UK Car in Ireland.

overdriver

Theoretically now, if a person had access to a UK address, and registered a UK car there, could he or she drive it here?

One of my neighbours is English, and has driven his UK car here for close on 2 years, with no hassles.

So, if a car was say, 28 or 29 years old, and could be imported VRT free in 2 years time, what would stop him ( or her) doing as above?

Would a UK license be required?

Eric318

ah, ah... you have to think of "could", "may" and "should".

You "could" indeed. I do... (damn I really have to get that sorted...)
You "may" not: the usual parking palce of the car determines where it must be registered. Most insurance companies will not insure your car for more than 3 months "abroad".
You "should" not: Irish insurance companies do take on non-Irish registered cars, but, in case of an accident, your insurance will want to know a few things... if only to wiggle their wait out of a claim. A car with UK plates has to have a valid MOT. If your neighbour goes back every year to the UK to get his MOT, then there is a case. But the MOT costs every year about what the VRT costs here for a classic. Plus, to get the MOT there, you need to have road tax to drive on British roads... So I dont see the point.

overdriver

Thanks.

I was thinking if a car was insured, mot'd taxed etc from the UK.

corktina

you would only be allowed 6 months......I know cos I checked the website....

.same applies the other way round...I know cos I have an Irish car in the UK for body repairs.....

tyney

lets not beat about the bush here.You want to buy a car that's not quite 30 years old yet. Buy it, bring it across on the ferry and stash it in your mates shed. vrt is a registration tax and -correct me if i'm wrong folks-nobody gets asked to prove when they bought it or when they brought it into the country, when they go to register it. that's for the customs when you get caught driving it on the m50 with english plates and no tax disc. use the time that it's laid up to do a bit of work on it. I was planking it because I had it "imported into the north" by a "friend" while I waited 'till it was 30, so the dates of sale didn't exactly match up, but they don't care...they just take your 50 euro and say next please.

overdriver

Theoretically that would be a plan. If a person were dishonest enough.

Speaking of which, can anyone give me a loan of 50 grand that they don't want back, hard as I might try to return it?

tyney

theoretically I and a few of my friends could sort you out. Of course none of us would require any special treatment in the future, even if you were ever in a position do so. honesty prevents me from continuing.

overdriver

I would of course, have to name you, at some stage. perhaps when my big job is on the line.

We are now off-topic.

tyney

seriously though, just to get back on topic, once you are not driving it, surely there shouldn't be a problem. I know you would be tempted to drive it, but take off the carbs and dismantle the distributor. That should stop any sudden urges for a spin.

overdriver

Theoretically of course.
It'd be a lot of hassle, when one could simply wait for a pre 1977 one to come up.

corktina

lets face it you can get away with murder if you want to ....you risk losing the car, but I never heard of anyone having trouble....What about the THOUSANDS of cars running on Irish plates that belong to long-scrapped cars....

green-blood

yeah you can do that alright but you'll have no sympathy if customs seize your car on the m50 one morning

Dades

As long as you're not driving around uninsured there is no dishonesty involved.

And if you're not going to drive it - then I'm not sure what the handbags is about. Stash it and wait.

Do the prices of cars jump in UK when they hit thirty because of Irish buyers? Or do they get some reliefs themselves on that date?

overdriver

It's more a case of not being able to find one the right vintage. I wouldn't be looking for anybody's sympathy, by the way.

corktina

green-blood wrote:

yeah you can do that alright but you'll have no sympathy if customs seize your car on the m50 one morning

well every time i go to a show or to a run there are DOZENS of UK cars there.....maybe theres a risk on the M50, but down here I never heard of anyone getting any greif....as I say, not even the ones on false plates seem to worry the authorities....

corktina

green-blood wrote:

yeah you can do that alright but you'll have no sympathy if customs seize your car on the m50 one morning

well every time i go to a show or to a run there are DOZENS of UK cars there.....maybe theres a risk on the M50, but down here I never heard of anyone getting any greif....as I say, not even the ones on false plates seem to worry the authorities....

overdriver

The hoors at VRT want 1400 quid to bring in a car I could buy for 1200 quid.
T'ain't right, I tells ya.

corktina

it certainly isnt right...about time Brussels blew the whistle on this illegal VRT.....27% of market value here or thereabouts!No wonder so many people are driving ringers......

overdriver

They had to ring Waterford, who made up a price and rang back a day later.
It's a total scam.

macplaxton

The Atheist wrote:

Do the prices of cars jump in UK when they hit thirty because of Irish buyers? Or do they get some reliefs themselves on that date?

Unfortunately, they don't because we don't. :mad:

Values of UK cars in my experience are like night and day depending on which side of line (1st January 1973) they fall. I had to virtually give away a mid-1973 Austin 1800 because it was liable for full rate VED (that's what they call road tax here these days) @ GBP 175 pa (you can pay for a bag load of repairs or your insurance for that money). VED for cars below 1550cc is GBP 110

The original situation introduced when Ken Clarke was Chancellor of the Exchequer was a rolling 25 year tax exemption. That stopped in 1997 when Gordon Brown took over. The date was set as MANUFACTURED (note not registered) before 1st January 1973.

MOT test is annual and currently GBP 44.15.

Do the sums and it would be far cheaping waiting or stashing it in a big shed.

With that disparity in the taxation. You all should be visiting in hoards picking up bargin classics that nobody want to pay road tax on.

Cheers,
Rich

PS Now can someone tell me if I pay EUR 19 or 42 classic road tax for a 3 wheeler?

overdriver

So even as time moves on, only cars manufactured before 1973 are exempt? 33 years this year.
That's ridiculous. Our government will surely follow.
Right after the election.

Dades

overdriver wrote:

That's ridiculous. Our government will surely follow.
Right after the election.

And right before the revolution. Led by us!

But that is a ridiculous situation to have a fixed year of manufacture. That said, road tax is still cheap compared to here.

overdriver

They still have to MOT yearly, though.

macplaxton

As much as I disagree with the UK change from a rolling to fixed date, from your perspective, there currently exists a distinct advantage in purchasing cars in the 1973-76 (and growing) gap.

I don't agree with not testing vehicles annually for safety. I think it's nuts! However, I look forward to taking advantage of the NCT exemption for 30+ and motorcycles when I eventually get to the RoI...

overdriver

I feel safer knowing the name of my county is correctly displayed in Irish on my number plate. and that depending on the machine i get on the day, my headlights could be off, even though i had them done on the way to the test centre.

Saftey is the driving force behind NCT. Not money.
Oh no.

atlantean

tyney wrote:

that's for the customs when you get caught driving it on the m50 with english plates and no tax disc.

green-blood wrote:

yeah you can do that alright but you'll have no sympathy if customs seize your car on the m50 one morning

So what you guys are saying is avoid the M50 car park

I will be bringing my 2.0 in for registration in 2 weeks time - it's not the VRT that annoys me, it's the bloody road tax on the car that will hardly ever use the roads! :mad: As it's an 86 the government stand to make a good few quid out of it till it reaches 30 :mad: