Information on importing classic from the USA

starrywalsh

Hi,
I am looking into importing a corvette from America to Ireland, the car will be over 30 years old so I will only have to pay eur50 VRT. However can some one tell me if I would have to pay any VAT ? or how much customs duty I would have to pay ? I intend to spend EUR20,000 including shipping on the corvette.

If anybody could recommend a good shipping company to I would be greatful,I have got two quotes so far,both are for around $2000.

If anybody knows of anywhere in Europe or any good websites I my find a corvette that would also be helpful,but from what I have seen so far the corvettes in America seem to be of better quality.

Any other info you might think would help, please post,

Thanks for reading

Traumadoc

I brought a car in from Australia last year.
You have to pay vat and duty on the car and shipping costs!
It amounts to about 30% of the price paid.

starrywalsh

Traumadoc wrote:

I brought a car in from Australia last year.
You have to pay vat and duty on the car and shipping costs!
It amounts to about 30% of the price paid.

I was under the impression that you did not have to pay VAT if the car was over 30 years old? So this is not the case ?

PaulK_CCI

starrywalsh wrote:

I was under the impression that you did not have to pay VAT if the car was over 30 years old? So this is not the case ?

This is the big confusion. Prices in the US (and don't even start me on e-bay :mad: ) seem so tempting, and it all seems to be so cheap, but here's what a lot of potential buyers forget about or do not realise:

- A car older than 30 years is EXEMPT from VRT (Vehicle Registration Tax: i.e the tax you pay when you register a foreign registered vehicle in Ireland!!). The registration procedure costs 50 euro's (that;s why everyone always mistakenly says that the VRT is 50 euro's, but in effect you pay an admin fee of 50 euro's, the actual VRT is 0...). We all know this bit.

- HOWEVER, if the car is coming from outside the European Union, before you even get to the Vehicle Registration Office, the car has to be declared through Customs where it is liable for VAT and Customs & Exise duties. (This actually also applies to PARTS for that matter, that are sent over from the US!!! the postman will want to collect VAT on those if they exceed a certain invoice value)! This is your normal standard 21% VAT and it's charged on the basis of the DECLARED Invoice value AND the total costs of the Shipment/Storage. Naturally you have a bit of leeway by aggreeing with the vendor to keep the invoice value as low as possible, but ofcourse the customs official aren't thick, and eyebrows will be raised when you try to import a pristine Corvette with an invoice value of just 2000 euro's !!!

- Finally there are the Port charges, if the car is landing in, say, a container or something. Generally that amounts to a couple of hundred quid.

So, once you put all the figures in place, you will realise that cars in the US may seem cheap, and they could ultimately be cheaper than picking them up from the continent, but there won;t be a huge difference when all costs are added up! Then if you look at the hassle and the risks involved of bringing a car over....

I never deal directly with the States and get all my cars on the continent. I have dealt with loads of specialists in Holland, Belgium, Germany and France, and by now know which ones are good and which ones to avoid... The cars in the States may SEEM of a better quality, but you're just as much in the dark as you are with a car in say the NEtherlands! But at least in the Netherlands, I would be able to physically inspect a car! So sure, ultimately the car might be a bit more expensive than if you'd get them directly from the US, but at least it's a lot less hassle and if something is not right, the company you buy the car from is liable under European law, and is only a short (and cheap Ryanair) flight away...

Dades

starrywalsh wrote:

I intend to spend EUR20,000 including shipping on the corvette.

Buying from the US I would calculate that leaves you not more than about €14,000 to spend on the car. The VAT, shipping, customs and port charges should suck up the rest.

As long as you factor that in, then by all means compare what you can get for €14 in the US to, say, €19,000 in Europe.

I've done both (Canada & France), but for that money I might be inclined to stay closer to home so that you might have some comeback.

Some nice 'Vettes here though!
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/chevrolet/corvette/

starrywalsh

Thanks so much Paul and Atheist for this information, I knew it could not of been as easy as it seemed, that VAT is a killer.

I might start looking around EU for a corvette, I reckon they will be harder to find, if anybody can recommend a dealer or point me in the right direction I'd be greatful.

"sigh" Just guess an indy500 pace car is out of the question now though

Eoin

Hi starrywalsh - I posted the same question here a couple of weeks ago, and got lots of helpful answers. If you go back a page or two, you should find the thread.

