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

Mercs350d · 05-11-2018 2:18pm

bazz26 wrote: »

They are probably gone off to get Revenue to contact Mercedes directy with the car's VIN to check what factory fitted options are on it.

Extras are depreciated over the first 2 years of the car now afaik. So on a 1 year old car it will be 50% of their original cost then the VRT percentage rate will be applied to that. So if your car's VRT rate was 26% it will be 26% of half the original total cost of the extras.

Cheers Bazz, thats what I was thinking it would be, nice to hear it from someone else.

In that case there would be a difference of about 600 euro in this method and putting it down as a premium edition, doesnt make sense but we all know the revenue database is all over the shop.

Mercs350d · 05-11-2018 2:18pm

Mc Love wrote: »

You'll still have to pay the VRT and then appeal it.

Oh yeah I know that, Ive done it once successfully in the past.

Polomurf · 05-11-2018 2:24pm

Hi Mercs350d

Found this for calculating the extra from Revenue Manual - Section 08:

"8.2.3 Establish the value of any optional extras
The next step in the valuation process is to establish if the particular vehicle has
optional extras and to attach a value to them. This is done by reference to trade
guides, supplier catalogues and other relevant source material. The extras are
depreciated (at an accelerated basis) over the first 5 years of the life of the vehicle.
Age of vehicle Reduction in OMSP of extras
Less than 3 months 0%
Less than 1 year 10%
Less than 2 years 25%
Less than 3 years 40%
Less than 4 years 55%
Over 4 years 100%
This depreciation in the value of extras is based on the age of the vehicle, which is
calculated using a specific “extras” formula and which is different from the formula
used to calculate the age of the vehicle.
First, the age of the vehicle in years is calculated using the formula:
Age in years = Year of registration in the State - Year of first registration.
Tax and Duty Manual Vehicle Registration Tax Manual Section 8
6
Then the age in months is calculated using the formula:
Age in months = (age in years * 12) + (Month of registration in the State –
Month of first registration).
Using these two pieces of information, the Year for depreciation purposes is
calculated by using the formula:
Year = (age in months/12) + 1
Using this formula, a vehicle with a first date of registration of 20/01/2013 that was
presented for registration in the State on 10/10/2013 would be deemed to be one
year but less than two years old, i.e.:
Age in years = Year of registration in the State - Year of first registration
Age in years = 2013 – 2013 = 0
Age in months = (age in years * 12) + (Month of registration in the State –
Month of first registration)
Age in months = (0 * 12) + (10-01) = 9
Year = (age in months/12) + 1
Year = (9/12) + 1 = 1
Therefore a depreciation rate of 10% would be applied to the extras."

Using the date the car was first registered you should be able to follow the above steps to calculate VRT on the extras.

Hope this helps

Mercs350d · 05-11-2018 2:36pm

Polomurf wrote: »

Hi Mercs350d

Found this for calculating the extra from Revenue Manual - Section 08:

"8.2.3 Establish the value of any optional extras
The next step in the valuation process is to establish if the particular vehicle has
optional extras and to attach a value to them. This is done by reference to trade
guides, supplier catalogues and other relevant source material. The extras are
depreciated (at an accelerated basis) over the first 5 years of the life of the vehicle.
Age of vehicle Reduction in OMSP of extras
Less than 3 months 0%
Less than 1 year 10%
Less than 2 years 25%
Less than 3 years 40%
Less than 4 years 55%
Over 4 years 100%
This depreciation in the value of extras is based on the age of the vehicle, which is
calculated using a specific “extras” formula and which is different from the formula
used to calculate the age of the vehicle.
First, the age of the vehicle in years is calculated using the formula:
Age in years = Year of registration in the State - Year of first registration.
Tax and Duty Manual Vehicle Registration Tax Manual Section 8
6
Then the age in months is calculated using the formula:
Age in months = (age in years * 12) + (Month of registration in the State –
Month of first registration).
Using these two pieces of information, the Year for depreciation purposes is
calculated by using the formula:
Year = (age in months/12) + 1
Using this formula, a vehicle with a first date of registration of 20/01/2013 that was
presented for registration in the State on 10/10/2013 would be deemed to be one
year but less than two years old, i.e.:
Age in years = Year of registration in the State - Year of first registration
Age in years = 2013 – 2013 = 0
Age in months = (age in years * 12) + (Month of registration in the State –
Month of first registration)
Age in months = (0 * 12) + (10-01) = 9
Year = (age in months/12) + 1
Year = (9/12) + 1 = 1
Therefore a depreciation rate of 10% would be applied to the extras."

