Should I buy an imported car from UK?

Kimia

Hi there,

If you could help me that'd be great because I'm a bit clueless about all this. I have an opel corsa 99 with 90K on it - it's dying a death right now and I really need to off load it because it needs a lot of work done and I would be throwing good money after bad. I don't even know if I could sell it.

One of the mechanics at my garage imports cars from the Uk, and he's offered to take my Corsa and give me a VW Polo 01 with 60K and a year's guarantee from him and the garage for a total of €4K.

I have rang a couple of dealers to see what they think, if they could match it etc, and no one could. But, is it a bad idea to buy an imported car? Or should I import one myself? The €4K includes VRT..

Help please!!!
Thanks!

Anan1

If the Polo's in good condition then that sounds ok, subject to two conditions:

Does it have a full service history? If so, call the garages to make sure the car was in fact serviced there as stated.

Has the car been HPI checked? Is it clear?

If there is any problem with either of the above then walk. You could also import yourself, but be sure to HPI and check the service history of any car prior to purchase.

Kimia

This is terrible, but I don't know what HPI is.. I'm sorry this is totally my first time really researching. Can you explain?

Anan1

Sorry, I should have explained - it's a UK service for making sure the car hasn't been written off, doesn't have finance outstanding, etc etc. Have a look here, they explain it all: www.hpi.co.uk

Kimia

O perfect I will check that out thanks. What do you think about buying imported cars though? It seems to me that there's a notion that it's too much hassle (which I don't mind if I save money) and it's vaguely dodgy..

I just don't want to be taken advantage of by my mechanic - he's a good guy but I have suspicion of anyone and any deal that seems almost too good to be true, and if the worst happens what can I do? How can I know that this is a good deal and all above board?

What would you do in my situation? What questions would you ask and what (besides the very helpful conditions above) would you make sure you knew?

Thanks a mill I'm just absolutely new at this and I don't know the procedure.

Biro

Get an independant mechanic to check it out, or even the RAC.

Dan_B

UK Cars are usually higher specification than Irish equivilant due to higher VRT here.
The history is generally easier to trace as the MOT has been around years.
Once you have the UK reg of the car pre importation to ireland you can do a full background check.

After that, the same rules apply to buying an irish car.

Have an independent inspection done.

blastman

Kimia wrote: »

O perfect I will check that out thanks. What do you think about buying imported cars though? It seems to me that there's a notion that it's too much hassle (which I don't mind if I save money) and it's vaguely dodgy..

It's not a hassle though, is it? I mean, you aren't actually going looking in the UK yourself, driving it back, paying the VRT, etc. The car might as well be from just down the road as Matabeleland, you're just going to your local mechanic for a car and why the fact that it's an import is even an issue escapes me.

Marcus.Aurelius

UK imports can be troublesome depending on the area they come from. Salt is used to de-ice the roads, this can cause quite a lot of problems for importing cars from the UK.

N8

In regard to the OP "Should I buy an imported car from UK?"

The answer is YES!

The exchange rate is excellent and will not be as good for years. Even with the VRT paid you will save money or for the same money buy a car that is younger and have more goodies.

The cars in the UK have a much higher spec ie leather, ABS, armrests, even down to mudflaps etc. Not only is this good for you but it will make the car more attractive when reselling it.

Put off paying the VRT until July and if you buy a diesel you will have less duty to pay again increasing your spending power. And added to this, VRT after July 1st and you can avail of lower annual tax for your new car - good for your pocket and again increasing resale value and making reselling or trading in easier.

Salt on the roads is a bit bogus. The fact is the roads here in Ireland, especially in rural areas, are a disgrace and cars in the UK esp England do not have this to contend with and so are in better condition all over. Also in england the resale value of a car without a service history is nil so owners esp private tend to look after their cars much better than we do.

I have bought in the UK on a regular basis (10 cars in 11yrs - 7 from the UK) and the last car I bought stood me just over €10K with the VRT paid, an independent check in England (£200 sterling) and the ferry home, got me a car with a very high spec and FSH, and single owner, and saved me over €5K on prices to be found in autotrader.ie and carzone.ie.....

"Should I buy an imported car from UK?"

YES!