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

b.gud

Not if it's been mentioned here but it looks as though the VRT prices have gone up within the last month.

A month ago I imported a 2008 Ford Focus Zetec 1.8 TDCi and the vrt was €1080 checked yesterday for the exact same car and it was €1742. Talked to a friend of mine who imported a car last year and his car had gone up as well by about €500.

I don't know how across the board it is, or when it happened, but it's something that you should be aware of if you've recently got a VRT quote.

nice_guy80

b.gud wrote: »

Not if it's been mentioned here but it looks as though the VRT prices have gone up within the last month.

A month ago I imported a 2008 Ford Focus Zetec 1.8 TDCi and the vrt was €1080 checked yesterday for the exact same car and it was €1742. Talked to a friend of mine who imported a car last year and his car had gone up as well by about €500.

I don't know how across the board it is, or when it happened, but it's something that you should be aware of if you've recently got a VRT quote.

no way that has happened.
there's a set formula for it

b.gud

nice_guy80 wrote: »

no way that has happened.
there's a set formula for it

The first attached file is a screen shot from a month and a half ago, the second one from just now. All car details were exactly the same.

There is a set formula but part of that is based on the price of the car, so if they decide the car is of greater value then the rate goes up. You can see there was a jump in the value of the car from the first to the second screen shot

Old diesel

bazz26 wrote: »

Usually you can change from displaying the mileage from miles to kph using the on-board computer. Some cars have a digital reading of the speed also which can change between mph and kph. Really depends on the manufacturer. For example VAG cars have a digital display of your speed, you can change this from mph to kph by changing it via the on-board computer. Very doubt it will be mentioned in any adverts though as most don't see it as a selling point.

Forums for the make or model of car might be a good place to find out if a particular car has that particular feature.

In saying that - I don't think working with mph speedos in Ireland - even though speed limits in Ireland are kph is a huge issue.

Just a case really of being familiar with some of the main ones - like 100 kph is 62.5 mph for example

Esel

Old diesel wrote: »

Forums for the make or model of car might be a good place to find out if a particular car has that particular feature.

In saying that - I don't think working with mph speedos in Ireland - even though speed limits in Ireland are kph is a huge issue.

Just a case really of being familiar with some of the main ones - like 100 kph is 62.5 mph for example

I think it was CiniO who posted a very good rule of thumb, which works very well as long as your speedo reads higher than actual speed (most will, as long as wheel circumference is standard):

Multiply the MPH reading by 1.5 to get your actual KM/H speed.

Example: speedo shows 80mph, you are doing a real 120km/h.

nice_guy80

So I've spotted a car in the UK that I'd like to buy.
its £10,000

Mondeo 2.0

What should I do next.
contact the dealer and say I'm interested in the car?
if they ask for a deposit?

Unrealistic

nice_guy80 wrote: »

no way that has happened.
there's a set formula for it

But the set formula is based on a variable input. The formula is applied to the notional price of an equivalent car in Ireland and that data is provided by the motor industry here. Of course they have an incentive to provide inflated notional values to limit competition from private imports. There have been quite a few press articles recently about the secondhand prices in Ireland having increased substantially because there are so few cars on the market as a result of the low new car sales here over the last five years. I wonder if that coincided with an update in the price database that Revenue uses to determine VRT?

Old diesel

Unrealistic wrote: »

But the set formula is based on a variable input. The formula is applied to the notional price of an equivalent car in Ireland and that data is provided by the motor industry here. Of course they have an incentive to provide inflated notional values to limit competition from private imports. There have been quite a few press articles recently about the secondhand prices in Ireland having increased substantially because there are so few cars on the market as a result of the low new car sales here over the last five years. I wonder if that coincided with an update in the price database that Revenue uses to determine VRT?

I wonder how often the open market selling prices are adjusted.

Im also wondering how well it adjusts for mileage - ran the ROS on line calculator for a 2009 Passat 1.8 tsi about 2 years ago.

Ran it for a 78,000 miler and a 130,000 miler (I think) and the OMSP hardly changed at all.

They weren't real cars though - I just invented them - but the system doesn't know that

Old diesel

Mind you - the system could have being playing up that day - and it may be a lot better now

b.gud

Old diesel wrote: »

I wonder how often the open market selling prices are adjusted.

Im also wondering how well it adjusts for mileage - ran the ROS on line calculator for a 2009 Passat 1.8 tsi about 2 years ago.

Ran it for a 78,000 miler and a 130,000 miler (I think) and the OMSP hardly changed at all.

