VRT/VAT exempt - what would you buy from the UK?

No point buying a PHEV if your VRT exempt. They only have 7% VRT, better to buy a big diesel or petrol with 41% VRT

The best 911 that he can get for 50k.

These cars are almost impossible to import used as have 41% vrt, 10% duty and 23% applied, plus once they are a few years old they stop depreciating. He could make a nice wedge selling it on here in a few years

Beautiful car but stupid car tax rules in ireland has to be a consideration with that,less so with something like a 911 where you know they'll be the demand.

The Mrs has a bog standard Jag and her next car will be a jag too but quality has definitely gone down hill since they were taken over.Thats not going to be such an issue with something like an F type but in the coming years Jag might not be seen as a high end brand and that may affect prices.

It's a double edged sword though - the more you "save" on VRT / duty, the harder is will be to sell on privately, even at a big discount.

Of 123 Porsches over €50k on Carzone, only 9 are Privately advertised. Same goes for BMW over €50k, 32 of 1,169 are private, and I'm sure the same across the board.

The market is exceptionally limited in that you need to find a buyer who A) Wants a premium car, B) Doesn't need finance, C) Still wants to to save say €10k. Personally, I think if they can afford a €50k car without finance, they can afford to pay the dealer €60k for more recourse, and the option of finance.

I'm sure there will be responses from people to say the bought cars for more privately, but that is absolutely an exception rather than the rule.

If it were me, I'd buy something nice that I planned to keep for say 5 years, that you would be happy to sell for under €30k (while dealers look for more) which will open up many more potential buyers.

Ignoring classics, then something you can't get here, or which is no longer remotely affordable to do so: Porsche would be first on my list. Be clever about the model though: no point in bringing in one that lands you with a annual motor tax bill of €2,400 a year.........something under 190g/km is €790 a year. Next bracket up 191 - 225g/km is €1250 so that (for me) is do-able.

225g/km and above is dead.

Me ? I had have a Boxster 2.5, or some mad Audi TT RS. Various Merc's or BMW if they float your boat.

Read the specs and log books very carefully.

Don't forget congestion road charges if he is in around London before he decides on a car ..

If he is being brought to England for training in order to be posted back to Ireland by the same company then the Revenue may not regard him as having transferred his normal residence outside the state, so the who thing is moot.

You can do what you want with the car but you have to wait 12 months before selling

They will be concerned that he has in fact ceased to be normally resident in the State, given that his personal ties remain in the state and that he likely visits regularly. Going away for 12 months will not do the trick unless he has a good story as to why he is now back in Ireland.If he does end up as the owner of a vehicle for years then he has a better chance, but anything less than 2 clear calendar years off the Irish tax system will not be convincing.

And they will ask about his employer, if he was in Britain as a student then it wouldn't count at all. If the employer has the same name as his employment here then it would be transparent.

Not so, as you would still be registered with revenue as employed in Ireland or on some form of U/B or welfare. The OP is not trying to scam Revenue or others, he will be living outside the country for at least 12 months. His employment status while abroad is not relevant but if he is employed abroad a letter form his employer('s) stating commencement/termination dates etc would of course help. I was merely pointing out the types of documentations Revenue may request as evidence to enable them to process his application.

If he is a younger person and does buy a Porsche then he will have to find someone to insure him in the UK and then when he returns.

Didn't want to create a new thread just for this question, thought it kind of falls in here.

Is there any website that lists cars for sale in NI that are pre-Brexit and therefore you don't have to pay import/customs duty and VAT?

Sorry, but that's wrong info : the market for €2400/yr motor tax cars is miniscule, and they're not buying old ones, because they're all leased etc.

I'm in the market for a 2018-ish Porsche when the right one comes along, but I'm not even going to click on an ad for a €2400/tax car. It would be beyond unsaleable in the future as that €2400 figure is only going to go up, over time. Imagine keeping it for 5 years and then calculating you'd spent 12k on tax.

And SORD-ing it just defeats the purpose of buying it imho.

Don't buy the car as an 'investment', sure, but don't shoot yourself in the foot either.

with respect, I disagree. I know plenty of the €1809 tax cars parked up for most of every year for that reason.

As long as you meet the requirements they have to grant the exemption. The requirement is living abroad for 12 months, and the car being used during that time. Among some other minor stipulations.

Post edited, abroad for 12 and using the car for 6. As long as you can prove you were actually abroad and not visiting home every weekend, and were actually using the car during that time then theres no reason you wouldn’t qualify.