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

hell4leather

What's the best way to be 100% sure that the VRT quote is accurate before you buy. Any other advice really appreciated, just want to know as much as possible before I buy, thanks.

bazz26

There is no 100% way to be certain as it's a guidance, not a guaranteed figure. Best thing to do is make sure you have the correct information such as the car's co2 figure, mileage, spec, etc entered correctly, then print off the quote the day you are heading over to collect the car. You have to prepared for it to increase though by maybe +1k , no point buying the car if you barely have enough funds to cover the cost on the calculator website.

th hen

Yes from my manual calculations I got two prices 5200 & 5400 but vrt came back 240 over that. My problem is they don't have my exact car listed on the vrt calculator. If you can match your car and emissions on calculator I'd say the quote will be near enough right.

th hen

The saga continues I went down to vrt office with a bank draught for 5640 and they said quote is wrong as they have car down as auto. The forms have to go back to Dublin again and wait for a new quote. Another day and a bank draught wasted. Hopefully new quote be lower as emissions lower on a manual. This is my 3rd time down to get car cleared and now I must go a 4th. The revenue is a disgrace in this country !

seanin4711

anyone on here done this???
thanks
my head is about to burst!

b.gud

seanin4711 wrote: »

anyone on here done this???
thanks
my head is about to burst!

I did, do you have specific questions you need an answer to?

th hen

There is an update on my vrt of car but it's a bit long winded as I'm still being messed around by them so I set up a new thread in motors section. Complete fools running the vrt in this country !

D3V!L

Can anyone tell me how the VAT is calculated when importing a new vehicle ? For example I would pay "X" amount for a vehicle in NI ex-VAT, I bring it down here, register it and pay the VRT on it. How is the VAT calculated ?

bennyc

Just a quick one, I had a print off of my Car's VRT quote of 1070 and got a bill of 1337 in the VRT Centre, as I couldn't pay the extra this week anyway I had to leave. my options were to pay and appeal or wait for a phone call, I opted for the phone call from revenue, I see now that my car has the new price on the VRT calc, the statistical code is the same so I had all the details correct.
How long does it normally take for a phone call from revenue ?
Its a Vectra 08 SRI and the new OSMP is 5815 up nearly 1200 from the online quote. Do I have a hope of getting it at the first price.

th hen

I got three phone calls as they are inept at their job, first two were early the next day and last one took 2 days. I think they are over valuing your car at nearly 6000. I sold a 2008 vectra Sri xp2 nav 3 years ago for 8500 and it had a full new vxr front end and 19" lambo wheels on it. It was immaculate, my friend bought it and he's looking 4500 for it now . Maybe your car has very low miles ??? The long and short of it is they will come up with a price and you must pay it ! If you feel hard done by you go through the appeal process and keep your fingers crossed. They are a law unto themselves

bennyc

th hen wrote: »

I got three phone calls as they are inept at their job, first two were early the next day and last one took 2 days. I think they are over valuing your car at nearly 6000. I sold a 2008 vectra Sri xp2 nav 3 years ago for 8500 and it had a full new vxr front end and 19" lambo wheels on it. It was immaculate, my friend bought it and he's looking 4500 for it now . Maybe your car has very low miles ??? The long and short of it is they will come up with a price and you must pay it ! If you feel hard done by you go through the appeal process and keep your fingers crossed. They are a law unto themselves

Thanks for that, its way over valued as it has 137K I would not imagine selling it at over 4500 maybe if i had a full year tax , but the fact that the price went up overnight on the vrt calculator is what annoys me. I think I did the right thing is asking for a phone call as the form I got back will cover me if I am stopped for the moment and at least I cant vent at someone about that much, the lady in the VRT/NCT in Sligo is a pleasure to deal with in fairness and explained all the options. I wonder will I have to pay a penalty in booking in a second time to pay the final amount or do I just roll up when revenue instruct me to pay the full amount.

th hen

You have to pay a penalty if you vrt it after 30 days from purchase. Not sure what the penalty is, I think it's something like 0.25% of vrt for every day thereafter but not sure

Shefwedfan

Has anyone used a company to buy from auctions in UK? I found a crowd in Baldoyle that do it and offer to import but seen that someone used a company in UK? anyone know anything about this?

Can you buy direct yourself from auctions?

Pfinn07

Trying to find out what do I have to do when buying car from UK as regards the V5 registration book and which part if any needs to be completed.
I rang revenue and was told that I needed the complete cert, but having spoken to the car owner he says he has to return part to show car sold for export.

Can anyone clear up this for me please.

masit

Pfinn07 wrote: »

Trying to find out what do I have to do when buying car from UK as regards the V5 registration book and which part if any needs to be completed.
I rang revenue and was told that I needed the complete cert, but having spoken to the car owner he says he has to return part to show car sold for export.

Can anyone clear up this for me please.

