[zulfi hansi]

This is the most hard to believe news I have ever come across for a long time. Apparently 'the' Great Britain is bankrupt.

This is the news on page 10 of TOI (Bangalore) on 16th August 2011:

"For £3.5m, you can buy a UK aircraft carrier

London: Cash-strapped Britain is putting an aircraft carrier, warships, helicopters as well as battle fortified Land Rovers on the market for a song.
Under an almost distress sale to plug a gaping £36 billion hole in the ministry of defence’s budget, the price of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal built at a cost of £200 million has dipped to a ridiculous level of £3.5 million.
Also on offer at almost throwaway prices are Type 22 frigates costing £400 million each at £300,000, destroyers at just a million Pounds, the Daily Mail reported quoting senior officials.
It’s not only the naval weaponry that is up for grabs, but also the 13 gazelle helicopters which cost almost five million to build apiece are being sold at just £100,000 .
For car lovers, the armoured version of the Jaguars are going for just £12,000 cut from £200,000 and snatch Land Rovers at just £2,000 from their retail price of £65,000 .
Media reports said that senior military officers are said to be furious at the sell-offs, which they claim are giving away quality equipment while the forces need everything they can get. PTI"

I was stunt to see that an Armored Jaguar is being sold for 12000 pounds!
which originally cost 200000 pounds! Land Rovers (Army Defenders?) for 2000 pounds!!

Even if one pays 110% duty (which is for a new car, CBU) on an armored Jag it still costs like a little over 18 lakhs!!

1. Is there any way these cars can be bought by us here in India?
2. Is it possible to import these here? (if one could buy them in the first place).
3. And if it can be bought and imported what do we need to pay the Government? (All types of taxes / duties / customs etc).
4. Can any one among us get a piece of this cake?
5. Ultimately, is this really happening?

[vina]

Originally Posted by zulfi hansi

This is the most hard to believe news I have ever come across for a long time. Apparently 'the' Great Britain is bankrupt.

This is the news on page 10 of TOI (Bangalore) on 16th August 2011:

"For £3.5m, you can buy a UK aircraft carrier

London: Cash-strapped Britain is putting an aircraft carrier, warships, helicopters as well as battle fortified Land Rovers on the market for a song.
Under an almost distress sale to plug a gaping £36 billion hole in the ministry of defence’s budget, the price of the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal built at a cost of £200 million has dipped to a ridiculous level of £3.5 million.
Also on offer at almost throwaway prices are Type 22 frigates costing £400 million each at £300,000, destroyers at just a million Pounds, the Daily Mail reported quoting senior officials.
It’s not only the naval weaponry that is up for grabs, but also the 13 gazelle helicopters which cost almost five million to build apiece are being sold at just £100,000 .
For car lovers, the armoured version of the Jaguars are going for just £12,000 cut from £200,000 and snatch Land Rovers at just £2,000 from their retail price of £65,000 . ...

Must be a joke of some kind - the scrap from a frigate will fetch more than the 300k pounds claimed.

ToI reporters are not known for their fact-checking skills.


EDIT: checked just now - the "news" originally appeared in the british tabloid daily mirror - compared to that ToI is a paragon of virtue and investigative reporting.

This is pure B.S.

http://www.edisposals.com is the website of UK MoD disposals nothing in the article is on sale here.

[crazybiker46]

Check out the episode 5 from last Top Gear series where the trio goes to Army dump yard,Lincolnshire to buy demolition vehicles

The video shows lots of LR Defenders,Gazelle helicopters and a Jag XJ

[akj53]

If the above is true, then our UPA Government will buy all of above at actual market value through some shady agent, who will purchase at the quoted prices and the multi billion dollar difference will be pocketed gleefully by the concerned net as and babus.
Only fly in the above ointment will be our Defense Minister Mr. A. K. Antony who is a man of integrity, but He can be shunted to some other ministry.

BTW Britishers are not so stupid to make such a distress sale so by all means this appears to be a hoax. But recently I have read this somewhere else.

[Ragul]

These armoured Jeeps will be gas guzzlers. Think twice!!

--Ragul