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

BuzzFish

nerrad01 wrote: »

Anybody bought from cargiant in london? Good or bad experiences? i know they wont hassgle on price at all but wondering if they are a reliable source due to being so big/ move so many cars that they wouldnt have any time for anything dodgy?

Duplicate post.

BuzzFish

nerrad01 wrote: »

Anybody bought from cargiant in london? Good or bad experiences? i know they wont hassgle on price at all but wondering if they are a reliable source due to being so big/ move so many cars that they wouldnt have any time for anything dodgy?

I used them less than two weeks ago and put a full write-up just 2 pages back tis thread:
https://www.boards.ie/b/thread/176389/359#104413613

In a nutshell very easy to deal with. No haggling. Get there early as they need 2 hours between paying deposit and releasing the car to do their own final (mechanical) checks.

MuffinsDa

Does anyone know whether any of the big dealers in the North (i.e. CH, Isaac Agnew, etc) take Irish cars as part exchange for new / nearly new cars purchased from them these days?

bazz26

Charles Hurst definitely do as they resell them from their Dublin branch.

BuzzFish

Went for VRT appointment last Friday and was told there was no statistical code for my exact car which I'd suspected from checking myself online. I was told revenue need to review and they'd txt me the amount and to go back to NCT to pay. Anyone had this before? How long does it generally take?

Thanks!

mgn

BuzzFish wrote: »

Went for VRT appointment last Friday and was told there was no statistical code for my exact car which I'd suspected from checking myself online. I was told revenue need to review and they'd txt me the amount and to go back to NCT to pay. Anyone had this before? How long does it generally take?

Thanks!

With one car last year the were back to me in 3 days.This year with another one took a week,so its hard to know.

IrishGrimReaper

Took about 3 days for me also.

Stallingrad

IrishGrimReaper wrote: »

Took about 3 days for me also.

Just got the call, car assessed last Thursday, €400 less than expected.

BuzzFish

Came 

Stallingrad wrote: »

IrishGrimReaper wrote: »

Took about 3 days for me also.

Just got the call, car assessed last Thursday, €400 less than expected.

Came through on Thursday (4 days) and 300 less than expected also. Happy Days!

Stallingrad

As soon as we hit parity I'll be over again!

Negative_G

I'm looking at a car in North London. Its around £17k. I contacted the garage and they have experience with selling cars to Irish buyers so it is no issue from their side.

My biggest issue is the transfer of funds. Ideally I'd like to get over and back in one day and the flight and ferry schedules allow for it quite comfortably. When I asked how previous Irish buyers paid for it they he said the majority (on larger amounts) was bank transfer. As this can take time, it may hinder my ability to get back in a single day.

I dont want to travel with that amount of cash for obvious reasons, aside from the fact that it will cost me an additional £4/500 with the poor exchange rate offered from banks here.

I have looked up transfer mate and registered an account. Do they have the ability to expedite a payment so that if goes through in an hour or two?

Using my bank cards are not an option as they have a daily limit much lower than what I need. Revolut is also not an option for the same reason.

Interested to hear how others in a similar situation have dealt with the issue.

Manutd623

Hi all, I've been looking at used cars recently on parkers.co.uk. Does anyone know if the price given for the cars is the straight cash price or price against a trade in? I also looked up the garages webistes that are advertised on parkers and can't find out whether the price is straight cash deal or trade in price?

Has anyone ever bought a car through parkers website and know if the price is straight cash etc.?

Thanks in advance

bazz26

British dealers won't knock much off their asking prices so I'd imagine they are asking straight deal prices. They price their cars closer to what they want for them unlike Irish dealers who ask more to allow for haggling. If you're buying from a car supermarket then the sticker price is the price they want and there will be no haggling.

Kace

Negative_G wrote: »

I'm looking at a car in North London. Its around £17k. I contacted the garage and they have experience with selling cars to Irish buyers so it is no issue from their side.

