Importing a classic...VRT, TAX, INS ?

spidersonmars

Hi all,

I am currently selling my P6 2200SC on carzone.ie so that I can replace it with a English 3500 P6B. The replacement car is the UK and I have never brought one over from abroad before. What do I need to Do? Regarding Customs, Insurance Etc?

3ps

i assume it's no different from importing any aged car.
you need to get insured on it using it's plates or chassis number.
you need to keep all the sections of the ownership form to present to the VRT office.

You need to have no contraband to get through customs!

Is there road tax on it. I hear the UK police can seize a car with no road tax. I had to sign a disclaimer at the garage when I chose to drive mine to Holyhead without.

dubtom

My insurance company insured me on the UK plates. The garage where I bought delived to holyhead and I drove it home. They done me a deal and it cost 180 sterling from sheffield, I think it should have cost 250. If I had been sure of reliabilty i would have drove myself, I was convinced it would break down, it never has.

gstonesmx5

it sounds so simple but is there not a specail vrt rate for clasic cars ?
do i need to tell anyone if i am not going to register it and only have it for shows and track ?

3ps

yes VRT is just €50. No special forms.

Don't know about the shows...

tyney

50 euro in your pocket and the v5 from the uk. Show up at tallaght, they give you a new reg and take the v5 off you. you should photocopy the v5 before you give it over to them because you won't see it again. Then you are legal and not praying every time you come to a checkpoint. Just did it yesterday. Funny thing was, they came out and checked all the numbers matched. Others have said that they sometimes don't bother getting out from behind the desk.

Dades

tyney wrote:

Then you are legal and not praying every time you come to a checkpoint.

Not that you'll get much bother at checkpoints. I've gone through checkpoints with either no plates, insurance disc or tax disc. The only dialogue I ever had was "how's she runnin' for you?!".

I think we just don't fit the motoring offence demograph.

tyney

I was on my way home tonight after posting here today, and got stopped at a checkpoint where I have never seen one before. I was just about to launch into my prepared speech about the lack of tax/insurance/irish plates, when the garda interupted me and said, I only stopped you to admire it, off you go.
I suppose if you do anything illegal in an old unusual car, you will be easy enough to identify.

Abelloid

The Atheist wrote:

Not that you'll get much bother at checkpoints. I've gone through checkpoints with either no plates, insurance disc or tax disc. The only dialogue I ever had was "how's she runnin' for you?!".

I think we just don't fit the motoring offence demograph.

I agree with you on that, I've driven with no plates, US style plates and UK plates and have never had any trouble.;)

Eric318

I insured my cars with French plates with First Ireland. Have not had time to change the plates (and pay the €50 x 2) yet. Was stopped once and burbled something along the lines of "good evening ufficer, I luve ze Irish, me on olidai, tank you".

I really have to get those Irish plates though, I am bad... It is just that I migrated here just after I got the French plates for the Jag and they (the registration tax) cost me a cool €480, so I wanted some mileage on zat...

corktina

dont forget that the reduced VRT and cheap tax/NCT exemption only applies once a car is 30 yrs old. Insurance can usually be had from about 20 yrs old though.

spidersonmars

Hi,

Thanks for all the advice. Got back from the UK via Larne, no problem yesterday. I did however destroy, either my gear box, or my cluch last night on a short trip to the shops!!!! I probably have a lot of work/cost ahead, but the noise of the V8 seems to be worth it. :cool: Any Rover V8 experts out there?

andyj22

spidersonmars wrote:

Hi,

Thanks for all the advice. Got back from the UK via Larne, no problem yesterday. I did however destroy, either my gear box, or my cluch last night on a short trip to the shops!!!! I probably have a lot of work/cost ahead, but the noise of the V8 seems to be worth it. :cool: Any Rover V8 experts out there?

hello there
I'm off to the UK my self this week collection off my Triumph Stag it is on UK plates and what do i need as in logbook from the last owner. must i have the V5 and tell him to send part 4 off to DVLA!!