They weren't real cars though - I just invented them - but the system doesn't know that

I noticed that mileage in general made little to no difference to the OSMP anytime I looked at it

Johnny_Fontane

nice_guy80 wrote: »

So I've spotted a car in the UK that I'd like to buy.
its £10,000

Mondeo 2.0

What should I do next.
contact the dealer and say I'm interested in the car?
if they ask for a deposit?

also looking for a 2.0 mondeo. probably 2011, titanium spec estate with 65000 miles. Maybe we should approach an importer together and see if we can get a better deal.
Also couldnt find the 163 bhp, titanium X on the VRT calculator. If anyone can help.

tramoreman77

could i buy a car with a category d crash and bring it to ireland from northern ireland and then go to the original makers and get the emissions list and would it cost me less on vrt sorry new to this

nice_guy80

Johnny_Fontane wrote: »

also looking for a 2.0 mondeo. probably 2011, titanium spec estate with 65000 miles. Maybe we should approach an importer together and see if we can get a better deal.
Also couldnt find the 163 bhp, titanium X on the VRT calculator. If anyone can help.

I'm looking for a hatchback
2.0 business edition or titanium, maybe 2012 if I can afford it

bazz26

tramoreman77 wrote: »

could i buy a car with a category d crash and bring it to ireland from northern ireland and then go to the original makers and get the emissions list and would it cost me less on vrt sorry new to this

No, Revenue do not care if it is damage repaired or not, it has no bearing on the cost of VRT.

tramoreman77

thanks but would it cost me less if i got the emissions document

The_Conductor

tramoreman77 wrote: »

thanks but would it cost me less if i got the emissions document

No.
If emissions data is not available- it defaults back to engine size.
You can get your certificate of EU Conformity and send it into them by all means- but its going to cost you 120 quid- and they're just going to send it back to you.

Several of us have done it (on this thread)- none of us got anywhere.

tramoreman77

thank you for the advice ,just wondering if i was to use the vehicle as a trade at a car dealership would they know it was a catefory d

The_Conductor

tramoreman77 wrote: »

thank you for the advice ,just wondering if i was to use the vehicle as a trade at a car dealership would they know it was a catefory d

I believe its illegal to sell the car in the Irish Republic- unless its Irish registered.
As such- its status as a future trade-in would be moot (aka it would be spelt out in its Irish logbook).

tramoreman77

yes i am going to regester it but if i want to trade it in will they know it was crashed

Old diesel

The_Conductor wrote: »

No.
If emissions data is not available- it defaults back to engine size.
You can get your certificate of EU Conformity and send it into them by all means- but its going to cost you 120 quid- and they're just going to send it back to you.

Several of us have done it (on this thread)- none of us got anywhere.

When did they start putting the emissions data on the UK logbooks for new cars???.

I am right in assuming uk logbooks for cars registered new after a certain date have the Co2 emissions on the V5 or whatever its called now????

bazz26

It will show up as Cat D write off on any car history report that a buyer/dealer would get. Remember though that a Cat D write off is minor damage repaired and not the end of the world. It does however scare the bejesus out of buyers when they get a car history report and most people automatically assume write off means one thing - avoid. Not telling a buyer up front only reinforces their suspicions when they find out later and your just digging a hole for yourself.

However the resale value of a Cat D car will obviously be less than that of a undamaged car but given that you are buying it at a reduced price to begin with then it balances itself out come resale time.

nice_guy80

I asked this question the other day, no response

I've spotted a car in the UK i'm interested in buying

What do I do next?
Contact the dealer and ask them about it?
pay a deposit?
organise to head on over and buy it?

regards

Old diesel

nice_guy80 wrote: »

I asked this question the other day, no response

I've spotted a car in the UK i'm interested in buying

What do I do next?
Contact the dealer and ask them about it?
pay a deposit?
organise to head on over and buy it?

regards

Ive never done it before - but if I had this situation in the morning

1) check the VRT rate for the car on the ROS.ie website - theres a section there where you pick the make then the model and the model variant - and other things from drop down lists - plus year and mileage.

2) check the price other cars the same as it are making on the Irish market - and compare that to the total cost of the car in UK (in Euros) and the VRT rate - to establish the savings if any

For example - car y - price in Uk - 15,000 euros (always allow for the Euro conversion it adds to the figure) plus VRT rate from ROS.ie for that car - 2,000. Total cost of the car 17,000 - add flights and accommodation to that cost too.

3) Make contact with dealer - discuss the car - asking the normal questions - service history, number of owners.

4) if all above looks good - look into how you will get the funds to the dealer - a potential option is doing a transfer of funds - via a company like Fexco - who were mentioned earlier in this tread. Apparently you can do it through banks - but they (banks) are slower.

5) Make arrangements to view the car - also - try and see if you can get the reg number - so you can do a history check on the vehicle

6) book flights accommodation etc if your still interested.

