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

Stevie Dakota

Cybersausage wrote: »

Hi im new to the boards and was just looking for some info. Im heading over to the uk to buy a car in the next couple of weeks have made arrangements with seller and agreed on price. After travel expenses and vrt costs(going by the vrt calculator) it works out bang on with my budget. Doing a bit more research tonight ive realised that the vrt calculator isnt accurate and the guys at the ntcs can charge you a hell of alot more after inspecting the car (i.e.) if it has extras. The calculator came up with an estimate of just under 2000 euros but this car is fully loaded (voice control, bluetooth, electric seats, heated seats, front and back electric windows, leather trim the list goes on! The car is a 2008 FORD FOCUS TITANIUM 1.8 TDCI with only 20,000 miles on it. Question is can any of you guys give me a clue weather they'll charge me the 2000 euro or go to town on me? Is there any way i can find out exactly how much the vrt will cost me to the euro so i can find out if this car is still affordable to me.. Cheers.

Is this the one?

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201130407133665/sort/priceasc/usedcars/fuel-type/diesel/maximum-mileage/up_to_40000_miles/model/focus/make/ford/radius/1500/postcode/w21sz/page/1/keywords/2008%201.8%20leather%20seats?logcode=p

If so it certainly is a very unusual spec, if you are unlucky and get someone who knows what they are doing (the leather is very unusual on these) you may well be stung for options.

fatboypee

My brother gave my wife his old car (he lives in the UK), she has an appointment to VRT check it tomorrow and I've the following questions I would appreciate some feedback on:

1. We're 'later' than the 7 days in the vrt inspection by, I think 10 days. Is this a major issue ?

The email received on booking the appointment shows:

- You bring the vehicle invoice containing the purchase price and date of purchase.

We didn't buy it, got no invoice or anything. Will we definitely need it ?

- You have documentation verifying the registered owners name and address e.g Utility bill (not older than 6 months)

Is this the old, or the new owner (i.e. brother or wife?). If brother, no doc here.


Much appreciate your help.

thanks

FBP.

MidlandsM

fatboypee wrote: »

My brother gave my wife his old car (he lives in the UK), she has an appointment to VRT check it tomorrow and I've the following questions I would appreciate some feedback on:

1. We're 'later' than the 7 days in the vrt inspection by, I think 10 days. Is this a major issue ?

The email received on booking the appointment shows:

- You bring the vehicle invoice containing the purchase price and date of purchase.

We didn't buy it, got no invoice or anything. Will we definitely need it ?

- You have documentation verifying the registered owners name and address e.g Utility bill (not older than 6 months)

Is this the old, or the new owner (i.e. brother or wife?). If brother, no doc here.


Much appreciate your help.

thanks

FBP.

Being 10 days is fine, no issue - say nothing and they'll probably not mention it.

As you have no invoice, you'll need some sort of one, just make one up yerself, dated 10 days ago when you imported it. A simple one - there is many invoice templates on line, just print it off and fill it out.

Re; the utility bill, thats you.....you need that,along with proof of your PPS no, ID, the Fee,The V5C of the car, the car itself

fatboypee

Thanks for the help.

Much appreciated.

FBp.

MidlandsM

fatboypee wrote: »

Thanks for the help.

Much appreciated.

FBp.

glad to help..............anymore free cars going?:D:D

Esel

MidlandsM wrote: »

Re; the utility bill, thats you.....

Slight correction for clarity - that's fatboypee's wife.

Doesn't have to be a utility bill btw (they might not be in her name) - a bank statement or bill-pay phone statement should be acceptable.

MidlandsM

/\ Correct-o-mondo!

JimFin

Just imported an A4 this week from the UK and seeing as I picked up a lot of good advice on this forum I wanted to post some pointers I picked up along the way that may be of use to others.

I was basing myself in Birmingham and I was looking on Autotrader for cars in that general area and also on the used car section of audi.co.uk. When dealing with the Audi dealers the advantages were quality stock ( a lot of ex-demo's and managers cars out there), free Audi 7 day insurance cover for getting you back, and no need for HPI checks as the dealers are registered to Audi and must meet minimum standards, selling a car with a rigged milage and finance outstanding would not meet those requirements!!.

If going to a dealer ring in advance and confirm what they have on the forecourt. Do not judge on websites alone as a lot of these dealers are part of larger groups and while they may be able to get the advertised car it could take 2/3 days. This will add to your costs and extend your stay.

