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

bruno_12345 · 25-08-2008 6:38pm

just wondering regarding importing a car from the uk. is there anyway of getting it checked out first by maybe the AA or the RAC. think you have to be a member for them to do this. any advise on importing a car. i'm after spotting a car near london, 20 miles form the airport. was thinking of asking the owner to drive it to the airport, only after someone checked it out first, and then heading for the ferry. am i mad. please advise

magnia · 26-08-2008 5:38pm

hi, i actually live in the uk now but am from Dublin. I will definately do this before i go home. Was thinking of a £20k second hand porsche which are selling for about €40K. I have been told if I can prove i lived in the uk and am returning to Ireland I dont have to pay VRT. is this true or can anyone shed some light on the situation.

Esel · 26-08-2008 9:33pm

magnia wrote: »

hi, i actually live in the uk now but am from Dublin. I will definately do this before i go home. Was thinking of a £20k second hand porsche which are selling for about €40K. I have been told if I can prove i lived in the uk and am returning to Ireland I dont have to pay VRT. is this true or can anyone shed some light on the situation.

Read this http://www.revenue.ie/index.htm?/leaflets/vrt_3.htm well.

listermint · 26-08-2008 10:01pm

bruno_12345 wrote: »

just wondering regarding importing a car from the uk. is there anyway of getting it checked out first by maybe the AA or the RAC. think you have to be a member for them to do this. any advise on importing a car. i'm after spotting a car near london, 20 miles form the airport. was thinking of asking the owner to drive it to the airport, only after someone checked it out first, and then heading for the ferry. am i mad. please advise

You dont have to be a member with the AA or RAC, you will just get a small discount on the inspection cost if you do.

Ive used Carcheckers UK. Look them up on google. They are cheaper than the AA or RAC and the service was quality in fairness the guy even managed to spot a small discrepency in the volume levels of one of the speakers. And i only got the piece of mind check, not the Full blown all points check.

Nelly23 · 29-08-2008 12:25pm

I am vrting a car next week. How soon after it can I Tax the car? Can I do it the same day?

listermint · 29-08-2008 1:16pm

Nelly23 wrote: »

I am vrting a car next week. How soon after it can I Tax the car? Can I do it the same day?

they will give you a pin number and you can do it online the next day.

Gegerty · 30-08-2008 3:18pm

Has anyone any experience with buyacar.co.uk? I can save 2K on a new Focus Zetec FFV compared with a Focus Style FFV including delivery to Belfast. But I'm a bit sceptical buying a car off a website...particularly from the UK.

Thanks.

Zonda999 · 30-08-2008 4:01pm

In the next couple of weeks, my sister may be buying a car in Northern Ireland.Its from a proper official Vw dealer up there and its is an "approved used car" as such.Do ye think that a hpi check and an inspection by car-checkers or whoever would still be necessary??These would be a must if she was buying private, these would be a must but seeing as the car is from a proper dealer, would these precautions be necessary??

listermint · 31-08-2008 1:16pm

Zonda999 wrote: »

In the next couple of weeks, my sister may be buying a car in Northern Ireland.Its from a proper official Vw dealer up there and its is an "approved used car" as such.Do ye think that a hpi check and an inspection by car-checkers or whoever would still be necessary??These would be a must if she was buying private, these would be a must but seeing as the car is from a proper dealer, would these precautions be necessary??

HPI check will cost you around 15euro on the RAC. Its a must when buying any car from anyone. Just because its a dealer means "f" all. Even main dealers can take in dodgy cars by accident or willingly. Also when buying any car you should get it checked over by a qualified individual. You wouldnt buy a house with out doing checks. Why is a car any different. Your vehicle is mostly likely the second biggest invesment you can make. Make it a good one. Avoid the silly mistakes of others.

rabbitinlights · 31-08-2008 2:00pm

How many days ahead do you have to book a full car check by either the AA or Carcheckers?

bruno_12345 · 31-08-2008 10:07pm

thinking of buying a car from the uk & am wondering if i got someone like the rac to check over the car how long does it take them to carry out the texxt from time of booking.

listermint · 31-08-2008 11:26pm

bruno_12345 wrote: »

thinking of buying a car from the uk & am wondering if i got someone like the rac to check over the car how long does it take them to carry out the texxt from time of booking.