Im not the best person to answer the question though - its how id approach it.

Looks like a long list - but youd get a lot of it sorted in a few hours - depending on how contact goes with the dealer and of course the all important VRT and Euro conversions???

That last is vital - what looks cheap at a sterling price - looks a bit dearer when you convert sterling price to euros (higher figure you see)

beggars_bush

What about vehicle inspections?
Do you inform dealer that there's a mechanic coming to inspect the car?

clogher71

nice_guy80 wrote: »

I asked this question the other day, no response

I've spotted a car in the UK i'm interested in buying

What do I do next?
Contact the dealer and ask them about it?
pay a deposit?
organise to head on over and buy it?
£
regards

I have done this a couple of times, and been lucky so far. Last time I payed £300 deposit by paypal on a Tuesday to hold the car until Saturday, the company said they would refund this if I did not like/buy the car. Paypal should be ok as you can open a dispute if there is a problem with the transaction (although I never had need to do this). Ex fleet cars will have a dealer service history, a lot of manufacturers are now going 'digital' and there are no service books, service history's, the car I got had FSH, the air filter was not due according to the manufacturer's intervals, when I took it out it was filthy.:rolleyes:

My experience of UK dealers they will not stir much on the price, and if they know you are coming over they know there is a fair chance you are on a one way ticket, so say you don't need any kind of warranty etc, all I spoke to said they would either collect me at the airport or nearest train station to them.

I used cash as well my car was not big money, I wanted to go on a Sat to save work holidays, so a transfer was not an option, I was able to bargain for a few more quid off when I had notes in my hand, I may not have got that with a transfer.

Smaller dealers I prefer, not gone on car Supermarkets.

nice_guy80

clogher71 wrote: »

I have done this a couple of times, and been lucky so far. Last time I payed £300 deposit by paypal on a Tuesday to hold the car until Saturday, the company said they would refund this if I did not like/buy the car. Paypal should be ok as you can open a dispute if there is a problem with the transaction (although I never had need to do this). Ex fleet cars will have a dealer service history, a lot of manufacturers are now going 'digital' and there are no service books, service history's, the car I got had FSH, the air filter was not due according to the manufacturer's intervals, when I took it out it was filthy.:rolleyes:

My experience of UK dealers they will not stir much on the price, and if they know you are coming over they know there is a fair chance you are on a one way ticket, so say you don't need any kind of warranty etc, all I spoke to said they would either collect me at the airport or nearest train station to them.

I used cash as well my car was not big money, I wanted to go on a Sat to save work holidays, so a transfer was not an option, I was able to bargain for a few more quid off when I had notes in my hand, I may not have got that with a transfer.

Smaller dealers I prefer, not gone on car Supermarkets.

what dealers did you go for?
did you find the car on autotrader?

clogher71

Yes I always kept an eye on autotrader and ebay. The guy I got my wifes car from last year, is small time, operates from his house, would only have 3/4 cars and kinda specialises in the model of car, he has contacts built up in the relevant places, he bought the car in question direct from Lex autolease, basically valeted it and sold it on, everything he had on the day I was there was spotless, I rang the dealer that was servicing it when I got home, they printed off every invoice associated with the car, even the warranty ones and posted them over to me.

My thing is if you can find out who last serviced the car, if its a main dealer, I ring them, and hopefully get a service receptionist that will play ball, ask them was there any notes made on the last job card which may give an indication of near future work due, like there maybe a note saying 'front brake pads and discs due before next service' or tyres near limit, or you might get a nice surprise and they might tell you the car got new pads and discs at the last service!

big_show

Im looking at the vrt calculator for a 2010 Toyota Auris D4D TR 5DR model, in the version drop down menu it lists "1.4 D4D TR 5DR" 3 times with a difference of €400 between the lowest and the highest.

How do I know which one they will choose? (i'll probably factor in the most expensive one into my price) also say I was to factor in the most expensive VRT can that price still go up once they inspect it?

clogher71

big_show wrote: »

Im looking at the vrt calculator for a 2010 Toyota Auris D4D TR 5DR model, in the version drop down menu it lists "1.4 D4D TR 5DR" 3 times with a difference of €400 between the lowest and the highest.

How do I know which one they will choose? (i'll probably factor in the most expensive one into my price) also say I was to factor in the most expensive VRT can that price still go up once they inspect it?

Google motorcheck vrt calculator, it will let you put in the uk reg of the car, then it will give you the vrt, much simpler than the revenues website.

pavelpro

Bought car week ago from the dealer up the North, they never show me V5 and promised to send it to home address. So far nothing received. Should i start to worry or this is normal?
As well no NCT cert or whatever is at the north on the car... Could this be that it was never checked or anything else?