Importing from the UK - definitive guide (Q&A)

Explosive_Cornflake

Here's the SI

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1993/en/si/0059.html wrote:

"normal residence" means the place where a person usually lives, that is to say, where he lives for at least 185 days in each year, because of personal and occupational ties, or, in the case of a person with no occupational ties, because of personal ties.


However, the normal residence of a person whose occupational ties are in a different place from his personal ties and who consequently lives in turn in different places situated in 2 or more countries shall be regarded as being the place of his personal ties:

Provided that such person returns to the place of his personal ties regularly. This proviso shall not apply where the person is living in a country in order to carry out a task of a duration of less than one year.

Is the definition of personal ties known? I think I need some paid advice at this stage.

billo.d86

Hi All,

Just started following this thread, been thinking about importing a car for ages but you hear some many things hard to know whats true or false.
Some great stuff on here.

Can someone tell me, if its true that if you import a car and leave it parked up for a year it is exempt from the VRT?

bazz26

Not true. Rules for VRT exemption are listed on Revenue's website and probably mentioned on this thread a few times too.

wizardman

Just a quick question guys... looking at a 2009 corolla verso 2.2 diesel for the wife from NI. I want to find out what the tax is 1st.

The co2 is stated as 167. As the UK use miles is the co2 calculated on co2 per mile?

Our tax band is based on co2 emissions per km do i need to convert the 167 into km to get the an accurate tax band. Or is it simply 167 co2 equals €570 tax?

bazz26

They go by what figure is listed down on the car's V5 document.

billo.d86

wizardman wrote: »

Just a quick question guys... looking at a 2009 corolla verso 2.2 diesel for the wife from NI. I want to find out what the tax is 1st.

The co2 is stated as 167. As the UK use miles is the co2 calculated on co2 per mile?

Our tax band is based on co2 emissions per km do i need to convert the 167 into km to get the an accurate tax band. Or is it simply 167 co2 equals €570 tax?

Autotrader.co.uk gives all the emission g/km which is what we use the versa is 164g/km what ever tax band that fits into

wizardman

billo.d86 wrote: »

Autotrader.co.uk gives all the emission g/km which is what we use the versa is 164g/km what ever tax band that fits into

Thanks for your help

Big Nelly

Hey guys

Sorry this has probably been asked on here 101 times but tried read the 260 odd pages. Looking at buying and bringing in from the UK. What is the best way to check the history? is it best to only buy cars with full dealership history? e.g. buying an BMW then only buy with BMW service history?

I have checked a few cars, just out of interest and I checked a few and there seems to be a mixture of manufacturer service and garage service.....

I am just wondering are the checks like motorcheck.ie etc any good? Someone told me really they are useless. Just concerned about getting a clocked car.

Will be buying from garage like cargiant etc so does that give any benefit?

bazz26

It really depends on the age of the car. The older the car gets the less likely it is to have a full main dealer service history but the majority of UK car owners are meticulous about keeping records of the service history so look for receipts for any work and don't discount the car just because it's not done my a main dealer.

There are similar companies in the UK like motorcheck and cartell. The UK has a lot more information available than over here including MOT mileage records, etc. Compare a history check against the service book and ring the garages that stamped it to verify what they did and at what mileage.

Just remember when buying from cargiant there is no negotiation on the sticker price, the price asked is the price it sells for + the standard £99 or so admin fee.

Big Nelly

bazz26 wrote: »

It really depends on the age of the car. The older the car gets the less likely it is to have a full main dealer service history but the majority of UK car owners are meticulous about keeping records of the service history so look for receipts for any work and don't discount the car just because it's not done my a main dealer.

There are similar companies in the UK like motorcheck and cartell. The UK has a lot more information available than over here including MOT mileage records, etc. Compare a history check against the service book and ring the garages that stamped it to verify what they did and at what mileage.

Just remember when buying from cargiant there is no negotiation on the sticker price, the price asked is the price it sells for + the standard £99 or so admin fee.

Thanks, I was thinking of ringing the garages alright and checking. Looking at 11/12. Depending on the UKP rate.....