Well they usually say book 3 working days in advance...

Chergar · 01-09-2008 11:49am

Looking at buying a car in the north. I have looked at the car and checked it enought to be satisfied the car is in good order and agreed to take it. However the vendor has informed me he won't supply me with the VIN number until i show up with a deposit or money to exchange. He then said i could verify the VIN number. His reason was that a vin number was never given out in the north until purchase was assured. Is this standard practice?

listermint · 01-09-2008 11:54am

Chergar wrote: »

Looking at buying a car in the north. I have looked at the car and checked it enought to be satisfied the car is in good order and agreed to take it. However the vendor has informed me he won't supply me with the VIN number until i show up with a deposit or money to exchange. He then said i could verify the VIN number. His reason was that a vin number was never given out in the north until purchase was assured. Is this standard practice?

No "f" in way. This guy is taking you for a ride. Id even be tempted to walk right now. Thats complete bol*** so tell him your not going any further until you can complete your background check that means VIN number. End of story!!!!!:mad:

Chergar · 01-09-2008 12:05pm

thats what i thought. it does sound increidablly dodgy, and i think perhaps he does not know that i will be able to check this on the internet when im standing on front of the car. It does seem fairly strange. but was unsure of how the procedures worked up north.

listermint · 01-09-2008 12:08pm

Chergar wrote: »

thats what i thought. it does sound increidablly dodgy, and i think perhaps he does not know that i will be able to check this on the internet when im standing on front of the car. It does seem fairly strange. but was unsure of how the procedures worked up north.

chances are he knows something is going to flag on the history and this is not going to match his description of the vehicle. checks first talk money later or no deal

boardsie08 · 01-09-2008 12:09pm

Chergar wrote: »

Looking at buying a car in the north. I have looked at the car and checked it enought to be satisfied the car is in good order and agreed to take it. However the vendor has informed me he won't supply me with the VIN number until i show up with a deposit or money to exchange. He then said i could verify the VIN number. His reason was that a vin number was never given out in the north until purchase was assured. Is this standard practice?

Yeah, complete BS, I rang about a car I'm interested in just last week and asked for the VIN number, I was given it no problem, no questions asked!

Chergar · 01-09-2008 12:30pm

If i get the vin number when im there, and am able to check it online with him present. and it checks out should i be concerned then?

rabbitinlights · 01-09-2008 12:47pm

As long as you see the VIN on the car with your own eyes and check it, then it should be no problem. He could just be very cautious.

S.

Chergar · 01-09-2008 12:54pm

this is probably what im thinking, check it on the car. check for any sign of tampering with the car in any way shape or form, if i cant see any such tampering of the vin number in anyway and it verifies with my online check than i cant really see an issue.

Thanks Guys

Zonda999 · 01-09-2008 2:20pm

Could someone please clarify this for me.

In order to avoid paying VAT on a UK import, it has to be more than six months old and have done more than 6000 miles right??I mean,that is, no matter what age, it has to have done more than 6000 miles.Is this correct??My sister is looking at a car that was registered in february and has done 5500 miles

listermint · 01-09-2008 2:23pm

Zonda999 wrote: »

Could someone please clarify this for me.

In order to avoid paying VAT on a UK import, it has to be more than six months old and have done more than 6000 miles right??I mean,that is, no matter what age, it has to have done more than 6000 miles.Is this correct??My sister is looking at a car that was registered in february and has done 5500 miles

From start of thread

"(3) You will have to pay VAT on all cars under 6 mths old or less than 6,000kms even if they are from within the EU."

