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

eoghan104

I'm hoping to be buying in NI in a couple of weeks so have a couple of questions.

1. Is Dekra the best for pre-inspection? seems AA no longer do them?
2. Would revolut work for payment? The dealer says that I can do a bank transfer to their Euro or Sterling account either. If its a euro account there will be no fees correct?
3. The dealer told me they have a "transparent pricing policy" so there is no wriggle room? Is this true you think or can I expect a bit off? 20k car...

Thanks in advance, this thread is superb.

blindsider

bazz26 wrote: »

Walk away and buy somewhere else. If they have nothing to hide then they would have no problem with having the car inspected by an independent professional.

Don't walk....RUN!!! :-)


I would stay SO far away from that TBH.

Keep looking - you'll find another car that will tick all the boxes.

givyjoe

eoghan104 wrote: »

I'm hoping to be buying in NI in a couple of weeks so have a couple of questions.

1. Is Dekra the best for pre-inspection? seems AA no longer do them?
2. Would revolut work for payment? The dealer says that I can do a bank transfer to their Euro or Sterling account either. If its a euro account there will be no fees correct?
3. The dealer told me they have a "transparent pricing policy" so there is no wriggle room? Is this true you think or can I expect a bit off? 20k car...

Thanks in advance, this thread is superb.

I was looking at 2 cars of the same model and 2 different dealers. From a bit of reading I thought I'd be looking at 5% off the price. Both would only knock 2% off essentially a 20k car. They said something similar to the above.

blindsider

eoghan104 wrote: »

I'm hoping to be buying in NI in a couple of weeks so have a couple of questions.

1. Is Dekra the best for pre-inspection? seems AA no longer do them?
2. Would revolut work for payment? The dealer says that I can do a bank transfer to their Euro or Sterling account either. If its a euro account there will be no fees correct?
3. The dealer told me they have a "transparent pricing policy" so there is no wriggle room? Is this true you think or can I expect a bit off? 20k car...

Thanks in advance, this thread is superb.

1. IIRC DEKRA are sub-contracted by AA etc. Used DEKRA myself - perfect!
2. Not sure...I'll let someone else answer
3. Haggling is not the same in NI/GB - they don't take to it. Is it competitively priced? Check the websites and see. Autotrader usually give an indication if the price is good/bad - not sure exactly how accurate this is, but it's ok.

If DEKRA find any issues (or you do yourself) then this could be the basis for negotiation - if not, I wouldn't expect too much, but you could always ask...even if it is a tank of fuel.

Last suggestion - check that EVERYTHING works - all the little details e.g. CD player, alarm, lights (no bulbs gone) temp sensor/rain sensor, spare wheel, 2 keys and all the other little bits.

If ANYTHING is missing/wrong, either haggle or get it fixed.

BOL!

michellie

Eoghanaldo wrote: »

Anyone have any experience in having a VRT appointment and being told that they won't be taking payment and to expect a text with the VRT price with which I can organise another appointment? Went in with my UK reg vehicle and told the above on Saturday. Bloody annoying waste of time!

Happens a lot in situations when the car is not on the system or if it's under 2 years old. You wouldn't have been told to book another appointment to pay though unless you were missing paperwork?

darragh o meara

blindsider wrote: »

3. Haggling is not the same in NI/GB - they don't take to it. Is it competitively priced? Check the websites and see. Autotrader usually give an indication if the price is good/bad - not sure exactly how accurate this is, but it's ok.
!

Not completely true, haggling exists but not in the sense we are used to it here, the like of the car supermarkets don’t haggle at all bit everyone else is fair game..

I’ve bought a good few cars in the UK and would always make sure that I get something off or no deal.

MeTheMan

Going for vrt 2moro. Filling in the forms here now. It seems the fella we bought it of didn't put it into his name and just bought to sell. It was a private sale so we don't have a invoice or receipt. Could we have problems here?

GritBiscuit

MeTheMan wrote: »

Going for vrt 2moro. Filling in the forms here now. It seems the fella we bought it of didn't put it into his name and just bought to sell. It was a private sale so we don't have a invoice or receipt. Could we have problems here?

Do you have the sellers name and address?

jimbooth

What are the best sites or car supermarkets to look at in UK . Autotrader has a fair bit but want to shop around to see what's about.

IrishGrimReaper

MeTheMan wrote: »

Going for vrt 2moro. Filling in the forms here now. It seems the fella we bought it of didn't put it into his name and just bought to sell. It was a private sale so we don't have a invoice or receipt. Could we have problems here?

Do up your own invoice, that's what I did.

MeTheMan

Not his full address. But have first name and number. Met him at his house. So could get a close enough address.

GritBiscuit

MeTheMan wrote: »

Not his full address. But have first name and number. Met him at his house. So could get a close enough address.

