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

Grumpypants

Was going to get a premium ticket so I've priority boarding & offloading and can cancel up to 2 hours before sailing just in case. Enjoy the lounge on the trip over then, relax after the first 6 hour leg. 3 more once i get off in Dublin to get home.

bazz26

Don't some of the ferry companies offer a flexi ticket where you can get the next boat if you miss the one your booked on. It costs a bit more but I think it allows you to tell them 1 or 2 hours before departure if your not going to make your scheduled ferry and want to catch the next one instead. I Stena Line did this last year when I was coming back. You should have a good idea if within an hour or two of departure if your going to make it or not.

declan123

Grumpypants wrote: »

Has anyone made the trip back recently and have any tips on going by ferry? I've never been but is there a cut off like when flying IE you need to be there 2 hours before sailing?

All going okay, I'm planning on picking up a car in London on a Saturday morning and driving home. I've a 6 hour drive to get to Hollyhead and want to make sure I'm leaving in time. Last ferry is 8.30pm. I could play it safe and book the 2.40 am Sunday one but I'd really like to make it back on Saturday.

Picked up a car in London last Tuesday morning. Left at 11.30 am and made holyhead shortly after 6pm so you should make 8.30 ferry comfortably

omri

So I have booked the VRT inspection in Dublin - the earliest one is 14th of September. My current running car insurance policy expires on the 15th of September and the UK car was initialy covered till that day. I had to call the insurance again after booking the VRT (they agreed to extend that till 25th - if I renew with them..). That aside I changed my booking to the place in Naas as I can have it done on the 11th.

How soon after the VRT can I get the irish reg plates ? And how quickly after the VRT inspection can I pay the VRT tax - do I have to wait for some paperwork or can I do it next day or even same day?

If my car is 7 months old and has over 6000km do I need the Certificate of Conformity from the dealer or as I understand my car is a used car and it will have the emissions details on the previous registration documents.

087brain21

You can get irish plates straight away
they give you your new reg there and then as long as you pay the VRT up front

You don't have to pay the VRT up front you can come back in a few days to pay

Inspection usually takes about 15-20 minutes you probably be waiting in the Q longer

Since your car has such low milage you will have to pay extra VRT

omri

087brain21 wrote: »

You can get irish plates straight away
they give you your new reg there and then as long as you pay the VRT up front

You don't have to pay the VRT up front you can come back in a few days to pay

Inspection usually takes about 15-20 minutes you probably be waiting in the Q longer

Since your car has such low milage you will have to pay extra VRT

As I understand the car has to be over 6 months old and over 6000km in order not to pay extra VRT.

Not sure about the upfront payment as it will be substantial amount exceeding my cards daily limit. Do I have to go back to where the VRT inspection took place to get the plates or can I pick them elsewhere?

087brain21

sorry you may be right i taught it was cars under 10000km

ya you can come back to the same place no need to book a time just show up again within your original 30 days you had to change the plates

They might offer you a plate making service some do some don't but no need just go to a motor factors for plates no need to get them straight away

bazz26

You can get the plates made up anywhere you like once they issue you the new Irish reg number. You don't have to pay the VRT on the day of the inspection, you have 30 days to do it from the date you brought the car into the country but you won't be issued an Irish registration number until the VRT is paid.

Also be aware that you won't receive the new Irish reg cert/logbook until you first tax the car. The last 6 digits of the car's VIN is usually the PIN to tax the car online normally about 24 hours after the VRT is paid.

awec

The VRT offices sell plates these days I think, but I doubt they will put them on.

donkey balls

bazz26 wrote: »

Don't some of the ferry companies offer a flexi ticket where you can get the next boat if you miss the one your booked on. It costs a bit more but I think it allows you to tell them 1 or 2 hours before departure if your not going to make your scheduled ferry and want to catch the next one instead. I Stena Line did this last year when I was coming back. You should have a good idea if within an hour or two of departure if your going to make it or not.