One of the links that was posted was http://mobile.de, and it seemed to have a great range of cars there.

dubtom

Check out carzone, last summer some guy in Rathmines had I think about 4 for sale, so they are not as rare as you think.If I remeber correctly they were'nt that exspensive either. Not having to worry about rust is a big plus too.

Dermighty

Sorry for the zombie revival but how rare are first and 2nd generation Camaros on the continent, with a view to buying on.

I've never seen one in Ireland, not to say that there aren't any.

Big Nasty

Dermighty wrote: »

Sorry for the zombie revival but how rare are first and 2nd generation Camaros on the continent, with a view to buying on.

I've never seen one in Ireland, not to say that there aren't any.

You may be asked to start a new thread but anyhow I've never personally seen a C2 'Vette here but there's a definitely a couple of C1's for sure.

EDIT: Didn't read your post properly, there are plenty of 2nd Gen Camaros and a good few 1st Gen. Lad I know has a lovely 1st Gen that he would probably let go for cq. €18k. Failing that you can buy my Trans Am!

Thinkingaboutit

A moderate number of old US cars get imported into Euroland, be it the UK or the Continent. While the price mightn't always seem attractive, the worry of VAT and any additional charges is gone.

Might it be an idea to have an up to date sticky about importing classic cars from the UK and further afield?

Big Nasty

Meant to add if you import via the UK VAT is only 5% for classics.

68deville

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Meant to add if you import via the UK VAT is only 5% for classics.

Couldnt agree more,just imported a 450sl from USA and it arrived yesterday
to my door,5% vat is charged on the bill of sale valuation you declare/submit,Tru the UK is the way to go without doubt,get the car shipped RoRo,wont have ta give some w**ker a ball of cash
up in the docks in Dublin ta open the container and for miscellaneous extras???

macplaxton

MCMLXXV wrote: »

Meant to add if you import via the UK VAT is only 5% for classics.

That's not a hard and fast rule.

It has to meet the criteria set down by HMRC to qualify for a reduced valuation (which gives the effect of a reduced VAT rate of 5% - It's one of these tax things like "zero-rated VAT" and "VAT exempt", they amount to the same thing, but are distinctly different.)

See section 11.4 on this HMRC page

Always get a Binding Tariff Information with HMRC before importing.

hi5

68deville wrote: »

Couldnt agree more,just imported a 450sl from USA and it arrived yesterday
to my door,5% vat is charged on the bill of sale valuation you declare/submit,Tru the UK is the way to go without doubt,get the car shipped RoRo,wont have ta give some w**ker a ball of cash
up in the docks in Dublin ta open the container and for miscellaneous extras???

Doesn't it have to be extra rare or something like that, don't know how you'd get away with a 450sl,...... ahh, but look at those massive bumpers and those four eyed head lights:D

68deville

the shipping agent will tell you very quickly if it qualifies once you submit
all the details,rarity unimportant once it meets criteria,your valuation has to
be realistic of the value of vehicle and not a ridiculously low figure.
the bottom line being via the UK the way to go;)

gines_

Gentlemen,

Im after a c3 corvette for a while and thought about importing one from US, but I was reluctant to buy a car over internet without seeing it first.

Im going to the US in 2 weeks for my sisters wedding and will have few days to look at cars afterwards, happy days!

I was quoted 1700EUR for ro/ro shipping and customs (Chicago - Dublin via Southampton) by Trans Global. Can you suggest me other (quicker, safer, cheaper) way of getting the car here?

Im also wondering what is the best way of bringing the money to the US. Cold cash, cheque? Or maybe I just top up my credit card here in euros and use it over to pay for the car?

Any suggestions welcome!
Thank you

bbsrs

gines_ wrote: »

Gentlemen,

Im after a c3 corvette for a while and thought about importing one from US, but I was reluctant to buy a car over internet without seeing it first.

Im going to the US in 2 weeks for my sisters wedding and will have few days to look at cars afterwards, happy days!

I was quoted 1700EUR for ro/ro shipping and customs (Chicago - Dublin via Southampton) by Trans Global. Can you suggest me other (quicker, safer, cheaper) way of getting the car here?

Im also wondering what is the best way of bringing the money to the US. Cold cash, cheque? Or maybe I just top up my credit card here in euros and use it over to pay for the car?

