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

backformore

Hoping for some advice / guidance on importing a car from the North. The car I'm looking at is with a dealer in Belfast. I've calculated VRT etc. and it looks reasonable.

Dealer has told me it had full service history. I suggested that I might have an inspection done by mechanic/engineer. Dealer said that the best thing to do would be have an early MOT done before buying car. MOT option is far cheaper than getting an inspector out (£50 vs £200). The dealer is giving a warranty of six months which covers the South also.

While all appears to be okay, I'm a bit paranoid the dealer is trying to pull the wool over my eyes. Would be grateful for anyone's experience/advice?

zetor 4911

Hi,
Maybe someone can help here. Looking at the VRT calculator on the revenue website for a toyota hilux crew cab but under the version tab thee are 9 different versions of the vehicle and it is very difficult to see the difference between them but there is a difference of nearly €2000 on the VRT.
Thanks

darragh o meara

zetor 4911 wrote: »

Hi,
Maybe someone can help here. Looking at the VRT calculator on the revenue website for a toyota hilux crew cab but under the version tab thee are 9 different versions of the vehicle and it is very difficult to see the difference between them but there is a difference of nearly €2000 on the VRT.
Thanks

Contact the seller and ask them for a look at the V5. It'll have the exact details on that. I had a similar issue with a Passat that turned out to be more expensive to VRT because of a few letters

Kaizersoze81

I'm trying to work out the logistics of going to uk for car purchase. How inclined are dealers to collect you at the airport (within 30 miles) if spending ?20,000 ?

rolion

Kaizersoze81 wrote: »

I'm trying to work out the logistics of going to uk for car purchase. How inclined are dealers to collect you at the airport (within 30 miles) if spending ?20,000 ?

A taxi is £30 for that journey and you do it in your own time.
I even stopped in the City and had a cofee and look around,then jumped in the cab.
Less comitment towards to buyer / seller.

Enjoy it.

rabbitinlights

Today's exchange rate should see a deluge of 1 way ferry tickets Id' say....

The_Conductor

rabbitinlights wrote: »

Today's exchange rate should see a deluge of 1 way ferry tickets Id' say....

87.1p - not startling in nature........

Dupont

Looking for help with importing a van. The van is englisj reg bought in England and I'm buying it off a garage based in Southern Ireland. Do I have to be vat registered to import a van into the south or what's the story? I know with taxing for the commercial rate I could have to get my employer to sign a form stating i need the van for work

Kaizersoze81

Is this the correct way of doing it please? I've spotted a car I want in a main dealers in the uk. Plan to start ringing Monday with a view to going Friday to buy.

1. Ring dealer, ask about car , service history, best price etc. If happy, place deposit by visa debit card pending AA inspection.
2. Get inspection done
3. Pending results, book flight and set up payment on transfermate. Do I need to ask the dealer for their bank details in advance to have the payment ready to go?
4. Travel over, test drive and if happy ring transfermate and authorise transfer of funds.
5.make sure I keep the V5 document for vrt purpose
6. Tax car for a month, then book ferry home.
7. Vrt car


Am I missing anything? Are dealers hesitant to deal with customers over the phone from the Republic? It's my first time going over so am pretty inexperienced.
Thanks

IrishGrimReaper

You can get the dealers bank details when you are there, as long as the money is transferred over to transfermate, you should be alright. They shouldn't have an issue dealing with you over the phone. Just make sure you tell them on the phone you'll be taking the V5 with you, and that they won't be sending it off to the DVLA. It's good to be sure they know beforehand, my sister got stung by this because they'd never sold to an Irish customer before.

zetor 4911

Looking at some adds for Toyota Hilux in UK and some of them say "NO VAT FOR EXPORT ONLY" What is the significance of the for export only?

Shane732

Anyone have any idea what the VRT on a 2015 F-Type Coupe (340ps) would be? They only seem to have the 380ps version on the website - the difference between the 340ps and 380ps on the convertible seems to be about €4,000.

Kaizersoze81

Have a car picked and deposit paid in a main dealer in Peterborough. AA comprehensive inspection booked for tomorrow. Debating paying someone to transport it to Ireland, can anyone recommend someone trustworthy?

Flight + 1 hour taxi journey + 4.5 hour drive to Holyhead + 3 hour ferry journey sounds like a really long day. Plus the flight/taxi/diesel/ferry would come to approx ?350 anyway.

Would you buy a car unseen from a BMW main dealer after a thorough AA inspection?

masit

Kaizersoze81 wrote: »

Have a car picked and deposit paid in a main dealer in Peterborough. AA comprehensive inspection booked for tomorrow. Debating paying someone to transport it to Ireland, can anyone recommend someone trustworthy?

Flight + 1 hour taxi journey + 4.5 hour drive to Holyhead + 3 hour ferry journey sounds like a really long day. Plus the flight/taxi/diesel/ferry would come to approx ?350 anyway.

Would you buy a car unseen from a BMW main dealer after a thorough AA inspection?

I'd say with an AA inspection and from a main dealer you'd be safe enough. A neighbor got a car delivered from Nottingham to Roscommon for €490. The cars I bought I went over and drove home. Make a day of it. If you drive it home make sure the garage is happy enough to give you all the V5 as you will need it to VRT car and you will need to tax the car.

blindsider

Personally, no. I'd want to turn the key, hear the engine and take a test drive. I'd want to have a look around the car, just in case....

