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

joujoujou

Nothing certain in that matter yet. All we have so far are just guesses and speculations.

michellie

elperello wrote: »

Sorry in advance if this has been covered before but the thread is too long to go back over to check.

I was just wondering about VAT on imports from the UK post brexit.

We are assuming that once the UK is no longer part of the EU that VAT will be payable on imports from the UK.

However is it not true that cars bought in the UK before the final brexit deadline will be VAT paid in the EU and thus we won't have to pay VAT on them when importing even though the UK is no longer in the EU?

Just interested in hearing opinions on this.

Revenue don't know how this is going to work out yet. Anything at the moment is just guesswork.

elperello

Thanks for the replies.
Any links to opinions/discussions etc?

givyjoe

michellie wrote: »

Revenue don't know how this is going to work out yet. Anything at the moment is just guesswork.

If Vat is due after brexit, the potential to absolute kill the import market leaving everyone at the mercy of overpriced Irish Dealers, super.

bazz26

The upside to that is that the second hand market here will stabilise meaning used car values will increase as there is no competition from cheaper imports or sterling values.

dclifford

dclifford wrote: »

Put a deposit on car in Newcastle. Some questions.
Is HPI check included in Dekra inspection or should i do these seperately?
How soon is the dekra inspection completed after a booking?
How long does it take to get funds from bank to transfermate? About £18500.
If I pay UK road tax, its expired, do I do that or can the dealer do it for me?

Just trying to figure out when I should book the flight/ferry for.
Should I wait until after the inspection before booking travel? Seems some people have booked the ferry after buying the car, I suppose I can wait til after the inspection.

Going to reply to my own post. Hope it helps to give some info on my trip.
I paid the deposit on Friday Evening after narrowing down my selection.
I booked the Dekra online on Saturday night. I got a mail on Monday morning to say that the inspection was booked with the dealer for Tuesday afernoon. I bought a HPI check online from one of the several online uk websites.
I booked a flight to newcastle for €22 for the Thursday.
I set up a transfermate account over the weekend, but it was Monday morning before transfermate member contacted me and everything went really well after that. By Monday afternoon I had transfered the money from AIB to transfermate.
I spoke to the dealership on Tuesday to say I planned to travel on Thursday. I made it clear several times that I needed the V5C form. I also requested them to set up the road tax. It was £30.
On Tuesday afternoon I had the Dekra inspection report and it was all good.
On Wednesday morning I requested transfermate to send the funds. By Lunchtime it was received the dealer. I booked the Stena ferry with the flexi fare option.
Flew Thursday mid-morning, and got to the dealer about 11.30. I was with them for about an hour and then on the road with all the paperwork done and the V5C in hand. There was a bit of a wait to get the floor mats, apparently they are thrown out normally, but they still had them and they cleaned them for me before fitting them.
The drive to holyhead was fine with no delays and made the ferry with loads of time.
Vrt inspection is booked.

It was a really positive experience and recommend it to anyone, if they do their homework and plan it out.

bazz26

Sounds like it went as per the script, what did you buy in the end?

zetor 4911

dclifford wrote: »

Going to reply to my own post. Hope it helps to give some info on my trip.
I paid the deposit on Friday Evening after narrowing down my selection.
I booked the Dekra online on Saturday night. I got a mail on Monday morning to say that the inspection was booked with the dealer for Tuesday afernoon. I bought a HPI check online from one of the several online uk websites.
I booked a flight to newcastle for €22 for the Thursday.
I set up a transfermate account over the weekend, but it was Monday morning before transfermate member contacted me and everything went really well after that. By Monday afternoon I had transfered the money from AIB to transfermate.
I spoke to the dealership on Tuesday to say I planned to travel on Thursday. I made it clear several times that I needed the V5C form. I also requested them to set up the road tax. It was £30.
On Tuesday afternoon I had the Dekra inspection report and it was all good.
On Wednesday morning I requested transfermate to send the funds. By Lunchtime it was received the dealer. I booked the Stena ferry with the flexi fare option.
Flew Thursday mid-morning, and got to the dealer about 11.30. I was with them for about an hour and then on the road with all the paperwork done and the V5C in hand. There was a bit of a wait to get the floor mats, apparently they are thrown out normally, but they still had them and they cleaned them for me before fitting them.
The drive to holyhead was fine with no delays and made the ferry with loads of time.
Vrt inspection is booked.

