Importanting From Europe?

Wanton

I know there are a good few places imporing from japan, but does anyone know of any garages that import from mainland europe, portugal for example?

Calibos

3 words.....Left hand drive

Wanton

i bloody well forgot bout that, and will say no more about the subject

Borzoi

It is possible to order a right hand drive car from a european garage, import it here and save money, but I think it only works on the high end marques

ChipZilla

Originally posted by Calibos
3 words.....Left hand drive

Rubbish, the dealer just orders a RHD from the manufacturer like any other car on his forecourt. Anyway, EU law says the dealer can't refuse to sell you a RHD car as long as he sells an equivalent LHD model, and vice versa. People in the UK buy RHD cars from mainland Europe all the time, so I cant see why importing one here would be a problem. Dunno about VRT though - you probably get shafted there. Greece and Holland are the cheapest places to buy from BTW...

ChipZilla

Here's some nice examples of the money you can save:

Volvo V40 1.6:
€27400 in Ireland (according to CBG.ie ) :eek:

€19561 in Holland (from Van Vliet Car Company )

Alfa 147 2.0 Selespeed 3dr:
€30840 in Ireland (according to CBG.ie )

€19340 in Spain (from Motor Araba )

Merc SL350:
€123000 :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: in Ireland (according to CBG.ie )

€75390 in Belgium (from Car Benelux )

Gmodified

VRT will kill U.

ChipZilla

Originally posted by Gmodified
VRT will kill U.

Just had a look on oasis.gov.ie. The rates for VRT are:

0 - 1.4: 22.5%
1.4 - 1.9: 25%
1.9 - above 30%

So the Volvo above would cost you roughly 6850 in VRT (a saving of about a grand on the Irish list price), the Alfa would cost you 10280 in VRT (a saving of about a grand on the Irish list price), and the merc would set you back a nice cool 41000 (a saving of 7 grand on the Irish list price).

Ouch! That would leave your arse feeling quite sore...

Still, I suppose some people would be happy saving a measly grand. But that is a good shafting by the govt.

Stuff

I assume he was asking about second hand cars, at which point i'm sure dealers in europe dont have to stock rhd cars.

Gmodified

good shafting by the govt

yeah. let's drive puntos, golfs and other car's which are more expansive and come highly equipped in manual windows

RicardoSmith

Why not just import them from the UK, assuming the VRT makes it worthwhile.

leeroybrown

Unfortunately we're in a paltry position when it comes to importing cars from other EU countries.

The pre tax price of our new cars tend to be quite low due to the massive tax bill added by VAT and exorbitant VRT.

If I lived in England I would probably order my car over here, have the dealer register it with export (ZZ) plates thus avoiding VAT and VRT here, then take the ferry to the UK and register it there at 17.5% VAT and ~£150 VRT. I'm sure plenty of people do it as is. (I'm not 100% sure if you can pay the UK VAT any more)

Importing a new car from the UK is pointless due to high pre tax prices. Importing second hand cars from the UK (especially Northern Ireland) can be useful for certain models (BMW's from NI for example) but you still have to pay Irish VRT based on the Irish valuation of the car which will be a higher figure. The sterling exchange would really hurt too.

raphaelS

And what about motorbikes?
Anyone knows...

First there's no problem with left and right, and I am sure it will be cheaper in France or Germany which are larger market

Raphael

leeroybrown

I think it's (open to correction on this one):

€2 per cc up to 350cc and €1 per cc thereafter. I don't think the bike being new/used makes any difference.

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by leeroybrown
Unfortunately we're in a paltry position when it comes to importing cars from other EU countries.

The pre tax price of our new cars tend to be quite low due to the massive tax bill added by VAT and exorbitant VRT.

If I lived in England I would probably order my car over here, have the dealer register it with export (ZZ) plates thus avoiding VAT and VRT here, then take the ferry to the UK and register it there at 17.5% VAT and ~£150 VRT. I'm sure plenty of people do it as is. (I'm not 100% sure if you can pay the UK VAT any more)

Importing a new car from the UK is pointless due to high pre tax prices. Importing second hand cars from the UK (especially Northern Ireland) can be useful for certain models (BMW's from NI for example) but you still have to pay Irish VRT based on the Irish valuation of the car which will be a higher figure. The sterling exchange would really hurt too.

New cars yes. But second hand cars are a lot cheaper in the UK than here. AFAIK the thread is about 2nd hand cards not new ones.

MojoMaker

Originally posted by leeroybrown
I think it's (open to correction on this one):

€2 per cc up to 350cc and €1 per cc thereafter. I don't think the bike being new/used makes any difference.

Of course it does - you wanna pay full VRT on (for example) a 10yr old motorcycle? :rolleyes:

Sliding scale, similar to cars, age is a big factor, and yes you can get incredible deals in the UK & France.

leeroybrown

I stand corrected. I'm not sure where I got that idea from. Moral of the story, drink less coffee and check the figures next time.

Here is the actual situation:
Any motorcycle with more than 3000 miles on the clock is secondhand for VRT purposes. There is then a sliding scale as follows:

Age / Deduct
1-2yrs 20%
2-3yrs 40%
3-4yrs 50%
4-5yrs 60%
5-7yrs 70%
7-10yrs 80%
10-30yrs 90%

Sounds a bit more reasonable alright.

Gmodified

just keep it simple

http://www.revenue.ie/services/vrt/vrt.htm

i didn't see any 3000 miles restriction

PBC_1966

Originally posted by Calibos
3 words.....Left hand drive

If you can get a car you want at a good price (even after VRT) by importing used from Europe, it's no big deal.

I've driven LHD here in England for years, and also driven LHD in Ireland. It really isn't the problem that many people seem to think.

RicardoSmith

Originally posted by PBC_1966
If you can get a car you want at a good price (even after VRT) by importing used from Europe, it's no big deal.

I've driven LHD here in England for years, and also driven LHD in Ireland. It really isn't the problem that many people seem to think.

Only think to bear in mind is that it has to be a bargain because the resale will be a lot less than a RHD car. Are there any modifications required by the NCT? I'm thinking lights and speedo, as in the UK?

PBC_1966

Headlights would need changing to deflect left instead of right.

There's also a rule here about rear fog lights which states that where only one is fitted it must be on the right. Whether there's a similar NCT requirement in Ireland, I have no idea. It would only affect those modern cars with one fog light and one reversing light -- No problem for those with a pair of each.

Presumably the speedo wouldn't be a problem once Ireland converts to km/h, right?

Guy:Incognito

some of the online insurance quotes (i would assume its the same for the corresponding companies offline forms) state that it must be RHD and not mported.

PBC_1966

Yes, there are insurance companies here who don't want to know you, and I've certainly run into several of them over the years trying to get quotes for U.S. imports.

The questions asked by insurance companies seem to vary considerably. Many ask if a vehicle is LHD or RHD, but some don't. I once had a quote (I forget what make/model) and they didn't ask LHD or RHD, but when the quote was given they provided two figures. The LHD quote was about £15 higher than RHD for some reason.