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

tramoreman77

its SE I model

tramoreman77

what is it

bazz26

Streetwalker wrote: »

It's an illegal tax so I would no problem telling people ways around it.

Oh not this old chestnut again. You will let us know the way around it though?

biko

Streetwalker wrote: »

It's an illegal tax so I would no problem telling people ways around it.

That's a discussion for another thread. Do not post about it in this thread again, it's just derailing it.

DecjKav

Hi All
I'd really appreciate a quick answer from all you experts.
I am seriously thinking about buying a 2012 Mercedes E-class from a car dealer in Tallaght who before today I'd never heard of, although I was adamant I was going to source one myself in the UK.
I am nervous as its not a main dealer. He imported it from the UK and paid the VRT & registered in the garages name which I thought was unusual. I thought the garage waited until it was sold, paid the VRT and then it would be registered in the new owners name?? Is it unusual what he did?
He also changed the wheels and tyres on the car with brand new sporty ones although he was able to show me the original ones. (he says he is a wheels man and it shows the car off better) He has done this on most of the cars in his showroom so probably stacks up.
He is only offering a 6 month warranty on it which I would have thought should be a year on a relatively new car.
Because its a UK import I'm nervous and would like to know do I know the following -
How do I find out the real history behind it?
Has it been clocked?
Has it been in a crash?
Is their outstanding finance on it
And is there anything else I should be wary of?
Thanks in advance

The_Conductor

Get the VID and use it to backtrack to its original registration (unless the dealer is happy to show you the paperwork with the original reg) and then do an online trace in the UK?

Just because its not a main dealer- doesn't really mean anything- it could be that he brought it over for someone else, who wasn't able to pay for it- when push came to the shove. Or perhaps they looked around locally (local second hand stock has improved remarkably in the last year)- and pulled out of the purchase- but the dealer already was in chain with it?

At the moment- the strength of sterling is crucifying anyone thinking of buying a car in the UK and bringing it over- and our own domestic stock of second hand cars is improving remarkably. The day when you were guaranteed a bargain by buying in the UK- and bringing it over here- are numbered- the only real reason now to do it- is for models or specs that aren't/weren't on the market here- but you're not going to save a packet on it- just get those specs that aren't readily available over here........

Seth Brundle

DecjKav wrote: »

He also changed the wheels and tyres on the car with brand new sporty ones although he was able to show me the original ones. (he says he is a wheels man and it shows the car off better) He has done this on most of the cars in his showroom so probably stacks up.

"sporty"?
I do find it odd that he seems to routinely replace the wheels and tyres on his stock. Is he making any profit at all?

DecjKav wrote: »

Has it been clocked?
Has it been in a crash?
...
And is there anything else I should be wary of?

A 2012 merc won't be cheap so make sure that the car is examined by a trusted mechanic. For all you know the dealer won't be around next month!

DecjKav

Thanks conductor
I was around lots of garages today and the majority of their expensive cars were all UK imports. My worry is that he is not a main dealer. None of the others had registered the cars - they were prepared to wait until they found a buyer before they registered it in the buyers name which makes me suspicious.
He gave me the original UK reg, chassis number and engine number.
Where is the best place to go and get everything checked?

DecjKav

kbannon wrote: »

"sporty"?
I do find it odd that he seems to routinely replace the wheels and tyres on his stock. Is he making any profit at all?


A 2012 merc won't be cheap so make sure that the car is examined by a trusted mechanic. For all you know the dealer won't be around next month!

About the wheels - I agree although he said if I wanted the original wheels put back on he could reduce the price accordingly.

For the trusted mechanic - Any recommendations? The AA?

Seth Brundle

In theory any mechanic can check the car for you. You need to be able to trust their opinion though (and their ability to form a correct opinion).
My father had an AA car check done donkeys years ago. Costly but very thorough.
http://www.theaa.ie/AA/Vehicle-checks/Car-Inspection.aspx

Also if the dealer is in any way against this, I would be of the view that you should run away quickly!