It was a really positive experience and recommend it to anyone, if they do their homework and plan it out.

Good outline of the whole process. Did you pay for the vehicle before looking at it?

General question - do ye reckon that they would bother looking at the timing belts when they buy these cars or is it just a valet and out the door?

dclifford

bazz26 wrote: »

Sounds like it went as per the script, what did you buy in the end?

I got a 2016 Audi A3 S Line hatchback. 11k miles.

dclifford

zetor 4911 wrote: »

Good outline of the whole process. Did you pay for the vehicle before looking at it?

Yes, I had transfered the money before travelling. The low milage, car age, Dekra and HPI inspections and dealing with franchised dealer gave me confidence to send the money. Other circumstances and I may have done it differently.

zetor 4911

dclifford wrote: »

Yes, I had transfered the money before travelling. The low milage, car age, Dekra and HPI inspections and dealing with franchised dealer gave me confidence to send the money. Other circumstances and I may have done it differently.

Thanks for the reply. Looking at a jeep in UK for about the same money you paid. On the deposit if you are not happy with the Dekra report and don't go ahead with the purchase do you get your deposit back?

bazz26

That totally depends on the seller.

paddydriver

Hello All,

I am back on the UK purchase program again.. bought a 9 m/o S-Max in UK 2009 and still have it now.. has been no issues other than the usual wear and tear.

I am back now to replace my 12 y/o Golf GTI with a 17 reg A6. I have deposit on an April 17 A6 direct with an Audi dealer. I have Dekra inspection booked and waiting for funds to clear via CurrencyFair.

I have established that the 1 previous owner was a vehicle leasing company called VRS (Vehicle Rental Services) or known as Get Motoring UK. I expected that such a young car with low mileage was going to be ex fleet or Audi demo.

If prepared to go for a 17 reg A6, or many other cars, then there is a vast range to choose from and most are of very similar spec so its case of finding the one you want that works out best for travelling over etc. I did try to get a few and they do move quick so did miss out on a few.

Anyway.. suppose my question is, would you have issues with buying this type of car or is it worth it when getting such a large saving on a less than 1 y/o car?

The S-Max I got was a garage demo and I had same concerns at the time but Thankfully has not been a problem. The A6 is an auto/S-Tronic too so I suppose less worry about the gear box having been ripped out of of it by some lady driving in high heels..

I did have my brother go and inspect it too and he thought he may have got slightest hint of smoker in it but Audi assured me that they don't think this is the case and that it is full deodorized before I take it. It would be a deal breaker for me to buy a car that was owned by a smoker.

Any help or opinions would be great. Thanks for time in reading.

Paddy

bazz26

Well if it were a rental car then it's possible it had a multitude of drivers so potentially some of them may have been smokers. But if you have any doubts about buying it then just chose another one as there are no shortage of them for sale to be stuck on one with a doubt hanging over it.

masit

paddydriver wrote: »

Hello All,

I am back on the UK purchase program again.. bought a 9 m/o S-Max in UK 2009 and still have it now.. has been no issues other than the usual wear and tear.

I am back now to replace my 12 y/o Golf GTI with a 17 reg A6. I have deposit on an April 17 A6 direct with an Audi dealer. I have Dekra inspection booked and waiting for funds to clear via CurrencyFair.

I have established that the 1 previous owner was a vehicle leasing company called VRS (Vehicle Rental Services) or known as Get Motoring UK. I expected that such a young car with low mileage was going to be ex fleet or Audi demo.

If prepared to go for a 17 reg A6, or many other cars, then there is a vast range to choose from and most are of very similar spec so its case of finding the one you want that works out best for travelling over etc. I did try to get a few and they do move quick so did miss out on a few.

Anyway.. suppose my question is, would you have issues with buying this type of car or is it worth it when getting such a large saving on a less than 1 y/o car?

The S-Max I got was a garage demo and I had same concerns at the time but Thankfully has not been a problem. The A6 is an auto/S-Tronic too so I suppose less worry about the gear box having been ripped out of of it by some lady driving in high heels..

I did have my brother go and inspect it too and he thought he may have got slightest hint of smoker in it but Audi assured me that they don't think this is the case and that it is full deodorized before I take it. It would be a deal breaker for me to buy a car that was owned by a smoker.

