Road fund License - needed on car from the UK?

oreillyma

Hi all,

I have just purchased a car from the UK and am traveling over this week to pick it up. I have just recieved the order from the garage and on the order there is £145 road fund license. Is this needed? Or is this like our road tax and paid in advance? Surly this is not necessory?

Thanks

Berty

Its Tax. It was forerly known as Road Fund License. Road Tax to be precise.

TommyT

You will need road tax if you intend to drive the car home yourself, though you can send the tax back to the DVLA in Swansea and get a refund. You should have a word with the garage that you are buying the car from and tell them not to bother taxing the car as you are exporting the car and wont need to tax it, but you would then have to get a transport company to pick the car up for you and deliver it to Ireland.

oreillyma

so, I dont need to pay it then?

oreillyma

Would it be a bit risky driving the car across the UK without the road fund license?

TommyT

The Road Fund License is just another name for Road Tax. The cops in the UK can be quite tough on untaxed cars, in some cases they crush them.
BUT yours is a slightly different case, you are buying the car to take it out of the UK straight away, it would be a very lousy cop that would try to do you in such a case, but I have heard of it happening. Most cops will let you away as you are taking the car to Ireland. What you have to remember is that their Traffic Corps cars are equipped with ANPR cameras, whic are Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras. If you drive past one of their cars with no road tax, they are alerted straight away.
To be honest if I was in your shoes I would take the chance, but not everyone is going to agree with that.

Berty

The ANPR in a Talivan for example will only record the plate and send you a fine. Considering there is no address they will find it hard to do so. Sure the rolling traffic corps would no doubt pull you but they would have to be dead inside to confiscate your car.

If I was buying the car I would fight not to pay it and do a run for the border.

oreillyma

Just on to the garage, the £145 is a years road tax. They can half that and just do it for 6 months for about £78 ish. To be honest I am saving over €10k on the car and have a 10pm ferry from liverpool and am collecting the car from Norwich. I think I would feel a little happier not to be stopped by every traffic cop on the road the entire width of the UK. The only bad thing about it is as soon as I bring it into ireland I will have to pay the tax again...:(

Berty

Do a cannonball run on it. To hell with the rules. :eek:

dingding

It depends on how much you value peace of mind. I taxed a car I imported for 6 months, and got a refund back a few weeks later for the unused months. however you get it back as a sterling cheque and there are conversion charges associated with this in the bank.

oreillyma

I have just been told by the garage in the UK that if they put the road tax on it they have to send off the documentation (V5) so the vechical is registered to the new driver. I thought I needed the V% in order to import the car?

Anybody done this that know what I should do and what I need from the garage in the UK?

Thanks

TommyT

If the garage register the car in your name, you will have to wait until Swansea send you out a certificate of permanent export (form V756). This can take up to a month, but if you get on to them you will get it quicker.
You really should do some research before going to the UK.

dingding

oreillyma wrote: »

I have just been told by the garage in the UK that if they put the road tax on it they have to send off the documentation (V5) so the vechical is registered to the new driver. I thought I needed the V% in order to import the car?

Anybody done this that know what I should do and what I need from the garage in the UK?

Thanks

When I purchased the car, the garage taxed it while they owned it. There was no need to send of the forms.

Esel

If the garage insists on taxing the car, arrange with them that you will return the disc to them immediately and that they will claim a refund and forward it to you. Get this documented in the bill of sale.

Lumen

Push the garage on this one. I believe there are provisions for this sort of thing, it's just that the garage probably isn't used to dealing with exports.

I bought a new car from the North a couple of years ago, and drove it (untaxed) to the border. ISTR that I also didn't pay UK VAT (had to sign a form to say I was taking the car out of the country).

Scottie99

For the trip back (without road tax) along the Uk roads, make sure you have to hand your insurance details and your ferry details. It should be the clincher if you meet a PC plod.

dbar

I have brought in about 6 cars to date, none of them with UK Tax. Took a chance.
Be very careful with the V5. Do not let the Garage/Owner send it back to the DVLA, you might never see it again. There was a guy ahead of me in the registration queue in Cork, practically crying, The person he bought it off had sent it back to DVLA to send it to rosslare,etc,etc, they didnt give a crap, not only could he not register it, they were going to take it off him if it wasnt "removed from the Juristiction".
There is a section on the V5, "For permanent Export", fill this bit out at the dealers, remove it from the V5 and get the Garage to sent it back to the DVLA. Keep the rest in your mitts. Dont let it out of your sight.
Thats my advice.
Oh -and the garage should remove the 17% VAT as its for export.