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

Isambard

always saying it, but ensure the dealer knows he has to hand over the V5C on collection

BENDYBINN

Isambard wrote: »

always saying it, but ensure the dealer knows he has to hand over the V5C on collection

What happens if you don’t get it?
Will it be posted to you?

bazz26

You wont' be able to register the car over here without the V5c. The DVLA won't post it to a non UK address either. If you are fortunate enough to know someone living in the UK then they might be able to request a new one and then forward it onto you but that takes time. The thing is that it could take more than the allotted 30 days you have to complete the registration here and may incur late VRT fines. Avoid yourself a multitude of hassle and stress by just not buying a car if the seller won't give you the V5c.

JHet

Isambard wrote: »

always saying it, but ensure the dealer knows he has to hand over the V5C on collection

Thanks i've updated my post now.

Is there anything else worth adding here?

Vicxas

Has anyone travelled to the UK to pick up their car recently, any hassle getting in and through the UK?

OfflerCrocGod

Vicxas wrote: »

Has anyone travelled to the UK to pick up their car recently, any hassle getting in and through the UK?

Did it a few days ago, no hassle at all.

In terms of the MOT for NCT do I need a physical disk to give them or is a print out from the UK gov website showing it's been MOTed enough? It was MOTed a few days before I bought it but the dealer didn't give me anything other than a print out from the gov UK website. Do they still do physical disks in the UK for these things?

Isambard

Vicxas wrote: »

Has anyone travelled to the UK to pick up their car recently, any hassle getting in and through the UK?

i can't see you'll get any hassle but some areas are locked down so you'd need to check. Of course, 14 days quarantine on return.

darragh o meara

OfflerCrocGod wrote: »

Did it a few days ago, no hassle at all.

In terms of the MOT for NCT do I need a physical disk to give them or is a print out from the UK gov website showing it's been MOTed enough? It was MOTed a few days before I bought it but the dealer didn't give me anything other than a print out from the gov UK website. Do they still do physical disks in the UK for these things?

There are no discs in the UK for MOT. Once you have the MOT cert you should be fine.

OfflerCrocGod

darragh o meara wrote: »

There are no discs in the UK for MOT. Once you have the MOT cert you should be fine.

Yeah it's just a sheet of paper they don't have discs anymore.

You also don't need to pay €15 according to the lady at the NCT center. I just need to post in the MOT sheet and the change form.

SwordofLight

So does anything happen once Brexit goes through? That's Aug 31st right? Like Nox or import charges or whatever. Whats actually going to change?

bazz26

Nobody knows yet, not even Boris or the EU know how it will pan out.

Atlantic Dawn

SwordofLight wrote: »

So does anything happen once Brexit goes through? That's Aug 31st right? Like Nox or import charges or whatever. Whats actually going to change?

I'd say worse case same as importing from Japan, best case same as importing from Norway.

Buffman

SwordofLight wrote: »

So does anything happen once Brexit goes through? That's Aug 31st right? Like Nox or import charges or whatever. Whats actually going to change?

11PM GMT 31st December 2020. The only thing I can say for sure is UK MOTs will no longer be transferable, anything else is speculation. It'll probably become similar to bringing in a Japanese import.

deezell

darragh o meara wrote: »

There are no discs in the UK for MOT. Once you have the MOT cert you should be fine.

MOT cert is only of use if the car is more than 4 years old during the lifetime of the cert. A car that is 3 years old will have an MOT at 3yo that expires before its due to have a first NCT here at 4yo, and an MOT on a 4+ year old car will only get you the remaining MOT months, whereas your first NCT at 4 years old is valid for 2 years. So MOT to NCT certs are not worth much in terms of NCT time. You can do the NCT test 3 months prior to car's due test date, from which you get more useful test info about the car, and a cert thats valid for two years and three months.

PowerToWait

Buffman wrote: »

It'll probably become similar to bringing in a Japanese import.

What will that be like? Tax payable on top of VRT?

Millionaire only not

Looking to transfer money today for a car 12ksterling was costing 13300 with revoult sounds dear to me , any other suggestions from my fellow boarders

Atlantic Dawn

Millionaire only not wrote: »

Looking to transfer money today for a car 12ksterling was costing 13300 with revoult sounds dear to me , any other suggestions from my fellow boarders

The exchange rate dropped over the last few days, you could try TransferWise but few will beat Revolut.

deezell

Millionaire only not wrote: »

Looking to transfer money today for a car 12ksterling was costing 13300 with revoult sounds dear to me , any other suggestions from my fellow boarders

Trick is to grab some of it in advance, it was 0.92 only 5 days ago, that would have saved you €200. If you tap the exchage rate quoted, it brings up the graph, you can see if it looks good and might be peaking, or is in an uncharacteristic trough and should rise. Generally though, at 0.92 it's a good catch. When Boris lies, Sterling dives.

HotDudeLife

Hey Guys, imported a car on Thursday and haven't been able to book a visit to VRT testing centre.

From the website:

In view of current circumstances, for inspections carried out up to and including 30 September:

all vehicles that are presented for registration will be valued based on the date they are presented
and
as Centres were closed, customers will not be charged any additional VRT during this period due to exceeding the 30-day limit.


