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

8bi1ctzegfouva

Question re VAT;

Looking at importing a vehicle from NI which is over 6 months old, but only has 5,500km on the clock. According to revenue an cars under 6 months and or 6,000km is liable to VAT.

The drive home from NI is about 200km, and I'd often do 100km a day. So just bringing it home and 2 or 3 normal days use would push it over the 6,000km mark.

My question is, when does this 6,000km get checked? Is it what is on the clock when I bring it to the NCT centre? Or what's on the invoice? Or what I declare?

Revenue's website is fairly ambiguous when it comes to VAT so any assistance would be appreciated.

copacetic

Mathias Drab Gumdrop wrote: »

Question re VAT;

Looking at importing a vehicle from NI which is over 6 months old, but only has 5,500km on the clock. According to revenue an cars under 6 months and or 6,000km is liable to VAT.

The drive home from NI is about 200km, and I'd often do 100km a day. So just bringing it home and 2 or 3 normal days use would push it over the 6,000km mark.

My question is, when does this 6,000km get checked? Is it what is on the clock when I bring it to the NCT centre? Or what's on the invoice? Or what I declare?

Revenue's website is fairly ambiguous when it comes to VAT so any assistance would be appreciated.

What's on the clock, but to be doubly safe you would want to be over 6k on the invoice also, or not have a mileage on the invoice.

copacetic

Got vrt done today, 2year 8 month old car, no charges for extras, charge exactly as per vrt printout I brought. Lower version from website, which has multiple versions. Very quick and very helpful also in advice on the appeal process and gave address attached to vrt receipt for sending in. Plates for 25 seem ok quality. Just come with double sided tape. Paid over 5k with boi visa debit no problem, citizens info site and revenue site says you can't but that's outdated information. They will take whatever your card will allow.


Edit - nice surprise was I got a lowish normal Reg number, didn't realise the 120xxxxx numbers were gone which was great, as they look very squashed in my opinion.

masit

copacetic wrote: »

Got vrt done today, 2year 8 month old car, no charges for extras, charge exactly as per vrt printout I brought. Lower version from website, which has multiple versions. Very quick and very helpful also in advice on the appeal process and gave address attached to vrt receipt for sending in. Plates for 25 seem ok quality. Just come with double sided tape. Paid over 5k with boi visa debit no problem, citizens info site and revenue site says you can't but that's outdated information. They will take whatever your card will allow.


Edit - nice surprise was I got a lowish normal Reg number, didn't realise the 120xxxxx numbers were gone which was great, as they look very squashed in my opinion.

By the 120xxxxx I'd say its a D reg?. Any car from 2011 has the next available number.

uncle-mofo

Has anyone been able to get around CarGiant's no online deposit policy as listed on their website? I don't like the idea of getting a car inspected and not having it reserved.

michellie

Mathias Drab Gumdrop wrote: »

Question re VAT;

Looking at importing a vehicle from NI which is over 6 months old, but only has 5,500km on the clock. According to revenue an cars under 6 months and or 6,000km is liable to VAT.

The drive home from NI is about 200km, and I'd often do 100km a day. So just bringing it home and 2 or 3 normal days use would push it over the 6,000km mark.

My question is, when does this 6,000km get checked? Is it what is on the clock when I bring it to the NCT centre? Or what's on the invoice? Or what I declare?

Revenue's website is fairly ambiguous when it comes to VAT so any assistance would be appreciated.

It's checked on the day of inspection. The invoice won't effect it unless there was a massive difference. You'll be fine.

bonkers67

Has anyone bought from Motorpoint uk? Looking at some of the reviews they seem to have some problems. Their prices seem too good to be true.

ballybro

I bought a Ford Galaxy from them back in 2009.Car was 18 months old but like a new car.They took a bank draft of me then but dont think they allow that now.Think its a bit more complicated now as u need a uk address to tax car as they wont let it leave the forecourt without being taxed.Their prices are the prices so no haggling but i had no issues with my Ford Galaxy apart from the things u expect to go on a car and still have the car.

goonup

Hi All,

How are people paying for cars in the UK these days? Debit Card?

Eoghanaldo

Hi All,

I would appreciate some advice where possible?

We've decided to buy in the UK based on prices and spec and after narrowing down from A6 Avant, 5 Series Touring and E-Class 220 Estate, we decided on the E-Class estate - owing to growing family, giant dog and 6ft+ owners.

Anyway, we weren't going to buy for another month or so, until a car popped up at the weekend in the Birmingham area for £33k. It's a E220d AMG premium demo with an absolutely full to the brim spec. It's also coming directly from MB dealer and has 5.8k on the clock. I've spoken at length with the dealer and he finally agreed to £32k and insisted any further negotiation he wouldn't entertain, based on it being 9months old, the level of spec and the mileage. I put down a holding deposit based on me going to see it this weekend.