Motor Tax is a big issue. Garages are reluctant to relaese a car without it and the penalties are severe. The garage cannot insist on you having motor tax AFAIK. However even if you park your car along the street overnight it may be impounded by the police if detected. I got talking to a traffic policeman in advance who advised me if you collect the car and head for the port within 24Hrs you should be ok. Carry the receipt with you showing when car was purchaed and have confirmation of your ferry booking and strong chances are you'll get past. If your caught driving the car around some town/city 3 days after purchase, you'll pay the tax for it. In a nutshell: book the ferry, print the ticket, collect the car, head for the port.

For paying I found currency.ie to be top class. Even though I didn't know what garage I was going to be buying from they agreed to hold my money in their a/c for 3 days to allow me agree a deal. Rang them up on day 2 and money transferred straight away (ended up with a small balance to complete the purchase which I paid by credit card). Was really very impressed with their friendliness, their rates and their 'we can help' attitude.

In general I found the entire process straight forward, just for your own safety and heart try not to pick the week of the cities biggest ever riots to be driving around clueless

Mc Love

JimFin wrote: »

Just imported an A4 this week from the UK and seeing as I picked up a lot of good advice on this forum I wanted to post some pointers I picked up along the way that may be of use to others.

I was basing myself in Birmingham and I was looking on Autotrader for cars in that general area and also on the used car section of audi.co.uk. When dealing with the Audi dealers the advantages were quality stock ( a lot of ex-demo's and managers cars out there), free Audi 7 day insurance cover for getting you back, and no need for HPI checks as the dealers are registered to Audi and must meet minimum standards, selling a car with a rigged milage and finance outstanding would not meet those requirements!!.

If going to a dealer ring in advance and confirm what they have on the forecourt. Do not judge on websites alone as a lot of these dealers are part of larger groups and while they may be able to get the advertised car it could take 2/3 days. This will add to your costs and extend your stay.

Motor Tax is a big issue. Garages are reluctant to relaese a car without it and the penalties are severe. The garage cannot insist on you having motor tax AFAIK. However even if you park your car along the street overnight it may be impounded by the police if detected. I got talking to a traffic policeman in advance who advised me if you collect the car and head for the port within 24Hrs you should be ok. Carry the receipt with you showing when car was purchaed and have confirmation of your ferry booking and strong chances are you'll get past. If your caught driving the car around some town/city 3 days after purchase, you'll pay the tax for it. In a nutshell: book the ferry, print the ticket, collect the car, head for the port.

For paying I found currency.ie to be top class. Even though I didn't know what garage I was going to be buying from they agreed to hold my money in their a/c for 3 days to allow me agree a deal. Rang them up on day 2 and money transferred straight away (ended up with a small balance to complete the purchase which I paid by credit card). Was really very impressed with their friendliness, their rates and their 'we can help' attitude.

In general I found the entire process straight forward, just for your own safety and heart try not to pick the week of the cities biggest ever riots to be driving around clueless

I would say always get a HPI check done, i went to a fiat garage that was part of network of dealers of other marques, and got the aa history check and the full check down and was very pleased with both. I would do the same again if i was buying from the UK

MidlandsM

Yes, and good info re; currency.ie

many dealers in the uk don't want cash at all, their scrared of being stung.

The Guvnor

Buying UK car - what part of the form does the Irish buyer keep?

I was asked this and for the life of me cannot remember.

Does the UK seller fill in the form for change of ownership and sent it to the DVLA or does he do notification of permanent export?

I did it before but have forgotten!:D

TIA

slinky2000

The Guvnor wrote: »

Buying UK car - what part of the form does the Irish buyer keep?

I was asked this and for the life of me cannot remember.

Does the UK seller fill in the form for change of ownership and sent it to the DVLA or does he do notification of permanent export?

I did it before but have forgotten!:D

TIA

The UK buyer fills in the purple export part and sends that to the DVLA/DVLNI and the irish buyer takes whats left of the entire V5 log look

mags1962

Just adding to what Jim posted, I imported a car from an Audi dealer and the peace of mind is priceless. Also when I was just nosing round a main dealer I was asked if I had bought from a Main Dealer as my mileage was quite low for the car. There are a lot of clocked imports around was what he said.

The Guvnor

Thanks Slinky!

That is what I thought but you know how it is - my mate was confusing me with all this bluff about change of keeper first and then cert of export etc.:D

Esel

^ The only bit you let the seller keep is the export reporting bit. Get everything else into your hand.

