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

Isambard

you aren't entitled to sell an unregistered car in Ireland.

I did once, and the buyer crashed it on the way home and abandoned it, got arrested legging it and gave my name to the Gards who advised me the initial statement. However they agreed with me that it was Customs I might be in trouble with and that was the end of it.

omri

Could anyone clarify, what are the necessary conditions for NOT being charged higher VRT or addition tax, when importing a car from the UK. I heard that the car has to be at least 6 months old and/or has more than 5/6 thousands miles on, the other version was that the car has to be over a year old.

The J Stands for Jay

liam7831 wrote: »

Use your debit card, funds will go through immediately iv used it twice in UK for cars

I used revolut last month to transfer GBP to a car dealer, they got the money a few hours later.

Esel

omri wrote: »

Could anyone clarify, what are the necessary conditions for NOT being charged higher VRT or addition tax, when importing a car from the UK. I heard that the car has to be at least 6 months old and/or has more than 5/6 thousands miles on, the other version was that the car has to be over a year old.

Over 6 months since first registration AND over 6000 km. Otherwise VAT is charged, but VAT already paid in UK is refundable.

omri

Esel wrote: »

Over 6 months since first registration AND over 6000 km. Otherwise VAT is charged, but VAT already paid in UK is refundable.

And how would you go about claiming the UK VAT?

Fifi18

I have just brought a car back from the uk. The soonest I could get an appointment for vrt is next Wednesday. The dealership included 7 days of insurance with it which brings me up to Sunday evening. I’ll have to figure out some sort of short term insurance so that I can drive it to the tax office on Wednesday.

My question is, I’m supposed to be driving to Galway for 2 days on Thursday morning. Will I get the new plates immediately? Would I still be on uk tax and insurance by Thursday or should I try to ensure I’ve got Irish tax and insurance sorted as soon as I leave the vrt office?
Sorry just a little confused And don’t want to be driving without the correct tax and insurance! Thanks!

Isambard

if it's a bog standard car and they can assess the VRT there and then, you can pay and they will even supply you with plates if you wish.

You can insure the car now on it's UK number/ chassis number , the Insurance Company will cover you for 30 days that way normally. You won't be able to tax it until it's "on the system" so don't worry about that for a short while.

Karen23

I'm having terrible trouble getting an appointment for VRT , the nearest centres are showing none available and when I rang they just told me to keep checking the site. I know I've only 7 days to book but I'm going away on Monday so I wanted to at least have it booked before I go.
Does anyone know what happens if I still can't book by day 7 ?

bazz26

Fifi18 wrote: »

I have just brought a car back from the uk. The soonest I could get an appointment for vrt is next Wednesday. The dealership included 7 days of insurance with it which brings me up to Sunday evening. I’ll have to figure out some sort of short term insurance so that I can drive it to the tax office on Wednesday.

My question is, I’m supposed to be driving to Galway for 2 days on Thursday morning. Will I get the new plates immediately? Would I still be on uk tax and insurance by Thursday or should I try to ensure I’ve got Irish tax and insurance sorted as soon as I leave the vrt office?
Sorry just a little confused And don’t want to be driving without the correct tax and insurance! Thanks!

Did you confirm that the insurance the dealer arranged actually covers you given you are not a UK resident or if it does cover you does it cover you outside of the UK? Don't just assume that your insured by a UK company to drive the car here. Alot of these short term insurance policies offered by dealers don't cover abnormal circumstances such as a non UK resident taking the car to another country.

Your insurance company here will cover a UK registered car here until you change it over to it's Irish plate once you tell them in advance, you don't have to wait until it's on Irish plates to take out insurance cover here.

bazz26

Karen23 wrote: »

I'm having terrible trouble getting an appointment for VRT , the nearest centres are showing none available and when I rang they just told me to keep checking the site. I know I've only 7 days to book but I'm going away on Monday so I wanted to at least have it booked before I go.
Does anyone know what happens if I still can't book by day 7 ?

