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

Ta me anseo

What car are you looking at zing?

zing

Ta me anseo wrote: »

zing,

The plates in the UK run from March to September meaning that any given year will have three registration change periods. A 2007 car could be on 56, 07 or 57 plates.

Yup - aware of that. Probably should have made that clearer in the orig post. I'm sure a 56 plate V an 07 plate for a 2007 car would be an issue for some people in the UK but matters not to us as long as the car on the 56 plate was reg'd in Jan or Feb '07.

Come the 1st March, the choice in the UK should increase as people change their cars for the first registrations with an 8 in them (08 regs). So yes, you will have more choice for second hand cars, but the prices will be a little higher too as more people will be waiting to do what you are thinking of doing!

Wait tentatively till March, but in the meantime, if your dream car with ideal spec and keen price should show it's face, take it!!! No point waiting only to find that you can't get what you want but could have had it in Feb!

Cheers for that. Figured there'd be more availability but thought more cars on forecourts would have meant more potential to do deals. Am looking at an '04 or '05 520i or 525i with the usual spec (i.e. as little mileage as possible and as many extras as possible - am aware extras potentially/probably = more in vrt). There's a few interesting cars coming up now but it doesn't suit me to travel for another couple of weeks so for now I'm just trying to keep an eye on the market. Will be keeping a close eye on autotrader, bmw.co.uk, car supermarket sites, etc.. between now & then and ringing the odd dealer (some very odd I'm sure) to try get a feel for how long the cars are typically staying on the forecourt and what sort of cash discounts are out there.

smccarrick - iirc they haven't used July -> July (or more specifically Aug -> July) in about 10 years. Around then they switched to a new letter every 6 months and in 2001 switched to current the 0x/5x style plates.

The_Conductor

zing wrote: »

smccarrick - iirc they haven't used July -> July (or more specifically Aug -> July) in about 10 years. Around then they switched to a new letter every 6 months and in 2001 switched to current the 0x/5x style plates.

I stand corrected- cheers!

Shane

helmut147

with the pound weaker why isn't everyone going north to buy new cars ? must be a saving of ten percent at least ! ??
i am thinking of buying a new car from the north from a main dealer and registering it here. is there an issue that i am missing. will it effect resale or is there some other downside other than it's not local ? i thought manufactures warranties were honoured both sides of the border by all main dealers or will that be a problem ?

thanks in advance for any replies.

Mylow

helmut147 wrote: »

with the pound weaker why isn't everyone going north to buy new cars ? must be a saving of ten percent at least ! ??
i am thinking of buying a new car from the north from a main dealer and registering it here. is there an issue that i am missing. will it effect resale or is there some other downside other than it's not local ? i thought manufactures warranties were honoured both sides of the border by all main dealers or will that be a problem ?

thanks in advance for any replies.

I was wondering about that as well. I lived in UK for 19 years imported 3 cars into UK, 2 from Ireland and 1 from Holland. The UK system is great, buy the car in any other EU country VAT Free, then pay VAT @ 17.5% of invoce price.

The way I see it happening here is import car, pay 21%(VAT) on Irish OMV (not 21% of the UK\EU purchase price) then % VRT of OMV on top.

I intended to buy new car, but will now buy a car in July/August from UK, will go for a (08)57 reg as dealers will be trying to shift them as they will be 3 reg old 57/08/58

You can use this link , select -> owners -> value your car to get 3 free valuations on Glass's guide for UK cars.

Might try giving revenue a call to confirm how it will work and post on here. Might also be worth exploring EU competition commission.

quattro777

Guy:Incognito

Any big pics?:)

The_Conductor

Fecking hell- I know I'm in the minority- but I do browse Boards on my mobile phone..... Have you any idea how long it took to download that picture on GPRS?

Altreab

smccarrick wrote: »

Fecking hell- I know I'm in the minority- but I do browse Boards on my mobile phone..... Have you any idea how long it took to download that picture on GPRS?

And its just as bad for anyone still stuck on dial-up and sadly there are a lot Links only to big pix please

gary the great

Whats the story with importing commercials?
I know you only have to pay 50euro VRT, so presumably theres huge savings to be made?

My Dads looking for a new hiace and I can pick up a 02 in the UK for 6ksterling, which is massivly cheaper than over here. Is there any catches? My dad doesnt believe it can be done for so cheap as if it could "everyone would be doing it" - I told him everyone is doing it!

Quattro

Thats a good thing to know....if it is really true. Another nice thing i have figured out, how to drive for example Audi A8 4.2 with ope corsa 1.0 insurance. Just find any corsa or any cheap car, insure on it with quinn direct, they give third party insurance which lets to do that, drive any other car.

m3boy

Quattro wrote: »

Thats a good thing to know....if it is really true. Another nice thing i have figured out, how to drive for example Audi A8 4.2 with ope corsa 1.0 insurance. Just find any corsa or any cheap car, insure on it with quinn direct, they give third party insurance which lets to do that, drive any other car.

