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

P_Cash

Transferwise account.

I set up an account 3 days ago and also lodged 20€ to it using my visa debit.
2 working days later it still says adding?

I need to wire the price of a car, but not sure why so much trouble when I in fact used my visa debit card.

Anyone experience this?

SeamusFX

gwalk wrote: »

Pay monthly, cancel within the coling off period

Thanks for the advice, but Revolut isn't really worth it. There customer service is terrible and if something goes wrong you cant even call anyone and you can wait for ages to chat with someone. So I got the Revolut Premium, had to pay €7.99 for a month, had it less than a month and now the crooks are charging me €15.98 for a cancellation fee (WTF!)! So that's €23.97 for less than a month of poor service. I think using Transferwise or Transfermate or one of the other services would be a lot more cost effective. I had the account for three weeks, maybe the trick is to cancel within 14 days. :mad:

rodge123

Hoping to head to UK in next two weeks to complete purchase of this Audi A6.

- They sent me Audi Approved report. How can I tell Audi 149 point report is authentic / legit (Do Audi UK have records of these I can cross reference?)
- Should I get an RAC / AA / Other to do a full check on car also?
- Any other checks I should do?

Whats the best way to pay? (Bank draft very expensive)
Would prefer to be able pay when I arrive at dealer and am happy everything is as stated.
But obviously they will also want to see the money in the account before I can head off into the sunset!
Only have about 4 hours to get everything sorted in dealers before leaving for ferry. (In Hollyhead to 6am, 5 hours to dealer, 4 hours stay, 5 hours to ferry, 20:30 ferry home).
Four hours enough to get everything sorted and payment gone through?

Marcusm

I’d be surprised if you found a U.K. dealer who was willing to accept a bank draft, even drawn on a U.K. bank. It’s 12 years since I bought my first car in the U.K. and even then deals were done via debit card (if not being financed). How are you obtaining GBP? Can you do a small transfer in advance to check details. Currency services should use U.K. bank accounts so can clear quickly. Faster Payments Scheme is almost instantaneous.

dp639

rodge123 wrote: »

Hoping to head to UK in next two weeks to complete purchase of this Audi A6.

- They sent me Audi Approved report. How can I tell Audi 149 point report is authentic / legit (Do Audi UK have records of these I can cross reference?)
- Should I get an RAC / AA / Other to do a full check on car also?
- Any other checks I should do?

Whats the best way to pay? (Bank draft very expensive)
Would prefer to be able pay when I arrive at dealer and am happy everything is as stated.
But obviously they will also want to see the money in the account before I can head off into the sunset!
Only have about 4 hours to get everything sorted in dealers before leaving for ferry. (In Hollyhead to 6am, 5 hours to dealer, 4 hours stay, 5 hours to ferry, 20:30 ferry home).
Four hours enough to get everything sorted and payment gone through?

Easiest way is to do a bank transfer but that requires trusting the dealer. Is it an option to go look at the car, pay a deposit if happy and go home and do a bank transfer to complete the sale. Return to pick up the vehicle.

LillySV

“Lads looking at getting something like a BMW X5 is before our new nox charge comes about in Jan.../ just wondering what the craic is with importing the likes of a 3 litre diesel as it stands? Can I take the vrt on the ros calculator as right? Is there another 1% diesel charge on top of that rate too or does the calculator show the full charge?

Any one advise of good reliable car dealers that sleek the likes of an X5 also and would warranties be recognized here?”

Take it no one knows answer to previous post!??

Could someone advise me of good dealers to buy clean genuine car from in uk at least ?

deezell

LillySV wrote: »

“Lads looking at getting something like a BMW X5 is before our new nox charge comes about in Jan.../ just wondering what the craic is with importing the likes of a 3 litre diesel as it stands? Can I take the vrt on the ros calculator as right?
Is there another 1% diesel charge on top of that rate too or does the calculator show the full charge?

VRT correct provided your details entered are accurate. Calculator shows correct charge, it wil drop 1% in January

Any one advise of good reliable car dealers that sleek the likes of an X5 also and would warranties be recognized here?”

Read their reviews on autotrader. European manufacturers warranties are valid, but additional years may be on goodwill, or parts only.

Take it no one knows answer to previous post!??

Could someone advise me of good dealers to buy clean genuine car from in uk at least ?

