Importing my EV from UK and the long journey home from London area to Cork – 550km

dec2000 · 20-07-2016 11:41am

Thanks kcross for this guide - I used it last week - bought a 152 Tekna for the wife with 6,6Kwh charger from Nissan garage in the UK for €15,500 (including flight / ferry costs). Whole thing was flawless and thankfully the chargers from EcoTricity along the way had not been updated to their pay model. Had the VRT appointment set for 2 days later - went smoothly and got the Irish reg within 10 minutes.

ESB eCars also sent us the card before we had the car - once they had proof of address. They asked for car details once we had it imported.

I'm now keeping an eye out for chargers and considering the Rolec - they seem to have a discount of £25 on their custom colours but still expensive for what they are..

kcross - my wife jokes that I'm copying all your purchases, between the leaf and the automower....what are you planning next

KCross · 20-07-2016 1:46pm

That's an excellent price assuming you haven't mixed up your €/£?
How much was the car in sterling?
What route/ferry home did you take?

Sterling drop has helped a lot and I'd suspect the prices are dropping fast in the UK as well with the new charges coming in and PCP deals completing.

dec2000 · 20-07-2016 2:32pm

Car was £13k sterling - flight was €12.99 and ferry was €200. Used Revolut for the deposit and transferwise for the remainder. Exchange rate was 1.169 at the time.

One hiccup for others considering this is that AIB impose a €5k transfer limit per day. I was out of the country so I ended up having to transfer to Transferwise over a few days.

I got a 6.30am flight to Manchester, then the train to Picadilly and metro to Bury. Walked to the Nissan garage and was there for about 9.05. Completed all the paperwork and was driving off the forecourt at 10am.

Took the M60 around Manchester - stopped at Chester Motorway services - really was no need (about 61% battery left) but wanted to ensure there was no issues with charging, since it was my first time doing it. Went on then and stopped in kinmel Park - admittedly I was "testing" the car a lot on that leg so arrived with about 38% left and had lunch and a charge. On then to Holyhead and was there at about 2.45 for a 5.15 ferry!

Plugged in at the car park - two great chargers at the very back of the short term car park. I walked into Holyhead (not much to see or do there) and came back and switched everything to KMs.

Ferry left on time and was in Dublin Port at 7.15pm.

There's great value in the UK at the moment - and with the sterling, it's even better. As a comparison we were in a 152 in Windsor Airside a few weeks ago that the garage was looking for €22k for.

The dealer in Manchester said they have a lot in the Nissan network and even more coming back on PCP. He said most are upgrading but because of the volume of them, the prices are lower and people are not getting prices they would have expected. From one of the forums, I see another Nissan dealer selling an 151 Acenta with 6.6kw charger for £11,500

dec2000 · 20-07-2016 2:33pm

and forgot to mention - car had a "service" and full valet. Got a battery report too and it had 5,900 miles.

KCross · 20-07-2016 8:03pm

Well done. Sounds like plain sailing.

£13k was good and you got the full benefit of the sterling so you have a really really cheap car with full spec so you have given yourself some buffer from depreciation here.

Get the charger materials yourself and get your local spark to put it in. I'm still actually on the granny cable!!! It does the job fine but I have needed a boost a few evenings after work and not having the proper charger is a downside. I should have it in in the next 2 weeks. Last sparky didn't turn up!

Lol on your wife laughing. Mine laughed at me when I told her about the mower and the car but she thinks both are brilliant now. She fights to get the keys of it now.
For the mower, I'm away on hols right now and the mower is working away and we'll be back to a perfectly cut lawn!

For those on the EV forum reading this, the robotic mower is the EV equivalent of a lawnmower. No petrol, fully automated, cheaper to buy than a ride on.

Anyway, happy driving.

A2020 · 20-07-2016 10:03pm

KCross wrote: »

Well done. Sounds like plain sailing.

£13k was good and you got the full benefit of the sterling so you have a really really cheap car with full spec so you have given yourself some buffer from depreciation here.

Get the charger materials yourself and get your local spark to put it in. I'm still actually on the granny cable!!! It does the job fine but I have needed a boost a few evenings after work and not having the proper charger is a downside. I should have it in in the next 2 weeks. Last sparky didn't turn up!

Lol on your wife laughing. Mine laughed at me when I told her about the mower and the car but she thinks both are brilliant now. She fights to get the keys of it now.
For the mower, I'm away on hols right now and the mower is working away and we'll be back to a perfectly cut lawn!

For those on the EV forum reading this, the robotic mower is the EV equivalent of a lawnmower. No petrol, fully automated, cheaper to buy than a ride on.

Anyway, happy driving.

Thank you all so much for posting your trips, advise and experience we are currently looking to go over to buy a leaf with 6.6 charger but my budget is €14k. I was looking to go on Monday but the card from esb didn't come in yet. It was really helpful reading all the posts. And I'm searching the web now so we can get going on Monday. Fingers crossed it goes goes well.
Just a quick question did anyone buy with lookers in uk.
Also did you pay the list price.