I wasn't aware of Cargiant non negotiation, probably explains why the girl was short with me when I asked for a deal :P

artheb

Just to give you a heads up on what I have experienced. I was checking the car from NI via motorcheck and got the info that car included only 1 owner including existing owner(car had 2 owners). It also stated that it got new reg plates in January 2015. However I have spoken to the current owner who told me that car was brought from the UK to NI in January 2014. This was not in the report
Current owner had private plates which he moved on to another car in Jan 2015. Motorcheck was missing whole history of this car before Jan 2015 including the UK history. I have reported that to the motorcheck and they have ran second report FOC which eventually included all the UK history including UK reg, mileage reading, hpi and so on.

Please make sure to get as much info from the owner/garages and compare with motorchech/cartell websites.

Thanks,

bazz26

Big Nelly wrote: »

Thanks, I was thinking of ringing the garages alright and checking. Looking at 11/12. Depending on the UKP rate.....

I wasn't aware of Cargiant non negotiation, probably explains why the girl was short with me when I asked for a deal :P

They buy in bulk from large leasing companies, keep their overheads low and sell them on cheaper than dealer prices. Their business model is the same as a supermarket though. It would be like going into Tesco and trying to haggle on the price of a pint of milk or loaf of bread. They will also try to up sell you other things like valeting, servicing, warranty, etc.

lazywhole

are people still going to the uk to import cars ? i would fancy doing it myself, but with the price of sterling it does
not look like its worth it

bazz26

Some people will still import as they value better condition and higher specification over Irish cars above how much money they save.

artheb

lazywhole wrote: »

are people still going to the uk to import cars ? i would fancy doing it myself, but with the price of sterling it does
not look like its worth it

It is still worth it if you find a right price. I brought a car from the NI and was well worth it.

artheb

lazywhole wrote: »

are people still going to the uk to import cars ? i would fancy doing it myself, but with the price of sterling it does
not look like its worth it

It is still worth it if you find a right price. I brought a car from the NI and was well worth it.
Spec and condition was very good. That spec of the car was never sold in Ireland.

lazywhole

cheers guys, im half thinking of looking in the uk, but exchange rate puts me off. but as yous say. better spec and
condition is appealing as i will keep the car for a good few years

Old diesel

To me - for the RIGHT CAR - id be happy to consider break even

the other thing is that - if you wanted (for example) an Audi A6 3.0 tdi Quattro Avant - id expect to be more likely to pick one up in the UK.

It may even be worth paying a little more sometime IF - the Uk car has lower miles - and a nicer spec.

I like Skoda Yetis - but id quite fancy one with the 4 x 4 - its just a nice finishing touch to something that imo is a very functional car - and a 170 td with leather etc would be ncie - yet I bet most irish ones are 2wd 1.6 tdis - with not a bit of leather in sight.

Its not that im thinking of buying either a Yeti or A6 - just giving examples

Dinarius

This is an amazing thread - almost overwhelming!

Would love to import an Audi A6.

Without reading 300 pages of thread, has anything changed in terms of the importing procedure in the 11 years since OP's original post?

Any difference between importing from NI and UK?

Thanks! 😊

D.

Ps. And like a poster a couple of pages back, I too would like an Audi A6 3.0 tdi Avant - gorgeous cars!

In focus

alot has changed but then again not much, UK Car dealers work in a very tight environment, discounts are given but in the 100's not 1000's, the exchange rate is different from December nevermind 11 years ago! Shipping or collecting reflects the exchange rate, paying on the day remains a challenge, VRT is elusive, warranty's are difficult to use from the UK as ever, choice and quality remain key

Besides that the world has turned and savings are in small 4 figures but then again we all shop in ALDI or LIDL now so that probably saves us a small four figure sum over a year - still worthwhile in my opinion

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

b.gud

Heisenberg. wrote: »

For anyone wondering about the above. I appealed and got over a grand back in the post today.
OMSP revised from 71% of cost down to 29%.

Please, for the love of God challenge them every time on VRT.
If anyone wants advice on how to frame your appeal, feel free to PM me.

Is there a time frame for appeal? For instance you do it 11 months after you paid the VRT, or is it too long gone at that stage?

sunnysoutheast

Chaps

Sorry if this has been posted before but is there any way of getting a definitive VRT amount before you import a car and present it?

