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

mark316

Oh lord 3 trips before I get to tax the car? Get the plates on trip 2?

ThreeLineWhip

You get the reg number once you pay, so that will be on the 2nd trip.

You can tax away once you have Irish insurance on it. NCT is not needed for tax.

DieselPowered

ThreeLineWhip wrote: »

You get the reg number once you pay, so that will be on the 2nd trip.

You can tax away once you have Irish insurance on it. NCT is not needed for tax.

Once you pay and given your number plate details, next day you should be able to tax it, log onto Motor Tax.ie, enter your reg, the pin is the last 6 digits of you chassis.

aujopimur

The UK MOT is not worth a feck here and is really not needed.[/QUOTE]
The MOT is required as proof of roadworthiness, without it it will need to checked for same, it should be unnessessary on a car of that age, but it usually only requires a quick look at the car.

ThreeLineWhip

There is absolutely no problem registering a car with no MOT. I have done so on several cars. Same goes for ferry tickets etc, you can do it all without them.

It will require a NCT anyways so they don't really care about it.

Delboy5

Just bought a car up North and want to get the VRT sorted, its only a little cheap run-around.

Am i right in saying that first i have to book an inspection appointment with them within 7 days?
Is this when they calculate the VRT owed? Do i have to pay there and then.......or do i then have 30 days to pay it??

DieselPowered

Delboy5 wrote: »

Am i right in saying that first i have to book an inspection appointment with them within 7 days?
Is this when they calculate the VRT owed? Do i have to pay there and then.......or do i then have 30 days to pay it??

- you book in the car for VRT inspection within 7 days of arriving in the state
- VRT inspection looks at the car to confirm the V5 form is the same car
- they may/may not give you a price for the car there an then
- it does not have to be paid there and then
- you are best to get a bank draft and return again
- when you pay you get your new number for the number plate
- the payment must be made within 30 days or penalties apply

(read a couple of items up about what you need to bring with you for the initial VRT inspection)

jko11

I imported a car from a dealer/ carsourcing eu guy in the north, he did all this for me and was spot on on VRT prices ive heard some horror stories about vrt, it was a bmw and i know there can be issues with this, but what im saying is be careful with vrt and ensure your not gettin screwed.

yop

jko11 wrote: »

I imported a car from a dealer/ carsourcing eu guy in the north, he did all this for me and was spot on on VRT prices ive heard some horror stories about vrt, it was a bmw and i know there can be issues with this, but what im saying is be careful with vrt and ensure your not gettin screwed.

And are you not going to give us his details, website and phone number since its your first post

People aren't getting screwed in fairness, they might not be choosing the correct model in the VRT/ROS site and paying more than they expected.

Kotek Besar

A UK MOT cert is worthless in Ireland. It is disregarded even if presented.

jko11

That appears to be the problem tho people thinking the vrt is going to be different to what it is, im not trying to give a sales pitch here for the guy i bought it off.

aujopimur

Kotek Besar wrote: »

A UK MOT cert is worthless in Ireland. It is disregarded even if presented.

That's correct, what it does show is that the vehicle is roadworthy, without it, it will need to be checked for same.

ThreeLineWhip

aujopimur wrote: »

That's correct, what it does show is that the vehicle is roadworthy, without it, it will need to be checked for same.

Which is what the nct is for.

MidlandsM

ThreeLineWhip wrote: »

There is absolutely no problem registering a car with no MOT. I have done so on several cars. Same goes for ferry tickets etc, you can do it all without them.

It will require a NCT anyways so they don't really care about it.

+1

all the nct crowd want is your money for the revenue........end of.

Kotek Besar

aujopimur wrote: »

what it does show is that the vehicle is roadworthy, without it, it will need to be checked for same.

Not in Ireland, it doesn't. A UK MOT cert has no legal validity in the slightest. A valid UK MOT cert affirms roadworthiness of a vehicle in Ireland no more than my 5 year old son drawing a picture of the car and scrawling "OK" next to it.

aujopimur

Kotek Besar wrote: »

Not in Ireland, it doesn't. A UK MOT cert has no legal validity in the slightest. A valid UK MOT cert affirms roadworthiness of a vehicle in Ireland no more than my 5 year old son drawing a picture of the car and scrawling "OK" next to it.

If you check the NCT/VRT regs. you will see that it is neccesary that a vehicle be roadworthy.
An MOT or check by VRT will verify this, the fact that it will be subject to an NCT at a later stage is irrelevent.

Kotek Besar

aujopimur wrote: »

An MOT .. will verify this

No it won't, because a UK MOT cert means nothing in Ireland. Keep up.

Unrealistic

Kotek Besar wrote: »

No it won't, because a UK MOT cert means nothing in Ireland. Keep up.

That is incorrect. You do need to show the MOT for an older UK import.