Any help or opinions would be great. Thanks for time in reading.

Paddy

I'm on the look out for an A6 too. I've seen some with low mileage. One with only 100 miles on it. A lot been registered at the end of June. How was the Audi garage with you when you are exporting it? I was going to ring a few places I had seen cars but waiting for this weather to stop, don't want to be stuck in an airport somewhere.

Another question. Does anybody know is the 6 months or 6000km from when you import the car or when you VRT the car. One car I was looking at was registered on the 27/09/17 so if I imported it at the weekend I'd be under the 6 months but if i leave if it and register it on the 2nd April I'd be over 6 months and within the 30 days.

bazz26

They look for proof of when it came into the country i.e. ferry ticket and/or garage invoice so if it's less than 6 months old at the time of import then you will be liable for VAT as well as VRT.

dclifford

zetor 4911 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. Looking at a jeep in UK for about the same money you paid. On the deposit if you are not happy with the Dekra report and don't go ahead with the purchase do you get your deposit back?

The dealer told me the deposit was refundable, but I suppose it depends on the dealer. They took a £200 deposit.

bonkers67

Can anyone work out the VRT on this?...Volvo V40 D3 [4 Cyl 150] R DESIGN Pro 5dr 2.0

It’s 2017 and has 9966 miles. It has these features...Key Facts

2017 (17 reg) Hatchback 9,966 miles 2.0L Manual Diesel
SUNROOF, REAR PARKING CAMERA, PARK PILOT ASSIST, HEATED FRONT SCREEN, HEATED LEATHER SEATS, UPGRADE ALLOYS, CLIMATE CONTROL Volvo V40 D3 [4 Cyl 150] R DESIGN Pro 5dr Black Full leather interior, Electric Silver Metallic, £16,78

kerten

bonkers67 wrote: »

Can anyone work out the VRT on this?...Volvo V40 D3 [4 Cyl 150] R DESIGN Pro 5dr 2.0

It’s 2017 and has 9966 miles. It has these features...Key Facts

2017 (17 reg) Hatchback 9,966 miles 2.0L Manual Diesel
SUNROOF, REAR PARKING CAMERA, PARK PILOT ASSIST, HEATED FRONT SCREEN, HEATED LEATHER SEATS, UPGRADE ALLOYS, CLIMATE CONTROL Volvo V40 D3 [4 Cyl 150] R DESIGN Pro 5dr Black Full leather interior, Electric Silver Metallic, £16,78

4691 Euro

kerten

Lucky me booked the VRT for tomorrow afternoon and I doubt they will be open tomorrow.

When I tried to reschedule on Monday, 11th March was the earliest day and I decided them to cancel it for me instead of me risking 30 days(Car landed on 15th Feb) if they don't take the payment on the spot.

bonkers67

How did you work that out? Thanks.

bazz26

Go onto the Revenue VRT calculator and fill it out. Just remember that if the car is less than 6 months old or has less than 6000 km on the clock, Revenue consider it to be brand new and liable for VAT also.

bonkers67

I can’t find that model on the Vrt calculator. Is there any other way of working it out?

paddydriver

bazz26 wrote: »

Well if it were a rental car then it's possible it had a multitude of drivers so potentially some of them may have been smokers. But if you have any doubts about buying it then just chose another one as there are no shortage of them for sale to be stuck on one with a doubt hanging over it.

masit wrote: »

I'm on the look out for an A6 too. I've seen some with low mileage. One with only 100 miles on it. A lot been registered at the end of June. How was the Audi garage with you when you are exporting it? I was going to ring a few places I had seen cars but waiting for this weather to stop, don't want to be stuck in an airport somewhere.

Another question. Does anybody know is the 6 months or 6000km from when you import the car or when you VRT the car. One car I was looking at was registered on the 27/09/17 so if I imported it at the weekend I'd be under the 6 months but if i leave if it and register it on the 2nd April I'd be over 6 months and within the 30 days.

Thanks All..

I've put them thru ringer today and got all background on previous owners. Was definitely on lease via Audi and was then returned via Audi and onto the dealer network for sale. Have been given very strong assurances that car is perfect and that Audi would not risk reputation on selling cars that were not perfect.