Fermi

Hi Guys,

I am considering importing a 2008 Honda Civic 2.2 diesel version, and I wanted to ask you about your opinion if it is really worth it.

Cars with these specs would sell in Ireland for about 8.5 and 9k lowest, but there is very few of them around.
In the UK there is plenty, they go for as low as £4000-£4500, they have lower mileage and better spec. Overall with the cost of VRT and the current pound rate the total cost would be about 7100 euro, + some other expenses like flights and ferry.

So overall I would possibly save a little and have a better car, but I am just worried something will go terribly wrong and I will be losing money.


Thanks for any advice.

Mc Love

Get an AA or RAC Full vehicle check done for piece of mind if you like

The_Conductor

In addition- don't look at the financial cost- any financial benefit is marginal at best. You're buying the car from the UK to get better specs, lower mileage- and a car that you are having difficulties sourcing here. It probably won't cost you more than its Irish value- even after VRT- but it'll be a close run thing. You do however have a very nice- uncommon spec Honda Civic at the end of the day.

bazz26

Buy from a UK Honda dealer and the warranty maybe transferable over here.

Fermi

The_Conductor wrote: »

In addition- don't look at the financial cost- any financial benefit is marginal at best. You're buying the car from the UK to get better specs, lower mileage- and a car that you are having difficulties sourcing here. It probably won't cost you more than its Irish value- even after VRT- but it'll be a close run thing. You do however have a very nice- uncommon spec Honda Civic at the end of the day.

Thanks, that actually helped me - I think I will ask my cousin who lives in the UK to have a look and then try RAC to check the car thoroughly and go ahead that way.

Is there any paperwork in particular apart from the invoice and the reg papers I will need from the UK seller?

bazz26

You need the V5c section of the registration documents.

Also hold onto the ferry receipt, this proves when the car entered the country.

aujopimur

Make sure you get the complete V5 from the seller.

micks_address

Fermi wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I am considering importing a 2008 Honda Civic 2.2 diesel version, and I wanted to ask you about your opinion if it is really worth it.

Cars with these specs would sell in Ireland for about 8.5 and 9k lowest, but there is very few of them around.
In the UK there is plenty, they go for as low as £4000-£4500, they have lower mileage and better spec. Overall with the cost of VRT and the current pound rate the total cost would be about 7100 euro, + some other expenses like flights and ferry.

So overall I would possibly save a little and have a better car, but I am just worried something will go terribly wrong and I will be losing money.


Thanks for any advice.

Apart from the importing costs etc make sure the clutch is in good condition as they caused problems with the 2.2 engine. It's also quite a heavy engine... Basically the 2.2 from the Accord was fitted as a stop gap to the 1.6 diesel..

DecjKav

I've just imported a car from the UK and I must say it was a great experience. Thanks to this thread I was aware of many things to watch out for. Ended up getting a cracking car with a huge spec and saved myself probably 5k.
Question I'd appreciate an answer on is. When you import a car that is 3 years old and the garage gives you a VAT invoice can you reclaim that VAT from the UK revenue once you export it to Ireland. The sales guy in the garage mentioned that I could but I reckon he is wrong.
It isn't a commercial vehicle and was bought privately by me.
Thanks in advance.

jcon1913

DecjKav wrote: »

I've just imported a car from the UK and I must say it was a great experience. Thanks to this thread I was aware of many things to watch out for. Ended up getting a cracking car with a huge spec and saved myself probably 5k.
Question I'd appreciate an answer on is. When you import a car that is 3 years old and the garage gives you a VAT invoice can you reclaim that VAT from the UK revenue once you export it to Ireland. The sales guy in the garage mentioned that I could but I reckon he is wrong.
It isn't a commercial vehicle and was bought privately by me.
Thanks in advance.

What did you import and how much did it cost in the UK?

username?!

Looking at bringing in a 2013 330d M Sport from the UK next Tuesday if all goes to plan.