Any suggestions welcome!
Thank you

Can't offer any advice on importing from USA but I wouldn't top up my credit card because if it gets stolen you are not insured for the ammounts that are owed on the card through fraudulent use if the card is + . If its plus 10k and the the thief uses 10001 euro you're only insured for the €1. Might never happen but it could.

Smithzer

gines_ wrote: »

I was quoted 1700EUR for ro/ro shipping and customs (Chicago - Dublin via Southampton) by Trans Global. Can you suggest me other (quicker, safer, cheaper) way of getting the car here?
Thank you

The price is about average, you can get a 20FT container from NJ to Ireland for around €1300-1400. Fastest sailing is with ACL from NJ-Liverpool-Dublin usually takes between 10-15 days.

Personally I wouldnt ship it Ro/Ro and would prefer a container as its less prone to damage in transit. Also very important is to make sure its insured in transit for its value and not just shipping T's and C's.

firefly08

You might also want to consider that having it on a card might rule out private sales, which in my opinion where the best deals by far can be had!

Even cash is not always acceptable though - under federal law over here, if you take > 10K in cash for any single transaction, you have to fill out forms and report it to the IRS (the tax people). For that reason some people don't like taking cash for cars privately.

Wire transfer from a US bank account is popular for buying cars privately - if you can arrange that with a relative who has a US bank account. Wire transfers from Ireland to a US account confuse most bank people and can easily take a week to organize...so I would look into that first if I were you.

Paypal is actually a viable way too, if you have a high enough limit and have it linked to your card. That way you have the option of using the card to pay a dealer or using paypal to pay a private seller.

gines_

Thank you for all your suggestions.
I'll be buying rather privately (Im after a project car) and thought credit card wouldnt be the best option.
I will wire the money to my sisters US account and have an option of cash or wire transfer.

gines_

Just wanted to update the topic with some figures.

The car left US few day ago. Im using TransGlobal Logistics and their door-to-door service

So far the cost on US side was US$1720. It include: trucking the car to departure port, overseas shipping, port handling fees, marine insurance, courier fee.

What is left is US$325 for port handling, administration and customs handling fees in UK, US$ 450 for trucking the car home, and 5% VAT.

Kenny Logins

gines_ wrote: »

Just wanted to update the topic with some figures.

The car left US few day ago. Im using TransGlobal Logistics and their door-to-door service

So far the cost on US side was US$1720. It include: trucking the car to departure port, overseas shipping, port handling fees, marine insurance, courier fee.

What is left is US$325 for port handling, administration and customs handling fees in UK, US$ 450 for trucking the car home, and 5% VAT.

That's to a UK port I assume? We don't have a 5% VAT rate.

gines_

Kenny Logins wrote: »

That's to a UK port I assume? We don't have a 5% VAT rate.

Yes, its being shipped to Southampton.

Kenny Logins

Cool. Pics?

gines_

Here it is.
Needs new paint, exhaust, carb tuning and some other bits and pieces.

hi5

^ I can't see it:(

unkel

Something went wrong attaching the picture, gines. Could you try again?

gines_

One more and final update:: It took 6 weeks between the car being picked up in the US and delivered to my door.

ugglasdav

Hope your happy with it, try get a few pics of it up now that you have it

68Buick

Congratulations with your purchase Gines, well wear
Do you mind me asking was there much of a delay with customs release, etc. once it arrived in the UK? We have something arriving in Liverpool with Transglobal tomorrow!
Thanks...

gines_

Cheers lads!

It took UK customs 2 or 3 days to release it. The car got delivered about 10 days later.

Heres some pics of work in progress:

Cleveland Hot Pocket

well wear, and thanks for the shipping company link.
I'm looking at importing a classic pickup sometime this year, and that company seems cheaper than the ones I was looking at

Can anybody confirm if the 5% vat for a classic car imported from the US through the UK still applies? Is a UK address necessary or could it be shipped via Belfast, for example?

Kenny Logins

Deleted User wrote: »

Can anybody confirm if the 5% vat for a classic car imported from the US through the UK still applies? Is a UK address necessary or could it be shipped via Belfast, for example?

VAT is paid at the local rate wherever it lands. I paid mine in Felixstowe through Kingstown Shipping.

hi5

The car must be 100% original to get the 5%, any modifications and you pay the 20% UK.