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

Esel

V5C UK registration document? It should be on that, and you need this doc to register here.

bazz26

V5c registration document or certificate of permanent export from DVLA.

Geuze

My father is considering buying a new Skoda Karoq.

It would be his first SUV, has owned several Octavias up to now.

No trade in, straight cash deal.

The 1.0L TSi petrol Ambition trim spec is 28,350 + 750 delivery = 29100, less any straight deal discount.

He got 8.26% discount last time, so assuming the same again now means 26,772, say 27k?


Now thinking of buying a 1 or 2yo S/H model from NI, to avoid the early years depreciation.

I welcome any advice, thank you.


I checked www.usedcarsni.com, just 4 Karoqs diesel, I assume this is because it was launched in 2017?

And only 1 of the 1.0L TSi engine.

Mc Love

You might have to try the mainland. Autotrader seemingly have blocked me but I think its more down to my location.

michellie

Horse1920 wrote: »

Hi All,
What "revenue approved" documentation do you need to prove co2 when presenting for VRT? Cannot find any definitive answer on revenue's Web site or through a good portion of this forum, sorry if its been answered before

Thank you

If its a UK import its on the V5. If not a spec sheet from the manufacturer from a main dealer.

Isambard

Mc Love wrote: »

You might have to try the mainland. Autotrader seemingly have blocked me but I think its more down to my location.

Mainland?

Mc Love

Isambard wrote: »

Mainland?

The UK

cython

Mc Love wrote: »

The UK

Great Britain

UK is GB and NI, after all

gaillimh

Two quick questions lads.
The dealer I’m dealing with has a not very well advertised Admin Fee of £195 that they threw onto the balance due on the quote they provided me with.
When I queried this I was told it was optional and covers various things such as re-valeting the car & other things.
Their last message indicated that if I wished to not avail of it I would have to do two things...
Tax the car and complete the V5 document.

On taxing the car I know this can be paid online via card - I assume you don’t need to provide a Uk address to pay this for 6 months?
Secondly, any idea what they mean by me having to “complete the V5 document”?
Not sure what that means?

Cheers

Isambard

sounds like there's a third option of walking away

Gumbo

gaillimh wrote: »

Two quick questions lads.
The dealer I’m dealing with has a not very well advertised Admin Fee of £195 that they threw onto the balance due on the quote they provided me with.
When I queried this I was told it was optional and covers various things such as re-valeting the car & other things.
Their last message indicated that if I wished to not avail of it I would have to do two things...
Tax the car and complete the V5 document.

On taxing the car I know this can be paid online via card - I assume you don’t need to provide a Uk address to pay this for 6 months?
Secondly, any idea what they mean by me having to “complete the V5 document”?
Not sure what that means?

Cheers

Buy another car.
You need to take home the full V5 document. There’s nothing on the V5 for you to fill in.

Mc Love

cython wrote: »

Great Britain

UK is GB and NI, after all

Not to be a pedantic Pat, but NI would disagree as they said The United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.

Isambard

Mc Love wrote: »

Not to be a pedantic Pat, but NI would disagree as they said The United Kingdom and Northern Ireland.

Great Britain is "the other island" ie the big island in the British Isles and therefore if you are going to refer to that island as the "Mainland" , GB is correct.

Mc Love

Isambard wrote: »

Great Britain is "the other island" ie the big island in the British Isles and therefore if you are going to refer to that island as the "Mainland" , GB is correct.

The British and Irish Isles

Isambard

i see the smilie but you are mixing up the Political and Geographical descriptions of these isles. The British come from Great Britain, the Irish from Ireland. Together they are the British Isles and describing them as the British and Irish Isles not only gives the Irish a claim but also gives the British a claim over this isle, not what you are intending I'm sure.

darragh o meara

gaillimh wrote: »

Two quick questions lads.
The dealer I’m dealing with has a not very well advertised Admin Fee of £195 that they threw onto the balance due on the quote they provided me with.
When I queried this I was told it was optional and covers various things such as re-valeting the car & other things.
Their last message indicated that if I wished to not avail of it I would have to do two things...
Tax the car and complete the V5 document.

On taxing the car I know this can be paid online via card - I assume you don’t need to provide a Uk address to pay this for 6 months?
Secondly, any idea what they mean by me having to “complete the V5 document”?
Not sure what that means?

Cheers

Bloody hate those “admin” fees that they slip in at the end, having said that I usually manage to get out of paying them by negotiating a discount of equal or more value off the car. A salesperson recently told me that in a lot of dealerships the admin fee is their commission for the sale.

You need the full V5 front sheet, the back one isn’t as important. If they have an issue with you taking it ask them to contact the DVLA to check the process. If they still refuse, I would walk away as waiting to get anything back from the DVLA will take ages and will possibly pit you outside the 30 day period to VRT the car.

gaillimh

darragh o meara wrote: »

Bloody hate those “admin” fees that they slip in at the end, having said that I usually manage to get out of paying them by negotiating a discount of equal or more value off the car. A salesperson recently told me that in a lot of dealerships the admin fee is their commission for the sale.

