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

Grumpypants

Brussels Sprout wrote: »

Does anyone have any experience of buying privately from the UK?

I'm just wondering should I be ruling it out entirely. I am particularly interested if any of the following would present extra difficulties for that kind of sale:

• obtaining the V5C form
• Paying the short term Motor Tax
• Getting an AA/Dekra check done
• Making the payment to the seller

If you have done this in the past would you mind briefly outlining the steps you went though with the above?

Done it about 3 weeks ago and it went great. I made a longer post a few pages back, but the short version.

I found a seller through the EV community. I was happier buying from someone with a few years history on the speak ev forums and with an interest in evs. So it wasn't just some random chancer or dealer who barely checks over the cars they get in.

Got the AA test done and a motor check. Once both came back ok i booked the travel. I got the seller to agree to hold it for me if I paid for the AA test. With the deal being I would buy provided nothing came up on the inspection.

Sent him the DVLA booklet that explains that I take the V5C with me so he was happy with that.

I didn't pay the tax, technically it doesn't transfer but the system doesn't know that until the sale is reported at which time i was long home. Took the chance.

Payment was easy, used a draft. His bank was open Sat morning so they verified it was all ok and I hit the road.

stuba

Hoping to buy a car from Charles Hurst in Belfast this week or next. Is transferwise the way to go? Is it an instant transfer or does it take a day or two to hit the garages account?

liam7831

stuba wrote: »

Hoping to buy a car from Charles Hurst in Belfast this week or next. Is transferwise the way to go? Is it an instant transfer or does it take a day or two to hit the garages account?

Just pay by debit card ?

darragh o meara

stuba wrote: »

Hoping to buy a car from Charles Hurst in Belfast this week or next. Is transferwise the way to go? Is it an instant transfer or does it take a day or two to hit the garages account?

If you get the deal done and notify Transfer mate before 1, it will be in the account within 3 hrs. Otherwise, its not guaranteed for the same day but it has worked out for me in the past but on these occasions it was about 2.30 when I got in touch, I doubt you'd be able to ring at 4 and hope for same day transfer. If in doubt, ring them.
Also, I believe Revolut's turbo transfer is not time restrained, so these may be worth a look.

Brussels Sprout

I have a UK bank account (with Llyods bank) with an associated Visa debit card.

Should that make things easier for me? As in I could transfer money into that with Transferwise from my Irish account

I’m trying to find out what the daily limit is for debit card transactions but all I can seem to find are daily ATM withdrawal limits.

Has anyone paid for a car with a UK debit card or even withdrawn the money in cash from a local branch before?

omri

If you have to transfer € to your UK account it will cost you few hundred in fees, depending on the amount.

Transferwise, depending on the limits of your irish bank, is easy enough, I made transfer to their Deutche Bank account which arrived same day and once it had they sent the transfer to UK account which hit dealers account same or next day.

Marcusm

omri wrote: »

If you have to transfer € to your UK account it will cost you few hundred in fees, depending on the amount.

Transferwise, depending on the limits of your irish bank, is easy enough, I made transfer to their Deutche Bank account which arrived same day and once it had they sent the transfer to UK account which hit dealers account same or next day.

But the poster could simply have it transferred to his own U.K. account by transferwise and then not stress over whether it gets to the dealer in time.

omri

Marcusm wrote: »

But the poster could simply have it transferred to his own U.K. account by transferwise and then not stress over whether it gets to the dealer in time.

If it's the timing that's most important then sure, I saved 700ish by using transferwise rather than bank to bank including the inter banking currency exchange rate (if not more), and it didn't matter when it arrived as the dealer needed the accounts department to confirm the payment so I had to wait an extra day for that.

Fingal Raven1

Hi

I'm bringing my car back on Thursday(its a 2014 cactus)

Ive asked the dealer for the following

1. V5C Document – Hold onto my half
2. Evidence of previous registration ( foreign certificate of registration, a certificate of permanent exportation or a certificate of de-registration)
3. The vehicle invoice

Will ferry tickets suffice for shipping details?
Do I need a document approved by the revenue commissioner with the C02 details and if I do where do I get this?

