Buying my 1st car 2nd hand - Quick Question

jArgHA

Hey

I am planning to buy my first ever car over the next week or two and have a tax-related question:

I travel from Cork to view a 2nd hand car (which is registered after 1st of January 1993) being sold by a private seller in Dublin. After viewing and test-driving the car, I decide I would like to buy it. I then open an instant policy online through Hibernian, and print out a copy. However, if the car's tax has expired can I drive the car back to Cork that day?

Or must I fill out the VLC/VRC with the seller, send into the registration offices and wait for the change of ownership before renewing the tax?

If the car is taxed, say for another 2 months, what must I do exactly for change of ownership? Does the buyer and seller just fill out some details on the VLC/VRC and send it in?

And finally, can someone explain what exactly is the difference between the VLC & VRC?

Thanks in advance,
jAH

TommyK

jArgHA wrote:

Or must I fill out the VLC/VRC with the seller, send into the registration offices and wait for the change of ownership before renewing the tax?

No, if the tax has expired, the Motor Tax Office will change the vehicle into your name at the same time as taxing it. They'll keep the old tax book and give you the tex disk. Your new tax book will then come in the post from Shannon in a week or two.

jArgHA wrote:

If the car is taxed, say for another 2 months, what must I do exactly for change of ownership? Does the buyer and seller just fill out some details on the VLC/VRC and send it in?

Yes. The address is given above the change of ownership section. Your name and address go in the change of ownership section and both parties must sign it. You need to include a date of sale too.

jArgHA wrote:

And finally, can someone explain what exactly is the difference between the VLC & VRC?

VLC = Vehicle Licensing Certificate; used from 01-01-1993 to about the end of May 2004. No longer in use (if you do a change of ownership with one, the new documents you receive will be an RC (Registration Certificate), which have been/are issued for all new registrations and change of ownerships after May 2004.

A VRC is a Vehicle Registration Certificate (NOT the same thing as an RC). This is an onselete document that hasn;t been used since the introduction of the RCs in 2004. Basically, the RCs replace both the VLCs and the VRCs (i.e. registration and initial licensing included on the same document).

Hope that clears it up.

Tommy.

jArgHA

thanks a million Tommy for the answers

cheers,
jAH