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

jofeck

Garage in UK asked for bank transfer - not comfortable with this as when I lay eyes on the car what if its a lemon (I will have already done AA check but never know do you until you see it).
If I bank transfer I can't get the cash back from garage.. well not easily anyway.

Any other ideas how to pay for car I will be spending c.STG£14k, I have 2 cars different cars in the running at moment. Will decide before I travel but paying for it...? Would appreciate ideas.

Its a huge wad of cash if I try and carry £14k cash, bank transfer not reversible, debit card for that amount?

Cheers appreciate experience/ideas.

Marcusm

jofeck wrote: »

Garage in UK asked for bank transfer - not comfortable with this as when I lay eyes on the car what if its a lemon (I will have already done AA check but never know do you until you see it).
If I bank transfer I can't get the cash back from garage.. well not easily anyway.

Any other ideas how to pay for car I will be spending c.STG£14k, I have 2 cars different cars in the running at moment. Will decide before I travel but paying for it...? Would appreciate ideas.

Its a huge wad of cash if I try and carry £14k cash, bank transfer not reversible, debit card for that amount?

Cheers appreciate experience/ideas.

Most dealers will not accept that amount of cash; they need high value trader status to do so and even then most would shy away. You can do a same day bank transfer if you set it up properly in advance and you have the proper mandate - most banks will not let you transfer over €5k online without a prearranged mandate. Debit card is the usual means to pay in the UK but again you may have a limit issue. Paying 14k on a card would almost certainly get a better rate than cash.

Denisoftus

jofeck wrote: »

Garage in UK asked for bank transfer - not comfortable with this as when I lay eyes on the car what if its a lemon (I will have already done AA check but never know do you until you see it).
If I bank transfer I can't get the cash back from garage.. well not easily anyway.

Any other ideas how to pay for car I will be spending c.STG£14k, I have 2 cars different cars in the running at moment. Will decide before I travel but paying for it...? Would appreciate ideas.

Its a huge wad of cash if I try and carry £14k cash, bank transfer not reversible, debit card for that amount?

Cheers appreciate experience/ideas.

Very easy - debit card, normally there is no transaction limit, but you need to check with your bank first. Good luck!

darragh o meara

Denisoftus wrote: »

Very easy - debit card, normally there is no transaction limit, but you need to check with your bank first. Good luck!

Most if not all Irish banks have spend limits in place. I know because I wanted to use mine for a recent car purchase over there and couldn't.

dubrov

Ptsb Visa Debit has a 1500 limit per transaction. You might be able to increase the limit of you ring therm

darragh o meara

dubrov wrote: »

Ptsb Visa Debit has a 1500 limit per transaction. You might be able to increase the limit of you ring therm

They wouldn't when I rang. They said I could transfer to my credit card and pre arrange a large transaction with Visa.

allthedoyles

darragh o meara wrote: »

They wouldn't when I rang. They said I could transfer to my credit card and pre arrange a large transaction with Visa.

This is why people use transfer mate and I know a guy uses XE

Tomjim

bought a car in the North on the 8th September and there was a mix up re the calculation of VRT in the NCT Centre, we thought THE NI garage had it booked in the NCT centre on the 24th September and it turns out it wasn't booked in when my wife went down (this was a mistake on the NI Garage behalf).

Anyway we tried to book in on the 22nd for the test and the next available date we got which was a cancellation was the 11th October. This is 34 days from the date we bought the car.

Someone told my wife today that we will be charged 100 euro per day over and above what the VRT charge will be

Is this correct

Denisoftus

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/faqs-vrt.html#question9

Under current legislation, you are obliged to register your vehicle within the 30 day limit. If you fail to register your vehicle within 30 days of the vehicle entering the State, you risk having the vehicle detained. Notwithstanding this, an additional charge of VRT will be applied by Revenue at the time of registration, for the period your vehicle remained unregistered in the State.

I don't think they will be that awful, I have heard that they are very reasonable and look at your circumstances, perhaps there will be no extra charge at all, please share your experience after registration.

CountingCrows

jofeck wrote: »

Its a huge wad of cash if I try and carry £14k cash, bank transfer not reversible, debit card for that amount?

Cheers appreciate experience/ideas.

Bank draft?

Sam Russell

Tomjim wrote: »

bought a car in the North on the 8th September and there was a mix up re the calculation of VRT in the NCT Centre, we thought THE NI garage had it booked in the NCT centre on the 24th September and it turns out it wasn't booked in when my wife went down (this was a mistake on the NI Garage behalf).

Anyway we tried to book in on the 22nd for the test and the next available date we got which was a cancellation was the 11th October. This is 34 days from the date we bought the car.

Someone told my wife today that we will be charged 100 euro per day over and above what the VRT charge will be

Is this correct

Take the car back up North and start again.

yannakis

Sam Russell wrote: »

Take the car back up North and start again.

Actually, going across and back the Irish sea with a ferry would probably be sufficient. Obviously you'd have to present only the Holyhead-Dublin one way ticket :cool::cool::rolleyes:

helimachoptor

Denisoftus wrote: »

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/faqs-vrt.html#question9


I don't think they will be that awful, I have heard that they are very reasonable and look at your circumstances, perhaps there will be no extra charge at all, please share your experience after registration.

I was 39 days, i paid 150 extra i think, but my VRT had been reduced by 600 anyway so i didnt mind

bazz26

Just get the NI dealer to issue a new sales invoice with a more recent date on it since they made the original mistake. Alternatively just write one up yourself, Revenue are only really interested in penalising those who drive around illegally on foreign plates trying to avoid paying VRT.