I've checked the similar spec, age and mileage models in Ireland and one comes up in Cork that is close at €56k and not hitting half of the spec. With VRT and exchange rate (today's), it's coming to about €44k. The car is identical to the one here

Great value or under-priced for some unknown reason? The dealership is in Wolverhampton, which supposedly quieter according to some sources than equivalent main dealers in Brum. I've never bought abroad before and will be traveling on my own, so any advice on what to look out for would be greatly appreciated and any other advice/feedback/experience very much welcomed. Also, the process for importing and people's experience would be great too! Cheers guys!
Eoghanaldo is online now Report Post

EGriff

Does the dealership know you will be exporting the car? I've heard stories of MB dealerships in the UK refusing to deal with Irish customers, orders from higher up to protect their Irish branches apparently.

Eoghanaldo

EGriff wrote: »

Does the dealership know you will be exporting the car? I've heard stories of MB dealerships in the UK refusing to deal with Irish customers, orders from higher up to protect their Irish branches apparently.

They do indeed. They've actually been very easy to deal with throughout to be honest. I'd say they haven't got the memo, if that's true!

copacetic

Eoghanaldo wrote: »

Hi All,

I would appreciate some advice where possible?

We've decided to buy in the UK based on prices and spec and after narrowing down from A6 Avant, 5 Series Touring and E-Class 220 Estate, we decided on the E-Class estate - owing to growing family, giant dog and 6ft+ owners.

Anyway, we weren't going to buy for another month or so, until a car popped up at the weekend in the Birmingham area for £33k. It's a E220d AMG premium demo with an absolutely full to the brim spec. It's also coming directly from MB dealer and has 5.8k on the clock. I've spoken at length with the dealer and he finally agreed to £32k and insisted any further negotiation he wouldn't entertain, based on it being 9months old, the level of spec and the mileage. I put down a holding deposit based on me going to see it this weekend.

I've checked the similar spec, age and mileage models in Ireland and one comes up in Cork that is close at €56k and not hitting half of the spec. With VRT and exchange rate (today's), it's coming to about €44k. The car is identical to the one here

Great value or under-priced for some unknown reason? The dealership is in Wolverhampton, which supposedly quieter according to some sources than equivalent main dealers in Brum. I've never bought abroad before and will be traveling on my own, so any advice on what to look out for would be greatly appreciated and any other advice/feedback/experience very much welcomed. Also, the process for importing and people's experience would be great too! Cheers guys!
Eoghanaldo is online now Report Post

Seems like a good deal, probably overpriced equivalents here, but they all will be so you will never get anything like it here for a similar price.

Watch out for the mileage, it would be classed as new unless it has a couple hundred more on it, costing you the vat too.

No really issues you could have via a main dealer and with so much warranty left. I did similar age from a German main dealer a few years back and it takes the pressure off at that age, brought in an older similar type car to yours last might, it’s relatively painless.

Only real debate for you would be whether to save a pile in deprecation and vrt by bringing in a 3 year old hybrid version.

bazz26

A 3 year old example would be the old model E Class though.

ra0044

" Watch out for the mileage, it would be classed as new unless it has a couple hundred more on it, costing you the vat too. "

This is something i hadnt heard of. These threads are a great help.

I am looking at 2 cars ove in the uk. One has only 3200 miles and the other 8000 miles. Both 2017 models. I now assume i would have to add vat to the lower mileage one ?

Thanks

copacetic

ra0044 wrote: »

" Watch out for the mileage, it would be classed as new unless it has a couple hundred more on it, costing you the vat too. "

This is something i hadnt heard of. These threads are a great help.

I am looking at 2 cars ove in the uk. One has only 3200 miles and the other 8000 miles. Both 2017 models. I now assume i would have to add vat to the lower mileage one ?

Thanks

Yep, it’s on the landing page for the vrt calculator.

“The calculator does not cover:
models that have not been presented previously for valuation,
models that require special research to value, such as motor caravans, classic and collectable vehicles and certain prestige marques,
large commercial vehicles, agricultural tractors, coaches and other large vehicles as these are generally liable to a fixed VRT charge.
VAT on new means of transport. For VAT purposes a new means of transport is when a vehicle is less than 6 months old OR has travelled less than 6,000km. Click here for information on when VAT as well as VRT may also be chargeable.”

I’ve seen it listed as 6k miles on some documents for UK cars.

ra0044

copacetic wrote: »

Yep, it’s on the landing page for the vrt calculator.