KCross · 20-07-2016 11:27pm

I didn't pay list. About £1k less. Lookers might be different though. Depends on whether they have a trade in priced into their list price or not.

Monday doesn't give you much time to organise everything (charger route home, charge cards, payment etc) if you haven't a car picked yet?

A2020 · 20-07-2016 11:35pm

I know I've seen 2 cars I'm interested in its just planning. If we don't go Monday we will have to wait until mid August as my husband is working crazy shifts day/ nights but he's off Monday and Tuesday next week. And his car broke down last week and to be honest it will have to be scrapped.

dec2000 · 21-07-2016 8:45am

Don't rush into it either - make sure it's not a Flex model - otherwise you've a wasted trip. I had picked the car out, got the dealer to do a detailed video of it and we put a deposit on it over the phone of £200. I booked everything for about 10 days after to collect - so the dealer could get it serviced / cleaned etc.

It also gave me time to get the charge cards - don't forget you'll need ecotricity or a similar UK one. ESB were fairly quick sending it out - about 2 days from our first email, but in reality we hadn't needed it yet. The full charge in Holyhead got me home with plenty to spare and using the granny cable at home at the minute. We've only charged at one ESB point and that was to show my wife how it works.

It would also be worth looking into a night meter if you don't already have one.

The dealer I bought was a Nissan garage and there was no budge on price at all. He did put in new mats and a boot liner was about the best I could get.

A2020 · 21-07-2016 9:33am

Thank you so much for all your information.
How long does it take to charge with the granny cable.

oinkely · 21-07-2016 10:40am

I bought from Lookers in Newcastle. A little bit of wiggle room on the window price, but not a lot. Still great value, and the cars were exactly as described.

A2020 · 21-07-2016 10:48am

That's great to hear. Did you have to email nissan ireland for the rest of the warranty to be covered here.

dec2000 · 21-07-2016 10:56am

A2020 wrote: »

Thank you so much for all your information.
How long does it take to charge with the granny cable.

Depends what charge is at and what you want to get it to but you'd be looking at overnight to charge it up - about 12 hours.

A2020 · 21-07-2016 11:00am

dec2000 wrote: »

Depends what charge is at and what you want to get it to but you'd be looking at overnight to charge it up - about 12 hours.

Even with the 6.6 kW charger.

KCross · 21-07-2016 11:12am

The 6.6kw charger is irrelevant when charging from the granny cable. The car can only draw a bit over 1kw from the granny cable. The 6.6kw charger only becomes useful when you are connecting to a 7kw+ charge point(e.g your dedicated charge point at home if it's a 32A charger or the on street chargers)

I usually charge from about 25-30% to 100% via the granny cable and it completes in under 9hrs (the full night rate electricity) so unless you are running the battery very low the granny cable is viable as an overnight charge method.

commited · 21-07-2016 2:49pm

Great thread, very useful. Never thought I'd say this but I'm considering picking up a 2014 Acenta as a second car in the near future. I have a couple of questions:

- How does Transferwise work? Just transfer in there like Currencyfair and then straight into the dealers bank account?
- I've heard that the dealers are fairly willing to haggle considering no part exchange and the sheer quantum of Leafs (Leaves?!) for sale - I was happing for 10% off what I was seeing on Autotrader.
- Do they all come DC-ready?
- What options are desirable on the Acenta? I quite fancy heated seats & steering wheel but I'm not too fussed about the 6.6kW AC charger as the car will be parked up every night for at least 10 hours.

A2020 · 21-07-2016 2:54pm

Did anyone have to bring a letter from revenue saying the vrt was zero.

Soarer · 21-07-2016 3:12pm

A2020 wrote: »

Did anyone have to bring a letter from revenue saying the vrt was zero.

They already know.

dec2000 · 21-07-2016 4:03pm

Soarer wrote: »

They already know.

I just printed the VRT calculator page out. They didn't ask for anything else and as Soarer says, they already know this...plus Zero Emission is plastered all over the car

dec2000 · 21-07-2016 4:07pm

commited wrote: »

Great thread, very useful. Never thought I'd say this but I'm considering picking up a 2014 Acenta as a second car in the near future. I have a couple of questions:

- How does Transferwise work? Just transfer in there like Currencyfair and then straight into the dealers bank account?
- I've heard that the dealers are fairly willing to haggle considering no part exchange and the sheer quantum of Leafs (Leaves?!) for sale - I was happing for 10% off what I was seeing on Autotrader.
- Do they all come DC-ready?
- What options are desirable on the Acenta? I quite fancy heated seats & steering wheel but I'm not too fussed about the 6.6kW AC charger as the car will be parked up every night for at least 10 hours.