My biggest issue is the transfer of funds. Ideally I'd like to get over and back in one day and the flight and ferry schedules allow for it quite comfortably. When I asked how previous Irish buyers paid for it they he said the majority (on larger amounts) was bank transfer. As this can take time, it may hinder my ability to get back in a single day.

I dont want to travel with that amount of cash for obvious reasons, aside from the fact that it will cost me an additional £4/500 with the poor exchange rate offered from banks here.

I have looked up transfer mate and registered an account. Do they have the ability to expedite a payment so that if goes through in an hour or two?

Using my bank cards are not an option as they have a daily limit much lower than what I need. Revolut is also not an option for the same reason.

Interested to hear how others in a similar situation have dealt with the issue.

TransferMate will have the money over to the Seller in about an hour once you have given the car the once over and are happy to proceed. Simple.

Negative_G

Kace wrote: »

TransferMate will have the money over to the Seller in about an hour once you have given the car the once over and are happy to proceed. Simple.

Thanks for the reply.

I asked the dealer had they heard of/used transfer mate in the past and they hadn't so I must let them know in advance.

Kace

Negative_G wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

I asked the dealer had they heard of/used transfer mate in the past and they hadn't so I must let them know in advance.

The dealer doesn't need to know anything about how you send them the money. All they need is to see it in their bank account before they let you take the car. To do this you will need all of their bank details in advance to set up the transfer.

FastFullBack

Negative_G wrote: »

Revolut is also not an option for the same reason.

What's the daily limit with Revolut?

Negative_G

FastFullBack wrote: »

What's the daily limit with Revolut?

This was quoted in there community forum

"Card spending is limited to £30,000 or equivalent per year with a sublimit of £5,000 or equivalent per 96 hours meaning that you cannot exceed £5,000 or equivalent in card spending in a 96 hour period. Cash withdrawals from ATMs are limited to £2,000 or equivalent per day."

ongarite

Negative_G wrote: »

This was quoted in there community forum

"Card spending is limited to £30,000 or equivalent per year with a sublimit of £5,000 or equivalent per 96 hours meaning that you cannot exceed £5,000 or equivalent in card spending in a 96 hour period. Cash withdrawals from ATMs are limited to £2,000 or equivalent per day."

Is that with the standard free account or the 7.99 premium account.

Negative_G

ongarite wrote: »

Is that with the standard free account or the 7.99 premium account.

Thats with the standard account. From my understanding, they dont have control of the limits and its whatever financial services company they use that impose the limit.

Got my transfer mate account set up today. Interestingly, I was told that if you are transferring more than €15k, you need to provide proof of where the funds came from in the form of the bank statement etc. This may prove difficult if trying to set up an account at short notice.

tarry123

I'm hoping to head over next week and pick up a 2016 Vauxhall Astra from an Arnold Clark garage in Preston. What's the best way to pay the balance these days, last time I went over (many years ago) I just took a bank draft with me. I'm reading above that lots of people seem to be using different money transfer companies, is this the best option these days?
Garage said debit card or bank transfer is the best for them but I just want to make sure I'm getting the best exchange rate!

Any advice?

Stallingrad

tarry123 wrote: »

I'm hoping to head over next week and pick up a 2016 Vauxhall Astra from an Arnold Clark garage in Preston. What's the best way to pay the balance these days, last time I went over (many years ago) I just took a bank draft with me. I'm reading above that lots of people seem to be using different money transfer companies, is this the best option these days?
Garage said debit card or bank transfer is the best for them but I just want to make sure I'm getting the best exchange rate!

Any advice?

