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

P_Cash

So not many questions left on Importing I hope.
I'm now down to "whats the earliest time you can rock up to the port at holyhead at".

I know ideally 30 mins prior to flight, but not much point in sitting in McDonalds car park when I could just sit in que at holyhead.

not much one can do waiting for a 8pm ferry with so much time to spare.

Id like to know what other drivers have done with this piece of the puzzle, will i just aim to arrive at the port for 6pm and sit back and relax in the que.

deezell

P_Cash wrote: »

So not many questions left on Importing I hope.
I'm now down to "whats the earliest time you can rock up to the port at holyhead at".

I know ideally 30 mins prior to flight, but not much point in sitting in McDonalds car park when I could just sit in que at holyhead.

not much one can do waiting for a 8pm ferry with so much time to spare.

Id like to know what other drivers have done with this piece of the puzzle, will i just aim to arrive at the port for 6pm and sit back and relax in the que.

30 mins before sailing is the latest boarding time, not earliest. Cars will board almost as soon as the last inward car has left the ferry, if you are a couple of hours before boarding, get some booze in Asda beside Macs, or the Morrison's or Tesco Extra just a little further out. You'll save a good few quid on wine. You have a car boot, plenty of space!

wassie

I've generally arrived around 2 hours early just to allow a bit of time for delays. The mere fact I can get a couple of hours to myself these days to read a book or watch a movie on my tablet without interruption is priceless!

May also depend also if you are booked for premium/priority or not.
If no - then arriving early is good to ensure you are at the head of the queue.
If yes - not really a bother getting too early as your going to be first of the boat at the other end anyway.

beaver111

deezell wrote: »

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.

Putting money in my revolut card, should i leave it in euros for transaction or change to sterling beforehand

rodge123

Will I have to purchase 1 month's UK motor tax seen as I'm be diving it across to Ireland?
RAC guy that called me today also mentioned that as it's a newish car, there is an additional large lump sum of tax due on it because it was over £40k when new. He wasn't sure if that applied when exporting it?

pablo128

rodge123 wrote: »

Will I have to purchase 1 month's UK motor tax seen as I'm be diving it across to Ireland?
RAC guy that called me today also mentioned that as it's a newish car, there is an additional large lump sum of tax due on it because it was over £40k when new. He wasn't sure if that applied when exporting it?

You have to put a minimum of 6 months tax on it. Apparently you can claim some of it back once the car is registered here. I didn't bother. I paid 60 something pounds for the 6 months tax.

deezell

beaver111 wrote: »

Putting money in my revolut card, should i leave it in euros for transaction or change to sterling beforehand

Rates currently stiff enough, 16.5% plus 0.5% on anything over £5000 unless you upgrade to premium card. If you exchange at weekends from midnight Friday there's another 0.5% to stop speculation losses while markets closed. Keep an eye on rates but there won't be anything major with UK election not for a month.

un5byh7sqpd2x0

P_Cash wrote: »

So not many questions left on Importing I hope.
I'm now down to "whats the earliest time you can rock up to the port at holyhead at".

I know ideally 30 mins prior to flight, but not much point in sitting in McDonalds car park when I could just sit in que at holyhead.

You'll be a long time waiting for a flight from Holyhead!

P_Cash

Car brought in yesterday 11th, and VRT booked for 25th, I'm not leaving myself short, it was the first availability.

I should have it sorted by 10th

deezell

P_Cash wrote: »

Car brought in yesterday 11th, and VRT booked for 25th, I'm not leaving myself short, it was the first availability.

I should have it sorted by 10th

You'll have till the 10th to pay the VRT, then you'll get reg number, and a little later licencing cert. You won't have to pay road tax for November if you wait till after 1st Dec to pay VRT afaik.

Roadtoad

Whats the best (legal) value to pop in the boot coming back these days?
I drink a bit of wine, never more than €15_ a bottle.
Cigarettes (to oblige friends)?
Anything else in consumer bits?

Regards, RT

bazz26

Dude, I think you got the wrong thread. This thread is in the motors forum and about importing cars from the UK.

Roadtoad

bazz26 wrote: »

Dude, I think you got the wrong thread. This thread is in the motors forum and about importing cars from the UK.

Thanks buddy. I figured it out eventually. I'll start a thread on things to put in the back of cars coming through Holyhead, without kids, luggage etc.

P_Cash

Roadtoad wrote: »

Whats the best (legal) value to pop in the boot coming back these days?
I drink a bit of wine, never more than €15_ a bottle.
Cigarettes (to oblige friends)?
Anything else in consumer bits?

