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

phill106

thinking about a bmw 330e , seems to be good value over there for the high spec ones.
is there any rumours on changes to vehicles soon? Surely hybrids would be left alone, or even incentified?

wassie

All there is at the moment is the proposals from the Tax Strategy Group that develop proposals for Govt consideration. All found in document TSG 20-06 Climate Action and Tax. Usual suggestions of modifying VRT & motor tax. Basically suggest increasing number of motor tax bands, with increases in the higher levels by around 5% and VRT rates up (eg 27%to 30%).

But at the end of the day it means nothing. Will have to wait to Govt announces the budget (or leaks it early to soften the blow). But as suggested SUVs will take a hit due to inherently being less economical.

beggars_bush

Can you rearrange a VRT inspection date?
I have one for 22 October but want to push it out two weeks due to work.
Can I just do that online?

mgn

beggars_bush wrote: »

Can you rearrange a VRT inspection date?
I have one for 22 October but want to push it out two weeks due to work.
Can I just do that online?

Yes, just cancel the one you have booked first then book the other one you want.

Curious Geroge

Are the budget changes to VRT on October 13th applicable immediately ? I brought a car in last week and the first available date was 16th so wondered if it increased will I be caught or does the budget change only happen in January.

mgn

Curious Geroge wrote: »

Are the budget changes to VRT on October 13th applicable immediately ? I brought a car in last week and the first available date was 16th so wondered if it increased will I be caught or does the budget change only happen in January.

It normally is the the first of January, I think the only thing that goes up at midnight on budget day is increases in fuel and tobacco.

username?!

mgn wrote: »

It normally is the the first of January, I think the only thing that goes up at midnight on budget day is increases in fuel and tobacco.

Good to know. I'm 16 days waiting on a VRT price for a car that wasn't in the system.

What's the story with the road tax, Is it from when you get the number plates or from import date?

bazz26

You cannot pay motor tax on a car that is not on Irish plates yet. It will be from the beginning of the month in which it transfers to Irish plates.

username?!

bazz26 wrote: »

You cannot pay motor tax on a car that is not on Irish plates yet. It will be from the beginning of the month in which it transfers to Irish plates.

I'm shocked i won't have to back tax it. Thanks.

bazz26

Well if it doesn't get put on Irish plates until the end of the month then you would still be paying motor tax for the entire month of October.

username?!

bazz26 wrote: »

Well if it doesn't get put on Irish plates until the end of the month then you would still be paying motor tax for the entire month of October.

I've seen my statcode appear in the calculator, called the NCT centre but they can't do anything until revenue actually send it over.

creedp

Looking to bŕing in a car from UK Dealer. I've paid a deposit and got an inspection report as I'm not visiting the garage in person. While the mechanicals seem fine there are a number of paint blemishes and a significant scuff mark on an internal plastic panel on boot door. I dont mind so much a few stone chips on front bumper but there are a couple of significant enough scratches on front bumper and over rear arch. Would you expect those kind of blemishes to be fixed by Dealer when car is costing over€20k?

bazz26

Yes I would as a condition of the sale. However I'd be more concerned about blemishes and scuff marks being a sign that the car wasn't looked after very well by it's previous owner. Did you get photos of the scuff marks? Remember there are plenty of cars out there so you don't have to settle for one that wasn't looked after just for the sake of buying.

deezell

It's previous owner was unlikely to have been it's owner at all. It's more likely a lease or PCP car used by a company driver until the warranty is is up, then handed back. These cars are auctioned cheaply to dealers, it's where they get most of their stock, there just aren't that many private owner from new cars in the UK. Despite the scuffs the car probably has a fsh, and the miles are long straight motorway trips, not cold slow urban stop start shop runs. If you got good photos of the damage, you can send them to the likes of Car Cosmetix,
https://carcosmetix.ie/, who specialise in same day fast paint and panel work that doesn't require panel replacement. They'll quote you by return, so you'll know what the real cost of decent showroom condition will be.

creedp

bazz26 wrote: »

Yes I would as a condition of the sale. However I'd be more concerned about blemishes and scuff marks being a sign that the car wasn't looked after very well by it's previous owner. Did you get photos of the scuff marks? Remember there are plenty of cars out there so you don't have to settle for one that wasn't looked after just for the sake of buying.

Thanks I'm going back on that basis to see what response I get. Agree when I saw the marks that was the first thought that came to mind. Its being sold as retail ready but to be honest I would not buy a car at that price point from a dealer in this country with those blemishes so I'll see how I get on here. The reason I'm interested in this particular car is that it ticks all the spec boxes for both myself and the other half which is something I found reasonably difficult to achieve elsewhere.

creedp

deezell wrote: »

It's previous owner was unlikely to have been it's owner at all. It's more likely a lease or PCP car used by a company driver until the warranty is is up, then handed back. These cars are auctioned cheaply to dealers, it's where they get most of their stock, there just aren't that many private owner from new cars in the UK. Despite the scuffs the car probably has a fsh, and the miles are long straight motorway trips, not cold slow urban stop start shop runs. If you got good photos of the damage, you can send them to the likes of Car Cosmetix,
https://carcosmetix.ie/, who specialise in same day fast paint and panel work that doesn't require panel replacement. They'll quote you by return, so you'll know what the real cost of decent showroom condition will be.