In terms of insurance, I'm going to transfer my insurance today but only make it start on Thursday. can I drive over there without insurance disks?

Thanks in advance for your help
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apologies about the font

Grumpypants

Fingal Raven1 wrote: »

Hi

I'm bringing my car back on Thursday(its a 2014 cactus)

Ive asked the dealer for the following

1. V5C Document – Hold onto my half
2. Evidence of previous registration ( foreign certificate of registration, a certificate of permanent exportation or a certificate of de-registration)
3. The vehicle invoice

Will ferry tickets suffice for shipping details?
Do I need a document approved by the revenue commissioner with the C02 details and if I do where do I get this?

In terms of insurance, I'm going to transfer my insurance today but only make it start on Thursday. can I drive over there without insurance disks?

Thanks in advance for your help
[/B][/B][/B][/B]

apologies about the font

Ferry ticket is perfect it will have the car reg on it.
Document with the CO2 is the V5C cert.
You can transfer the insurance and drive without a disk, but if you met a real stickler of a cop he could be prick about it but unlikely.

Fingal Raven1

Grumpypants wrote: »

Ferry ticket is perfect it will have the car reg on it.
Document with the CO2 is the V5C cert.
You can transfer the insurance and drive without a disk, but if you met a real stickler of a cop he could be prick about it but unlikely.

great stuff

thank you

Isambard

there is no half of the V5C, you need it all. If they want to keep the export slip, that's fine, but you absolutely need the main section of the document.

The Dealer won't be able to give you a cert of export, that's a DVLA function. you don't want to go there as you don't need it if you get the V5C. If you don't get the V5C, you'll have to apply for a Cert of Export and that will take time and is likely to cost you VRT penalty as a result. Get the V5C

If you're driving on UK roads, you need tax, some dealers will do this for you. Don't risk getting the car seized. You also need written proof that it's insured.

stuba

Can anyone tell me what exactly I will need to bring with me and what I will need to get from the dealer when I collect my car from the dealer in Belfast on Thursday? No funny answers like bring the money and collect the car please 😂

Bobeagleburger

Anyone pay with credit/debit card?

Amouar

RoboKlopp wrote: »

Anyone pay with credit/debit card?

I paid with Revolut and N26 debit card.

Amouar

stuba wrote: »

Can anyone tell me what exactly I will need to bring with me and what I will need to get from the dealer when I collect my car from the dealer in Belfast on Thursday? No funny answers like bring the money and collect the car please ��

Full V5C, dated invoice, MOT certificate.

Marcusm

omri wrote: »

If it's the timing that's most important then sure, I saved 700ish by using transferwise rather than bank to bank including the inter banking currency exchange rate (if not more), and it didn't matter when it arrived as the dealer needed the accounts department to confirm the payment so I had to wait an extra day for that.

You’re missing my point; i’m Suggesting the other poster use Atransferwise to transfer from his Irish EUR account to his own GBP account, ie he makes the saving versus the bank transfer rate and keeps simplicity of payment methods.

PaulKK

Amouar wrote: »

I paid with Revolut and N26 debit card.

Did the garage charge any fees for that? You paid by debit card in two payments? As in not a bank transfer?

Amouar

PaulKK wrote: »

Did the garage charge any fees for that? You paid by debit card in two payments? As in not a bank transfer?

No fees as they were considered debit cards. Payment was split between the 2 cards as the daily limit in each of them is 5k euros.

liam7831

RoboKlopp wrote:

Anyone pay with credit/debit card?

Ya Bank of Ireland no probs

Bobeagleburger

liam7831 wrote: »

Ya Bank of Ireland no probs

What's the charge?

Just wondering what's the easiest, and also the cheapest methods peoppe have used recently.

Fingal Raven1

Isambard wrote: »

there is no half of the V5C, you need it all. If they want to keep the export slip, that's fine, but you absolutely need the main section of the document.

The Dealer won't be able to give you a cert of export, that's a DVLA function. you don't want to go there as you don't need it if you get the V5C. If you don't get the V5C, you'll have to apply for a Cert of Export and that will take time and is likely to cost you VRT penalty as a result. Get the V5C

If you're driving on UK roads, you need tax, some dealers will do this for you. Don't risk getting the car seized. You also need written proof that it's insured.