If the price looks too good to be true, it's probably because it is too good to be true.

L-M

McGrath5 wrote: »

Hey all,

I'm looking at importing a 1 year old Polo, will be purchasing from a VW dealer in the UK. Does anyone know if the warranty is valid here, or is it a case of needing to go back up North if something goes wrong?

Have to ask if there’s any saving in doing that? Some serious value in 191 Polo around

deezell

Limerick man wrote: »

Have to ask if there’s any saving in doing that? Some serious value in 191 Polo around

You have to do the sums, sterling is 16.5% this moment, add vrt, add 300 costs to import, then compare to cash deal prices for same spec cars here. An earlier poster linked an Audi a6 s line he fancied, I done the sums on that and it was costing €45j, near the same as local garage stock, so if you're only saving hundreds on a purchase of tens of thousands, with a lesser warranty, I personally don't think it's worth it.

rodge123

dp639 wrote: »

Easiest way is to do a bank transfer but that requires trusting the dealer. Is it an option to go look at the car, pay a deposit if happy and go home and do a bank transfer to complete the sale. Return to pick up the vehicle.

Considered that but that’s a bit of a pain and last resort.
Strongly considering Revolut, need to look into it a little more and then see if dealer will agree to it.
Don’t think it will cost them anything, cost is bourne by me first converting my euro to sterling on it. I believe he could then transfer it out of his Revolut account to a gbp bank account free of charge.
I think the payment go through within a few hours generally.

rodge123

deezell wrote: »

You have to do the sums, sterling is 16.5% this moment, add vrt, add 300 costs to import, then compare to cash deal prices for same spec cars here. An earlier poster linked an Audi a6 s line he fancied, I done the sums on that and it was costing €45j, near the same as local garage stock, so if you're only saving hundreds on a purchase of tens of thousands, with a lesser warranty, I personally don't think it's worth it.

Guessing you’re referring to my A6 sldeezer?
Yes costing me 45k all in after getting small discount. Could not find one in Ireland thought with the same high spec and 15000km for anything Close to that, was looking at 52k+ if I remember correctly. Granted, my requirements were specific-ish and more limited stock in Ireland.

pablo128

rodge123 wrote: »

Guessing you’re referring to my A6 sldeezer?
Yes costing me 45k all in after getting small discount. Could not find one in Ireland thought with the same high spec and 15000km for anything Close to that, was looking at 52k+ if I remember correctly. Granted, my requirements were specific-ish and more limited stock in Ireland.

In my case I could easily have found a car in Ireland in my budget. I wanted the top spec model though, and in the configuration I wanted, ie petrol and manual, there was zero for sale in Ireland.

L-M

deezell wrote: »

You have to do the sums, sterling is 16.5% this moment, add vrt, add 300 costs to import, then compare to cash deal prices for same spec cars here. An earlier poster linked an Audi a6 s line he fancied, I done the sums on that and it was costing €45j, near the same as local garage stock, so if you're only saving hundreds on a purchase of tens of thousands, with a lesser warranty, I personally don't think it's worth it.

I think it’s gone to the point where people are just importing for the sake of it, without doing proper research here. There’s certain models we as a garage see imported locally, yet we try to buy them
For stock and they can’t be bought any cheaper. Especially with some seriously Low finance rates and long warranties offered by garages, the sense has to stop somewhere unless it’s a real high/odd spec car you just can’t get here.

Can’t see any sense in buying a 191 Polo when they’re a be a bucket of hire drives around soon

deezell

rodge123 wrote: »

Guessing you’re referring to my A6 sldeezer?
Yes costing me 45k all in after getting small discount. Could not find one in Ireland thought with the same high spec and 15000km for anything Close to that, was looking at 52k+ if I remember correctly. Granted, my requirements were specific-ish and more limited stock in Ireland.

The link you posted says its not available anymore, though is it still on the Salisbury dealers site? Or is this a different one for £31850/€37,145 with best rate. Have you booked it? A lot of car. There's two VRT versions in the database for the s-line 40, one with near €700 more VRT for this year and model, I had used the lower €7923 figure in my estimate, the higher one is €8590, if this were applied you'd be looking at €46k with expenses but before any discount

rodge123

deezell wrote: »

The link you posted says its not available anymore, though is it still on the Salisbury dealers site? Or is this a different one for £31850/€37,145 with best rate. Have you booked it? A lot of car. There's two VRT versions in the database for the s-line 40, one with near €700 more VRT for this year and model, I had used the lower €7923 figure in my estimate, the higher one is €8590, if this were applied you'd be looking at €46k with expenses but before any discount

Yeah that's the one, dealer and audi have it taken down now as deposit paid.
Haggled £750 off list price so was £31,100.