Bank drafts don't seem to be acceptable anymore which means electronic transfer. The downside is you have to pay in full, often before seeing the car. So enquire what their policy is if you are not happy with regard to a full refund. Make sure you get a video of the car and be explicit that you want any blemish to be highlighted to you, if you are lucky you will get a salesperson who will appreciate you are buying blind and give you an honest appraisal. If in doubt get a third party to do this for you. You may save a couple of hundred euro by using Transfermate.

tarry123

Stallingrad wrote: »

Bank drafts don't seem to be acceptable anymore which means electronic transfer. The downside is you have to pay in full, often before seeing the car. So enquire what their policy is if you are not happy with regard to a full refund. Make sure you get a video of the car and be explicit that you want any blemish to be highlighted to you, if you are lucky you will get a salesperson who will appreciate you are buying blind and give you an honest appraisal. If in doubt get a third party to do this for you. You may save a couple of hundred euro by using Transfermate.

Thanks for the reply. I'm getting the car checked out for peace of mind but they've sent videos and pointed out a couple of blemishes so I'm aware. If it comes back clear from the AA (or whoever) check then I'd be happy enough to transfer, I'll only be kicking the tyres when I get there anyway!

Will look into Transfermate, cheers.

Negative_G

tarry123 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I'm getting the car checked out for peace of mind but they've sent videos and pointed out a couple of blemishes so I'm aware. If it comes back clear from the AA (or whoever) check then I'd be happy enough to transfer, I'll only be kicking the tyres when I get there anyway!

Will look into Transfermate, cheers.

Would 100% recommend TransferMate.

The website can be hard to get your head around. I registered online and they called me the next day.

I told them my plan and they went though step by step what needs to be done and how it would be done.

On the day, once you give the go ahead by 1pm, they will have the transfer complete by 5pm at the very latest.

Give them a call, they are really helpful.

bazz26

tarry123 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I'm getting the car checked out for peace of mind but they've sent videos and pointed out a couple of blemishes so I'm aware. If it comes back clear from the AA (or whoever) check then I'd be happy enough to transfer, I'll only be kicking the tyres when I get there anyway!

Will look into Transfermate, cheers.

These guys might be worth getting a quote for an inspection too, they tend to be cheaper than the AA or RAC.

https://www.dekra-expert.co.uk/vehicle.inspections

tarry123

bazz26 wrote: »

These guys might be worth getting a quote for an inspection too, they tend to be cheaper than the AA or RAC.

https://www.dekra-expert.co.uk/vehicle.inspections

Yeah, was looking at those guys. It's a 2016 car so don't expect them to find much but it's more for peace of mind so cheaper the better.
Have signed up to Transfermate and put a deposit down so full steam ahead

Mr Moon

If I was to go down the root of buying a car from a garage that was imported from the UK, what documents and checks should I be looking for before handing over any money?

I had thought about travelling but I am looking to trade my car with this if I can't sell it privately.

Thanks in advance...

dodzy

Apologies as I'm sure it's been covered before. A friend is heading over on the 25/09 to pick up a 2016 car from a dealership in the UK. He has paid a 250 deposit with a balance due of approx 9K. What's the best option for paying? Would EFT work for that amount or is there a limit to the amount you can transfer? Drafts seem to be frowned upon lately.

Would revolut be an option if he was to register with them before he travels?

Thanks in advance.

statto25

dodzy wrote: »

Apologies as I'm sure it's been covered before. A friend is heading over on the 25/09 to pick up a 2016 car from a dealership in the UK. He has paid a 250 deposit with a balance due of approx 9K. What's the best option for paying? Would EFT work for that amount or is there a limit to the amount you can transfer? Drafts seem to be frowned upon lately.

Would revolut be an option if he was to register with them before he travels?

Thanks in advance.

Use TransferMate. I used them very recently and its a very straightforward process. Give them a call and they will explain everything in full.

The_Conductor

dodzy wrote: »

Apologies as I'm sure it's been covered before. A friend is heading over on the 25/09 to pick up a 2016 car from a dealership in the UK. He has paid a 250 deposit with a balance due of approx 9K. What's the best option for paying? Would EFT work for that amount or is there a limit to the amount you can transfer? Drafts seem to be frowned upon lately.

Would revolut be an option if he was to register with them before he travels?

Thanks in advance.

Just put it on your credit card?
You can get a temp limit increase handily enough- if you explain the circumstances and have a good record with your provider.