I'm importing a car without receipt/invoice and asked the VRT office about what to do there and they said to write a declaration of who the car came from and was going to and that would suffice so I'd say you're in roughly the same boat...the list of required docs given was[FONT=Times New Roman,serif]:[/FONT][FONT=Times New Roman,serif]V5 Registration Document [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif]Utility Bill (original and dates within 6 months)[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif]PPS number (Official Documentation only)[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif]Completed VRTVPD2 FORM [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif]Receipt of Purchase (letter from yourself)[/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif]Photo Identification [/FONT]
[FONT=Times New Roman,serif]Evidence of when the vehicle enters the state
[/FONT]

MeTheMan

Thanks for the reply. I have all apart from the letter and proof of when the car entered the state. What would that be?

For the letter do I just write. I confirm I bought the car from *name* on *date* for *amount*? Thanks for your help so far.

IrishGrimReaper

Did you buy it in the North?

MeTheMan

Ya bought in the north. He had bought it in England to sell it on.

GritBiscuit

MeTheMan wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I have all apart from the letter and proof of when the car entered the state. What would that be?

Did you drive her back over? Would you still have your ferry receipts?
Edited - Just seen your response above...I'm going to use my insurance doc along with the ferry - I'm presuming it's just to check that you are VRTing before the 30 days are up...so as long as your dates on your declaration add up, should be golden.

MeTheMan wrote: »

For the letter do I just write. I confirm I bought the car from *name* on *date* for *amount*? Thanks for your help so far.

Yep. I think it's just a basic declaration.

I, *name* bought this car *reg/make/etc* on *date* from *seller name*. I am now the legal owner of this vehicle. *Signature*

MeTheMan

I drove it back but it only an hour and a half from the house. I see the ad is still up. Might show them that if they question it.

michellie

MeTheMan wrote: »

Ya bought in the north. He had bought it in England to sell it on.

If it's a UK registered car as opposed to a NI registered car you might be in bother with a handwritten invoice and no shipping documents. They can use the last date the car was taxed as the date of entry into the country.

IrishGrimReaper

Your situation sounds identical to my own so I'll give you my experience.

I bought my car in Northern Ireland in March last year which was a mainland UK reg, and name/address on the V5C was mainland UK address in, and as such I had no ferry receipt. On the declaration form section B: Country of Origin was UK, Country wench consigned was Northern Ireland.

And on the declaration form of the persons details I entered them from the V5C as normal with no email or phone number entered. I did up my own invoice with the date of purchase and this was all fine for the VRT crowd, it was in Monaghan.

CPS84

Cargiant are now charging a £199 admin fee for export customers.
Taken from their website:
This fee is a compulsory fee and applies to all our cars depending on your below circumstances:

Eoghanaldo

michellie wrote: »

Happens a lot in situations when the car is not on the system or if it's under 2 years old. You wouldn't have been told to book another appointment to pay though unless you were missing paperwork?

All paperwork was there alright and she confirmed at the desk. I'm supposedly due to get a text from Revenue with the VRT price and maybe I took it up wrong, but said that I get in contact again to organise an appointment to pay and get plates if I wish. Haven't heard from Revenue yet - getting a bit nervous as the 30days are over in about 5 days!

bazz26

It can take up to 10 working days for Revenue to get back with a figure.

tea and coffee

Is a printed out P60 from salary portal sufficient? I don't think I have anything else with a pps number on it

JMR

tea and coffee wrote: »

Is a printed out P60 from salary portal sufficient? I don't think I have anything else with a pps number on it

I was told by the VRT centre that correspondence from Revenue showing your PPS number is sufficient

JMR

tea and coffee wrote: »

Is a printed out P60 from salary portal sufficient? I don't think I have anything else with a pps number on it

I was told by the VRT centre that correspondence from Revenue showing your PPS number is sufficient

givyjoe

My latest correspondence with the NCTS Customer Support is that I need to bring evidence of the car being shipped from the UK to the Dealer in Northern Ireland, from whom I bought it.

This makes no sense to me, I thought the shipping was only relevant for those who have imported directly from mainland Uk. The booking confirmation for the VRT specifically mentions evidence of being brought into the state, i.e. ROI, so I really don't understand what the use of proof of shipping (in November) is now.

Any thoughts?!

michellie

Eoghanaldo wrote: »

All paperwork was there alright and she confirmed at the desk. I'm supposedly due to get a text from Revenue with the VRT price and maybe I took it up wrong, but said that I get in contact again to organise an appointment to pay and get plates if I wish. Haven't heard from Revenue yet - getting a bit nervous as the 30days are over in about 5 days!

Ah well you don't need an appointment to pay. You can go back any time to pay after the call centre rings you. You'll probably get a call today or tomorrow. It's very rare it takes the full 10 days.

tea and coffee

Transfermate. What a faff. I've given them my first born and Grannys secret soda bread recipe and they still want more... all for a saving of 120 euro.

tea and coffee

Transfermate. What a faff. I've given them my first born and Grannys secret soda bread recipe and they still want more... all for a saving of 120 euro.

masit

tea and coffee wrote: »

Transfermate. What a faff. I've given them my first born and Grannys secret soda bread recipe and they still want more... all for a saving of 120 euro.

I set up transfermate account. Got a quote for the price of the car. €150 dearer than using my visa debit card.