VRT on damaged cars ?

Santa Claus

I'm looking at buying a car from a mate of mine up north that he had a crash in and just wondering if the damage would be taken into account when they decide the VRT liability on it (considering they calculate the VRT as a percentage of the market value and the market value of a damaged car would be a lot less) ?

It's an alfa GT with just front bodywork but no engine/chasis damage and the brother looked at it and said that it could be fixed up relatively easily for not a lot. Considering the price it's being sold for is 10K sterling I reckon it's a bargain !

unkel

VRT will indeed be lower, as the OMSP of a damaged car is lower. How much it will be - nobody will be able to tell you except the VRT office

Ring them and ask how to proceed. Are pictures of the damaged car good enough for them, or do they need to physically inspect the car

bspoke

wouldnt guarntee it being cheaper im afraid. Lots of guys used to remove the bumpers from their cars coming in from japan before driving to the VRT office

Guys in the office said 'ah jaysus thats terrible ill have to give you a lower price'

guy drives off and screws bumper back on

VRT soon caught onto this

0lordy

As far as I know, they won't take this state of the car into account. It's the market value of that model, year & spec, and that's pretty much that.

I could be wrong though...

nxbyveromdwjpg

No theres no change, and it wont be any lower.

As was stated above its just their book OMSP of that particular make and model that they charge. The state of the car is not taken into account.

If it was sure you'd have people importing wrecks every day, paying lower VRT, doing them up and selling them. This doesnt happen and a high volume of jap cars coming in arrive damaged in some way anyway and this does not affect the VRT paid on them in any way shape or form.

digitaldr

You could try giving them a ring but in my experience they never answer the f***ing phone!

colm_mcm

The logic would be: If you're registering the car, then it must be roadworthy, therefore you get hit for the full whack

jimmycrackcorm

An Alfa GTwill be expensive to fix up. The reason is that you will likey have to get all new parts as it will be hard to get second hand so they willbe very expensive.

Customs will not give anything off for damage - they know you got it cheaper than an undamaged example.

colm_mcm

The VRT will be paid when the car is registered, as opposed to when it's imported.

Henry Ford III

OMSP = open market selling price. Surely this should be affected by accident damage/

kdevitt

unkel wrote:

VRT will indeed be lower, as the OMSP of a damaged car is lower. How much it will be - nobody will be able to tell you except the VRT office

Ring them and ask how to proceed. Are pictures of the damaged car good enough for them, or do they need to physically inspect the car

Speaking from experience, this won't be the case. I had to clear a car which needed a new full quarter panel, door and a few other bits. Brought photos of the car down to them, the quote I got was full price. I was told there and then that there were no factors that would drive the price downwards, only upwards.

Abelloid

I thought they only inspected for matching numbers etc., and to see if it's loaded with options such as A/C which will increase the VRT.
I would be very surprised if they did an inspection to reduce the VRT

digitaldr, I tried ringing my local VRO while I was sitting in their waiting area, and no,
they do not answer the phone :rolleyes:

unkel

kdevitt wrote:

I was told there and then that there were no factors that would drive the price downwards, only upwards.

Even if the car is undriveable? Seems unfair to me if there is no reduction. Then again it would be fairly costly to set up a system to assess the damages (establish the OMSP of the damaged car)

This is interesting BTW. You don't need to pay VRT on a damaged car until it is roadwoarthy:

s79: This section excludes from the requirement to be registered and to pay VRT vehicles that the Revenue Commissioners
consider are not capable of being mechanically propelled such as vehicles that are crashed, damaged or otherwise
incomplete to such an extent that they cannot be driven. The effect of the amendment is that such vehicles will have to be
registered and VRT paid only when they are suitably repaired

Seth Brundle

unkel wrote:

This is interesting BTW. You don't need to pay VRT on a damaged car until it is roadwoarthy:

You can't drive a non roadworthy car though!

Santa Claus

I got through to a very helpful lady in Tallaght this morning (at 10.30 Santrys number was saying "we are closed for lunch between 12.30 and 2.00 :rolleyes: ) and she said that the examiner who checks the car for the final VRT amount can lower the quote by up to 15% at his discretion based on the damage.

cantdecide

digitaldr wrote:

You could try giving them a ring but in my experience they never answer the f***ing phone!

similar experiences when ringing Dept of Environment....civil servants! lunch from 12:30 to 2:00. close at 4:00 (or something like that), pensions coming out their ears..... i think we're all missing out on one cushy number....

unkel

Santa Claus wrote:

she said that the examiner who checks the car for the final VRT amount can lower the quote by up to 15% at his discretion based on the damage.

Not much, but better than nothing I suppose. Now it would be great if someone found an official link somewhere

Seth Brundle

I would be surprised if there is any written info about it available - my last trawl through the online VRT information revealed very little.

unkel

kbannon wrote:

I would be surprised if there is any written info about it available - my last trawl through the online VRT information revealed very little.

Yeah, you're probably right there

Squirrel

Just on unkel's post about the damaged cars, would you be able to import a 29 year old car with the alternator or other part taken out, only fix it shortly after it's turned 30 years old and only have to pay the flat VRT rate for classics?

Seth Brundle

If it is not on the road (irrespective of age) then registration is not required, so yes you could get an almost classic and keep it until it matures

Santa Claus

Squirrel wrote:

Just on unkel's post about the damaged cars, would you be able to import a 29 year old car with the alternator or other part taken out, only fix it shortly after it's turned 30 years old and only have to pay the flat VRT rate for classics?

From what I've been told, once you bring a foreign registered car into the country, you'd have to get it certified by the gardai as being off the road in order to avoid having to register and pay VRT.

Mc-BigE

I got some money back from the vrt office for engine work (which existed undetected before VRT'ing the car) but you need to pay first and appeal within 2 months

I would recommend appealing EVERY vrt figure especially if you can find an equiv. car for sale cheaper than OMSP.