Regards, RT

I'd never buy anything in the UK, go to Spain for drink.

michellie

Revenues website has been down all afternoon. This means the VRT calculator hasn't been working (odd minutes here and there it does) this also means VRT staff cant process registrations. Hopefully will be back working tomorrow...

Marcusm

Roadtoad wrote: »

Whats the best (legal) value to pop in the boot coming back these days?
I drink a bit of wine, never more than €15_ a bottle.
Cigarettes (to oblige friends)?
Anything else in consumer bits?

Regards, RT

Cigarettes are probably more expensive in U.K.

Firstly fill up with some nice 97 RON petrol (even if buying a diesel).

Biggest price difference on wine will be on champagne.

Mynameistom

deezell wrote: »

You'll have till the 10th to pay the VRT, then you'll get reg number, and a little later licencing cert. You won't have to pay road tax for November if you wait till after 1st Dec to pay VRT afaik.

When do you have to start paying road tax ? when you have irish reg or the log book ?

also if a car is purchased but not brought home until a month later will the Vrt crowd look at that ?

thanks:pac:

deezell

Mynameistom wrote: »

When do you have to start paying road tax ? when you have irish reg or the log book ?

also if a car is purchased but not brought home until a month later will the Vrt crowd look at that ?

thanks:pac:

From the month you pay the VRT in. You can tax it about two working days after you pay VRT, online using last digits of VIN as PIN.
Date of import on the ferry ticket should do if you leave it in UK. You could then delay VRT appointment till January, the VRT might be less as it's another years depreciation, VRT rate on diesels drop by 1%, but Nox charge kicks in

User1998

michellie wrote: »

Revenues website has been down all afternoon. This means the VRT calculator hasn't been working (odd minutes here and there it does) this also means VRT staff cant process registrations. Hopefully will be back working tomorrow...

If the calculator is down they will process your vrt details and you’ll have to come back another day to find out the amount and pay

michellie

User1998 wrote: »

If the calculator is down they will process your vrt details and you’ll have to come back another day to find out the amount and pay

Yep

bazz26

Mynameistom wrote: »

When do you have to start paying road tax ? when you have irish reg or the log book ?

also if a car is purchased but not brought home until a month later will the Vrt crowd look at that ?

thanks:pac:

Tax starts from the beginning of the month in which the registration number is issued. With a brand new or newly imported used car, you have to tax the car first before the log book is sent out.

slipperyox

Mot to nct

do they accept the online print your own copy of the mot?
or do they want an original?

Truckermal

Any of ye use eirtrans based in Newcastle, Dublin to bring in a Vehicle I bought a car yesterday with the intention of travelling myself but they will drop it in Cork for €400 from Bolton...

P_Cash

Is a certificate of conformity only required at VRT if its a new car?

I read something I remember at the nct test centre about registering something with revenue, it was a relatively new procedure. Anyone have a clue what I'm thinking of

P_Cash

slipperyox wrote: »

Mot to nct

do they accept the online print your own copy of the mot?
or do they want an original?

The car i brought in is three years old, has just passed a VRT but as NCT kicks in at 4yrs it's not needed.

User1998

slipperyox wrote: »

Mot to nct

do they accept the online print your own copy of the mot?
or do they want an original?

They say original but I printed a copy and they accepted it

User1998

Truckermal wrote: »

Any of ye use eirtrans based in Newcastle, Dublin to bring in a Vehicle I bought a car yesterday with the intention of travelling myself but they will drop it in Cork for €400 from Bolton...

Make sure the price includes vat, usually their prices are ex vat so €500?

Hasmunch

Truckermal wrote: »

Any of ye use eirtrans based in Newcastle, Dublin to bring in a Vehicle I bought a car yesterday with the intention of travelling myself but they will drop it in Cork for €400 from Bolton...

Yep used these guys earlier this year. No issues at all, took a few days to pick up the car after I confirmed payment but everything was as expected. I picked up the car from their yard in Newcastle?

deezell

P_Cash wrote: »

1. Is a certificate of conformity only required at VRT if its a new car?

Required for a new, unregistered car or car imported from outside the EU.

2. I read something I remember....about....something..... Anyone have a clue what I'm thinking of

Ask Keith Barry.

rodge123

Just had a look at booking car in for VRT Inspection.
You're supposed to book it in within 7 days of importing?

Nothing available in Limerick center! (Does say to call a number though as slots are released frequently)
Naas has a few slots but not until 26th Nov (10 after importing)!

What can you do if they don't have slots available within the 7 days?
Is it a big no no to go beyond the 7 days?