Trying to figure out if I can use Revolut to pay for it now, save mysely €700 in exchange fees with banks!

Anyone used Revolut to purchase a car in UK?
It possible to:
1: Transfer from my bank account to my Revolut account.
2: Convert it to a GBP account in Revolut at good exchange rate.
3: On day of purchase, transfer the full £31,100 to dealer using my GBP Revolut to Dealer Revolut?
4: If dealer wont use Revolut, do a bank transfer from my GBP Revolut to dealers bank account?

For options 3 & 4, will the transaction appears in dealers accounts within 4 hours?

Higgins5473

rodge123 wrote: »

Yeah that's the one, dealer and audi have it taken down now as deposit paid.
Haggled £750 off list price so was £31,100.

Trying to figure out if I can use Revolut to pay for it now, save mysely €700 in exchange fees with banks!

Anyone used Revolut to purchase a car in UK?
It possible to:
1: Transfer from my bank account to my Revolut account.
2: Convert it to a GBP account in Revolut at good exchange rate.
3: On day of purchase, transfer the full £31,100 to dealer using my GBP Revolut to Dealer Revolut?
4: If dealer wont use Revolut, do a bank transfer from my GBP Revolut to dealers bank account?

For options 3 & 4, will the transaction appears in dealers accounts within 4 hours?

seems you're fully committed to the purchase and done your homework with checks...in this instance, I would just use currency fair. same rates, same charges and no worries about issues of payment on the day. plus, revolut support is not good should there be an issue.

deezell

rodge123 wrote: »

......Anyone used Revolut to purchase a car in UK?
It possible to:
1: Transfer from my bank account to my Revolut account.
2: Convert it to a GBP account in Revolut at good exchange rate.
3: On day of purchase, transfer the full £31,100 to dealer using my GBP Revolut to Dealer Revolut?
4: If dealer wont use Revolut, do a bank transfer from my GBP Revolut to dealers bank account?

For options 3 & 4, will the transaction appears in dealers accounts within 4 hours?

Used revolut twice this year.

1. Yes
2. Yes, rate not so hot this minute, but revolut still the best
3. Transfer to dealer's UK account any bank, not just revolut.
4. Yes Dealer is not involved in the 'from' account, (your revolut), he only needs to check his account to see the money is there.

First transfer I done was authorised and in dealers account in about 15 minutes. Paid for the second one using the actual Revolut debit card on the card machine, like buying petrol, instant. Revolut has no practical limit on transfer or card, unlike Irish banks, with typically 10k transfer and 5k card limit. You'll have to wait to get these revolut cards posted to you, get both MasterCard and Visa to be sure. When you use revolut for the first time with a big inward transfer, it will flag money laundering checks, you might need to send them bank statements, salary slips, but then again your supplying bank should have EU verification built in, so in my case I got the request, then an hour later a message saying my funds source was verified, though I'd done nothing. Also, your own bank will likely limit your daily top up to Revolut, so lodge well in advance to have £31k in euro in the account.

deezell

You might be better using currency fair or transfer mate as Higgins5473 says, if you're unfamiliar with revolut and the app. These will have phone assistance on the day.

revoke12

rodge123 wrote: »

Yeah that's the one, dealer and audi have it taken down now as deposit paid.
Haggled £750 off list price so was £31,100.

Trying to figure out if I can use Revolut to pay for it now, save mysely €700 in exchange fees with banks!

Anyone used Revolut to purchase a car in UK?
It possible to:
1: Transfer from my bank account to my Revolut account.
2: Convert it to a GBP account in Revolut at good exchange rate.
3: On day of purchase, transfer the full £31,100 to dealer using my GBP Revolut to Dealer Revolut?
4: If dealer wont use Revolut, do a bank transfer from my GBP Revolut to dealers bank account?

For options 3 & 4, will the transaction appears in dealers accounts within 4 hours?