Correct me if im wrong but to the best of my knowledge insurance companys that cover you on open drive plans that allow you to also drive other cars come with the following conditions
1. the 2nd car you drive must have a smaller cc of be the equivalent of your car you insured with them
2. the 2nd car must have a valid insurance policy on it , ie. if it was your friends car and your friend had insurance on it then your insurance would cover you to drive it plus condition number 1 must also be taken into concideration ,

those statments ive made im not 100% sure on , so im open to dissagreements

NV011956

Hi Guys,New to the board.Just a quick question.I was thinking of importing a Honda Accord 2.2CDTI from the UK in July,then register here.My thinking is that i will be illigible for the lower VRT rater due to low emissions.Am I correct in saying this?Also,will the motor tax rate be changed to reflect the emissions then?
I know this is probably mentined somewhere on the thread,but I'm just finishing work and haven't time to trawl throgh the many pages on this thread.Any info would be appreciated.Cheers.

The_Conductor

m3boy wrote:

Correct me if im wrong but to the best of my knowledge insurance companys that cover you on open drive plans that allow you to also drive other cars come with the following conditions
1. the 2nd car you drive must have a smaller cc of be the equivalent of your car you insured with them
2. the 2nd car must have a valid insurance policy on it , ie. if it was your friends car and your friend had insurance on it then your insurance would cover you to drive it plus condition number 1 must also be taken into concideration ,

those statments ive made im not 100% sure on , so im open to dissagreements

Correct- and 3. Irrespective of your own coverage, or the other coverage on the car, while driving on "open-drive" your insurance coverage is most likely limited to 3rd party, fire and theft. Comprehensive coverage tends to only be available to named drivers.

m3boy

smccarrick wrote: »

Correct- and 3. Irrespective of your own coverage, or the other coverage on the car, while driving on "open-drive" your insurance coverage is most likely limited to 3rd party, fire and theft. Comprehensive coverage tends to only be available to named drivers.

Thanks for confirming smccarrick:D

quattro777

Sorry, didnt know it was that big. Good job I didn't post the other 15

NBar

Looking at a mercedes registered in Oct 2004 with a load of extras, just wondering will I get hit for these extras seeing as the car is over 3 years old or will they go on the chassis number and screw me, already did on my M3

The_Conductor

quattro777 wrote:

Sorry, didnt know it was that big. Good job I didn't post the other 15

eeek! :eek:

Celtic Mech

Well guys...done the deed there on Wednesday and picked up my 318SE..2litre. Car is absolutely immaculate. Not a scratch on it. Its mechanically sound, Clean inside and spotless outside. Everything was in tip top order regards paperwork...Garage had HPI check and all done for me so saved me a few quid. Car had done the MOT about 6 days previously. 4 excellent condition tyres on it, not a scratch on the alloys even.
Would recommend it to anyone thinkin of it. The garage has an 03 318SE available also if anyone is interested. I checked it out myself when i was lookin at my one. its the 2.2litre version. In perfect condition also. Reckon it be sold at 6700stg or even 6600 at a push...
Hmm...it was halfway across the Irish Sea on Wednesday Night that i realized i forgot i am not to fond of travelling via sea! By God it was rough!

Quattro

So you wanna say that its not that free to drive any car you want? its quinn direct that provides 3rd party insurance...

blastman

It's not that free, no. As well as the other limitations mentioned, another condition is that you cannot own the other car.

Celtic Mech

Does anyone know the answe to this....My Brother in Law (to be) is Scottish, and has been living over here the past few years. He has a UK driving licence. Is it possible for him to go back to scotland, purchase a car, keep the yellow plates and drive it over here without VRT'n it?

The_Conductor

Celtic Mech wrote: »

Does anyone know the answe to this....My Brother in Law (to be) is Scottish, and has been living over here the past few years. He has a UK driving licence. Is it possible for him to go back to scotland, purchase a car, keep the yellow plates and drive it over here without VRT'n it?

Short and simple- no.
If he is resident here- he has to have an Irish registered car. If he is here on a short holiday (I think 6 weeks is the limit- someone can correct me on this) he can keep his UK plates. The provenance of his driving licence is immaterial. He can be asked to produce utility bills/bank statements etc in his own name by the Revenue Commissioners to prove where actually lives. They have had a crackdown on this (mostly in border counties to date- but they are getting a lot stricter).

S.

gary the great

Lads importing a hiace van from England. With only having to pay 50quid VRT, there is massive savings to be m,ade.ye? Any downfalls or problems with doing this, there a massive savings to be made. ie A 02 Hiace LWB with 70k costs 19k here and only £6k in the UK.

Also isnt it great that the sterling continues to drop loads in value against the Euro!?

Quattro

Does anyone know how much is car traders insurace, i've asked a few comapanies axa, quinn, etc. they dont provide that.... m?

Celtic Mech

Hey Guys,
Just in relation to importing a car...i ahve changed the plates over on mine after paying the VRT, and have now taxed it online...last measure is for me to NCT the car...just about this...the car had passed the equivalent of our test in the UK (M.O.T.)just 3 days before being sold to me. Is there any facility of producing the MOT Cert and having it recognised here as an equivalent NCT pass? Any comments appreciated about this....

Seth Brundle

Nope!

steeo

Wishful thinking.

An MOT isn't recognised here because in the UK they actually use qualified mechanics to carry out the test.

Seth Brundle

...who IIRC are also allowed carry out the repairs!

steeo

gary the great wrote: »

Lads importing a hiace van from England. With only having to pay 50quid VRT, there is massive savings to be m,ade.ye? Any downfalls or problems with doing this, there a massive savings to be made. ie A 02 Hiace LWB with 70k costs 19k here and only £6k in the UK.

Also isnt it great that the sterling continues to drop loads in value against the Euro!?

Do you not have to have a VAT number to get this €50 price as its a commercial vehicle ???