The dealer or person you are buying car off in the UK need to fill out the part on the log book V5C/4 ‘notification of permanent export’. They need to send this away along with a written note with details of car reg and so on to the DVLA and hand you the rest of the V5 log book as you will need this the vrt your car. Details are on the DVLA web page if the guy in the UK doesn't believe you. Had this problem from a main dealer who would hand over the log book and said he would send it to me by post. He sent to to me alright but didn't put the right stamp on the letter and got delayed in the post. Missed my vrt date, went over the 30 days and was going to be charged a % fine but only ended up paying the minimum fine that is €125 thanks to a nice lady in my local vrt office.

Shefwedfan

Just wondering am I correct, I am looking at 12 Ford SMAX. I found a nice auto but the VRT is 7,350. Just out of interest I put in same spec as manual and it comes back at 4425. Would it really be this big of difference?

The_Conductor

Shefwedfan wrote: »

Just wondering am I correct, I am looking at 12 Ford SMAX. I found a nice auto but the VRT is 7,350. Just out of interest I put in same spec as manual and it comes back at 4425. Would it really be this big of difference?

Yes- is the short and simple.
Have a look at 12 autos and manuals here- there were a dearth of autos sold- they hold their value remarkably better than the manuals.

Beenlost123

I was thinking about importing a Cat B light commercial van. I am hoping to retrofit it to live in.
I was thinking about 5-8k in total.

Does anyone think it is worth considering importation from the UK when the value is so low? I know VRT is 13.5% Open market value.

Shefwedfan

I was talking to a friend who has brought in 2 cars, he said the easiest way is just head to Arnold Clark and buy from them. He bought both cars in Scotland and then brought over on Ferry to belfast, anyone else bought from them?

Carlosd

It's free to do same day money transfers to the UK using Transfermate. Aib are charging over 30 euro and their rates seems crap

theminstrel

I used currencyfair recently. Found them to be quite a bit better than transfermate on the rates offered. Plus currencyfair seemed more user friendly.
Transfermate were significantly better than AIB as well. Banks really screw you on the rates they offer. Just milking the fact that the majority of people will use them for convenience.

yayamark

How does revenue know when you brought in your car?

Does the price of vrt owed come down every month on your car?

bazz26

yayamark wrote: »

How does revenue know when you brought in your car?

Does the price of vrt owed come down every month on your car?

You are supposed to make a VRT inspection appointment within 7 days of bringing the car into the country and complete the VRT/registration process within 30 days. They also look for a receipt as proof of purchase and/or ferry receipts but it's a silly requirement as they are not going to check up with the seller and will actually assist you with writing one up yourself.

However if you transferred your insurance to the UK car when driving it home from the UK your insurance company is obliged to inform Revenue if you have not changed the policy over from the UK reg to the new Irish reg. You also have the possibility of Customs stopping you and impounding the car.

Regarding the cost of VRT, it can and does fluctuate both up and down so there is no real pattern unless there is a significant time lapse between the original VRT quote and a later quote.

Wikey

Hi folks, appreciate any help with the following. I'm in the process of buying a car up north. The salesman has told me that if he invoices the car to a person and address in the north he can give a 2yr warranty. If he invoices to a person with a southern address he can only give a 1yr warranty.
My wife is originally from the north, if I get the invoice put in a northern family member's name and address can I still import it to the south and pay the appropriate VRT.

Many thanks in advance for any help.

Wikey

bazz26

You can write up an invoice to a makey uppy address in the North, VRT people will not verify it anyway. All they want to see is the invoice, just make sure the date on the invoice is not outside the required timeframe.

b.gud

Wikey wrote: »

Hi folks, appreciate any help with the following. I'm in the process of buying a car up north. The salesman has told me that if he invoices the car to a person and address in the north he can give a 2yr warranty. If he invoices to a person with a southern address he can only give a 1yr warranty.
My wife is originally from the north, if I get the invoice put in a northern family member's name and address can I still import it to the south and pay the appropriate VRT.

Many thanks in advance for any help.

Wikey

I don't have a definite answer for you but I find it very hard to believe that the revenue would willingly refuse money from someone who's willing to give it to them

Wikey

bazz26 wrote: »

You can write up an invoice to a makey uppy address in the North, VRT people will not verify it anyway. All they want to see is the invoice, just make sure the date on the invoice is not outside the required timeframe.

Thanks for the reply. Is the invoice used to prove ownership? If so and my name is attached to an address up north would it not contradict me trying to register a car in the south?

bazz26

Wikey wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. Is the invoice used to prove ownership? If so and my name is attached to an address up north would it not contradict me trying to register a car in the south?

The invoice is only needed by VRT people to prove when it was brought into the country. They have no interest in verifying who you bought it from in another country, once the purchase date is not outside the outlined timeframe. So they only need to see the sellers name and address, date of sale, your name on it and the cars reg.

Wikey

bazz26 wrote: »

The invoice is only needed by VRT people to prove when it was brought into the country. They have no interest in verifying who you bought it from in another country, once the purchase date is not outside the outlined timeframe. So they only need to see the sellers name and address, date of sale, your name on it and the cars reg.

Do I not need something to prove ownership?

Thanks

bemak

i'm negotiating over the price of a car in the uk at the moment and they said that i'd have to factor in RFL (road fund licence). does this mean that the car is currently untaxed in the uk and that i'd have to tax it just for the short trip to the ferry?