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

dickdasr1234

deezell wrote: »

.009g or 9mg, is this on the v5? Extraordinary low Nox.

I assume the 'Nox' figure is the one that applies and not the HC+Nox.

MEGA BRO WOLF 5000

bazz26 wrote: »

What year are you looking at?

My 2017 430d cost just over 5k in VRT/NOx a few months back.

Just for instance I'll take this 330d in NI.

https://www.usedcarsni.com/2010-BMW-3-Series-SE-273039456?keywords=&make=2&model=0&fuel_type=2&trans_type=0&age_from=2008&age_to=0&price_from=0&price_to=0&user_type=0&mileage_to=0&body_style=0&eng_size%5B%5D=3000&keywords=&location%5B%5D=0&location%5B%5D=0&homepage_search_attr=1&tab_id=0&search_type=1

Price is 4237 euro.

Put the details into revenue VRT calculator and it's a further 4091 euro, almost doubling the price...and this is a manual SE model, ideally I'm looking for a 335d or 330d in automatic which hikes the price to over 5k VRT.



Same 4k VRT price comes in for cars that are worth around 2-3k.
Is importing big diesels dead?

bazz26

Not just big diesels, importing any diesel that is pre Euro 6 emissions compliant is going to be expensive. It's the reason why they introduced the NOx charge to discourage dirty old diesels being dumped over here from the UK.

deezell

dickdasr1234 wrote: »

I assume the 'Nox' figure is the one that applies and not the HC+Nox.

Correct, as regards WLTP v NEDC, this only applies to the CO2 emissions, on which road tax and VRT bands are based. Afaik there is no change to the method of calculating Nox or the manufacturers claimed figures. There have been big changes in how manufacturers reduce it, with more sophisticated catalysers and adblue treatment, very significant here given that modest Nox figures can add €Ks to car's VRT. All this extra exhaust treatment adds to the cost of building diesels, and more to go wrong.

richieffff

Anyone else having issues making a VRT inspection booking on the NCTS website, clicking on "Make a booking" is just refreshing the page (tried multiple browsers)

Isambard

richieffff wrote: »

Anyone else having issues making a VRT inspection booking on the NCTS website, clicking on "Make a booking" is just refreshing the page (tried multiple browsers)

the advice seems to be to phone them in the hope of getting a cancelation

richieffff

Isambard wrote: »

the advice seems to be to phone them in the hope of getting a cancelation

Ah cheers I may try ringing, car isn't in the country yet, just wanted to get a head start on trying to get it done before the new year.

Does the website just not load if there's no bookings?

dickdasr1234

[/QUOTE][/QUOTE]Vehicle Registration Tax changes in Budget 2021
From January 2021 a new vehicle registration tax (VRT) rates are being introduced to use the CO2 values from a new EU emissions test for passenger cars, known as “WLTP”.

The existing 11 band table is replaced with a 20 band table with a revised rates structure.
Whereas current VRT rates range from 14% to 36%, the new VRT table has a range from 7%
to 37%. The table is shown below.

VRT Rates from 1/1/2021
BAND FROM TO VRT Rate
1 0 50 7.00%
2 51 80 9.00%
3 81 85 9.75%
4 86 90 10.50%
5 91 95 11.25%
6 96 100 12.00%
7 101 105 12.75%
8 106 110 13.50%
9 111 115 14.25%
10 116 120 15.00%
11 121 125 15.75%
12 126 130 16.50%
13 131 135 17.25%
14 136 140 18.00%
15 141 145 19.50%
16 146 150 21.00%
17 151 155 23.50%
18 156 170 26.00%
19 171 190 31.00%
20 >191 37.00%
While the VRT regime is transitioning to the new WLTP emissions test, it is still the case that
used imports pre September 2018 will have been subject to the old and discredited NEDC
emissions test. An ‘WLTP equivalent’ CO2 value will be calculated for cars subject to the NEDC test.

The ‘WLTP equivalent’ is different for petrol and diesel casts as shown below with an illustration.

Petrol: y = x(0.9227)+34.554
Diesel: y = x(1.1405)+12.858

A NEDC tested petrol car has a CO2 value of 110 g/km on the vehicle registration documentation which would attract a rate of 16%. Revenue uplifts this CO2 value to a WLTP equivalent value as follows: y = 110(0.9227) + 34.554 y = 136

This car is then subject to an 18% VRT rate.

Lleyn elec

What are people’s experience of getting a car inspected in the UK?
I’d say for most at the moment heading over yourself isn’t an option?
What companies provide this service?

