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

Dr Nic

Guys, can someone please help me here?
I can't find a contact phone number for a VRT office that will actually talk to me anywhere!
I got through to 2 recorded messages that told me nothing much, then hung up

I need to know what to do if i dont have V5 inside 24 hours of importing the car?

The car im buying has no road tax in the UK. The owner is a third party and out of the country, so its next to impossible to tax for me.

I can maybe get my mate that im buying it off to put it in his name, and then tax it for 6 months.
But that means change of ownership, and sending V5 to swansea for 2 weeks!
What does that mean when i arrive in Ireland?

Aaargh!
I've about 3 hours to get this sorted

Dr Nic

Ok sorted - paid 200pound to get it delivered by truck to holyhead. Not bad considering thats including collecting me at the airport in east midlands...

Lovely

din0saur

Dr Nic wrote: »

I need to know what to do if i dont have V5 inside 24 hours of importing the car?

The car im buying has no road tax in the UK. The owner is a third party and out of the country, so its next to impossible to tax for me.

I can maybe get my mate that im buying it off to put it in his name, and then tax it for 6 months.
But that means change of ownership, and sending V5 to swansea for 2 weeks!
What does that mean when i arrive in Ireland?

You could get it taxed in your name but you'll probably need proof of insurance (it's easier if the garage does it as they can use the garage insurance) & will have to give a UK address. At least you'll be covered if you get stopped although you may still have no disc. The tax can be renewed at a Post Office although you could need some documentation. Reclaiming UK tax and even waiting for the V5 will however require patience..

Once you get to Ireland you should go to your local revenue office and tell them you want to import the car but don't have the V5 and they will give you a letter to this effect which you should keep with the car in case you are stopped.

dergside

Dr Nic wrote: »

As an aside Guys, has anyone ever done any shopping before they got on the ferry?

There's not a great deal of interest in Holyhead, a Tesco and an Aldi or Lidl.

Depending on the direction you are coming from, this might be of interest. Its just off the M56 that goes across north Wales. Its not too far from Liverpool.

http://www.cheshireoaksdesigneroutlet.com/

Esel

yop wrote: »

http://nct.ie/vrt.html

I see they are looking for proof of travel? What happens if you don't have the tickets, I binned them when I got home as I never thought it was a requirement before this!

I will have the car over 2 weeks before I get it done, will the penalise me for this do you think?

Thanks

If I was you, I'd make every effort to register it under the current procedure (i.e. at a Vehicle Registration Office). You would have to do this by 31st of this month at the latest though.

Could you get a copy of your ferry ticket from whoever you travelled with?

I don't know the answer to your penalty question.

As I said - do it before the new regime kicks in!

yop

They said they will now send me the copy of the tickets, but it could take up to 28 days..... so no chance now of getting in before Sept 1st.

Esel

yop wrote: »

They said they will now send me the copy of the tickets, but it could take up to 28 days..... so no chance now of getting in before Sept 1st.

Don't be inventing problems for yourself!

If you go to the VRO before 1st September, you WONT NEED A COPY OF YOUR TICKET. They won't ask for it.

Sorry for shouting.

olewy

Question re insurance cover while driving from UK seller to ferry;

I intend purchasing insurance immediately after I've bought the car (its a UK private seller) from NoNonsense (by phoning their Customer Support 1890 line with the UK reg number). Once paid for I can download and print a confirmation form (the policy number will be available 30mins later). When I asked if the downloaded document would be enough for the UK police they advised;

"Normally it does suffice that the policy has been purchased an explains that the cert and disc will not be issued until we receive the signed proposal form and proof of you No Claims Bonus"

Does anybody see a problem with this (i.e. not having the cert and disc to hand) or have experience purchasing insurance from NoNonsense or other online insurance providers?

Kotek Besar

olewy wrote: »

Question re insurance cover while driving from UK seller to ferry;

I intend purchasing insurance immediately after I've bought the car (its a UK private seller) from NoNonsense (by phoning their Customer Support 1890 line with the UK reg number). Once paid for I can download and print a confirmation form (the policy number will be available 30mins later). When I asked if the downloaded document would be enough for the UK police they advised;

"Normally it does suffice that the policy has been purchased an explains that the cert and disc will not be issued until we receive the signed proposal form and proof of you No Claims Bonus"

Does anybody see a problem with this (i.e. not having the cert and disc to hand) or have experience purchasing insurance from NoNonsense or other online insurance providers?

Na, I reckon any plod'll be fine with that.

olewy

Kotek Besar wrote: »

Na, I reckon any plod'll be fine with that.

Thanks. I'll check it with UK/Welsh police anyway. Just wanted to know if anyone has done something similar and been pulled over by UK police to check insurance. I'll post what the UK plod say for anyone who's in the same boat.

Tragedy

Bear in mind, you can't ring 1890 numbers from abroad, and nononsense won't give out a non 1890 number.

olewy

Tragedy wrote: »

Bear in mind, you can't ring 1890 numbers from abroad, and nononsense won't give out a non 1890 number.