Using the date the car was first registered you should be able to follow the above steps to calculate VRT on the extras.

Hope this helps

Based on that the extras will be depreciated by 25% and not 50%, guess I know when I get the call/txt with the good news

DOD555 · 06-11-2018 1:11am

Hi, going to Leeds on Thursday to pick my new (2015) BMW and I’ve a few questions.

1. The car is currently not taxed. I’ve heard that customs at the ferry terminal can give you hassle about this. Anybody any experience with this? Tax is only £30 for the year so could ask the dealer to tax it for me.

2. The garage I’m buying it from doesn’t provide a warranty once the car is exported (it’s not a Bmw main dealer). Is this common and should I be worried. I’ve the AA coming to do a full inspection tmro so hopefully that will give me peace of mind.

3. I will book in the vrt appointment as soon as I get the car. Anybody any hassle from the authorities when stopped on uk plates in Ireland even though they have the appointment booked. Or should I just limit driving it until it’s imported.

4. Any advice to reduce vrt? Is it worth appealing? Think it’s around €4716 which is a heartbreaking amount to pay over. The valuation they put on the car is €27,746 which is definitely excessive. Going for around 24/25k on done deal (I’m paying 21k all in).

Thanks.

bfa1509 · 06-11-2018 1:33am

DOD555 wrote: »

Hi, going to Leeds on Thursday to pick my new (2015) BMW and I’ve a few questions.

1. The car is currently not taxed. I’ve heard that customs at the ferry terminal can give you hassle about this. Anybody any experience with this? Tax is only £30 for the year so could ask the dealer to tax it for me.

2. The garage I’m buying it from doesn’t provide a warranty once the car is exported (it’s not a Bmw main dealer). Is this common and should I be worried. I’ve the AA coming to do a full inspection tmro so hopefully that will give me peace of mind.

3. I will book in the vrt appointment as soon as I get the car. Anybody any hassle from the authorities when stopped on uk plates in Ireland even though they have the appointment booked. Or should I just limit driving it until it’s imported.

4. Any advice to reduce vrt? Is it worth appealing? Think it’s around €4716 which is a heartbreaking amount to pay over. The valuation they put on the car is €27,746 which is definitely excessive. Going for around 24/25k on done deal (I’m paying 21k all in).

Thanks.

From my research and experience of doing it once:

1. I would get it taxed just in case. A few people have taken the risk without issue, but I don't think it's worth it. The dealer I bought the car from said that they are getting more strict in Wales and pulling more people up.

2. Yes, this is common. I'm fairly sure they can't provide you with a warranty if you are exporting. I would use this as an opportunity to knock a bit off the price as you are pretty much removing any liability on their part. This does not change the fact that dealers have to ensure that the cars are road worthy.

3. You shouldn't have any issue here as long as the appointment is booked

4. I would definitely appeal. Most people are successful when they do.

darragh o meara · 06-11-2018 4:53am

DOD555 wrote: »

Hi, going to Leeds on Thursday to pick my new (2015) BMW and I’ve a few questions.

1. The car is currently not taxed. I’ve heard that customs at the ferry terminal can give you hassle about this. Anybody any experience with this? Tax is only £30 for the year so could ask the dealer to tax it for me.

2. The garage I’m buying it from doesn’t provide a warranty once the car is exported (it’s not a Bmw main dealer). Is this common and should I be worried. I’ve the AA coming to do a full inspection tmro so hopefully that will give me peace of mind.

3. I will book in the vrt appointment as soon as I get the car. Anybody any hassle from the authorities when stopped on uk plates in Ireland even though they have the appointment booked. Or should I just limit driving it until it’s imported.