Never used Revoult, but used transfermate and found them excellent, they give you phone assistance and step by step through the transaction as i was transferring 13k sterling for my car a while back i was nerveous and they were great i have to say and walked me through the process.

wassie

[DELETED: Duplicate post]

wassie

rodge123 wrote: »

Whats the best way to pay? (Bank draft very expensive)
Would prefer to be able pay when I arrive at dealer and am happy everything is as stated.
But obviously they will also want to see the money in the account before I can head off into the sunset!
Only have about 4 hours to get everything sorted in dealers before leaving for ferry. (In Hollyhead to 6am, 5 hours to dealer, 4 hours stay, 5 hours to ferry, 20:30 ferry home).
Four hours enough to get everything sorted and payment gone through?

Definately can be done - My last purchase I arrived at 3.30pm - had to get all done before 5 so it can be done.

I used Transferwise and did an EFT online and payment was transferred into dealers account within a couple of minutes.

However, for every step of the way I had a backup plan so if something went astray (eg delayed flight, missed connected, payment issues etc) I wasnt stranded. Make sure you purchase flexible ferry tickets, can get accommodation close by if needed at short notice etc. Try to avoid purchasing on a Friday incase you have to wait for the next working day to resolve an issue.

P_Cash

picking up car on Monday, or hoping to if it goes as planned. no deposit paid as no need. Ford Mondeo 2016

i just check the motorcheck website and i see 2 finance agreements against it.

what should i be asking of the dealer and how do i know hes truthful.

I am aware some dealers pay off the loan once the i buy the car etc. . .

advice please, thank you. .

P_Cash

P_Cash wrote: »

picking up car on Monday, or hoping to if it goes as planned. no deposit paid as no need. Ford Mondeo 2016

i just check the motorcheck website and i see 2 finance agreements against it.

what should i be asking of the dealer and how do i know hes truthful.

I am aware some dealers pay off the loan once the i buy the car etc. . .

advice please, thank you. .

I have just been told by the dealer only one is outstanding and they will clear once i pay for the car.
aside that, i also have motorcheck checking the finances etc.

karl1973

Hi all,

Time has finally come to make a purchase after selling our own car,

I am looking at the below

Lexus RX 450h 3.5 Luxury 5dr CVT
Jan 2016
WM65 KYE
11,691 miles
2016 Black Estate
Automatic/Petrol Hybrid
Four Wheel Drive
3,456cc Engine Size/313BHP
0 - 62mph: 7.7s
47.9mpg (combined)
127g/km CO2


1-I am trying to find the Statistical Code and cost on the VRT website,am i missing something?
2-The price seems quite low,should alarm bells be ringing? £28990
3-Has anyone had any experience with imperial cars in ipswich

Thanks in advance
Karl

deezell

karl1973 wrote: »

Hi all,

Time has finally come to make a purchase after selling our own car,

I am looking at the below

Lexus RX 450h 3.5 Luxury 5dr CVT
Jan 2016
WM65 KYE
11,691 miles
2016 Black Estate
Automatic/Petrol Hybrid
Four Wheel Drive
3,456cc Engine Size/313BHP
0 - 62mph: 7.7s
47.9mpg (combined)
127g/km CO2


1-I am trying to find the Statistical Code and cost on the VRT website,am i missing something?
2-The price seems quite low,should alarm bells be ringing? £28990
3-Has anyone had any experience with imperial cars in ipswich

Thanks in advance
Karl

Just over 7 grand VRT.
Stat code 41386953
That's a 2015 (65) UK reg but it's actually a January161 Irish reg, so a year less depreciation, but another year on the reg.

As for price, with exchange rate, VRT and expenses it will set you back €41,000, which is a grand below the average price of 2016 RX on offer here, so it seems about right, albeit hardly worth the effort for so little saving, though the low miles, if genuine, look attractive. EDIT. Just checked MOT, it's only done 1500 miles since MOT last January, was it sitting in a dealers all this time?

karl1973

Thanks for that deezell

I have sent them an email re the low mileage since last jan.

It was the low mileage that attracted me to the car!

Will let you know the outcome,i have a short list of what im going for!

Karl

wassie

P_Cash wrote: »

picking up car on Monday, or hoping to if it goes as planned. no deposit paid as no need. Ford Mondeo 2016
i just check the motorcheck website and i see 2 finance agreements against it.
what should i be asking of the dealer and how do i know hes truthful.
I am aware some dealers pay off the loan once the i buy the car etc. . .

advice please, thank you. .