Mc Love

The exchange rate is looking very favourable at the minute! Heard it went to 96c over night but has dropped back to 89c today.

yannakis

Mc Love wrote: »

The exchange rate is looking very favourable at the minute! Heard it went to 96c over night but has dropped back to 89c today.

It's overall fantastic for the last couple of months, but since yesterday it's breaking new records indeed



Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/EURGBP=X/?p=EURGBP=X

Geuze

Mc Love wrote: »

The exchange rate is looking very favourable at the minute! Heard it went to 96c over night but has dropped back to 89c today.

Please note this should read 96 pence and 89 pence.

NIMAN

Just wait til they trigger Article 50 in March......parity????

qm1bv4p8i92aoj

Hey guys,
Anyone here ever use Palmdale motors in the UK to help them find a car to bring over?
Im thinking of using them.

brehede

Thanks to all who have provided the information on importing from the UK - it has all been really helpful so far! I have paid a deposit and have had a detailed inspection done on a car. I have a few questions:
- Is it possible to pay by debit card or is bank transfer cheaper? I know sterling moved down on Friday.
- Is it possible to tax a car without a UK address (in order to drive to Holyhead)? I think I read on here that it is not possible but dealer seems to think it is.
- Can anyone recommend someone to transport a car from the UK to Dublin or Holyhead? I tried someone mentioned on the thread who was going to come back with a price but I didn't get a response.

Thanks!

digitaldr

Trying to book a VRT appointment but website doesn't seem to be working or maybe I'm doing something wrong? Using chrome. Every time I click on the the Saturday 08 yellow button the page just refreshes with no sign of any times/other dates:




Edit - same story with internet explorer Guess I'll just have to ring them on Monday.

yannakis

digitaldr wrote: »

Trying to book a VRT appointment but website doesn't seem to be working or maybe I'm doing something wrong? Using chrome. Every time I click on the the Saturday 08 yellow button the page just refreshes with no sign of any times/other dates:

Edit - same story with internet explorer Guess I'll just have to ring them on Monday.

Had the same thing last week, and called them last Monday (3 Oct). The agent/robot kept repeating "there are no appointments available" but couldn't specify until when - so I guessed she meant until the end of time.. :cool:

Anyway, the only one I found at an acceptable distance from Dublin was for Dundalk so I booked it. Went back online to check again after a few hours and bang, full availability for Northpoint for 17-21 Oct. Not sure if it was a coincidence, or if they open new slots on Mondays after lunchtime.

Bringithome

Looking at a 2011/2012 BMW 3 series or Passat CC low mileage, high spec, service history from main dealer for about £10000 vrt comes in at €2500 to €3000 for either. Is there any reason I should not do this. Looks like value to me but never did this before

masit

brehede wrote: »

Thanks to all who have provided the information on importing from the UK - it has all been really helpful so far! I have paid a deposit and have had a detailed inspection done on a car. I have a few questions:
- Is it possible to pay by debit card or is bank transfer cheaper? I know sterling moved down on Friday.
- Is it possible to tax a car without a UK address (in order to drive to Holyhead)? I think I read on here that it is not possible but dealer seems to think it is.
- Can anyone recommend someone to transport a car from the UK to Dublin or Holyhead? I tried someone mentioned on the thread who was going to come back with a price but I didn't get a response.

Thanks!

If you have a visa debit card you can pay with this. Google visa currency converter for a rate. Better than carrying cash around and you get a better rate than getting cash.

I taxed a UK car last month, dealer would not hand over the V5 unless the car was taxed. Had to drive from Newcastle so could not chance driving that distance with no tax either. I just used the Holyhead postcode and paid the full amount, £30 and got an email saying it was taxed and away I went.

You should try shiply, you enter you pick up and delivery points and delivery company's bid on it. I got a quote of £1000 to pick up in Glasgow and delivery to Longford. I booked the plane and ferry and went over myself for under €300.

Kace

Has anyone on here actually managed to complete a debit card transaction for more than 3 or 4 grand?

I looked into this when I needed to pay about 3 times the amount and it was a complete non-runner due to the Irish bank transaction limits.

Used Transfermate then and this allowed me to do a transfer of the full amount within a couple of hours, so I was in the road home again with a car by lunchtime, after flying in that morning.

masit

Kace wrote: »

Has anyone on here actually managed to complete a debit card transaction for more than 3 or 4 grand?

I looked into this when I needed to pay about 3 times the amount and it was a complete non-runner due to the Irish bank transaction limits.

Used Transfermate then and this allowed me to do a transfer of the full amount within a couple of hours, so I was in the road home again with a car by lunchtime, after flying in that morning.

Visa debit should be unlimited. Last car I bought I paid £14000 and transaction went straight through.

yannakis

masit wrote: »

Visa debit should be unlimited. Last car I bought I paid £14000 and transaction went straight through.

(my AIB Visa Debit has a €5k 24h limit)

masit

YanisK wrote: »

(my AIB Visa Debit has a €5k 24h limit)

Oh, I'm with BOI. When I rang banking 365 they said it was unlimited with chip and pin. I know with my card its visa that set the rate, not the bank. So maybe if you are doing it again, ring visa or your bank and unlock the limit on the date of transaction.

Denisoftus

I think with Debit Card the bank sets the rate, but better call them to double check.

masit

Denisoftus wrote: »

I think with Debit Card the bank sets the rate, but better call them to double check.

Maybe so but I look at the visa currency converter to know exactly what I will pay. Plus, carrying your card instead of cash or draft and not worrying about customs or loosing it or having to wait for money to transfer. If its unlimited, I think the card is the best way.