Just book it for the next available date, the 7 day rule means you have 7 days to make an appointment, the appointment doesn't need to be within 7 days though. You have 30 days from the date the car came into the country to complete the entire VRT process including VRT appointment, VRT payment and transfer to Irish plates.

Karen23

bazz26 wrote: »

Just book it for the next available date, the 7 day rule means you have 7 days to make an appointment, the appointment doesn't need to be within 7 days though. You have 30 days from the date the car came into the country to complete the entire VRT process including VRT appointment, VRT payment and transfer to Irish plates.

That's the problem, the three nearest are showing "currently there are no vacant slots at the centre you have chosen , please contact phone number to request a booking"
but when I rang the number she said just keep checking the site, appointments will become available but I'm checking the site for three days and only one came up but it's for while I'm away

omri

Few questions before I make my final offer on the car I want on Monday:

1) Presumably the price I am quoted by the dealer is the price I am paying and there is no VAT to be included - I will confirm that on Monday anyway.
2) What is the best course of action, obviously I am only buying from big and reputable dealership, should I do the Cartell and HPI checks (or whatever other checks are available) or can I trust them, given that the car is Manufacturer Approved and I was assured they all are clear from finance, writeoffs, damages etc.?
3) Should I get someone to check the car anyway - an independent mechanic ?
4) I will call the VRO to double check on the VRT (unless the VRT calc is accurate), I did play around with year and milage to see if it would reflect bigger charge for the "new car" but it didn't show anything substantial, so I suppose that's just the nasty surprise at the inspection if I make a mistake and get the car under 6 months or 6000km.
5) Should I inspect the car before the full payment is sent (which would mean staying overnight in B&B) or can I pay before I go to collect and resolve any issues if there are any upon the collection (given that the dealership is reputable and hopefully honest)
6) Do I need to ask for any particular documents or is whatever the dealer provides enough for the paperwork back in the ROI ?
7) Once that's done (paid) I then call my insurer and get the insurance sorted for the UK reg.

Anything else I missed ?

Cheers.

Yamanoto

Just a quick question about where to source your vehicle.

Given the huge number of dealerships in the UK, how do folks go about narrowing down where they choose to purchase from?

Are there recommended dealerships / car supermarkets that pop up time & again on this thread?

liam7831

omri wrote:

1) Presumably the price I am quoted by the dealer is the price I am paying and there is no VAT to be included - I will confirm that on Monday anyway. 2) What is the best course of action, obviously I am only buying from big and reputable dealership, should I do the Cartell and HPI checks (or whatever other checks are available) or can I trust them, given that the car is Manufacturer Approved and I was assured they all are clear from finance, writeoffs, damages etc.? 3) Should I get someone to check the car anyway - an independent mechanic ? 4) I will call the VRO to double check on the VRT (unless the VRT calc is accurate), I did play around with year and milage to see if it would reflect bigger charge for the "new car" but it didn't show anything substantial, so I suppose that's just the nasty surprise at the inspection if I make a mistake and get the car under 6 months or 6000km. 5) Should I inspect the car before the full payment is sent (which would mean staying overnight in B&B) or can I pay before I go to collect and resolve any issues if there are any upon the collection (given that the dealership is reputable and hopefully honest) 6) Do I need to ask for any particular documents or is whatever the dealer provides enough for the paperwork back in the ROI ? 7) Once that's done (paid) I then call my insurer and get the insurance sorted for the UK reg.

omri wrote:

