Import car from the UK

Monkeee

Hi there,
Has anyone imported a car from the UK? Does it really work out as cheaper? What are the pitfalls? Would anyone that has done it, recommend it?
Looking forward to your advice.
Thanks

loyatemu

there was a huge thread about this before - search for "importing car UK"

editeditedit

here it is
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=176389

SDunne4

Monkeee wrote:

Hi there,
Has anyone imported a car from the UK? Does it really work out as cheaper? What are the pitfalls? Would anyone that has done it, recommend it?
Looking forward to your advice.
Thanks

Here is a good site with loads of good advise and some examples as wells as some calculators http://importyourcar.net/

Tails142

I recently imported a car - I was able to pick whatever car I wanted (huge selection, pick any car in the country), and for the same money get a much better car over there than what I could afford here.

Buying a second hand car is always a bit of a dodgy affair where you often get little gauranteed comeback if anything goes wrong. Buying abroad only slightly increases this so it is definetly worth it.

I made huge savings upfront, after VRT and other fees associated with importing I got a 15k car for 9.5k. Now, in my case I wasnt so lucky, the cylinder head went 6 days after bringing it back into the country - so that will cost me the guts of 2k to get fixed, some of which the seller has agreed to cover. It was just one of those things, the €400 inspection I had done didnt detect it; and the seller who I believe to be reputable had no knowledge of the fault developing.

The fact of the matter is that the same thing could have happened to me had I bought in Ireland and I could still have the same problems regarding mechanics bills.

I would defo reccomend going over to UK; and will almost definetly be doing it again in a couple of years when I decide to shift to my next motor.

GoalsGoneWild

definitely worth doing. did it myself for the first time about 2 months ago and it was well worth it. make sure you get the hpi check done as well as an AA/RAC/Dekra check. as tails142 can testify, these checks aren't 100% but you'd be a fool to buy one from the UK without any check done (unless you are a mechanic and know what to look for when you get there)

the above link to the 'Importing from the UK' thread was invaluable for me. well worth a read. the main thing is to do as much research as possible beforehand. it's all out there on t'internet.

good luck with it...

pa daly

I would sat you dont nesesserly need to be a mechanic.

I mean the rac/aa check is expensive, and if you found a fault when you went over that 400 would get you back home.

Dont get me wrong I think they are great for someone who knows absolutley nothing about cars, but I think if you give the car a good drive on the motorway it will tell you a lot. Then do all the visual inspections for rust, dampness, everything looks straight, wear, oil, electrics. etc

I mean without putting it on a ramp the AA wont spot a big weld job under the sump tray either....but having said that I think you are giving a gaurantee for this sort of occurance, maybe someone can clarify that..

TCollins

Is there anything to be saved importing a new car from the UK ?

Moanin

I saved €3k on a 2004 A4 1.9TDI SE model in Jan 2006 purchased from a main Audi Dealer

ScouseMouse

I brought in a mondeo but even though it had an mot, it still needed an NCT. Guess what. New wishbone wanted on the suspension and other jobs which set me back a couple of hundred.

Moral of this story?

Good MOT does not mean good NCT !