Covert Passenger 4x4 to Commercial

artola

Looking for some advice on whether its worth converting my 01 Ford Explorer 4x4 from a passenger to commercial. Was trying to sell it but the market just isnt there. I only use it to take the dogs out walking and its never used for passengers. The motor tax is around the 1400 euro mark and heard that commercial motor tax is a lot less. Not sure of the cost of converting to commercial but if it meant that I could keep it for the dogs and the tax is minimal then I would investiage further.

Santa Claus

I know you can convert from commercial to a passenger but wasn't aware you could do it the other way round.

stephenmarr

i did my conversion on my hilux surf all i had to do was to

1. remove rear seats
2. remove rear seatbelts.
3. plug up all bolt holes for the seats and seatbelts with a metal putty no need to weld the up.
4. get the jeep weighted with a printed weight docket
5. a form from the doe test centre that needs to be signed by the garda


and thats it nothing to be done to the windows or floor pan.

when the above was done i had to go over to my tax office(nass) the teaster came out checked over the work done and she was happy.
she sent off the form and now all im waiting on is the doe which is up friday

i went into the doe centre and asked the tester do i need to do anything else he said everything was grand.

now just to pass the doe test. when its passed the form i will get i have to bring that over to the tax office and then i can tax the jeep.

check out the thread.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055275807&highlight=surf

Eric Cartman

The Definitive List, As per my investigation when i brought in my Kia Sorento

I VRT'D mine in tallaght, and here were the requirments :

Seats : removed and all anchor points sealed or grinded
Windows : Rigid metal must be adhesived or welded in (no screws) , this can be instead of or in addition to the glass in the windows, Power windows must be de-activated (removing the switches sufficed for me)
Floor : must be adhesived, riveted or welded in, a rigid metal floor supported on metal fixings , Must be level with rear of the vehicle
seatbelt points : Must be sealed or grinded

In addition the vehicle must have a wheelbase longer than 2.4 meters, and must have a GVW (NOT KERB WEIGHT) above 2.4 tonnes

When you bring it in : Weigh it at roadstone, VRT it at the VRT office, DOE it at a test Centre, then Tax it.

You dont need a company or VAT number for a commercial vehicle, although the tax office will ask you to fill oout a form of what its used for, have some bullsh*t about your going to register a company or you do odd jobs ready

NOTE : a company called O G H will do the conversion for 1500 euro, if you have a weekend and a welder you can do it yourself for 300 euro

Stephen

Be aware that you will have to DOE it every year, not every 2 years like the NCT.

artola

thanks all. Bringing it to company like OGH might be a winner. Any idea on typical cost of insurance and tax on it as a commercial?

Delta Kilo

Tax on a commercial is €272 per year AFAIK.
Insurance will be cheaper as well.

You will be charged the commercial rate at toll bridges, dearer than passenger car rate.

stephenmarr

@Eric Cartman
The Definitive List as according to the tallaght tax office not you.


contact your local tax office to see what they want you to do no point in doing loads that doesnt need to be done.

there not as fussy once it has already beein registered in Ireland and your now changing.

my brother did his surf exactly the way i did only 2 months ago and it passed no problem.

artola

cool.............looks like tax office first for what they need done and then off to someone to convert it for me. OGH was mentioned above...........anyone know of other companies doing similar? Thanks

Eric Cartman

artola wrote: »

cool.............looks like tax office first for what they need done and then off to someone to convert it for me. OGH was mentioned above...........anyone know of other companies doing similar? Thanks

a lot of van panneling/fitting companies do it, some towbar places would know aswell

Cmar-Ireland

Save yourself a fortune and do the work yourself. For an already Irish registered vehicle it is only a matter of changing tax class.
So all you need to do is remove seats, seatbelts and plug up all the mounting holes. Chemical metal putty is perfect for this. Costs about €5 a tube. (I needed two). Leave the panels off so the tester can see the plugged holes. That's it ! Tax is €288 per year with a yearly DOE at around €70
Floorplan and window modifications are only required if you have imported something in and are getting it VRT'd also.

If your near Monasterevin / Newbridge give me a shout and I can show you exactly what I did for my Hilux Surf.

artola

cheers cmar............will probably take ur advise and sort myself. Must get on to cork tax office and see what the story is with them. No where near Newbridge but if you had any pics to hand that would be cool. No worries if not. Thanx to all for help.

Cmar-Ireland

artola wrote: »

cheers cmar............will probably take ur advise and sort myself. Must get on to cork tax office and see what the story is with them. No where near Newbridge but if you had any pics to hand that would be cool. No worries if not. Thanx to all for help.

No Problem, What do you want pics of?