1) Presumably the price I am quoted by the dealer is the price I am paying and there is no VAT to be included - I will confirm that on Monday anyway. 2) What is the best course of action, obviously I am only buying from big and reputable dealership, should I do the Cartell and HPI checks (or whatever other checks are available) or can I trust them, given that the car is Manufacturer Approved and I was assured they all are clear from finance, writeoffs, damages etc.? 3) Should I get someone to check the car anyway - an independent mechanic ? 4) I will call the VRO to double check on the VRT (unless the VRT calc is accurate), I did play around with year and milage to see if it would reflect bigger charge for the "new car" but it didn't show anything substantial, so I suppose that's just the nasty surprise at the inspection if I make a mistake and get the car under 6 months or 6000km. 5) Should I inspect the car before the full payment is sent (which would mean staying overnight in B&B) or can I pay before I go to collect and resolve any issues if there are any upon the collection (given that the dealership is reputable and hopefully honest) 6) Do I need to ask for any particular documents or is whatever the dealer provides enough for the paperwork back in the ROI ? 7) Once that's done (paid) I then call my insurer and get the insurance sorted for the UK reg.

No vat.
The vrt calculator is only a guide so budget an extra €1k or so for contingency.
Most reputable dealers will have a check already done on the car and will provide it for free.
Just insure it before you go over makes it easier.

omri

Yamanoto wrote: »

Just a quick question about where to source your vehicle.

Given the huge number of dealerships in the UK, how do folks go about narrowing down where they choose to purchase from?

Are there recommended dealerships / car supermarkets that pop up time & again on this thread?

Unless youre willing to travel any distance you can look for the place thats closest. Liverpool / Manchester area. It’s close to Hollyhead and that’s 2hr away from Dublin on the ferry.

From what I researched car supermarkets are ok-ish but I decided to go to big reputable dealerships instead. I used autotrader.co.uk picked Manchester postcode and selected 50 mile distance. It listed all the cars matching my interest and then I checked all the dealerships that had these cars and picked one giving me best deal. It’s a days work on the phone but you can save few thousand pounds, just by calling. There will be a lot of BS of how low margins they have on the cars but if you get an offer on just one car that will be 2-3k below asking price and especially in writing (email) then it really opens the doors for better deals to come in from other places. Every dealership offered picking me up from the airport and it’s not too far from the ferry. So I should be able to do it all in one day.

oodles19

Yamanoto wrote: »

Just a quick question about where to source your vehicle.

Given the huge number of dealerships in the UK, how do folks go about narrowing down where they choose to purchase from?

Are there recommended dealerships / car supermarkets that pop up time & again on this thread?

I had a good look through this thread and other places before going over myself and I went with Cargiant in London. They do a lot of business with Irish customers and sell mainly ex fleet. The reason I went with them was that their reputation was pretty good on here and elsewhere. There was a bit of a hard sell with warranties and detailing, but overall it was a good experience, I'd buy off them again myself anyway...

masit

Yamanoto wrote: »

Just a quick question about where to source your vehicle.

Given the huge number of dealerships in the UK, how do folks go about narrowing down where they choose to purchase from?

Are there recommended dealerships / car supermarkets that pop up time & again on this thread?

One way I do it is put in the Holyhead postcode, LL651DQ. On the right side of Autotrader.co.uk there is an option, Sort by. I look up distance first, which gives you the nearest to Holyhead and then lowest price if nothing shows up in that area.

Esel

omri wrote: »

6) Do I need to ask for any particular documents or is whatever the dealer provides enough for the paperwork back in the ROI ?

The complete V5C document is vital. Car is being exported. Seller notifies the VLC of that fact by letter. Details of the procedure are on the VLC website.

Let them keep the 'export' strip if they want, although this is actually only used when a UK resident is exporting the car themselves. You don't need that section of the V5C to register the car here.

Get an invoice as well, obviously.

Service history.

Look into manufacturer's warranty carry-over situation too as regards expiry date. You might lose the final year of the UK warranty, in which case you would have to go through a UK dealership if needed in that year.

garv123

Hi,

Looking at a few cars on DD at the minute, some from the north, I know when coming from the UK you need a ferry ticket, but whats the story with buying from the north? do you need any documentation to prove when you got the car?


Also what about buying a car registered in the north, but its for sale in Cavan etc?

awec

garv123 wrote: »

Hi,

Looking at a few cars on DD at the minute, some from the north, I know when coming from the UK you need a ferry ticket, but whats the story with buying from the north? do you need any documentation to prove when you got the car?


