unless the supplying dealer are able to help with that!

I am suprised that no one has looked into doing them as CKD (Complete Knock Down) kits, as thats the way European vehicle manufacturers get vans into the US avoiding their 'Chicken Tax' as until very recently even Mercedes themselves were taking engines out of Sprinters, and sending the bodies and engines seperately to the US as are then classed as parts rather than a vehicle, and then have a small factory in the US that put the engines back in.

Interesting; but has anyone actually been to Brazil? If they sell like hot cakes there, do they come streaming round every corner like a Latin American version of the Italian Job?