Yeah I heard that alright and I was going to look into that seperately but you may have confirmed it for me. I can get around it by having a family member from Ireland phone NoNonsense on the day to put the purchase through or else use call forwarding or something.

Tragedy

olewy wrote: »

Yeah I heard that alright and I was going to look into that seperately but you may have confirmed it for me. I can get around it by having a family member from Ireland phone NoNonsense on the day to put the purchase through or else use call forwarding or something.

I had to ask the dealer if I could use his internet so I could use a webform to ask nononsense to ring me.

It was a joke, and I wont ever be using them again. Went with Munster on my new car, and found their service far better AND they dont charge me to temp transfer insurance cover to a new car, whereas it was €100 with nononsense.

Yup, €100.

olewy

Tragedy wrote: »

AND they dont charge me to temp transfer insurance cover to a new car, whereas it was €100 with nononsense

Sorry, just want to clarify; Do you mean it was €100 to cover the car in the UK while you brought it over to Ireland or to temporarily cover you on another car when you were an existing policy owner?

Tragedy

They wouldnt temporarily transfer my current insurance to the new car, they said it had to be a Temporary Added Vehicle(in addition to my current car) which cost €25 + €75.

olewy

Tragedy wrote: »

They wouldnt temporarily transfer my current insurance to the new car, they said it had to be a Temporary Added Vehicle(in addition to my current car) which cost €25 + €75.

Ok I get ya. A negative experience obviously but I think I'd be willing to use them for a new policy purchase given how competitive they are on price. I can get around the 1890 number and download/printing thing I think even though it is a bit awkward.

Tragedy

It depends on what you need.

I transfer insurance 5 or 6 times a year(€150 with nononsense), have had a windscreen go on the new car already(wasn't covered by my policy on nononsense), and had to pay extra for open driving on nononsense too.

In the end, Munster work out only a little bit more expensive, and so far it's seemed worth it.

corktina

esel wrote: »

Thanks for the update on that. The previous advice on this thread was for the seller to do the section 11 thing. I'd say most sellers might be reluctant to let the full V5 go....

I have never had a problem getting the V5C off the seller.they like to be saved the hastle usually.

Plates365.com

I bought 2 cars in UK and both times got full VC5.

Dr Nic

How long does it usually take to get paperwork back from the Irish Tax system? Im waiting 6 weeks or more now...
No road tax and no nct...

lifer_sean

Dr Nic wrote: »

How long does it usually take to get paperwork back from the Irish Tax system? Im waiting 6 weeks or more now...
No road tax and no nct...

Tax disc will arrive in 4-5 days normally, and vehicle licensing cert ("tax book") in about 2 weeks. Six weeks definitely excessive.

At the risk of stating the obvious, I assume you have taxed it either online or in the motor tax office, since paying the VRT ? If you don't tax it you will never get a VLC and will have a long wait!

The vehicle transaction enquiry link on the motortax.ie website is very useful, will confirm if Shannon has issuesd a VLC for your vehicle.

opinion guy

On the road tax aspect of it:
When I import a car when do I pay my annual road tax ? Is it after I pay the NCT and so forth or do I have to have a tax disc from as sson as the car hits Irish soil ?

Tragedy

When it's VRT'ed, you should be given a print out giving VRT details, as well as an PIN to tax it online.

opinion guy

Tragedy wrote: »

When it's VRT'ed, you should be given a print out giving VRT details, as well as an PIN to tax it online.

Ok cool so in the mean time I just drive without it ?

Tragedy

opinion guy wrote: »

Ok cool so in the mean time I just drive without it ?

You can't tax a car on english plates in Ireland. If it's UK reg with no UK tax, you could run into trouble though.

Goldenballz

Am interested in buying a car from the UK and have looked up a site called PFA.ie that does it for the customer...I'm just wondering if anybody knows anything about this site......anybody had good experiences or bad ones???

Any other sites out there that do it for the uninformed customer???

opinion guy

Tragedy wrote: »

You can't tax a car on english plates in Ireland. If it's UK reg with no UK tax, you could run into trouble though.

Trouble with who ?

Black Beard

Anyone know how to get a reliable quote for the VRT when importing a car??

As VRT is now looked after by the NCTS, the ROS.ie VRT calculator has become obsolete.

Can you ring the NCTS for a VRT quote?

Eoin

Black Beard wrote: »

Anyone know how to get a reliable quote for the VRT when importing a car??

As VRT is now looked after by the NCTS, the ROS.ie VRT calculator has become obsolete.

Can you ring the NCTS for a VRT quote?

Do they not use the revenue's figures, and just carry out the actual inspection and administration themselves?

MidlandsM

Black Beard wrote: »

As VRT is now looked after by the NCTS, the ROS.ie VRT calculator has become obsolete.

no, its still there to be used as a guide, its not obsolete.:)