Also what about buying a car registered in the north, but its for sale in Cavan etc?

You need a dated invoice.

Isambard

awec wrote: »

You need a dated invoice.

Handwritten will do if a private sale.

If buying a car from Cavan, make sure your receipt has a Northern Ireland address on it.

coronaextra

Apologies if asked already I couldn't find it in the search....

Going to look at an English Reg Car in northern Ireland from a small dealer later. Will I run into any difficulty when trying to register it here as it was imported from England to NI?

Also will the sellers current name and address in NI be on the V5C form?

Thanks in advance

IrishGrimReaper

Just get a dated invoice within 30 days of VRT'ing and you'll be fine. As far as you're concerned you've bought the car in NI and that's that. My UK import had a London addressed owner on the V5C. My whole VRT process from inspection to payment 3 weeks later was all done within 30 days of the invoice date and nothing was said or nothing was asked.

coronaextra

Thanks for that, so once I get the invoice with the date of sale it should be fine.

What about the name on the V5C document, should the car be registered in the sellers name?

IrishGrimReaper

Put the name that is on the V5C form on as the person you bought it from on VRTVPD2 form(section 2) that you fill out to VRT.

If it's a small dealer it'll likely be a wheeler dealer and still in the old owners name.

rai555

Certainly this was discussed befor but to get advise and hear the stories from members:

which company is recommended AA , RAC and likes?

Cheers for stories

bazz26

coronaextra wrote: »

Thanks for that, so once I get the invoice with the date of sale it should be fine.

What about the name on the V5C document, should the car be registered in the sellers name?

It doesn't matter who's name is listed on the V5C form. The VRT office are only concerned that the car's details listed on the V5C match that of the car itself.

Quick question: with the £ being so favourable at the minute, is there any downside to putting a chunk of money into a transferwise/mate account now, and keeping it there until ready to buy?

I'm in the market for a car at the moment but prob won't be in a position yet for another couple of weeks to head over and complete any transaction. Just wondering if I should be taking advantage of the exchange rates at the moment?

Edit: just looked into this a bit deeper, and transfermate only operate a holding account, limit of up to 3 days max for holding the funds. Transferwise have a 'borderless' account, though, where you can store funds. Just wondering if anyone has ever done this before?

Explosive_Cornflake

Currency fair would let you hold it, or you could transfer it to a revolut account.

The downside is, Sterling could slip further. there are no guarantees here.

Amouar

I test drove a low milage (8k miles) 2015 Peugeot 2008 yesterday and really liked it therefore I'm interested in buying it. The Irish dealer is asking for 15k€. In order to see if it's a fair price or not, I decided to have a look at autotrader and search for a similar car near Manchester/Leeds/Liverpool, and found a couple of 2016 Peugeot 2008 for around 13.7k€ including VRT and potential costs of flight ticket and Ferry. That's over 1k€ saving compared to the Irish dealer and the car is a year younger and has more HBP.

I have the following questions and apologies if they were previously asked:

1) I'd like to arrange for AA/RAC to inspect the car and wanted to know if it's possible to do it while still in Ireland? Also how can I guarantee that the car is not sold to someone else after I arrange and pay for the inspection? Do I have to pay the dealer a deposit using a CC over the phone?

2) I never had car insurance in Ireland, therefore i wanted to know if any Irish insurer will be able to insure the car while it has UK reg? If not then I'm thinking of getting insurance with dayinsure.com as they cover non UK residents and allow EU travel. The only restriction is the trip needs to end in the UK therefore not sure how they'll make sure of that, especially that my insurance will expire while I'm in Ireland. Did anyone use dayinsure to bring their car to Ireland?

3) How can I take the car to VRT without a valid insurance ? If that's not possible then I'll probably get a 30 day policy cover from dayinsure. Is it possible to get the VRT and irish reg done within 30 days?

Thanks!