Have done this a number of times and never had to pay anything extra, An a regular basis in a previous life I be running for the boat with 10/15 mins to spare and made it.
Although it depended on the lad/girl at the check in whether they would allow you to board.

peaceboi

Thinking of Getting a 2017 Toyota hybrid from mainland UK, Toyota dealer.
It has remaining 4 years manufacturer warranty. Just wondering if this warranty services can be availed in the Republic, if at all something goes wrong in the next 4 years? Anybody know about if the warranty is within EU or only region specific? Thanks

binhead

Random VRT question, apologies if it's in the wrong place,

I am looking at buying a car in Ireland that is on UK plates, Dealer selling it on behalf of owner so effectively a private sale, Cartell report is good and MOT history all seems legitimate but the GOV.uk site is showing the vehicles tax has been out since 2017 and the MOT is out a few months.

Just wondering if I buy this and go to pay the VRT can I be penalised over unpaid tax in the UK or is that nothing to do with the new owner?

Thanks.

awec

binhead wrote: »

Random VRT question, apologies if it's in the wrong place,

I am looking at buying a car in Ireland that is on UK plates, Dealer selling it on behalf of owner so effectively a private sale, Cartell report is good and MOT history all seems legitimate but the GOV.uk site is showing the vehicles tax has been out since 2017 and the MOT is out a few months.

Just wondering if I buy this and go to pay the VRT can I be penalised over unpaid tax in the UK or is that nothing to do with the new owner?

Thanks.

The dealer should have it VRTed, not you. They are the ones who imported it. You'll have problems when you go to VRT it (an Irish invoice, no proof of import date, etc).

087brain21

binhead wrote: »

Random VRT question, apologies if it's in the wrong place,

I am looking at buying a car in Ireland that is on UK plates, Dealer selling it on behalf of owner so effectively a private sale, Cartell report is good and MOT history all seems legitimate but the GOV.uk site is showing the vehicles tax has been out since 2017 and the MOT is out a few months.

Just wondering if I buy this and go to pay the VRT can I be penalised over unpaid tax in the UK or is that nothing to do with the new owner?

Thanks.

no not at all different country different rules
In the UK now car tax goes with the owner not the car unlike here so even if it did have tax you wouldnt get it

You could always ring the VRT centre to be 100% sure on the matter

binhead

awec wrote: »

The dealer should have it VRTed, not you. They are the ones who imported it. You'll have problems when you go to VRT it (an Irish invoice, no proof of import date, etc).

Ok thanks for info, yes that's what I am concerned about, garage won't VRT it as they are selling it on behalf of owner. He says all the paperwork is intact, shipping details etc but i am wary. Thanks for help.

binhead

087brain21 wrote: »

no not at all different country different rules
In the UK now car tax goes with the owner not the car unlike here so even if it did have tax you wouldnt get it

You could always ring the VRT centre to be 100% sure on the matter

Ok so the tax won't be a problem? I did ring the VRT people and they said I could be liable for any penalties if the car wasn't declared when it entered the country but she was unsure and told me to call into a VRT centre and ask.

087brain21

binhead wrote: »

Ok thanks for info, yes that's what I am concerned about, garage won't VRT it as they are selling it on behalf of owner. He says all the paperwork is intact, shipping details etc but i am wary. Thanks for help.

ya leave that car off i say because garages over here can import cars but don't need to VRT them within 30 days like we have to

It shouldn't matter if they are selling on behalf of the owner they could easily take it under their garage ownership

bazz26

binhead wrote: »

Random VRT question, apologies if it's in the wrong place,

I am looking at buying a car in Ireland that is on UK plates, Dealer selling it on behalf of owner so effectively a private sale, Cartell report is good and MOT history all seems legitimate but the GOV.uk site is showing the vehicles tax has been out since 2017 and the MOT is out a few months.

Just wondering if I buy this and go to pay the VRT can I be penalised over unpaid tax in the UK or is that nothing to do with the new owner?