You need the full V5 front sheet, the back one isn’t as important. If they have an issue with you taking it ask them to contact the DVLA to check the process. If they still refuse, I would walk away as waiting to get anything back from the DVLA will take ages and will possibly pit you outside the 30 day period to VRT the car.

Thanks for the reply. They aren’t refusing to give me the V5C. Doesnt the dealer usually fill out some section of this form and send to DVLA?
It’s this that I would have to do myself.
Any issues with the buyer (me) doing this rather than the dealer?
Sorry for all the questions - not too experienced with importing.

Isambard

no in the case of someone from abroad buying, the V5C should be handed to the buyer.

Access

Just want to clarify i have the right DEKRA site...

https://www.dekra-expert.co.uk

And which test would people recommend?

bazz26

gaillimh wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. They aren’t refusing to give me the V5C. Doesnt the dealer usually fill out some section of this form and send to DVLA?
It’s this that I would have to do myself.
Any issues with the buyer (me) doing this rather than the dealer?
Sorry for all the questions - not too experienced with importing.

Point them to their own DVLA legislation below around the procedure for selling a car to a non UK resident buyer who is permanently exporting it:

https://www.gov.uk/taking-vehicles-out-of-uk

If you bought a vehicle in the UK but do not have a UK address
You need to:

take the full vehicle log book (V5C) from the seller (not just the new keeper’s slip)
send the V5C/4 ‘notification of permanent export’ to DVLA
find out how to register the vehicle in the country you’re taking it to
Do not buy a vehicle without a log book (V5C).

If they continue to act the dick around trying to get another £195 from you then just look elsewhere.

gaillimh

bazz26 wrote: »

Point them to their own DVLA legislation below around the procedure for selling a car to a non UK resident buyer who is permanently exporting it:

https://www.gov.uk/taking-vehicles-out-of-uk

If you bought a vehicle in the UK but do not have a UK address
You need to:

take the full vehicle log book (V5C) from the seller (not just the new keeper’s slip)
send the V5C/4 ‘notification of permanent export’ to DVLA
find out how to register the vehicle in the country you’re taking it to
Do not buy a vehicle without a log book (V5C).

If they continue to act the dick around trying to get another £195 from you then just look elsewhere.

Thanks bazz.
Sounds from that like I as the buyer can send on the V5C/4 section to the DVLA myself (i.e. it doesn’t have to be the seller/dealer though they usually would do this).
Not a huge deal as was planning to apply for tax refund anyway when I get home.
Thanks again.

Gumbo

gaillimh wrote: »

Thanks bazz.
Sounds from that like I as the buyer can send on the V5C/4 section to the DVLA myself (i.e. it doesn’t have to be the seller/dealer though they usually would do this).
Not a huge deal as was planning to apply for tax refund anyway when I get home.
Thanks again.

I took home the complete V5 last week.
I filled out the tear off strip for permanent export and posted it back with a letter requesting a vehicle tax refund myself.

Worth a shot.

It makes no difference who posts back the export slip as when you VRT the car, Revenue will notify DVLA also.

oodles19

Quick one lads, has anyone used Currencyfair as opposed to Transfermate to make a purchase over in the UK? They seem to be offering slightly better exchange rates at the moment, which in light of the instability of Sterling might be useful to take advantage of.

Isambard

gaillimh wrote: »

Thanks bazz.
Sounds from that like I as the buyer can send on the V5C/4 section to the DVLA myself (i.e. it doesn’t have to be the seller/dealer though they usually would do this).
Not a huge deal as was planning to apply for tax refund anyway when I get home.
Thanks again.

That section is for the registered owner to export the car personally. You don't need to send anything to the DVLA.

wallpapers123

Does one need to apply for a UK visa if planning to go to any city in NI and drive the vehicle by himself?
In my case, I'm not an Irish citizen, but residing in Ireland on work permit.

Has someone faced a similar situation?

Amouar

wallpapers123 wrote: »

Does one need to apply for a UK visa if planning to go to any city in NI and drive the vehicle by himself?
In my case, I'm not an Irish citizen, but residing in Ireland on work permit.

Has someone faced a similar situation?

You need a visa to go to NI/UK if you're non EU citizen or a citizen of a country requiring Visa.

DieselPowered

gaillimh wrote: »

On taxing the car I know this can be paid online via card - I assume you don’t need to provide a Uk address to pay this for 6 months?

The never-ending "should I tax the car" question before export to Ireland.

I'm not condoning driving without tax but:

- UK garage should not be telling you to tax a car for export (its your choice)
- Having brought a few cars in from the UK, never taxed one in UK leaving the forecourt and never been stopped heading for the boat.(taxed in IRL allright)
- Anyone here that has been stopped has shown the police the ticket for the ferry and that is usually sufficient to be on your way without any
issues.

I can't remember if anyone has been stopped for no tax heading to the ferry for export and still had problems with the Police but don't let the garage dictate what you should do.

gaillimh

DieselPowered wrote: »

The never-ending "should I tax the car" question before export to Ireland.