I've held back on the Dekra inspection and will talk to dealer again tomorrow as its just been emails back and forth, and missed calls from the dealer, today.

Was planning to go Tuesday but think with weather prospects and slight delay in money transfer then I may push a day or two and this gives me chance to get Dekra check done. Will lose €40 on flights but got flexible ferry booking.

All in all it doesn't seem like it will be easy to get a 17 A6 that isn't some kind of ex lease, unless I can get a garage demo. If I go back to 2016 then there isn't much more of a saving and VRT doesn't change much either so I figure keep as much of the Audi warranty as possible and get the lowest mileage possible.

Overall I couldn't fault the dealers I have dealt with.. other than them being car salesmen! They respond to enquiries very quick and do seem to be bound by strict Audi rules. The guy I am dealing with on this A6 is very keen to get this deal done and is providing any info needed.. its just a case of how fussy I am going to be on it.

I will decide tomorrow on the deal as to what I am going to do. This morning I was set on pulling out but as the day has gone on I figure if he gives me some better reassurances then I will go with it.. a financial sweetener would be helpful too.

Paddy

masit

paddydriver wrote: »

Thanks All..

I've put them thru ringer today and got all background on previous owners. Was definitely on lease via Audi and was then returned via Audi and onto the dealer network for sale. Have been given very strong assurances that car is perfect and that Audi would not risk reputation on selling cars that were not perfect.

I've held back on the Dekra inspection and will talk to dealer again tomorrow as its just been emails back and forth, and missed calls from the dealer, today.

Was planning to go Tuesday but think with weather prospects and slight delay in money transfer then I may push a day or two and this gives me chance to get Dekra check done. Will lose €40 on flights but got flexible ferry booking.

All in all it doesn't seem like it will be easy to get a 17 A6 that isn't some kind of ex lease, unless I can get a garage demo. If I go back to 2016 then there isn't much more of a saving and VRT doesn't change much either so I figure keep as much of the Audi warranty as possible and get the lowest mileage possible.

Overall I couldn't fault the dealers I have dealt with.. other than them being car salesmen! They respond to enquiries very quick and do seem to be bound by strict Audi rules. The guy I am dealing with on this A6 is very keen to get this deal done and is providing any info needed.. its just a case of how fussy I am going to be on it.

I will decide tomorrow on the deal as to what I am going to do. This morning I was set on pulling out but as the day has gone on I figure if he gives me some better reassurances then I will go with it.. a financial sweetener would be helpful too.

Paddy

Yeah, I think most nearly new cars are leased out and then taken back by Audi. VW do this, I was looking for a Passat last year and you could see most of the cars on autotrader with near enough the same reg and when they were registered them.

Its true about the 16 vs the 17's. I was looking for a 16 but the 17's were just as good value, so sticking to looking for a 17. Some 17 cars are good value compared to here. I checked one car on carzone from an Audi dealer vs an Audi dealer in the UK and I was making out the saving on or around €15,000.

Pitty about the weather, wold have been travelling over only for that.

Fann Linn

masit wrote: »

Yeah, I think most nearly new cars are leased out and then taken back by Audi. VW do this, I was looking for a Passat last year and you could see most of the cars on autotrader with near enough the same reg and when they were registered them.

Its true about the 16 vs the 17's. I was looking for a 16 but the 17's were just as good value, so sticking to looking for a 17. Some 17 cars are good value compared to here. I checked one car on carzone from an Audi dealer vs an Audi dealer in the UK and I was making out the saving on or around €15,000.

Pitty about the weather, wold have been travelling over only for that.

Why are people buying over here if ye can save €15k on a 16/17 Audi?

masit

Fann Linn wrote: »

Why are people buying over here if ye can save €15k on a 16/17 Audi?

Not everyone will want the hassle of selling their car private, check autotrader for weeks for the right car and not have the cash in their hands to buy. I know lots of people who changed their cars lately and traded them in just for the convenience of it.

bazz26

People also want to avail of credit so that is restricted if buying abroad.

masit

Just thinking. The car I was looking at was registered on the 27/09/17, under the 6 months. Now, if I was to register the car to my uncle in the UK and then say I bought it privately when its over the 6 months, would you think this would work? Regarding an invoice, I'd have to make one up myself plus ferry ticket.