Buying a second hand car

Zeppi

Hi Folks,
I'm in process of buying my first car (second hand), as I'm new to Ireland can someone tell me what I have to pay such as road tax, NCT, insurance etc etc after that I do the transfer from the owner and also what are the expected expencies .......

Road Tax= €...
NCT= €...
Insurance= €...

The car is Fiat Uno and the engine is 1.0 and the year is 1993. The last question is how much it takes to get the transfer done from the authorities ? because since the transfer is not ready I can't drive the car myself, I'm wrong or I can ?

rgds
Zeppi

Seth Brundle

Tax is cc dependant - look at www.motortax.ie
NCT is something like €409 per test and €27.50 per non visual retest (where equipment is needed) - look at www.ncts.ie
Insurance is another issue - look at the motors forum (where I suspect this may be moved to) - there is a sticky there

If the previous owner sent off the forum to Shannon then it can take about a fortnight (they did send it, didn't they?). You may be able to drive it as long as you can convince a garda that you are the owner and its already taxed and insured

Victor

kbannon wrote:

NCT is something like €409 per test

€49

Are you sure you want a 23 year old Fiat? I would strongly suggest that you get it checked by a mechanic before buying.

Where are you going to park? Will you need to rent a private space or get a resident's permit from the council?

See: http://www.aaireland.ie/infodesk/cost_of_motoring.asp

Zeppi

cheers....
When I do the transfer from the owner to my name and the Car is already taxed and for example the NCT is paid till 02/08 , apart from paying the insurance,
Do I have to get the car for NCT and pay the Tax again?

Your help is much appreciated because I feel a bit lost.

rgds

Gurgle

Zeppi wrote:

cheers....
When I do the transfer from the owner to my name and the Car is already taxed and for example the NCT is paid till 02/08 , apart from paying the insurance,
Do I have to get the car for NCT and pay the Tax again?

NCT and road tax apply to the car and cannot be transfered, so if the car is tested and taxed you don't have to do either again until they run out.
Insurance applies to the driver and is transferable between cars, so you have to do this before you even buy the car as you can be prosecuted for starting the engine on a public road without insurance.

Victor

Zeppi wrote:

Do I have to get the car for NCT and pay the Tax again?

No. The NCT only happens every second year on the anniversary of first registration (new cars start on the fourth anniversary), so if it was first registered in 1993, it would need to be tested in 2007, 2009, 2011, etc. I wonder why these dates don't match 02/08.

The tax stays with the car and I think it can be bought as 3, 6 or 12 months - no refunds.

Seth Brundle

Victor wrote:

The tax stays with the car and I think it can be bought as 3, 6 or 12 months - no refunds.

Whilst it isn't really relevant to the OP, there are situations where you can get a refund of motor tax.
http://www.oasis.gov.ie/transport/motoring/motor_tax_rates.html

OTK

The most important thing is to get a licence and insurance. If you have an EU licence you can swap it for an Irish licence.

Your insurance will be linked to the size of engine, your age and years of driving experience. If you have been insured previously in Europe this may help. If you are in your twenties your premium will be very high, despite having a 1 litre car. Maybe 2,000 euro. The tax is 151/year.

You need a licence to get insurance. You need insurance to get tax. You can arrange the insurance over the phone. They will give you temporary cover for about a week until you send in money and a copy of your licence.

if you have no licence from the EU, you can get a learner licence until you pass your test (provisional licence). You don't need to pass a test to get this licence and you can drive on it forever so long as you show that you keep applying for and failing your driving test. This makes your insurance even higher. Insurance drops rapidly each year that you drive without making a claim, or if you pass your driving test.

A 13 year old fiat may take a lot of money to keep roadworthy. If you have good mechanical skills or a friend in the trade you may be OK but I would never buy one. An old starlet would be easier on the wallet.

If you are stopped by the police without insurance you will be banned from driving for a year and the law allows for you to be sent to prison in extreme cases. Not having tax or NCT is less serious, depending on how long since you last had these documents.

Zeppi

Thanks for your help,
I'm an EU citizen and I have a valid driving licence and also I'm 35 year old and I have 17 years of insurance without any claim, so if I have understand you well if for example the NCT and the Tax are paid 01/07 when I buy the car all I have to pay is the Insurance.


rgds
Zeppi

OTK

correct

Zeppi

cheers mates for your help

P.S. I'll be asking more questions in the near future because this is my first experience living in Ireland.
rgds
Zeppi

Gurgle

Zeppi wrote:

cheers mates for your help

P.S. I'll be asking more questions in the near future because this is my first experience living in Ireland.
rgds
Zeppi

Stay away from Limerick.

Zeppi

Why if I may ask?, I'll be living in Tullow Co. Carlow.

rgds
Zeppi

Victor

Gurgle wrote:

Stay away from Limerick.

Behave!

Zeppi, Limerick has a violent reputation, but it is mostly restricted to particular families and gangs. Most ordinary people are unaffected.

Ford Cortina

Zeppi my mate,

What is your favourite TV comedy of all time. Was it that boston comedy...what's it called??

F.C.

Zeppi

cheers mate

Gurgle

Victor wrote:

Zeppi, Limerick has a violent reputation, but it is mostly restricted to particular families and gangs. Most ordinary people are unaffected.

True, Limerick is actually a great city with a terrible reputation due to a very small number of very violent scumbags