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

Bobeagleburger

marcos_94 wrote: »

My car is arriving on Friday from the UK so going about booking a VRT appointment. i have heard that VRT for cars not on the VRT site can be better (ie cheaper) in centres outside of Dublin from someone in the trade who has had to use centres outside of Dublin recently. Is there any truth to this?

Was delivery expensive?

marcos_94

6 wrote: »

Was delivery expensive?

Got a quote from Eirtrans for €450 +VAT for transport from Sunderland to my house in doubling. Iv home a different route for getting the car delivered through a friend

lostcat

Is there any benefit/ advantage to buying a car from mainland UK rather than up north except cost?

bazz26

Bigger choice.

Atlantic Dawn

lostcat wrote: »

Is there any benefit/ advantage to buying a car from mainland UK rather than up north except cost?

If you were buying a diesel I'd not buy up North for fear of washed diesel damage but that may be a thing of the past now. For UK you probably need to factor in an additional €300-€500 for the cost of getting yourself over to view the car and then bring back via a ferry but this will generally be saved on the larger range of cars at a more competitive price than up North.

spyderski

Vicxas wrote: »

but theres only 1 D5 in Ireland

Who told you that porky pie? I personally know of 4, one of which is sitting in my driveway.

Wildly Boaring

lostcat wrote: »

Is there any benefit/ advantage to buying a car from mainland UK rather than up north except cost?

Having just bought in the north rather than mainland

I did so as the car i bought comes with 6 month warrantee and I only live 1 hour 20 from them

Cars in England were a bit cheaper. There can be more choice over there

colm_mcm

One massive factor for me was the ease of getting there and back.
Also as above the warranty would have been a lot more straightford if something went wrong.

The car I got was a uk mainland car being sold in NI - as a lot of them seem to be.

Creamy Goodness

colm_mcm wrote: »

One massive factor for me was the ease of getting there and back.
Also as above the warranty would have been a lot more straightford if something went wrong.

The car I got was a uk mainland car being sold in NI - as a lot of them seem to be.

Getting there and back was simple enough before COVID-19 to be fair, I loved the journey over, myself and my dad flew into Liverpool, taxi to dealer and a lovely afternoon drive over the top of Wales to Holyhead. He's in his mid 70's and thinking back I'll really like having this memory (even if it was only a 90~ minute drive).

Warranty really depends on the age of the car and make. I bought an 191 Audi that had 1 year UK warranty left and 3 year EU warranty as standard. If you're buying near new and from a main dealership you shouldn't have too much to worry about.

There's so much more stock on the mainland UK than NI, but if you can find what you want in NI and at a reasonable price then yeh NI is the way to go

colm_mcm

Bizzarely I wasn’t even looking at cars in NI because choice is limited. I was stuck to Autotrader for weeks looking for a particular spec/colour
Happened to look at usedcarsNI one night and there it was - so you can be lucky.

Wildly Boaring

colm_mcm wrote: »

Bizzarely I wasn’t even looking at cars in NI because choice is limited. I was stuck to Autotrader for weeks looking for a particular spec/colour
Happened to look at usedcarsNI one night and there it was - so you can be lucky.

I did the exact same thing.
Autotrader for the last month and had a mate over there looking at a car for me.
Last week a Facebook ad for UsedCarsNI came up there were 2 cars on there.

donnachag

Hi guys,
Bought a 2015 Ford Focus Zetec S up north a week ago, made my vrt appointment for 25th August so just on here to check a few things in advance in case i screw up and am turned away from the nct centre. These are just the things i am uncertain of.
1. When I bought the car, I was given the v5c from the original uk owner. the dealership did not change this over to them or me. Is this the right way to bring it to the nct centre? There is nothing missing from the v5c.
2. certificate of conformity - no idea what this is. I see i can search and upload a copy on the revenue site. Can anyone explain this?

deezell

donnachag wrote: »

Hi guys,
Bought a 2015 Ford Focus Zetec S up north a week ago, made my vrt appointment for 25th August so just on here to check a few things in advance in case i screw up and am turned away from the nct centre. These are just the things i am uncertain of.
1. When I bought the car, I was given the v5c from the original uk owner. the dealership did not change this over to them or me. Is this the right way to bring it to the nct centre? There is nothing missing from the v5c.
2. certificate of conformity - no idea what this is. I see i can search and upload a copy on the revenue site. Can anyone explain this?

V5c is fine. The CoC is implicit in the V5C as an EU country registered car. It's the Type Approval number on the V5.