So apologies if this comes across as ignorant but i take it i can book a appointment for October and i should be ok?

michellie

HotDudeLife wrote: »

Hey Guys, imported a car on Thursday and haven't been able to book a visit to VRT testing centre.

From the website:

In view of current circumstances, for inspections carried out up to and including 30 September:

all vehicles that are presented for registration will be valued based on the date they are presented
and
as Centres were closed, customers will not be charged any additional VRT during this period due to exceeding the 30-day limit.


So apologies if this comes across as ignorant but i take it i can book a appointment for October and i should be ok?

You'll be fine. You should be able to book an appointment today or tomorrow though for the wk of the 19th October, or you could get lucky and get a cancellation

michellie

JHet wrote: »

Must admit when I clicked on this thread was expecting a step by step guide.

Can I take it the process at a high level is as follows:

1. Find a car/s on UK forecourt you want to purchase
2. Contact dealer, explain your situation, how you expect payment and collection to work and assuming all is ok:
3. Arrange a local independent inspection of the car (usually 1 hours labour) and depending on findings negotiate price accordingly
4. Pay for car using Bank transfer or Revolut (be interested to hear more on how this works - any limits etc)
5. Arrange to have the car(including V5C) collected and transported back home using ALM Transport & Recovery, Eiretrans or similiar.
6. Arrange an appointment at a designated NCT centre to have the vehicle inspected within 7 days of the vehicle entering the State in order to register and pay the VRT (and any other tax liabilities due on the vehicle).
7. Complete the registration process within 30 days of arriving in the State.
8. Apply for motor tax by presenting RF 100 and appropriate fee at your local Motor Taxation Office.

I'm sure I've missed some important details!

You can buy reg plates in some NCTs(not all of them) Can tax online the next working day - No need to go near a tax office. Registration doc arrives in the post a few days after you tax the car.

deezell

HotDudeLife wrote: »

Hey Guys, imported a car on Thursday and haven't been able to book a visit to VRT testing centre.

From the website:

In view of current circumstances, for inspections carried out up to and including 30 September:

all vehicles that are presented for registration will be valued based on the date they are presented
and
as Centres were closed, customers will not be charged any additional VRT during this period due to exceeding the 30-day limit.


So apologies if this comes across as ignorant but i take it i can book a appointment for October and i should be ok?

Exceed the 30 day limit by a week, book the 1st or 2nd of November, save a month's road tax.

cloughy

Per google it would cost €13,227, Revolut charge a fee if you convert more than €5k in a month, but they highlight it in the exchange page.

I was looking at 20k gbp recently and the fee was nearly €80, which was circ 0.5% on the rate for the amount over €5k.

Wildly Boaring

Revolut is free conversion if you pay for the €7 monthly upgraded account.
You convert and then cancel the monthly. I even got my €7 back

covey09

Hi Sorry if this as been asked loads before, Looking at buying a Hilux in the North. The Seller has it +VAT, do i have to pay VAT in the north if im exporting to the south for personal use. Thanks

deezell

covey09 wrote: »

Hi Sorry if this as been asked loads before, Looking at buying a Hilux in the North. The Seller has it +VAT, do i have to pay VAT in the north if im exporting to the south for personal use. Thanks

You should unless you have a vat no here. For private use road tax is cc based, €1080 and €1494 for the 2.5 and 3.0 engine, as against €333 if you have a vat no. or need it for work.

FLOOPER

JHet wrote: »

Must admit when I clicked on this thread was expecting a step by step guide.

Can I take it the process at a high level is as follows:

1. Find a car/s on UK forecourt you want to purchase
2. Contact dealer, explain your situation, how you expect payment and collection to work and assuming all is ok:
3. Arrange a local independent inspection of the car (usually 1 hours labour) and depending on findings negotiate price accordingly
4. Pay for car using Bank transfer or Revolut (be interested to hear more on how this works - any limits etc)
5. Arrange to have the car(including V5C) collected and transported back home using ALM Transport & Recovery, Eiretrans or similiar.
6. Arrange an appointment at a designated NCT centre to have the vehicle inspected within 7 days of the vehicle entering the State in order to register and pay the VRT (and any other tax liabilities due on the vehicle).
7. Complete the registration process within 30 days of arriving in the State.
8. Apply for motor tax by presenting RF 100 and appropriate fee at your local Motor Taxation Office.

I'm sure I've missed some important details!

Update - You can buy reg plates in some NCTs(not all of them) Can tax online the next working day - No need to go near a tax office. Registration doc arrives in the post a few days after you tax the car.

Must admit I was kind of hoping same thing. Is there anywhere on this thread that does a FAQ or step by step system on how to import from UK?

Also and I know it's an unknown so far, but it was mentioned here that post Brexit the situation could be similar to Japan or Norway.

In what ways does this differ from existing situation with the UK?

Thanks!

Vicxas

I read here earlier or in another thread about brexit and it affecting car imports and it would align with how we import Jap cars.

Can someone tell me whats the difference between the UK and JP rules?

Wildly Boaring

Vicxas wrote: »

Can someone tell me whats the difference between the UK and JP rules?

VAT

bazz26

Anything imported from outside the EU attracts VAT and import duty.