“The calculator does not cover:
models that have not been presented previously for valuation,
models that require special research to value, such as motor caravans, classic and collectable vehicles and certain prestige marques,
large commercial vehicles, agricultural tractors, coaches and other large vehicles as these are generally liable to a fixed VRT charge.
VAT on new means of transport. For VAT purposes a new means of transport is when a vehicle is less than 6 months old OR has travelled less than 6,000km. Click here for information on when VAT as well as VRT may also be chargeable.”

I’ve seen it listed as 6k miles on some documents for UK cars.

Thanks for that. Must have missed it. Certainly pause for thought.

My options thankfully still open.

bazz26

ra0044 wrote: »

" Watch out for the mileage, it would be classed as new unless it has a couple hundred more on it, costing you the vat too. "

This is something i hadnt heard of. These threads are a great help.

I am looking at 2 cars ove in the uk. One has only 3200 miles and the other 8000 miles. Both 2017 models. I now assume i would have to add vat to the lower mileage one ?

Thanks

The rule is that it needs to be at least 6 months old and have 6000 km or more on the clock otherwise it is liable for VAT here.

awec

You can get around the VAT mileage thing easy enough so long as it isn't too far under the 6000km. My car had 3200 miles on it when I bought it in the UK.

You have 30 days insurance on the UK reg. You have to book the VRT appointment within 7 days of arriving here and have the VRT paid within the 30 days.

Just wait until the 6th or 7th day and then book an appointment for the ~25th/26th day. Allow a bit of buffer at the end for things taking longer than expected.

Then just drive it around a lot. They take the mileage from what's on the clock when you go to the VRT centre, not what's on the invoice.

Royale with Cheese

Any opinions on buying private? I'm looking at getting a 2012-14 1.6 turbo petrol Ford Focus. They were not a popular car in Ireland so it will need to be the UK if I'm to get one I'm happy with. There are about 12 for sale on autotrader but the one that caught my eye the most is for sale privately:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201712091940070?sort=sponsored&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&advertising-location=at_cars&zero-to-60=TO_8&radius=1500&model=FOCUS&fuel-type=Petrol&year-to=2014&postcode=sa115te&make=FORD&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.6&year-from=2012&page=1

I have a friend in London who might be able to take a look at it for me. If it genuinely is one owner from new then I'm thinking it might be worth the risk? A warranty would be of no use to me anyway. The others for sale are nearly all from portacabin style dealers, something like this:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201710110188339?maximum-badge-engine-size=1.6&zero-to-60=TO_8&sort=sponsored&year-from=2012&radius=1500&advertising-location=at_cars&year-to=2014&make=FORD&model=FOCUS&postcode=sa115te&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&fuel-type=Petrol&page=1

moby2101

Well, had VRT appointment today.
I imported a 6 month old 420d Msport Coupe , fully loaded!

This thread was a great Source of information when I was planning the trip in the last few weeks.

I did panic a bit when I read on here recently that they can charge more for extras if the car is less than 2 years old.

In my case the car was superloaded with extras so I was planking it as I might have to pay substantially more than the figure quoted on the revenue site.

Turns out I had nothing to fear, the amount due was within €100 of the quoted fee.

I reckon I've saved in the region of 12K so overall a very doable exercise, do the research and the savings are there to be made.

bod71

moby2101 wrote: »

Well, had VRT appointment today.
I imported a 6 month old 420d Msport Coupe , fully loaded!

This thread was a great Source of information when I was planning the trip in the last few weeks.

I did panic a bit when I read on here recently that they can charge more for extras if the car is less than 2 years old.

In my case the car was superloaded with extras so I was planking it as I might have to pay substantially more than the figure quoted on the revenue site.

Turns out I had nothing to fear, the amount due was within €100 of the quoted fee.

I reckon I've saved in the region of 12K so overall a very doable exercise, do the research and the savings are there to be made.

Hi, can I ask if you went with a main dealer, and how was your experience, I’m looking to do something similar in a couple of months. Thanks.

moby2101

Hi,

Yes , main dealer. I spent a good 2-3 months researching and speaking to the sales guys over there .

Check out Sytner BMW they have multiple garages, HUGE range of stock.
They are very happy to deal with Irish buyers, as are Mercedes (had a look at a C220d as another option and I found all Merc dealers prepared to sell to Irish buyers)
The car I ended up buying is now 7 months old (less than 3k on the clock, I drove up and down the Motorway 😆 Over Christmas to up the mileage.)

I managed to negotiate £750 off the asking price, they collected me from the airport that morning, I didn't bother with an independent check as the car was practically new and I have the remains of the 3 yr warranty here.
I used transfermate and was on he road that evening, they left the tax on the car until the following day and then I assume they cancelled it.

100% hassle free.