There are details of this on the DVLA site somewhere - might be useful to have it printed out if the seller is unconvinced.

MidlandsM

Esel wrote: »

^ The only bit you let the seller keep is the export reporting bit. Get everything else into your hand.

There are details of this on the DVLA site somewhere - might be useful to have it printed out if the seller is unconvinced.

yes, some sellers do take a bit of convincing - good idea to print it off alright.

The Guvnor

According to the DVLA - I called as it was bugging me.

The Irish buyer takes the whole V5C and the UK seller merely sends in a letter to the DVLA stating the car was sold and to an overseas buyer.

The UK seller does not do the notice of export and it is not them exporting the car.

corktina

slinky2000 wrote: »

The UK buyer fills in the purple export part and sends that to the DVLA/DVLNI and the irish buyer takes whats left of the entire V5 log look

this is wrong information. see preceding posts. An Irish buyer brings the whole V5C with him and the seller writes to the Dvla to tell them what he ahs done.

corktina

Esel wrote: »

^ The only bit you let the seller keep is the export reporting bit. Get everything else into your hand.

There are details of this on the DVLA site somewhere - might be useful to have it printed out if the seller is unconvinced.

this is wrong too. The WHOLE V5C should be given to a foreign buyer .The export bit is ONLY for the current registered owner to export the car HIMSELF

Kotek Besar

corktina wrote: »

this is wrong too. The WHOLE V5C should be given to a foreign buyer .The export bit is ONLY for the current registered owner to export the car HIMSELF

News to me.

MidlandsM

/\ - none of the above matter really, as you can clear/vrt a car with the export section missing from the V5c. No bothers.

corktina

you can indeed but the system laid down is that the whole V5C should be given to a foreign buyer. Its only important to keep pointing that out as it may remove the blockage in peoples minds about what to do with the export section, It is NOT for use in a case where a foreign buyer is purchasing.

MidlandsM

corktina wrote: »

you can indeed but the system laid down is that the whole V5C should be given to a foreign buyer. Its only important to keep pointing that out as it may remove the blockage in peoples minds about what to do with the export section, It is NOT for use in a case where a foreign buyer is purchasing.

all this pedanticness is tiring all the same.

Also, I think getting the UK seller to fill out the export section works well, gives them more confidence that asking them to write a letter to the dvla and I'll take the whole V5c, which many sh*t themselves about........:p

corktina

this being the DEFINITIVE guide, its hardly pedantic to post the correct procedure!

slinky2000

corktina wrote: »

this is wrong information. see preceding posts. An Irish buyer brings the whole V5C with him and the seller writes to the Dvla to tell them what he ahs done.

This is WRONG! The UK buyer fills in the purple section, tears it off and sends it off. The Irish buyer takes the rest of the V5

I'm 100% correct on this, I've done it many many times both as an exported in the UK and an importer here in Ireland

slinky2000

MidlandsM wrote: »

/\ - none of the above matter really, as you can clear/vrt a car with the export section missing from the V5c. No bothers.

It should be missing if the UK buyer has done it correctly at the sale!

MidlandsM

/\ the pedantic definitive guide continues!

slinky2000

MidlandsM wrote: »

/\ the pedantic definitive guide continues!

You are right though, Once the irish buyer has the V5, it doesn't matter if it's got the export section or not But it's the responsibility of the UK buyer to look after the export section.

slinky2000

The Guvnor wrote: »

According to the DVLA - I called as it was bugging me.

The Irish buyer takes the whole V5C and the UK seller merely sends in a letter to the DVLA stating the car was sold and to an overseas buyer.

The UK seller does not do the notice of export and it is not them exporting the car.

If you look at the export section, it doesn't matter who fills it in as long as it's sent off. I would have though it's the responsibility of the UK seller because the irish buyer doesn't give a toss.

http://oldcarandbike.com/full%20log%20book.JPG

corktina

slinky2000 wrote: »

It should be missing if the UK buyer has done it correctly at the sale!

no it shouldnt.
It doesnt really matter to the buyer but the seller only fills that in if HE is exporting it. If he does that , the car is still his responsibility and he has no guarantee that the guy buying it will export it immedaitely. If a Policeman has it pinged up on ANPR as exported a week later, he's gonna ask questions!

As I say doesnt really make any diofference to the buyer but the correct way is for the seller to give the entire documnet to the buyer and write to the DVLA to tell them what he has done.

see post 2339...this guy got the info from the horses mouth, phone them yourselves if you dont believe him