The reason I decided to avoid the auction option was that many of the cars had seemed to have blemishes and I didn't want to have to deal with them on delivery. But at least the equivalent car at auction would be discounted allowing financial space to fix the issues afterwards.

I'll have a look at that website, thanks. In any case I might need a service such as that myself in the future as its very difficult to avoid scuffs over time and with a newer car they are most annoying. The one advantage of driving an old car .. new scuffs are not too concerning.

cavan4sam

On the vrt checklist.. It looks for evidence of car entry to the state, no evidence of this only handwritten receipt off, is this just for UK as opposed to Northern Ireland

OfflerCrocGod

They never asked for mine. Invoice was from a few days earlier, well within the 30 days so I don't think they care in that case.

cavan4sam

OfflerCrocGod wrote: »

They never asked for mine. Invoice was from a few days earlier, well within the 30 days so I don't think they care in that case.

Perfect thanks

xPrePF7z4jLy7M

username?! wrote: »

I've seen my statcode appear in the calculator, called the NCT centre but they can't do anything until revenue actually send it over.

Is this after or before a VRT appointment?

mandya6893

Hello , I bought a car from the UK a few days back. Car was submitted for assessment by the dealer that I used to import. I was told that this requires a manual assessment as there is no exact match for the car. Does anyone know how long a manual assessment taking these days ?

User1998

Took 3 weeks or so for me

xPrePF7z4jLy7M

User1998 wrote: »

Took 3 weeks or so for me

I presume you had the car for the 3 weeks, on British plates? Any problems with the guards?

User1998

Well it was 2 months in total, 4 weeks before the appointment, 3 weeks waiting on stat code and one week being too lazy to put the new plates on. I had my VRT receipt it just didn’t have a price on it so I was fine, went through a checkpoint and wasn’t asked about it, guards don’t seem to be interested in UK plates from my experience

User1998

xPrePF7z4jLy7M wrote: »

I presume you had the car for the 3 weeks, on British plates? Any problems with the guards?

Well it was 2 months in total, 4 weeks before the appointment, 3 weeks waiting on stat code and one week being too lazy to put the new plates on. I had my VRT receipt it just didn’t have a price on it so I was fine, went through a checkpoint and wasn’t asked about it, guards don’t seem to be interested in UK plates from my experience

Cona

anyone any experience of dealing with BMW dealers up the North? The particular BMW I am looking at is slightly out of my budget, any chance of a dealer negotiating and coming down in price or is there price set in stone?
Have heard that UK dealers dont haggle whatsoever hence the question here...

mandya6893

3 weeks is better than I expected considering covid and all. I wonder if they are operating at full capacity. Was initially searching for a insurance provider who would insure on uk plates. Anyone know a company which would do that for a new driver ?

darragh o meara

Cona wrote: »

anyone any experience of dealing with BMW dealers up the North? The particular BMW I am looking at is slightly out of my budget, any chance of a dealer negotiating and coming down in price or is there price set in stone?
Have heard that UK dealers dont haggle whatsoever hence the question here...

Best thing to do is ring them and have a chat. I have had luck getting discounts in the past but have also met firm “no offers” salesmen. Last car I bought over there I had 2-3 in my shortlist. Rang the first lad and got all the info on the car and then made him an offer £250 less than asking price and made the argument that he didn’t have to warranty the car as it was of no use here, he flat out refused, wouldn’t entertain any sort of a discount and even told me that I’d be paying £150 more than asking because of the admin fee. The same car is now advertised almost £700 less when I checked today. Second dealer was a much nicer chap, done everything thing in his power to make things easy for me as I wasn’t going to be collecting it personally, arranged for main dealer check over and for them to contact me with a Skype call to go through the car. Then we got down to money and I made him an offer which was a bit cheeky but was expecting to meet half way of £500 off asking to which he haggled down to £400 and a full tank of diesel.

In that industry you take your chances and ask, it works sometimes but it’s certainly not like here, I’m currently selling my old car and everyone that’s come to see it so far has offered me almost 2k below asking price despite it having no issues to warrant it and being one of the cheaper ones for sale... God I hate Donedeal chancers

darragh o meara

Incidentally, how did people fair out with VRT appointments during the last lockdown? Have mine for next week in another county as we do t have a VRT office in my own. Will obviously be pushing it out but this will also mean I bust my 30 day limit.

Anyone know what the procedure is? Haven’t been able to get anyone on the phone to give me a proper answer.

Cona

Thanks....yeah I guess it all depends on the seller I suppose. Unfortunately, I half expect some of the dealers to flat out reject me because I will be importing it so i might be limited in my options anyway...