Do the research, DO haggle .... the range of cars on offer is huge.
The cars are loaded with extras and far better value than anything available here.

Hope this helps, any other questions, fire away!

bod71

moby2101 wrote: »

Hi,

Yes , main dealer. I spent a good 2-3 months researching and speaking to the sales guys over there .

Check out Sytner BMW they have multiple garages, HUGE range of stock.
They are very happy to deal with Irish buyers, as are Mercedes (had a look at a C220d as another option and I found all Merc dealers prepared to sell to Irish buyers)
The car I ended up buying is now 7 months old (less than 3k on the clock, I drove up and down the Motorway 😆 Over Christmas to up the mileage.)

I managed to negotiate £750 off the asking price, they collected me from the airport that morning, I didn't bother with an independent check as the car was practically new and I have the remains of the 3 yr warranty here.
I used transfermate and was on he road that evening, they left the tax on the car until the following day and then I assume they cancelled it.

100% hassle free.

Do the research, DO haggle .... the range of cars on offer is huge.
The cars are loaded with extras and far better value than anything available here.

Hope this helps, any other questions, fire away!

Thanks, I have my eye on a 330e, never imported a car before, so trying to get as much information as possible. Did you get everything done in one day.

moby2101

Hi.

My first foray into importing a car also!!

Yip, transfermate was done in 3-4 hours after making the call that morning.

bod71

moby2101 wrote: »

Hi.

My first foray into importing a car also!!

Yip, transfermate was done in 3-4 hours after making the call that morning.

Thank you, and enjoy the car

copacetic

moby2101 wrote: »

Hi,

Yes , main dealer. I spent a good 2-3 months researching and speaking to the sales guys over there .

Check out Sytner BMW they have multiple garages, HUGE range of stock.
They are very happy to deal with Irish buyers, as are Mercedes (had a look at a C220d as another option and I found all Merc dealers prepared to sell to Irish buyers)
The car I ended up buying is now 7 months old (less than 3k on the clock, I drove up and down the Motorway 😆 Over Christmas to up the mileage.)

I managed to negotiate £750 off the asking price, they collected me from the airport that morning, I didn't bother with an independent check as the car was practically new and I have the remains of the 3 yr warranty here.
I used transfermate and was on he road that evening, they left the tax on the car until the following day and then I assume they cancelled it.

100% hassle free.

Do the research, DO haggle .... the range of cars on offer is huge.
The cars are loaded with extras and far better value than anything available here.

Hope this helps, any other questions, fire away!

Nice, brought in similar in 09 and found Synter Birmingham good to deal with.

Royale with Cheese

Royale with Cheese wrote: »

Any opinions on buying private? I'm looking at getting a 2012-14 1.6 turbo petrol Ford Focus. They were not a popular car in Ireland so it will need to be the UK if I'm to get one I'm happy with. There are about 12 for sale on autotrader but the one that caught my eye the most is for sale privately:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201712091940070?sort=sponsored&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&advertising-location=at_cars&zero-to-60=TO_8&radius=1500&model=FOCUS&fuel-type=Petrol&year-to=2014&postcode=sa115te&make=FORD&maximum-badge-engine-size=1.6&year-from=2012&page=1

I have a friend in London who might be able to take a look at it for me. If it genuinely is one owner from new then I'm thinking it might be worth the risk? A warranty would be of no use to me anyway. The others for sale are nearly all from portacabin style dealers, something like this:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201710110188339?maximum-badge-engine-size=1.6&zero-to-60=TO_8&sort=sponsored&year-from=2012&radius=1500&advertising-location=at_cars&year-to=2014&make=FORD&model=FOCUS&postcode=sa115te&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly%20New&onesearchad=New&fuel-type=Petrol&page=1

Ok I've decided the private seller one would be too much of a pain in the ass. I happen to be over in the UK in 3 weeks so would like to get something purchased before then so I can just pick it up and drive it back, and I'm not paying up front for a car off a private seller.

I ran a check on the bottom one above for sale from the dealer and it came back with outstanding finance on the plate. There is another fairly similar in Sheffield for sale that also came back with outstanding finance. Is there ever a genuine reason for checks coming back with this? I just thought it was a bit odd that both would come back like this. Is it worth contacting the dealer and querying why the check came back like that? Or is there just something dodgy with them and best avoided?

bazz26

A lot of these cars can be PCP returns so it's possible that the system hasn't been updated to reflect the finance is paid off. If they are good reputable dealers then I'd contact them and ask about the finance status. They should have no problem providing proof from the finance company that it's no longer under their books.

Royale with Cheese

They're both 6 year old cars from back street type dealers though. They're not particularly expensive and I don't need a warranty so I'd be ok with going that route if the AA report checks out.