1. Taxing a car is now a lot easier than before and you can do it without a postcode now. All in, it takes 5 mins online so worth doing it when its only £30.. Cops over there can be OK when you explain the situation but you cant be guaranteed anything and your car will flag on any ANPR checkpoints (and there are lots of them) I was stopped recently 15 mins from the dealership for no tax, luckily I had taxed it before I left but it hadnt updated the ANPR system.

2. Warranty is not something that usually transfers to Ireland, even some of the main dealers warranty packages are any use once the car leaves the UK unless you are willing to bring it back to them for repairs. If the AA check comes back good, I would use the fact you wont need warranty to get a few quid off the asking price ( usually works for me )

3. Customs will generally know more about the movements of your car than you do once it lands in this country. The last time I was stopped by them, they knew I had it booked in for the appointment, when the car entered the country and where it came in... Once the car is booked in on time and you keep some proof, then you will be fine.

DOD555 · 06-11-2018 1:31pm

Thanks for both responses, very useful.

On the tax, I don't have the log book yet to tax it but I spoke to the dealer and he said we can tax it when i get there. So obviously I wont have the disk but at least it will be taxed.

Tried using the warranty to get a few quid off but they weren't budging, I even walked away for a few days but came crawling back to them as it was well priced anyway (got a full tank of fuel though).

Will def appeal, is copies of a few ads on done deal a reasonable argument, I note revenue mention dealer valuations but don't really fancy asking garages for valuations. I presume the argument has to be reasonable, or could i just choose the 3 most expensive ads i can find!

bazz26 · 06-11-2018 1:48pm

There is no tax disc in the UK.

DOD555 · 06-11-2018 1:59pm

bazz26 wrote: »

There is no tax disc in the UK.

Even better!

Mc Love · 06-11-2018 2:22pm

Yeah the bottom price is normally the price. They're not for haggling, think thats more of use when buying privately.

The AA check is quite comprehensive too. Even if you find minor niggles, they wont move on price unless it's something big.

Brussels Sprout · 06-11-2018 5:50pm

Anyone know how hard it is to get hold of an MOT cert for a car. I just had a Dekra check done and they said that there was none available. I have contacted the garage but I'm just wondering what my options are if they don't have it.

Amouar · 06-11-2018 6:35pm

Brussels Sprout wrote: »

Anyone know how hard it is to get hold of an MOT cert for a car. I just had a Dekra check done and they said that there was none available. I have contacted the garage but I'm just wondering what my options are if they don't have it.

You can ask them to put the car in a MOT test. It should be straight forward and if you're buying from a dealership, they'll be able to MOT the car in their permises as most of them are also MOT centers.

I wouldn't buy a car without a valid MOT regardless of what the Dekra report will say.

darragh o meara · 06-11-2018 10:56pm

Amouar wrote: »

You can ask them to put the car in a MOT test. It should be straight forward and if you're buying from a dealership, they'll be able to MOT the car in their permises as most of them are also MOT centers.

I wouldn't buy a car without a valid MOT regardless of what the Dekra report will say.

+1 on this, if the car is 4yrs old or more you can exchange your MOT cert for an NCT cert after you pay for the VRT

Milltown17 · 07-11-2018 10:41am

Hi people
I've being reading back through this forum and can't seem to get a answer to my questions.firstly I'm thinking of buying a two year old Hyundai and wondering if it has a service history does the Hyundai warranty still apply in Ireland after importing it. Can people recommend any good places to buy apart from car giant.what are the auction's like to buy from.

clogher71 · 07-11-2018 11:48am

Milltown17 wrote: »

Hi people
I've being reading back through this forum and can't seem to get a answer to my questions.firstly I'm thinking of buying a two year old Hyundai and wondering if it has a service history does the Hyundai warranty still apply in Ireland after importing it. Can people recommend any good places to buy apart from car giant.what are the auction's like to buy from.

Yes warranty does apply to most things except batteries Radios and a few more things. It's just a bit more of a rig ma roll. Hyundai Ireland basically don't want to be doing warranty on imports, just they have to!