PowerToWait

I intend to buy a 2018 E220d AMG Line estate. On the Revenue.ie VRT calculator they have 2 version listings exactly the same for this car;

"D AMG LINE 5 DR AUTO"

The first on the list returns a VRT levy of 7.1k and the second a figure of 5.5, the OMSP is significantly different on both at 36k and 32k respectively.

Could anyone shed some light on this conundrum?

mgn

PowerToWait wrote: »

I intend to buy a 2018 E220d AMG Line estate. On the Revenue.ie VRT calculator they have 2 version listings exactly the same for this car;

"D AMG LINE 5 DR AUTO"

The first on the list returns a VRT levy of 7.1k and the second a figure of 5.5, the OMSP is significantly different on both at 36k and 32k respectively.

Could anyone shed some light on this conundrum?

Check the emissions on the car your buying against the one on the VRT calculator and that will be the correct one.

PowerToWait

mgn wrote: »

Check the emissions on the car your buying against the one on the VRT calculator and that will be the correct one.

Briliant, thanks v much.

5500

Lleyn elec wrote: »

What are people’s experience of getting a car inspected in the UK?
I’d say for most at the moment heading over yourself isn’t an option?
What companies provide this service?

I've used AA RAC and recently clickmechanic. The first two were a lot more Indepth but also more expensive. Click mechanic seems to just connect you with a mechanic in the area the car is in, I can't fault any of them really, the last one I used on clickmechanic was honest enough and thought the car had had a rear smack (amongst loads of other bits) and advised to walk away so it was money well spent

LillySV

5500 wrote: »

I've used AA RAC and recently clickmechanic. The first two were a lot more Indepth but also more expensive. Click mechanic seems to just connect you with a mechanic in the area the car is in, I can't fault any of them really, the last one I used on clickmechanic was honest enough and thought the car had had a rear smack (amongst loads of other bits) and advised to walk away so it was money well spent

And between aa and rac, which u find better? Do they check hpi and all that also?

dickdasr1234

Have an appointment on 17th November 2020

The VRT site tells me that my car will be assessed on the emissions stated on the V5C which are CO2 115 (WLTP).

The site also states that the WTLP figures came into general usage in September 2018. My car is registered in July 2018 and the 'upgrade' to WTLP is listed as a 'no cost' extra.

An equivalent 118d without the 'extra' would be assessed at NECD CO2 99 = 15% VRT.

As it stands, my WLTP 115 = 17% VRT.

The 2021 WLTP-based system will charge 14.25% VRT.

Anybody think there might be a commonsense solution available?

deezell

dickdasr1234 wrote: »

Have an appointment on 17th November 2020

The VRT site tells me that my car will be assessed on the emissions stated on the V5C which are CO2 115 (WLTP).

The site also states that the WTLP figures came into general usage in September 2018. My car is registered in July 2018 and the 'upgrade' to WTLP is listed as a 'no cost' extra.

An equivalent 118d without the 'extra' would be assessed at NECD CO2 99 = 15% VRT.

As it stands, my WLTP 115 = 17% VRT.

The 2021 WLTP-based system will charge 14.25% VRT.

Anybody think there might be a commonsense solution available?

1. Wait till January to register, pay late VRT excess of 0.1% per day, say two months, so an increase of 6% of the 14.25% VRT, giving an equivalent rate of 15.105%. Your OMSP may be reduced, saving you some. You might have to pay VAT, but I doubt it as you imported pre 2021.

2. Get a Certificate of conformity for this exact model, showing NEDC emissions. This will cost maybe €200. Use this instead of V5.

A common sense solution would be to reverse engineer WLTP back to NEDC, but we're talking the Revenue here.

5500

LillySV wrote: »

And between aa and rac, which u find better? Do they check hpi and all that also?

I think RAC but purely because they fit it in quicker, both had a HPI check at the time, I think its worth the expense at the moment with not being able to travel, as the dealers will tell you anything to sell it.

LillySV

5500 wrote: »

I think RAC but purely because they fit it in quicker, both had a HPI check at the time, I think its worth the expense at the moment with not being able to travel, as the dealers will tell you anything to sell it.

Nothing much up in the north(and anything up there too dear) and I can’t fly to Uk so it’s the only choice now if I do see something I’d say.

PowerToWait

I'm trying to book a VRT inspection on the NCTS site. I can't get beyond the 'make new booking' page (t&c box is ticked). It doesn't follow to a new page. Nothing happens.