9) For vehicles over 4 years old, an unexpired roadworthiness certificate confirming that an equivalent to the NCT test has been passed. The vehicle will be called for a roadworthiness test (NCT) shortly after registration.

http://www.ncts.ie/vrt.html#3

bmcg

Hi,
Going over to uk this weekend to pick up a car for import.
Have rang 123.ie and axa and both said they won't do temporary insurance on the uk plates.
Can anyone advise which insurance companies will?
I don't have a current policy as I sold my car a few weeks back and cancelled my existing policy on that (seems like temporary transfer on an existing policy might be easier done).

Unrealistic

bmcg wrote: »

Hi,
Going over to uk this weekend to pick up a car for import.
Have rang 123.ie and axa and both said they won't do temporary insurance on the uk plates.
Can anyone advise which insurance companies will?
I don't have a current policy as I sold my car a few weeks back and cancelled my existing policy on that (seems like temporary transfer on an existing policy might be easier done).

When you say you have asked for temporary insurance do you mean you've asked them to just insure you for the week or so it takes to pick up the car and get Irish plates? If that's the case then I don't know any insurance company who will do that.

When I brought in my car I went to Axa with the VIN number and the UK reg and paid for the full years insurance before I went North to get the car. They had no problem with that and they were able to pull up all the data on the car in their system based on the UK reg the same as they can do for an Irish reg. The only thing they did different was give me a one month insurance disc and told me to come back within that month to tell them the Irish number so they could give me a new cert and new insurance disc lasting the full 12 months.

I wasn't an Axa customer prior to that so I didn't have the option of transferring an existing policy.

DieselPowered

bmcg wrote: »

Hi,
Going over to uk this weekend to pick up a car for import.
Have rang 123.ie and axa and both said they won't do temporary insurance on the uk plates.
Can anyone advise which insurance companies will?
I don't have a current policy as I sold my car a few weeks back and cancelled my existing policy on that (seems like temporary transfer on an existing policy might be easier done).

As said, no one will give you temporary cover to import a car "for a few days" if you don't already have a current policy, most insurance companies will do a substitute transfer from a current car to the new import on UK plates until you get your VRT sorted and the new Irish Plates submitted.

So your best plan is to take out the full year policy and let your insurance company continue the remainder of the year with the new plates.

note: Insurance companies are now obliged to inform revenue after 42 days that you are still driving around on UK plates in Ireland if you havent cleared the VRT...;)

bmcg

Thanks for the replies. 123.ie definitely wouldn't cover UK plates for the first few days even though buying for the year. Thinking back on it, maybe Axa misunderstood that I just wanted temporary cover. Have since rang First Ireland brokers and got a decent quote off them so am all set.

whatyamacallit

I am very close to buying a 9 month old 5008 from a Peugeot dealer in the UK. The sales guy told me it was bought at a Peugeot closed auction and it was previously leased by a company. I asked him if there was any finance owing before I did a HPI check. He said that it was financed by a Peugeot PSA stocking plan and this would be cleared when the car was sold. He said that 'stocking plan' financing was widely used by dealers.

I said I would be getting an AA inspection done and he said that would not be a problem and he would make the car available. He said the car was perfect for a 9 month old and their own mechanics had checked the car. Their mechanics were AA approved and I could save the money on the inspection if I wanted. He did say again that there was no problem getting the
inspection done if I wanted.

My question is:
Would you spend approx €230 to get an inspection done on a 9 month old car which is being sold by a main dealer and has 2+ years manufacturers warranty left.

moonlighting

just after buying a 30 year old car on uk plates
getting a transporter to bring it to ireland
do i need to present the car to the vrt centre to register it
if so do i need an apointment.

BobBobBobBob

Quick question lads - I'm thinking of importing a 2010 car into the country later on in the year, will I have to pay for extras that are not standard on the car here? Anything prior to Jan 09 and I'll be fine? Thanks.

aujopimur

moonlighting wrote: »

just after buying a 30 year old car on uk plates
getting a transporter to bring it to ireland
do i need to present the car to the vrt centre to register it
if so do i need an apointment.

Yes & Yes

Sobanek

Kotek Besar wrote: »

No it won't, because a UK MOT cert means nothing in Ireland. Keep up.

Isn't there some EU legislation in action since January 1st that makes all the MOTs, NCTs, Inspections etc. valid all over Europe?

Sobanek

DieselPowered wrote: »

As said, no one will give you temporary cover to import a car "for a few days"

Which is stupid, since Ireland is the only country in the EU which doesn't have temporary covers. They even do them in Poland!! (Allianz)

Gosub

Sobanek wrote: »

Which is stupid, since Ireland is the only country in the EU which doesn't have temporary covers. They even do them in Poland!! (Allianz)

I'm sure I saw an ad on telly for short term insurance in the UK. Up to 28 days IIRC. Would this not do?

whatyamacallit

Bought a car today and collecting in 2 weeks. For those who have bought UK cars before, what/who is the cheapest method to transfer the money?