Thanks

So what I need from the dealer is the V5 document and the invoice? that's it?
I paid the tax already

Amouar

Fingal Raven1 wrote: »

Thanks

So what I need from the dealer is the V5 document and the invoice? that's it?
I paid the tax already

+ MOT certificate.

Fingal Raven1

Amouar wrote: »

+ MOT certificate.

Thanks

darragh o meara

Heading over to buy a car using transfermate in a private sale, I usually buy from dealers so no real issue but in this case I will have a delay between authorising the payment and it clearing.

Have any of us done this in the past and what do ye do while waiting for the money to clear? Last thing I want to do is to is for the buyer to disappear once he receives the money, preferably I'd like to stay around while the transfer goes through but knows it's no easy done if the payment takes 3 hrs to clear.

plodder

So, my export cert arrived from the DVLA today. To say I am relieved is an understatement. It was a stupid mistake to make, but it looks like if you are quick and the case is straightforward they can turn it around quickly (10 days in this case). If anyone else is in this situation, you need to get hold of the right form. So google "application for certificate of permanent export V561 when you do not have a vehicle registration certificate v5c": currently available HERE and you should see a PDF that you print and fill out. You can scan that and email it to Exports.Dept@dvla.gsi.gov.uk also asking (nicely) in the email what you are after. Confusingly, there is a page that google will throw up which says the form above is no longer used, which was certainly not the case for me any way.

I wouldn't recommend depending on this. As others have seen other things can go wrong in the VRT system, and you don't want to spend two or more weeks sitting around waiting for an export cert if it can be easily avoided.

donkey balls

I'm l am looking to get an A6 Quattro 17/18 reg over in the UK, I saw a few from main dealers websites called them the other day with some saying they don't sell to Southern Ireland .
The sales guy said it is a company policy and seemed a bit miffed by it, Could I use my mates address in the North ? or England?

darragh o meara

donkey balls wrote: »

I'm l am looking to get an A6 Quattro 17/18 reg over in the UK, I saw a few from main dealers websites called them the other day with some saying they don't sell to Southern Ireland .
The sales guy said it is a company policy and seemed a bit miffed by it, Could I use my mates address in the North ? or England?

Yes, I have done this once or twice, best to do it to a UK address though as NI have a different system as far as I know. The only downside is that you wont be leaving with the V5 document and will need to wait for the DVLA to send it to your mates address and him to send it to you. In my experience this can take anything from a week to 3 weeks so would be cutting it fine with getting the car cleared within the 30days here. If you go down this route make sure and take a copy of the V5 and use this to at least book the appointment with the NCT and push it out as far as you can (You will need to ring them to get anything beyond a week or two I've found)


I'm not sure what the big deal is selling a car to Southern Ireland, in my eyes a sale is a sale!! If its from a main dealer, Id be giving Audi UK a call and ask them if this is a policy that they impose.

omri

Also double check the warranty with Audi, as I’m not sure if it covers the car in Ireland. I heard some conflicting versions, from not getting the warranty here if the car was bought in the UK to just getting few years of cover in Ireland with the last year only in UK.

Isambard

darragh o meara wrote: »

Yes, I have done this once or twice, best to do it to a UK address though as NI have a different system as far as I know. The only downside is that you wont be leaving with the V5 document and will need to wait for the DVLA to send it to your mates address and him to send it to you. In my experience this can take anything from a week to 3 weeks so would be cutting it fine with getting the car cleared within the 30days here. If you go down this route make sure and take a copy of the V5 and use this to at least book the appointment with the NCT and push it out as far as you can (You will need to ring them to get anything beyond a week or two I've found)


I'm not sure what the big deal is selling a car to Southern Ireland, in my eyes a sale is a sale!! If its from a main dealer, Id be giving Audi UK a call and ask them if this is a policy that they impose.

I suspect if you asked them why, they wouldn't know, but I think it is that they want to get the car out of their name in case of fines etc for no tax. They probably got burnt before and don't want the hassle. In theory, asking them to tax it for you should get around their policy.