Reason is I have found an A5 Sportback Quattro with few (but the correct) options fitted but SE Quattro doesn't appear in the ROS dropdowns.

I have Sterling in the UK to buy the car from the dealer etc. so that's not an issue.

In an entirely unrelated question, is it possible to get Quattro badges off temporarily......

billy few mates

If you search back a few pages theres a website where you can just enter the reg of the car, can't remember what site it is....

b.gud

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

Chaps

Sorry if this has been posted before but is there any way of getting a definitive VRT amount before you import a car and present it?

Reason is I have found an A5 Sportback Quattro with few (but the correct) options fitted but SE Quattro doesn't appear in the ROS dropdowns.

I have Sterling in the UK to buy the car from the dealer etc. so that's not an issue.

In an entirely unrelated question, is it possible to get Quattro badges off temporarily......

Yes and no. The VRT calculator on the revenue website gives you the VRT you need to pay for the model of car you are importing. The amount you pay is a % of the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP). The problem is that they can change the OMSP of the car at any stage, so you can never be 100% sure.

Last year I imported a car and was given a price by the website and it was what I ended up paying but I checked the site about 2 weeks after paying and they had upped the OMSP of my car so if I had waited a week or 2 longer I might have had to pay more

sunnysoutheast

b.gud wrote: »

Yes and no. The VRT calculator on the revenue website gives you the VRT you need to pay for the model of car you are importing. The amount you pay is a % of the Open Market Selling Price (OMSP). The problem is that they can change the OMSP of the car at any stage, so you can never be 100% sure.

Last year I imported a car and was given a price by the website and it was what I ended up paying but I checked the site about 2 weeks after paying and they had upped the OMSP of my car so if I had waited a week or 2 longer I might have had to pay more

Cheers, problem is that the model I want to bring in isn't shown! Not sure if that's a good or bad thing....

bazz26

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

Chaps

Sorry if this has been posted before but is there any way of getting a definitive VRT amount before you import a car and present it?

Reason is I have found an A5 Sportback Quattro with few (but the correct) options fitted but SE Quattro doesn't appear in the ROS dropdowns.

I have Sterling in the UK to buy the car from the dealer etc. so that's not an issue.

In an entirely unrelated question, is it possible to get Quattro badges off temporarily......

The VRT calculator is not a set in stone calculation, it is an estimate that in most cases is not too far wrong but in some cases it has been known to be inaccurate too.

Lol, you can take the badges off all day long if you like but it will not change the amount of VRT you will pay. They take the car's VIN and check it on their database which is tied into the manufacturer's spec of the car as it left the factory, so they will know it's Quattro without even looking at the car. It will also tell them what other factory extras are fitted to the car and charge you VRT on them too if the car is less than 4 years old.

b.gud

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

Cheers, problem is that the model I want to bring in isn't shown! Not sure if that's a good or bad thing....

A friend of mine brought in a car a couple of years ago and the model wasn't on the list. He had to wait for them to give him a VRT price. From when I was getting my car done the 2 main things that I remember being a factor in the cost of the VRT was the emissions of the car and the OMSP. So when you do go to get it done make sure you know the emissions of the car and that it matches the one they tell you. Also as was suggested earlier challenge the price they give you

sunnysoutheast

bazz26 wrote: »

The VRT calculator is not a set in stone calculation, it is an estimate that in most cases is not too far wrong but in some cases it has been known to be inaccurate too.

Lol, you can take the badges off all day long if you like but it will not change the amount of VRT you will pay. They take the car's VIN and check it on their database which is tied into the manufacturer's spec of the car as it left the factory, so they will know it's Quattro without even looking at the car. It will also tell them what other factory extras are fitted to the car and charge you VRT on them too if the car is less than 4 years old.

Ha ha yeah I know, it's a bugger about the extras. That's why I'm avoiding Bose sound systems etc.

Might give Revenue a call and see if I can get a definitive vrt amount.

bazz26

sunnysoutheast wrote: »

Ha ha yeah I know, it's a bugger about the extras. That's why I'm avoiding Bose sound systems etc.

Might give Revenue a call and see if I can get a definitive vrt amount.

Don't waste the price of a call as they will tell you to use the vrt calculator or you will get the amount when you present the car for VRT inspection.