I have my eye on about 2 or 3 different ones. Haven't made my mind up yet. One of the cars is located in one of these car supermarket places, Should these be avoided or are they dependent?

Which way is the best to pay, Every dealer I've rang is saying Debit card is the easiest but I'm sure there is a limit on transactions of about 2500. I've rang the bank and I can't really get a straight answer from them if it will work or not. I've been told I will need to do a "manual authorization" with the point of sale company via telephone. Has anyone any experience with this?

Looking at the VRT website, it seem like I have to have the car inspected within 7 days of landing back and then I have 30 days to pay the VRT balance, Is this correct?

DecjKav

username?! wrote: »

Looking at bringing in a 2013 330d M Sport from the UK next Tuesday if all goes to plan.

I have my eye on about 2 or 3 different ones. Haven't made my mind up yet. One of the cars is located in one of these car supermarket places, Should these be avoided or are they dependent?

Which way is the best to pay, Every dealer I've rang is saying Debit card is the easiest but I'm sure there is a limit on transactions of about 2500. I've rang the bank and I can't really get a straight answer from them if it will work or not. I've been told I will need to do a "manual authorization" with the point of sale company via telephone. Has anyone any experience with this?

Looking at the VRT website, it seem like I have to have the car inspected within 7 days of landing back and then I have 30 days to pay the VRT balance, Is this correct?

I was advised to stay away from Car Supermarkets from an experienced car buyer here. I was told to try and buy from a main dealer - might cost a few bob more but worth it in the long run.
When I was buying my car from the UK I agreed the sale over the phone and gave them a £500 deposit using my debit card. This took the car off sale and allowed me transfer the funds over.
I saved over €650 on foreign exchange using transfermate.com instead of my bank (who were robbing Ba$tards) Its worth the time opening an account. They transfer the money into the sellers account in time for the collection of the car. You would need to be certain who you are buying from which backs up buying off a main dealer.
Seeing as you dont know what you are buying it may be more difficult to go down this route.
I booked the VRT prior to collecting the car and got an appointment in Greenhills within a week and thankfully there were no surprises..

bazz26

It's also worth noting that a 2013 BMW will probably be coming to the end of it's original warranty sometime in 2016 (depending on the month it was originally registered). If the car is a Approved Used BMW from a main BMW dealer then it will come with a fresh 2 year BMW used car warranty that is valid over here. There would want to be a huge saving buying such a car from a car supermarket as it's very unlikely you will get anything beyond the original warranty unless you pay for one of those 3rd party warranties.

username?!

bazz26 wrote: »

It's also worth noting that a 2013 BMW will probably be coming to the end of it's original warranty sometime in 2016 (depending on the month it was originally registered). If the car is a Approved Used BMW from a main BMW dealer then it will come with a fresh 2 year BMW used car warranty that is valid over here. There would want to be a huge saving buying such a car from a car supermarket as it's very unlikely you will get anything beyond the original warranty unless you pay for one of those 3rd party warranties.

Thanks for the info. The savings are around 2500 pounds.

Is the original warranty applicable here in Ireland, and would the approved BMW warranty also be applicable here in a BMW dealer?

bazz26

The original warranty is valid here in Ireland and afaik a used BMW bought through the BMW network is also valid here (but you would need to verify that).

username?!

bazz26 wrote: »

The original warranty is valid here in Ireland and afaik a used BMW bought through the BMW network is also valid here (but you would need to verify that).

Thanks for the help, I'll double check with them.

Redwid

Is transfermate still a best option for car buying in the UK?
I've used them two years ago, and now planning to go again for the car.

Zith

I used them about two months ago. Saved a few hundred versus the bank rate. Worth comparing the rates at least!

KCC

Looking at cost savings only, is it still worth importing cars from the UK with the exchange rate? Would you recommend any particular family cars for good value in the UK compared to here?

tanko

Which is the best car report site eg cartel for checking out an English reg car for sale in Ireland?