Essentially, it's peace of mind, even if it is psychological.

(I'm booking an inspection tomorrow.)

zweton

folks, living in the uk nearly a year. what are the rules around vrt exemption...do i need to be living hear a certain amount of time to qualify?

bazz26

All this information is available from the Revenue website:

http://www.revenue.ie/en/importing-vehicles-duty-free-allowances/guide-to-vrt/reliefs-and-exemptions/transfer-of-residence.aspx

gabbo is coming

Hi

Looking at a car to import from Scotland

It's a private sale though. Anyone know of a thread that deals specifically with buying privately from U.K.? Are there rules whereby you have to tax the car immediately?

Thanks

artheb

gabbo is coming wrote: »

Hi

Looking at a car to import from Scotland

It's a private sale though. Anyone know of a thread that deals specifically with buying privately from U.K.? Are there rules whereby you have to tax the car immediately?

Thanks

Rules are all the same no matter if you buy from dealer or privately. You need to schedule vrt appointment within 7 days from entering the state.

You can only tax the car once you pay VRT and car is on Irish plates. You do have to insure the car on UK plates if you want to drive it straight away. You just need to call your insurance company and they will do it for you.

C.O.Y.B.I.B

Has anyone ever bought through a company like https://ukcarimports.ie/ ?
It works out at €800 for delivery + their fee , however they "seem" to take all the hassle out of it .
Or is it better to go "up north" and have the car AA checked before purchasing , where you might get a 6 month warranty that would be relatively easy to claim off.

Thanks

gabbo is coming

artheb wrote: »

Rules are all the same no matter if you buy from dealer or privately. You need to schedule vrt appointment within 7 days from entering the state.

You can only tax the car once you pay VRT and car is on Irish plates. You do have to insure the car on UK plates if you want to drive it straight away. You just need to call your insurance company and they will do it for you.

Thanks

What forms do I need seller to fill out to transfer ownership?

artheb

gabbo is coming wrote: »

Thanks

What forms do I need seller to fill out to transfer ownership?

If you are importing from NI then just full V5C (UK logbook). You may as well bring private buy/sell contract. They normally don't want it. You will need a ferry ticket to confirm the date of entering the state if you import from UK

You also need to complete VRTVPD2 form which can be downloaded from Revenue.ie website.

Hope that helps.

bazz26

The important thing to get is the full V5C registration document from the seller, you need this here to re-register the car onto Irish plates. Do not let the seller fill in the permanent export section and send it off to the DVLA as that only applies to UK residents and it means a world of pain and time for you to get the DVLA to issue you a permanent certificate of export.

BexieB

Hi
Just brought in car from U.K. I've been following this thread, so I thought I'd share my experience of the VRT process.

Before purchasing car I checked calculator, the Make, model and version was on the calculator but only an automatic transmission was selectable, mine's a manual. Anyway I thought the manual version wouldn't be a million miles away and bought the car.

The car is 28 years old, VRT on the auto was €560 according to the calculator.

I presented the car for inspection. VRT officer in the NCT centre said there was a statistical code for the manual version and the VRT calculation was comparable to the auto version I'd found online i.e. €560. However Revenue still wanted to review the application. They came back to me today with a price of €2400. I asked the VRT officer how could this happen if I had a valid statistical code. They told me Revenue had deleted out the statistical code AFTER the vehicle was presented.

It appears that even if you have a bonafide stat code, Revenue can just delete it and pick a number out of the air.

I'll lodge appeal of course and post outcome at later date.

j4vier

BexieB wrote:

I'll lodge appeal of course and post outcome at later date.

Appeals are dealt with quickly anyway, mine was sorted in less than 2 months

artheb

j4vier wrote: »

Appeals are dealt with quickly anyway, mine was sorted in less than 2 months

Confirmed. Mine was sorted within a month. Everyone who paid VRT should file an appeal . Revenue prices are way off. I mentioned appeal process to the guy who brought Passat 2015 and he got 500 back. It is worth to do it.

mel123

artheb wrote: »

Confirmed. Mine was sorted within a month. Everyone who paid VRT should file an appeal . Revenue prices are way off. I mentioned appeal process to the guy who brought Passat 2015 and he got 500 back. It is worth to do it.

What did you appeal it on?

artheb

Kaizersoze81 wrote: »

Has anyone not been given a fee on the day, and told that they will be contactaed within 10 days? I tried to vrt the car today , 320d Msport and the woman said the system wouldn't give a fee , and it occasionally happens with higher spec/newer cars ? It doesn't sound good to me anyway, sounds like I'm in for a screwing

I have seen the situation that system failed for the guy who was before me in the queue. He was asked to return first thing in January as that was xmas break. He was told that system did not work for the whole day. It was BMW 4 he was VRTing Interestingly, system started working for me....

I am sure they had some glitch and you will be ok. Did you get VRT quote from the web?

artheb

mel123 wrote: »

What did you appeal it on?

I appealed for Qashqai 2010. VRT was 1940e, got a refund of 275

mel123

just checked online, has to be done within two months, unfortunately gone past that for me