Andy

overdriver

DON'T SEND ANYTHING OFF TO THE DVLA!!!!

I did that and had to retrieve it before I could import the car.

Just take the V5 in its entirety from the vendor.

andyj22

overdriver wrote:

DON'T SEND ANYTHING OFF TO THE DVLA!!!!

I did that and had to retrieve it before I could import the car.

Just take the V5 in its entirety from the vendor.

Now tell me what is the odds on the previous owner giving me the whole log book, and how do i get around that situation.

Andy

corktina

a lot of vendors wont be keen to habd over the whole V5 as they are now liable for all tickets etc if the V5 isnt sent in.......

Ive done it both ways and never had any trouble re-reging the cars.....you need either the V5 in whosever name or the export cert in your name....

andyj22

corktina wrote:

a lot of vendors wont be keen to habd over the whole V5 as they are now liable for all tickets etc if the V5 isnt sent in.......

Ive done it both ways and never had any trouble re-reging the cars.....you need either the V5 in whosever name or the export cert in your name....

many thanks for the advice

i rang the seller of my soon to own Triumph Stag and he said it's fine with him that i can have the whole V5 logbook as long as i sign a receipt and show him my driving license. and then i rang up my local VRT office and they explained to me that THEY NEED THE part with all the vehicle info Vin number etc. but i said i will have the full V5 but obversely it won,t be in my name and they said it's fine as long as i have the V5. so thats it really so lucky i have a great guy who will hand over the full V5 on day i buy the Stag:)
i hope i make sense:eek:
Andy

macplaxton

Has anyone registered a classic car from the UK without a V5?

I'm wondering because if it's particularly old (like having been found in a barn having sat for 25 years) it perhaps wouldn't have one..... and it would cost GBP 38 first registration fee to register something like that with the DVLA. Could you not just turn up at port with the thing on a trailer and some proof of age for the car?

Cheers,
Rich

Dades

macplaxton wrote:

I'm wondering because if it's particularly old (like having been found in a barn having sat for 25 years) it perhaps wouldn't have one..... and it would cost GBP 38 first registration fee to register something like that with the DVLA. Could you not just turn up at port with the thing on a trailer and some proof of age for the car?

I registered a car from Canada without any documentation at all. Guy at the VRT office found a plate on the car giving it's date of manuafacture as January 1972 and that was enough for him.

Not sure if it's any different than the UK - but in theory it shouldn't be. Documents can just get lost over time.

corktina

i registered a car on the documents used to re-register it when it came from france to UK......but then im a regular customer, i go to the xmas party.....

macplaxton

Hmmm, you got me thinking now!

Let me run this by you;

I have a car registered Apr 1973, but probably built around Jan 1973. For the UK this isn't tax-exempt.

Some components are date coded 12/72 and some 1/73.

Do you think I could get it registered on my arrival as a 1972 car by drawing attention to the 12/72 stamps?

Upon my return to the UK a few years down the line maybe I could re-register it in the UK and as if by magic it's aged a wee bit...

Or is the plan flawed because the manufacture date isn't on the registration document?

Just a passing thought.:D

andyj22

Won,t work DVLA have every detail on every Car

andy

macplaxton

Ok, it might not work, but I doubt the DVLA has every detail on every car.

They had my Italjet Dragster D50LC moped down as an ERF. Last time I looked they made only lorries.... Even when presented with a covering letter and MOTs indicating the contrary they did nothing, but change the keeper details. In the end I had to get a friend who works for the DVLA to send a letter in to Swansea to get the ammendment done. Without it, all the wrong data comes out for the (now computerised) MOT.

The DVLA admit freely that a proportion of their 37 million plus vehicle records are inaccurate (see http://homepage.ntlworld.com/geraint.bevan/foi/dvla.html).

Having said that, they do know a lot!

corktina

they wont have details of the car as registered in Ireland though....