User1998

Another thing worth mentioning is that they won’t let you in without a face mask, I forgot mine twice and had to buy one both times

colm_mcm

donnachag wrote: »

Hi guys,
Bought a 2015 Ford Focus Zetec S up north a week ago, made my vrt appointment for 25th August so just on here to check a few things in advance in case i screw up and am turned away from the nct centre. These are just the things i am uncertain of.
1. When I bought the car, I was given the v5c from the original uk owner. the dealership did not change this over to them or me. Is this the right way to bring it to the nct centre? There is nothing missing from the v5c.
2. certificate of conformity - no idea what this is. I see i can search and upload a copy on the revenue site. Can anyone explain this?

You’ve checked that the nox levels are low I hope.

Infernal Racket

colm_mcm wrote: »

You’ve checked that the nox levels are low I hope.

I wouldn't be so sure that this car has a euro 6 engine which means much heavier nox tax.

wassie

User1998 wrote: »

Another thing worth mentioning is that they won’t let you in without a face mask, I forgot mine twice and had to buy one both times

You would think they would provide one to customers if it helps sales in these uncertain times. Its not like your buying groceries.

colm_mcm

Infernal Racket wrote: »

I wouldn't be so sure that this car has a euro 6 engine which means much heavier nox tax.

Same.

Anything from September onwards would have to be Eu6 of course

The 1.5 TDCi was Eu6 from 2014 so should be ok. Don’t think the 1.6 was still around in 2015 but I’d still be checking.

bazz26

wassie wrote: »

You would think they would provide one to customers if it helps sales in these uncertain times. Its not like your buying groceries.

He is talking about the VRT office, not a car dealership.

And everyone needs to show a bit of self responsibility rather than just expecting others to provide them or hold their hand. Face coverings are cheap and you should always have a few on hand either in the car or at home for when you plan to go where it is difficult to practice social distancing.

BuzzFish

Quick Question.... I'm heading to the UK again...

Buying a car 1st registered on 12th March 2020. Can I collect on the 12th September (exactly 6 months to the day) and avoid VAT or do I need to wait for 6months + 1 day (the 13th September)? It just means delaying a week which isn't a huge issue but would perfect to get over the weekend of the 12th if possible.

Thanks!

User1998

As long as it’s over 6 months old when you present the car for VRT you’ll be fine. Doesn’t matter how old the car is when you purchase it

bazz26

Also make sure it has at least 6000 km on the clock when being VRT'd as it needs to meet both these criteria to avoid VAT liability.

irishgeo

What's the best UK history car check website?

SummerK

irishgeo wrote: »

What's the best UK history car check website?

RAC have good reputation https://vehicle-history-check.rac.co.uk/

paddykelly6

Currently negotiating with a dealer in the UK and they offer a 12 month, 3rd party, UK warranty as standard on all sales. He's offered to discount for the cost of a similiar Irish policy. Mapfre etc. Any recommendations or are those even worth purchasing?

un5byh7sqpd2x0

irishgeo wrote: »

What's the best UK history car check website?

motorcheck.ie ?

User1998

paddykelly6 wrote: »

Currently negotiating with a dealer in the UK and they offer a 12 month, 3rd party, UK warranty as standard on all sales. He's offered to discount for the cost of a similiar Irish policy. Mapfre etc. Any recommendations or are those even worth purchasing?

Car protect are quite good. Most dealers use them nowadays

deezell

User1998 wrote: »

Car protect are quite good. Most dealers use them nowadays

Just make sure you understand the terms and exclusions. I couldn't get a Merc rain sensor fixed under warranty as the windscreen to which it had been reattached was replaced by a 3rd party fitter at some stage, not by MB.
Mostly only engine and gearbox covered, and often the cost of computer diagnosis is not included, ( I've had this row with an Audi main dealer, Irish car under extd warranty), though this device is just a tool of the trade these days. Coolant and hydraulic Hoses and fluid tubes, and leaks from the same, and exhaust parts not covered usually. A choked Dpf filter will not be replaced under extended warranty, as this is a service part after the manufacturer warranty has expired. Leaks from seals on electric valves not covered, but a failed valve would be, if it no longer electrically opened, or if it was leaking internally into it's electrical gubbins, as distinct from its mounting seal. Assessors are expert at denying claims, but it's still peace of mind if a catastrophic engine failure occurs, (as long as the historical and recent service schedule is intact).

bazz26

Most of these 3rd party warranties are just insurance polices in that you have to meet x and y before they will cover the cost of z. They seem to be more useful to the dealers selling them as it gives them a good reason to tell you feck off if you have an issue with the car and the warranty company won't cover it.

Spires

Can you use Revolut to pay for vrt my debit card has daily limit which will not cover vrt?