Thanks.

Sounds like bit of a tall tale from this so called dealer. A proper dealer is obliged under law to pay the VRT on your behalf and include it in the price of the car. Even if their story was true I'd question why a legit dealer would want to want to get involved in selling a foreign reg car on behalf of this customer.

It begs the question why this customer bought the car, didn't VRT it, only to ask a dealer to sell it on again. I'd be very wary about buying a car under these circumstances. You also don't have a leg to stand on with the dealer regarding warranty if something breaks. He will tell you that you bought from a private individual and not him so go away. Might as well go to the UK and buy a car yourself there rather than paying two middle men their profit on a car here.

binhead

Ok Thanks for all the advice, I think I may walk away unless the garage are willing to do the VRT themselves.

Appreciate the help.

noelf

I nearly bought a 2013 VW Golf 1.6 TDI last night full vw service history also a full ' My Vehicle ' check without any issues .. fortunately I managed to get a mechanic to check it up on a ramp a lot of corrosion on the wheel hubs / suspension exhaust and a few other bits so be careful out there ..

Also the dealer wanted me to NCT the car ...

AlanDeGenerous

Is each extra that’s not considered standard on an import added on to the VRT on the calculator?

Wondering how much extra to budget bringing something in that’s fairly well equipped.

bazz26

Extras are not included on the VRT calculator as they are unique to the particular car. VRT is charged on factory extras on premium brands such as BMW, Audi and Mercedes and the VRT on them is calculated on a sliding scale over the first 4 years of the car from new.

Esel

omri wrote: »

As I understand the car has to be over 6 months old and over 6000km in order not to pay extra VRT.

You mean VAT, not 'extra VRT'.

omri

Esel wrote: »

You mean VAT, not 'extra VRT'.

Yes. I presume the VRT calculator gave me a reasonably accurate estimation of what I will have to pay and I budgeted for another 10% on top of it to be sure. But will see after the VRT inspection.

Old diesel

noelf wrote: »

I nearly bought a 2013 VW Golf 1.6 TDI last night full vw service history also a full ' My Vehicle ' check without any issues .. fortunately I managed to get a mechanic to check it up on a ramp a lot of corrosion on the wheel hubs / suspension exhaust and a few other bits so be careful out there ..

Also the dealer wanted me to NCT the car ...

Was that an Irish dealer selling a UK import?????

noelf

Old diesel wrote: »

Was that an Irish dealer selling a UK import?????

Yes .. €12400 for a cash sale ..

087brain21

omri wrote: »

Yes. I presume the VRT calculator gave me a reasonably accurate estimation of what I will have to pay and I budgeted for another 10% on top of it to be sure. But will see after the VRT inspection.

The VRT calculator was spot on when i changed my car over

about 3 versions of my car came up i went by the KW

i would print off the quote you get from the calculator to bring with you just incase they ask for more just to ask why is it more when this is the quote you got

My car has a good few extras like alloys xenon lights sat nav cruise control etc and i don't think it increased the price of VRT

087brain21

Esel wrote: »

You mean VAT, not 'extra VRT'.

Call it what you want more money for the government

blackwave

Currently looking at buying a 2015/16 Seat Leon up north in the coming weeks and just curious regarding the vrt calculator on the revenue website. When I enter the spec of a car that I am interested in I notice that revenue's open market selling price is far higher than even the price given on carzone often working out around 5/6k more expensive. I just want to check that when I actually going to do the vrt that I would be quoted a more realistic price or should bring copies of adverts of similar cars with me to backup what I think would be a fairer valuation?

bazz26

Arguing about the price of VRT at the VRT appointment is a waste of time. You will be told the computer says xxxx. If you want to appeal that price then you have to pay it up front and then lodge an appeal afterwards enclosing as much proof as you can with the appeal. Good news is that most appeals are successful once you have your ducks lined up and you will get some sort of refund.