Henry Ford III · 08-11-2018 3:06pm

darragh o meara wrote: »

+1 on this, if the car is 4yrs old or more you can exchange your MOT cert for an NCT cert after you pay for the VRT

Are you sure about that? It would be handy in our case.

Henry Ford III · 08-11-2018 3:11pm

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Are you sure about that? It would be handy in our case.

http://www.rsa.ie/en/RSA/Your-Vehicle/Your-Vehicle-/Changes-to-the-NCT-from-May-2018/

Great news!

nim1bdeh38l2cw · 08-11-2018 3:17pm

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Are you sure about that? It would be handy in our case.

Ah, it's "our case" now eh...

Henry Ford III · 08-11-2018 3:35pm

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Got a car specific VRT quote from Motorcheck.ie (enter reg and mileage) which would be really good if it's the final figure.

VRT was done on it today. Motorcheck figure was almost spot on.

tonbinn · 08-11-2018 6:56pm

I just came to this thread to read the importing guide which is the first post and it was really useful even if from 2004. I noticed that at that time the OP didn't feel it was really worth importing for cars under 15 to 20K. Would people generally feel this to be the case even now with the weak sterling? also, do the dealers in the 6 counties factor in the fact that they're only a skip up the road and price higher than britain as they know there'll be heaps of punters from the south? just curious as we are looking at bring ing a car down rather than going to england.

blackwave · 09-11-2018 1:26pm

tonbinn wrote: »

I just came to this thread to read the importing guide which is the first post and it was really useful even if from 2004. I noticed that at that time the OP didn't feel it was really worth importing for cars under 15 to 20K. Would people generally feel this to be the case even now with the weak sterling? also, do the dealers in the 6 counties factor in the fact that they're only a skip up the road and price higher than britain as they know there'll be heaps of punters from the south? just curious as we are looking at bring ing a car down rather than going to england.

From my research, the north is generally a little more expensive than Britain due to it being a smaller market etc. The price threshold referred to in the old post doesn't really stand now due to how much weak the pound has got recently.

tonbinn · 11-11-2018 9:14pm

thanks blackwave, i'm having second thoughts now. i went to the vrt calculator and punched in the numbers for a car priced at 14k approx stg in the north and it came up with a figure of e3344. probably cost more than in the south when thats added on:mad:

Isambard · 11-11-2018 10:01pm

the price up North isn't relevant. It's the value here that the VRT is based on, you need to check out similar cars for sale

blackwave · 11-11-2018 10:50pm

tonbinn wrote: »

thanks blackwave, i'm having second thoughts now. i went to the vrt calculator and punched in the numbers for a car priced at 14k approx stg in the north and it came up with a figure of e3344. probably cost more than in the south when thats added on:mad:

No worries. Like the above poster said you can appeal the VRT which should result in a reduction in the amount of VRT paid.

onrail · 12-11-2018 12:16am

How do people generally pay a dealer when importing from NI?

The exchange rates being offered by my bank for a wire transfer seem like a bit of a rip-off if I'm being honest

bazz26 · 12-11-2018 12:56am

Read back about 10 pages, these questions get asked and answered over and over again in this thread so the info should be there.

kuro68k · 12-11-2018 10:03am

I had the VRT inspection on Saturday. Got new plates on Sunday. Tried to pay tax online, tried to get insurance quotes, none of it worked. Seems like the car isn't on the system yet.

I'll try again today but I'm worried something went wrong.

PabloAndRoy · 12-11-2018 11:20am

onrail wrote: »

How do people generally pay a dealer when importing from NI?

The exchange rates being offered by my bank for a wire transfer seem like a bit of a rip-off if I'm being honest

Revolut is an option people seem to have used. Much cheaper than the banks, but it might be a bit slower as you need to do multiple bank transfers.

bazz26 · 12-11-2018 11:22am

The motor tax system doesn't get updated at weekend, give it another 24 hours. Insurance database can take ages depending on the insurance company and how efficient they are. You could always do it the old fashion way and just ring them and give them the reg over the phone.

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

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