Transferwise: Set up an account - you need to validate your address and the bank account you send money from. When you are ready then you request a transfer and put in the destination details of the bank. It converts it for you and tells you how much € to transfer to some Estonian bank. Once they confirm they have it, they transfer from their British bank to the dealer. All sounds pretty hairy but the customer care team were great when I was doing it.

DC ready - as far as I know - I think the base spec is the only one that doesn't but there are very few of them in the UK.

For the Acenta there is a cold pack that seems common as an option. There is also an Acenta+ which has this and the 6.6kw charger. We probably don't need it either but the 6.6kw comes with the granny cable and I guess it would be more desirable if you did ever want to sell on

commited · 21-07-2016 6:04pm

Thanks for your help. A test drive this weekend I think!

We used to use public transport to commute but we've found a car favourable as:
A) In winter, time is similar and don't get soaked/cold etc

In Summer, it's half the time due to lower traffic
C) Always get a seat!

The commute is only a 17mile round trip everyday but averaging 24mpg in town and have noticed an increase in wear and tear. I have to do a 200 mile round trip 2-3 times/month to Belfast depending on requirements so will need a second car regardless unless I'm happier with longer trip time - this is the thing that puts me off a bit as I'll still have ICE costs. However, I reckon I can do 6000 miles out of the 12000 or so in an EV, with the rest in a decent motorway cruiser. There have been a few times recently when 2 cars would have been handy too.

What is the likelihood of being able to get to Newry from Dublin (~65miles) on a charge without crawling?

How much is a service for a Leaf and how often is it required?

makeorbrake · 21-07-2016 10:30pm

commited wrote: »

What is the likelihood of being able to get to Newry from Dublin (~65miles) on a charge without crawling?

Probably not best placed to answer just yet as still waiting to get my mits on the Leaf I've ordered (albeit done a lot of reading up on the topic over the last few weeks). However, if it doesn't cover it, I'd imagine 10 minutes at 1x rapid charge would comfortably see you through? ...but as I said, others here better qualified to answer.

commited wrote: »

How much is a service for a Leaf and how often is it required?

Again, don't quote me but it's something like every 30k or something like that. Less to service - and brakes don't wear as fast.

A2020 · 22-07-2016 7:36pm

Is there an import charge when you come off the ferry in dublin

makeorbrake · 22-07-2016 8:36pm

A2020 wrote: »

Is there an import charge when you come off the ferry in dublin

Link

VRT exempt up to €5k worth of tax (so unless your importing something ultra expensive, you should be fine).

Soarer · 22-07-2016 10:32pm

A2020 wrote: »

Is there an import charge when you come off the ferry in dublin

No. You can drive it home without issue.

You've a few days to book the vrt, which will be €0 anyway, and a month to get her reregistered.

A2020 · 23-07-2016 12:04pm

Is there anyway of checking the battery is owned.

makeorbrake · 23-07-2016 1:41pm

A2020 wrote: »

Is there anyway of checking the battery is owned.

I contacted Nissan finance (along with obviously having the dealer confirm same) and asked them to confirm that the battery for that vehicle was not on their books.

They were wishy-washy in giving me a definitive answer - but I kept pressing them - and ultimately, they confirmed - not a lease.

(Just to add - I was assuming you mean once you've selected a car. If you're shopping for a car, it can be a nightmare. Some of the sellers declare it up front - stating either "battery owned" or "battery leased" or Flex (which is the marketing term for the lease deal). You have to tease this out with each seller in a lot of instances.

It gets better still if you're trying to buy a 2013 (change-over year with mk.1 and mk 1.5 cars on the market) and/or trying to source a leaf with 6.6kW charging. A lot of the dealers simply don't even know what you're talking about with regard to the last 2 points! For shopping purposes, its a total headwrecker. However, it can also work to your advantage. The car I've a deposit on has 6.6kW charging - dealer didn't even know it had it.

A2020 · 23-07-2016 6:50pm

Thank you for your answer. I have a deposit on a acenta +. I will try calling nissan finance on Monday the sales person told me I knew more about the leaf then he did as I was trying to get him to send me a picture of the leaf spy page still I don't think he understood me but I will try to get him to send it on Monday he said it was an x demo car

makeorbrake · 23-07-2016 8:02pm

A2020 wrote: »

Thank you for your answer. I have a deposit on a acenta +. I will try calling nissan finance on Monday the sales person told me I knew more about the leaf then he did as I was trying to get him to send me a picture of the leaf spy page still I don't think he understood me but I will try to get him to send it on Monday he said it was an x demo car

Are you buying from an independent car sales place or a nissan dealer?

Most of these guys don't know what they're selling. I'm not even in the EV world yet and seem to know more than them - just like your experience. That said, Leafspy is an independent app - so nissan dealers probably won't provide that data.

A2020 · 23-07-2016 8:50pm

We are buying from harratts nissan sheffield ( bristol street motors) a Nissan franchise. Just hope it all goes well
Who are you buying from.

Importing my EV from UK and the long journey home from London area to Cork – 550km

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