The OR dictates that either can be true to satisfy the outcome. The AND dictates that both must be true to satisfy the outcome.

Hope this helps

Kotek Besar · 01-09-2008 2:27pm

Zonda999 wrote: »

Could someone please clarify this for me.

In order to avoid paying VAT on a UK import, it has to be more than six months old and have done more than 6000 miles right??I mean,that is, no matter what age, it has to have done more than 6000 miles.Is this correct??My sister is looking at a car that was registered in february and has done 5500 miles

Isn't it 6000km not 6000 miles?

Zonda999 · 01-09-2008 2:33pm

listermint wrote: »

From start of thread

"(3) You will have to pay VAT on all cars under 6 mths old or less than 6,000kms even if they are from within the EU."

The OR dictates that either can be true to satisfy the outcome. The AND dictates that both must be true to satisfy the outcome.

Hope this helps

Thank you.I actually looked at the start of the thread a few days ago but must have missed it!!

benifa wrote: »

Isn't it 6000km not 6000 miles?

Even better!!:D

Its an Audi A3 1.9TDIe that my sis is looking at.The co2 emissions are only 119g/Km so a nearly new one would only cost ~22K here incl VRT.Road tax is only a 100e too so it looks good...

lafors · 01-09-2008 2:46pm

Looking at bringing a car in from the UK in the next couple of months.
I've been looking in the north, but a good few people say I'd save more by bringing it in from the UK.

So for those who've done it, where are the best areas/cities to search?
Any recommended dealers for Audi, Lexus or Honda?

listermint · 01-09-2008 2:49pm

lafors wrote: »

Looking at bringing a car in from the UK in the next couple of months.
I've been looking in the north, but a good few people say I'd save more by bringing it in from the UK.

So for those who've done it, where are the best areas/cities to search?
Any recommended dealers for Audi, Lexus or Honda?

Well firstly have a good read through this thread. There are loads of people who have done it before, including me. Take some time out , read it. Have a gander over the first page then go to the back and check the more recent posts. Its all here and you can save yourself cash going to the UK, The northerners are already on to us and have raised the prices accordingly

cooper38 · 02-09-2008 3:10am

no golden rule, check out autotrader.co.uk and usednicars websites and find out.

martydunf · 02-09-2008 12:03pm

I was considering importing a 01 or 02 celica (190bhp model) in from the uk the prices were very low but then when i went to see how much vrt would be on it it came back at bout €5000.

It roughly came to €11-12000 when i included price of car + vrt, ferry costs, hpi etc.

I looked on carzone then and the prices seemed to similar enough (but im not to sure if they were the same as the uk spec.)

So would ye say that it would be worth my while importing atall or would i just be better off to look for a uk spec already for sale here...i don't think id be saving much money by going through the importing route would i?

listermint · 02-09-2008 2:02pm

martydunf wrote: »

I was considering importing a 01 or 02 celica (190bhp model) in from the uk the prices were very low but then when i went to see how much vrt would be on it it came back at bout €5000.

It roughly came to €11-12000 when i included price of car + vrt, ferry costs, hpi etc.

I looked on carzone then and the prices seemed to similar enough (but im not to sure if they were the same as the uk spec.)

So would ye say that it would be worth my while importing atall or would i just be better off to look for a uk spec already for sale here...i don't think id be saving much money by going through the importing route would i?

some cars you can save some you cant. The market value of second hand cars has dropped considerably over that last few months here. So for that model it would be worth your while shopping around here. Chances are you will get a very good deal on that model. I wouldnt bother with the UK.

not14talk · 02-09-2008 10:42pm

Was thinking of getting an 2001 - 2003 1.0L Opel/Vauxhall Corsa in the UK. Has anyone ever done this and is there any point in doing it with such a low value car?

Reason I ask ive seen quite a few Vauxhall Corsas with southern regs so they must have been imported.

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

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