Audi Northern Ireland won't allow me to purchase car for export to Ireland

It's called protectionism. Audi protecting their dealers in the Republic by not having their UK/NI dealers competing with them. Some other manufacturers have been doing the same for years.

Could you not buy it without the warranty.

It's just an excuse not to sell a car outside your own back yard

Yes think Mercedes UK owned used car colande

Bazz has explained why they won’t sell it

Are they really refusing to sell a used car to a southern buyer so that they can sell servicing on a 3 year old car locally? Surely they would be more interest in selling a service pack with a new car if aftersales was the issue. Warranty doesn't make much difference either because if you can get the car up to the Audi dealer in the North then it will be covered by the Audi warranty the same as if someone local bought it. (I've had personal experience of this with a VW in the past).

As I said Audi just doesn't want an Audi NI/UK dealer selling to a southern buyer because it takes a sale away from a southern Audi dealer. They are protecting their southern Irish dealers.

I dont agree if they sell to a local NI buyer - they will see that car back for servicing / repairs and possibly have a customer for life ( there are only x2 Audi dealers up North - both Agnew also )

It's not cartellism or anything else. A car dealer has a contract with its manufacturer/s to support the products, sales and after-sales of that manufacturer in the territory which they operate.

If Audi AG doesn't want Audi UK market dealers supplying product to affect the distribution of Audi Ireland dealers, they are well within their rights to prevent it.

The UK isn't under EU consumer law anymore, Audi UK can do what it likes.

You cannot register a car up in the North if you are not a NI resident.

Yep. But what is needed to register the car? Just an address to send the v5 out to?

Not sure to be honest but if your putting it in a friends NI address then you might as well put it in their name too. Having it in your name might just invite awkward questions at VRT time or they may simply not give a damn who's name is on the V5 as long as the paperwork is proper and VRT is paid. Some of these NI/UK dealers however have been known to ask that the buyer produce a NI/UK licence before selling the car to them if they suspect you are from the south.

Is this not the same with mercedes uk - its been going on years .

in this case it was a UK Jaguar dealer refusing to sell me an A7. Got the friend to put his name on the logbook (I paid dealer) and sell to me the next day.