Sounds similar to a post a little while back.

https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=176389&page=584

Start reading from 2nd last post at bottom of page (#8759) and my reply on next page.

rodge123

So have arranged for a RAC full check of nearly new Audi A6 s line for Monday.
Was listed in used Audi approved uk site as well as dealers.

Dealer emailed me yesterday to say they called him and arranged for today (Saturday). Only seen his email today.

I emailed dealer to see if they turned up today and told him I was told Monday by RAC.

Now it’s one of three things I think:
1. Whoever called him and said Saturday was not person that was going to do the check and had a different date to actual mechanic (mechanic having correct Monday date). A genuine mix up.
2. Dealer pulling a fast one Knowing if car not ready for check on Monday then RAC won’t do it. He will claim he thought it was Saturday and wasn’t there Monday to facilitie them. I’ll forfeit fee anyway to RAC, dealer hoping I won’t want to pay for another check that may show something up he’s hiding.
3. RAC or their mechanic pulling a fast one. They hope maybe he won’t be there on Monday, therefore can’t check and it’s a handy payment to them for no work done.

Don’t know how RAC operate, do they have their own dedicated staff to check or so they contract local garages arriving the country?

deezell

rodge123 wrote: »

2. Dealer pulling a fast one.....

3. RAC or their mechanic pulling a fast one....

And earlier, " How can I tell Audi 149 point report is authentic:

Jeepers, you don't trust car dealers much!
I'm wondering if you were buying an almost new barely run in car with 2 years warranty from Joe Duffy Audi here, with it's every detail since new recorded on its computer record (nobody would bring a new 50 grand car with 3 years warranty to a chop shop to try and get unrecorded work done on it, especially bodywork), would you pay for your own report? Would the Indy testers be even able to delve as deep as a fully equipped main dealer.
Audi North Dublin actually have a dedicated assessment bay with all manner of custom Audi tools to perform these almost forensic tests. I can't imagine Audi approved UK checks are any less thorough. It's your money though, I'd rather spend it some nice Audi trivia and accessories, they have cabinets of the stuff up there.
I'll eat my words if the RAC find some big ticket item needs doing, or was done. it's always a possibility, such as a windscreen replaced with a generic by an autoglass company, or maybe owner filled a diesel with petrol, and had to call out the AA to pump it out or something along those lines done unbeknownst to the dealer.

rodge123

deezell wrote: »

Jeepers, you don't trust car dealers much!
I'm wondering if you were buying an almost new barely run in car with 2 years warranty from Joe Duffy Audi here, with it's every detail since new recorded on its computer record (nobody would bring a new 50 grand car with 3 years warranty to a chop shop to try and get unrecorded work done on it, especially bodywork), would you pay for your own report? Would the Indy testers be even able to delve as deep as a fully equipped main dealer.
Audi North Dublin actually have a dedicated assessment bay with all manner of custom Audi tools to perform these almost forensic tests. I can't imagine Audi approved UK checks are any less thorough. It's your money though, I'd rather spend it some nice Audi trivia and accessories, they have cabinets of the stuff up there.
I'll eat my words if the RAC find some big ticket item needs doing, or was done. it's always a possibility, such as a windscreen replaced with a generic by an autoglass company, or maybe owner filled a diesel with petrol, and had to call out the AA to pump it out or something along those lines done unbeknownst to the dealer.

What can I say, I'm a paranoid so and so...especially when I'm spending 45k on something!
I've little to no experience dealing with car dealers or the industry in general so makes me more cautious. Only driving 5 years and it's a hand me down 2000 ford focus!

Based on Dealers online presence, been on Audi Approved and dealing with the Sales Person so far...then I would also very surprised if anything wrong with car.
Just can't bring myself to not be 110% safe and get an RAC check on it.

AA check showed up an outstanding Finance Alert:
VOLKSWAGEN BANK GMBH UK BRANCH
Agreement type: Unit Stocking
If you are buying from a dealer, you may come across this type of finance on your Vehicle History report. Talk it over with your dealer, check their liability and get confirmation in writing that they will clear the finance on the car you are buying. Unit Stocking is a common type of finance agreement used by motor dealers to enable them to fund the vehicles on their forecourt.

Basically just do as they say and get it in writing from dealer that they will clear the finance?