Category B vehicle?

masseyno9

Have just spent quite a while searching the forum with no joy so i'm having to start a new thread.

My plan is to buy a land rover freelander in UK and import it. I've heard of the commercial €50 VRT thing and though if I'd save enough I could live without the back seats. I was on the revenue website to try and find the difference in price between registering it as a passenger vehicle and as a commercial. When I click on 'category b vehicles' i get a price on 13.3% of OMSP, which is reasonable, but I'm not sure if this means I'm declaring it to be a commercial vehicle and the 13.3% is based on this declaration. When I click on 'category A' (passenger vehicles) the system can't find the vehicle in question ('01 land rover freelander 2.0 Diesel).
**further investigation leads me to believe the freelander is a 'category B vehicle' regardless of what I do to it, and thus the 13.3% is accurate. Am I right?**

I'm probably missing something simple but have sat here for an hour going between boards, autotrader.co.uk and the revenue site and still none the wiser. Basically, I want to know does the 13.3% VRT quote depend on it being commercialised before registration or is that just the price for them? I also wanted to get a price to import it as a normal passenger vehicle (expecting over 20%) but as stated, the site wont recognise it as a category A vehicle.

Also, if its registered as a category B vehicle, do I pay commercial tax, hold commercial insurance and get it DOE'd, even though I own and operate it privately?

Any help much appreciated. Apologies if these are stupid questions, its my first foray into the world of commercial vehicles.

Mylow

masseyno9 wrote: »

Also, if its registered as a category B vehicle, do I pay commercial tax, hold commercial insurance and get it DOE'd, even though I own and operate it privately?

And don't forget tolls, you will be caught for van rates on M50 etc. It will have to be DOE'd every year, approx €90. If you do use M50 or other toll road it may not be advantageous to have it as a commercial. The VRT can't be that much on an 01 Freelander.

You say the revenue site wont show it as Category A, try putting it in as an 'estate' or 'liftback' in the dropdown menu. I cant recall the exact titles. I am sure you know what I mean.

masseyno9

Putting it in as an estate seems to do the job alright.
Unfortunately €2200 on a £3000 motor though!!

Guess I just have to decide if I want it as a commercial or to own it privately!

Anyone know if the 13.3% for a category b refers to the seats being removed or if I can keep them?

R.O.R

masseyno9 wrote: »

Anyone know if the 13.3% for a category b refers to the seats being removed or if I can keep them?

Cat B - 13.3% is for a commercial vehicle (no back seats) that doesn't have the load area large enough to meet the Cat C (€50 VRT) requirements.

You'd have to remove the seats (and other bits) before registering the vehicle in Ireland to qualify for the 13.3% VRT rate.

More importantly - why a Freelander? If it's because they are cheap, there is a good reason they are cheap.

It would probably work out cheaper to import a LWB Japanese 4x4 which should qualify for €50 VRT when converted - and will give you a lot less trouble than a Freelander.

masseyno9

Just what i needed to know, cheers.

No particular reason its a freelander, just saw them and they looked reasonable and I presumed land rover were reliable enough. I'm a big fan of buying cheaper used cars that are in low demand due to badge-snobbery and old-fashioned views on reliability (fiat, skoda, alfa etc.) Also I've taken on a job for a year where I'll need a bit of space for carrying gear and stuff. I'll be heading back to college in a year and was thinking the back seats would be handy then when I don't need a work-mobile, hence the thoughts on keeping them.

Any particular models to look at? landcruiser? Pajero?... don't really want to go bigger than 2.0 and want Diesel.