private to commercial..

banbutcher

im goin to England to buy a golf and bringing it home and then converting it to a commercial. just wondering has any one done this? if so what advice would you give me?

wondering bout VRT aswell, dont you only pay €50 for commercials?

Thanks,
Richie

Tipsy Mac

I think for a Landcruiser the conversion process costs about €2500-3k to do. I'd imagine for a Golf it should be €1500-2k or maybe less. There's criteria from Revenue as to what will get commercial status, basically I think it involves removing the rear windows and replacing them with metal sheeting, removing the rear seats, fitting a false floor, welding the seatbelt anchors shut and removing the electric window fittings. Might be something you could attempt yourself but I would say the process would only be worthwhile with a fairly new Golf. I think the VRT is not €50 on these car derived vans, it might be 13.5% of the OMSP.

Dangel4x4

The VRT is €50 on big vans like Transits, Sprinters etc.

Car-derived vans are a different kettle of fish VRT-wise, as Tipsy Mac says...

banbutcher

thanks guys, does anyone have anymore info on this??

S'

Yes,it's 13.5% of the OMSP of a car-derived van.
If you bring one back from the UK you can claim the VAT back aswell. Happy days!

Eric Cartman

if you have access to a mig welder you can do a full conversion for 200 euro like i did (converted a 2004 kia sorento 4x4)

but your vrt will be 13.3% on a vehicle that small

requirments :

flat rigid metal floor (supported by metal)
windows to have rigid metal instead of/in addition to glass (welded, rivited or adhesived in, no screws/bolts)
rear seatbelts removed and anchors to be destroyed/sealed, seat anchors to be destroyed/sealed

for the 50 euro vrt your vehicle has to weigh above 2.4 tonnes (GVW) and have a wheelbase longer than 2.4 meters

S'

Eric Cartman wrote: »

if you have access to a mig welder you can do a full conversion for 200 euro like i did (converted a 2004 kia sorento 4x4)

but your vrt will be 13.3% on a vehicle that small

requirments :

flat rigid metal floor (supported by metal)
windows to have rigid metal instead of/in addition to glass (welded, rivited or adhesived in, no screws/bolts)
rear seatbelts removed and anchors to be destroyed/sealed, seat anchors to be destroyed/sealed

for the 50 euro vrt your vehicle has to weigh above 2.4 tonnes (GVW) and have a wheelbase longer than 2.4 meters

Eric, I see that some new jeeps (Mitsubishi Outlander) have blacked out glass on the outside but apply carpet on the inside, would this be ok?
Also what kind of metal did you use for the floor? Sheet steel?

Eric Cartman

the carpet is over metal, and the metal is placed behind limo tinted windows (this is what i did, i adhesived the metal in behind tinted windows, then ashesived carpet to the metal)

i used 1.4mm sheet steel for the floor, supported by 25mm steel box section (all bought at heitons on the naas road) , takes about 15-20 hours to do the whole conversion, did the tinting myself too (dunnes underground carpark is a great place to do it , no wind and its warm :P )

also for the electric windows i disconnected the switches and taped up the connectors

if you wanted 50 euro vrt, big 4x4s are cheap enough 2nd hand , similar to mine : http://atsearch.autotrader.co.uk/ni/cars_popup.jsp?nU=0&make=KIA&model=SORENTO&min_pr=500&max_pr=7000&postcode=SE10AB&miles=40&max_records=200&modelexact=1&photo=1&hassearched=Y&start=6&distance=40&adcategory=CARS&channel=CARS&id=200902326425684

Bearcat

you can bring a toyota amazon in and do the commercial thing for 50 euro....when she's all welded up its like a cavern inside.

Jomcc

Just wondering if there is any limit as to what you can convert to commercial. Not a hope in hell of it happening but I'd just love to bring in one of these and convert it to commercial. As standard, they only have two seats & it would be very easy to live with blackened out rear windows.

L-M

Just another note OP.

I know someone who literally got away with just taking out the seats and welding spots over the screw holes. Then hiding the seats belts behind the plastic. It can be very easy done.

13.5% is what you will pay, i haven't see a 5 door commercial Golf before though only 3 doors.

Eric Cartman

Jomcc wrote: »

Just wondering if there is any limit as to what you can convert to commercial. Not a hope in hell of it happening but I'd just love to bring in one of these and convert it to commercial. As standard, they only have two seats & it would be very easy to live with blackened out rear windows.

id say youd get away with it, could be the cheapest conversion ever

S'

I'm thinking of bring in one of these, only comes with two seats as standard and Renault also do a Megane van anyway!

tin79

we just bought an isuzu trooper that was brought in from the UK and converted. the guy who brought it in was requested to:

remove the rear seats
weld up the rear seat anchoring points
cut out the rear seat belts
weld or put secure metal over the seat ancho points
make the floor as level as possible (he put wooden boxing fitted into the rear foot wells and carpeted over the whole lot)
tint the windows, he put blackout film over the windows and they were happy with that.

Mr. Presentable

I think 60% of the internal space must be non passenger. That'd explain why no 5 door Golfs, and no "commercial" 2 seater coupes

Eric Cartman

nipplenuts wrote: »

I think 60% of the internal space must be non passenger. That'd explain why no 5 door Golfs, and no "commercial" 2 seater coupes

its actually 45% and thats for €50 vrt, but that roll cage kind of rules out commercial up there

air

Any particular issues with insuring a vehicle for private use which has been taxed commercially?

Eric Cartman

air wrote: »

Any particular issues with insuring a vehicle for private use which has been taxed commercially?

aside from the tax being far higher i dont think so