Obviously I'm missing something here.

anonanymore

i found the same last Sunday. Wonder if they close parts of the website on the weekends.
Went on the website Monday am and got an appointment week later.

mgn

PowerToWait wrote: »

I'm trying to book a VRT inspection on the NCTS site. I can't get beyond the 'make new booking' page (t&c box is ticked). It doesn't follow to a new page. Nothing happens.

Obviously I'm missing something here.

Just checked it on mine same thing happing.
The must be updating the system, try again in the morning.

Dr Dave

Hi, does anyone know If VRT / Revenue can find out what options are on a car from the Reg or VIN?

Dr Dave

Dr Dave wrote: »

Hi, does anyone know If VRT / Revenue can find out what options are on a car from the Reg or VIN?

And what is the up to date situation for charging on options by Revenue?
Thanks.

deezell

Dr Dave wrote: »

And what is the up to date situation for charging on options by Revenue?
Thanks.

The VIN is only useful in conjunction with the manufacturers' build specification database. If you look around you can find sites that will lookup the factory build data for your car. Like here
https://www.monacoautocollection.com/vin-decoding-audi-bmw-mercedes-benz-porsche-vw/
Most cars have the build spec on a sticker in the owners manual, also usually inside the boot and perhaps elsewhere. It contains a list of abbreviations which decode to the options on the car, standard and optional. For a given model variant you can see the level of spec included, what's not included, and what was included as an option.
Heres a link to the full options list for VAG
http://vag-codes.info/vag-option-codes
Now if you're are asking do the VRT inspectors decode this badge, or look it up, then identify what was a non standard option for a particular variant of a model, I'd say the answer is no. If the car came with €2K alloys, or €5Kmedia centre upgrade, there will be a code on the sticker and in the vehicle manufacturer's database that says so, but I don't know if the VRT inspectors have access to this for every make and model. It takes a bit of effort to decode the sticker manually, if you don't have your list in a file format. I did it manually once for an Audi, I was able to get it electronically for more recent purchases, a Merc and another Audi, but it's tricky enough.
Something obvious like a sunroof or leather seats in a Micra may catch their eye, but so much stuff is standard fit these days. A Lexus we brought in was stuffed with low visibility options, but we paid the calculator rate on the day.

This little tool (not Boris J. btw) will decode a hand entered list.
http://igorweb.org/equidec.aspx

Typical PR code list

Dr Dave

Thanks for that deezell.
Did a bit more looking myself.

https://www.revenue.ie/en/tax-professionals/tdm/vehicle-registration-tax/vrt-manual-section-08.pdf

If they bother looking and do find them, this is the official procedure.

Establish the value of any optional extras
The next step in the valuation process is to establish if the particular vehicle has
optional extras and to attach a value to them. This is done by reference to trade
guides, supplier catalogues and other relevant sources of material. The extras are
depreciated (at an accelerated basis) over the first 5 years of the life of the vehicle.
Age of vehicle Reduction in OMSP of extras
Less than 3 months 0%
Less than 1 year 10%
Less than 2 years 25%
Less than 3 years 40%
Less than 4 years 55%
Over 4 years 100%
This depreciation in the value of extras is based on the age of the vehicle, which is
calculated using a specific “extras” formula and which is different from the formula
used to calculate the age of the vehicle.

Hopefully, they won't see anything.

deezell

See no extras, Hear no extras, Bill no extras!

bazz26

It's a long time since they went out to the car checking for extras. They check everything they need to know from the car's VIN against the manufacturer's database.

deezell

bazz26 wrote: »

It's a long time since they went out to the car checking for extras. They check everything they need to know from the car's VIN against the manufacturer's database.

That's assuming they have full detailed access to non Irish cars? I guess they should for new, used would be the same, but in new case the dealers price with extras becomes the OMSP, say dealer adds a 5k Harman Kardon to a car you've ordered, that 5k includes the VRT element. It's a lot of hassle to wade through the codes and spec list, unless extras are listed and labelled specifically as add ons, it's hard to spot. Something like "Winterpack" maybe, but upgraded alloys? Reverse camera? I'd be Interested to hear from people who got stung, and for what. Leather seats in a 5 series way back in 2009 was the only extra I ever ponied up for, and that was a manual inspection by an old dear in the civil service before NCT took over.

bazz26

I'm sure Revenue have some way of doing it but gone are the days they walk around the car with a clipboard noting extras fitted.

Dr Dave

deezell wrote: »

See no extras, Hear no extras, Bill no extras!

That's the hope anyway. A heat gun will take off the incriminating rear badge and a little polish should remove any other evidence. I can buy a new badge on ebay for £20. Far cheaper than 60% of a €2,400 option. Now, how to hide the €1,500 Harman Kardon sound system?