I'm not condoning driving without tax but:

- UK garage should not be telling you to tax a car for export (its your choice)
- Having brought a few cars in from the UK, never taxed one in UK leaving the forecourt and never been stopped heading for the boat.(taxed in IRL allright)
- Anyone here that has been stopped has shown the police the ticket for the ferry and that is usually sufficient to be on your way without any
issues.

I can't remember if anyone has been stopped for no tax heading to the ferry for export and still had problems with the Police but don't let the garage dictate what you should do.

Yeah I was leaning towards taxing it (and claiming tax back) purely because I’m not getting the ferry until the following morning.
Not sure if this makes any odds or not though.

paddydriver

Hello All,

Another successful trip to UK yesterday and purchase. Both our cars refreshed now in last 12 months from UK. Thanks for all the info I have gathered on here over time and happy to return anything back to anyone.

For info - started the exchange this time around via Currencyfair but did 2nd lot of conversion using Revolut. Would strongly recommend the Revolut option for anyone considering it. I did buy my A6 using Currencyfair back last March but have since got more familiar with Revolut and rates are much better. Works similar way but is all done via the mobile phone app whereas Currencyfair have a full website based portal.

I didn't tax the car - took the chance and was OK. I flew over yesterday morning, picked up car and then ferry back from Holyhead last night.

I did Stenaline and booked Premium as this gives much more flexibility for late changes and also the Stena Lounge makes trip more comfortable.

Was interesting to see so many "single drivers" in varying Audi's, BMW's and Volkswagen's etc on the ferry - just taking look at a few and all very clean interiors with just coffee cup in the centre console.. my thinking is all bringing their new car back..

Got full V5 cert and dealer said no need for them to keep any part of it as they just do their bit and don't need the actual cert - this was same when I got my Audi in March.

Now gotta sort out VRT... this will be interesting. At last min I upped to a Jan 2018 from a March 2017 - dealer I had deposit down with got the newer car in literally the day I put down deposit so I changed to the 2018 and then got the Dekra check done on Thurs. I did not get the report until I was sat down with sales guy doing paperwork but I had talked to engineer on Thurs evening and he told me all the relevant bits.

Can't fault Dekra and for peace of mind it is worth it. He spotted absolutely everything! Even slight scuffs on underneath of bumper (totally out of sight) and found a nail in one of the tyres too.. was very grateful for that and all was sorted by time I picked up. It was a nail head and had not pierced the tyre but all the same would not have been good to get a puncture on way to ferry.

Anyway, home late last night... early this morning. Wife delighted with her new car. Now onto the VRT process.

Happy to answer any questions or provide any help. This is 3rd car I have imported - once in 2009 (got 95p for the €!) and 2 in last 12 months... we are keepers so I won't be changing again for another 6-8 years.

Regards
Paddy

bod71

paddydriver wrote: »

Hello All,

Another successful trip to UK yesterday and purchase. Both our cars refreshed now in last 12 months from UK. Thanks for all the info I have gathered on here over time and happy to return anything back to anyone.

For info - started the exchange this time around via Currencyfair but did 2nd lot of conversion using Revolut. Would strongly recommend the Revolut option for anyone considering it. I did buy my A6 using Currencyfair back last March but have since got more familiar with Revolut and rates are much better. Works similar way but is all done via the mobile phone app whereas Currencyfair have a full website based portal.

I didn't tax the car - took the chance and was OK. I flew over yesterday morning, picked up car and then ferry back from Holyhead last night.

I did Stenaline and booked Premium as this gives much more flexibility for late changes and also the Stena Lounge makes trip more comfortable.

Was interesting to see so many "single drivers" in varying Audi's, BMW's and Volkswagen's etc on the ferry - just taking look at a few and all very clean interiors with just coffee cup in the centre console.. my thinking is all bringing their new car back..

Got full V5 cert and dealer said no need for them to keep any part of it as they just do their bit and don't need the actual cert - this was same when I got my Audi in March.

Now gotta sort out VRT... this will be interesting. At last min I upped to a Jan 2018 from a March 2017 - dealer I had deposit down with got the newer car in literally the day I put down deposit so I changed to the 2018 and then got the Dekra check done on Thurs. I did not get the report until I was sat down with sales guy doing paperwork but I had talked to engineer on Thurs evening and he told me all the relevant bits.

Can't fault Dekra and for peace of mind it is worth it. He spotted absolutely everything! Even slight scuffs on underneath of bumper (totally out of sight) and found a nail in one of the tyres too.. was very grateful for that and all was sorted by time I picked up. It was a nail head and had not pierced the tyre but all the same would not have been good to get a puncture on way to ferry.

Anyway, home late last night... early this morning. Wife delighted with her new car. Now onto the VRT process.

Happy to answer any questions or provide any help. This is 3rd car I have imported - once in 2009 (got 95p for the €!) and 2 in last 12 months... we are keepers so I won't be changing again for another 6-8 years.

Regards
Paddy[/QUOT
Congrats on the car, can i ask what revolut card you used, im doing the same in a few weeks and i have the standard revolut card. Is there a max you can spend on the card and was it instant? Thanks.