[Article in Indo] - Car tax rules wont prevent imports of bangers from UK

vengeance52

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/car-tax-rules-wont-prevent-imports-of-bangers-from-uk-2319431.html

A NEW system that will see car tax collected at National Car Test (NCT) centres from today will not prevent thousands of cars written off in Britain being imported here with a clean bill of health.

From today, the collection of Vehicle Registration Tax (VRT) becomes the responsibility of Applus+, the Spanish company currently administering the NCT.

Those importing cars from Britain or the North will no longer be able to register their cars at a Revenue Vehicle Registration Office (VRO).

Instead, staff at NCT centres will carry out a range of tests to verify that the specification of the vehicle being presented matches the original manufacturer's specification and that the correct rate of tax is being applied.

The new move was welcomed by Cartell.ie, an online company that provides history checks for car buyers.

Jeff Aherne of Cartell.ie welcomed the change as "a first step in the right direction towards safer cars on our roads" but questioned why the Government had not gone one step further by requiring mechanical checks of vehicles as well.

Mr Aherne said that as many as one in 10 of the cars imported from the UK to Ireland every year were previously written off. However, this fact was "not making its way from the UK log book to the Irish log book or vehicle registration document and the impact of this is that Irish drivers are in the dark about the cars' true history".

Given the inherent dangers of write-offs, Cartell.ie is calling for all imports to undergo a thorough mechanical inspection.

Last year, more than 47,000 of the 101,171 cars registered in Ireland were imported from the North or Britain. In 2008, the figure was 58,800 and in 2007, it was more than 57,000. In excess of 25,000 cars have been imported so far this year.

Robbo

I see nothing except an advertorial for Cartell.

colm_mcm

Bit of a non story.

-Chris-

It's telling that this is basically a check to ensure that all optional extras are accounted for for VRT purposes rather than any kind of mechanical or safety check.

It's about revenue collection rather than safety and that's a disgrace.


Also I'd worry that, for people who aren't aware of the detail, this now give imported cars an additional legitimacy - "sure it was examined by the NCT guys when I imported it, they'd have spotted it if there was anything wrong with it".
Cue uninformed people getting stung with shoddy cars.

Esel

[Harrumph] About time, too. [/Harrumph]

A personal comment/opinion would be nice, OP, instead of a bare copy and paste.... and don't just edit the word 'Discuss' in! :eek:

peasant

Absolutely idiotic system:

- take your import to the NCT and all they'll do is to make sure that you will get stung for all the equipment, the correct engine size and options when paying the VRT

- go to the VRT office, get stung

- take it back to the NCT for the test proper only to be told then that it won't pass because it's been welded together out of two write offs

vengeance52

esel wrote: »

[Harrumph] About time, too. [/Harrumph]

A personal comment/opinion would be nice, OP, instead of a bare copy and paste.... and don't just edit the word 'Discuss' in! :eek:

Fair Point :P

I was a bit confused that the VRO no longer registers cars from NI or UK. So basically an office who's purpose is to register cars, is no longer registering cars from UK and NI which would be a fair amount of their daily workload I would assume. So what are they going to be doing now and how will NCT waiting times be affected by having to register NI and UK imports there.

Once again, it seems that the government are putting as many hurdles in place to stop people from importing cars.... and the knock on affect, a possible increase on VRT dodgers?

mike65

Pathetic stuff - "oh look its got a multi-disk CD player in the boot, that'll be another 40 euro on the VRT Sir",

galwaytt

mike65 wrote: »

Pathetic stuff - "oh look its got a multi-disk CD player in the boot, that'll be another 40 euro on the VRT Sir",

....and often as not, you'll be saying: 'er,hello, they don't make an S-Class WITHOUT a CD player - it's NOT an extra........'


I predict big sales in:

Plastic Hub caps
Steel Wheels
Furry Seat covers
Argo's stereos'.

For popular models, 'felt spec A4's and the like, I see an opportunity for a business 'UnPimp My Ride...(for VRT).....'

You drive in your RS4TDiiiiii,

and for €100, we'll....

bolt in a set of worn cloth seats (rears can be damp/musty, for an extra €10)
2 different colours of (worn) floor mat
add steel rims, with 4 different brands of tyres (no more than 2mm thread)
add hubcaps (3, only, 1 cracked..)
apply soot to rear bumper
over-oil engine top (with water-rinseable stuff.... )
Velcro on very worn Nokia phone holder with broken cable
Fit dodgy-pixel Audi Concert stereo with very worn buttons....
Drive car through quarry wheel rinse ramp 5 or 6 times, to 'undercoat' car, nicely...

bring it back inside 4 hours and we'll re-fit all your stuff. Next-day returns incur a €50 charge.

corktina

peasant wrote: »

Absolutely idiotic system:

- take your import to the NCT and all they'll do is to make sure that you will get stung for all the equipment, the correct engine size and options when paying the VRT

- go to the VRT office, get stung

- take it back to the NCT for the test proper only to be told then that it won't pass because it's been welded together out of two write offs

you wont be going to the VRO at all.You'll pay at the NCT centre (and I imagine you'll have to get an NCT whilst you are about it....same as the UK do on imports.)

vengeance52

also whats annoying is that items that are standard on some UK and NI cars, may not be standard on the variants sold in ireland so they will all be classed as extras.

chasm

Er, sorry to go slightly OT here but i was just wondering, is this "VRT assessment" for all vehicles that are brought in to the country?, from what i've read on here and other sites it seems it applies to cars and bikes, but what about vans ?
I know commercials were €50 in, but having said that, vrt on motorcycles seemed pretty straightforward before this too.

Del2005

chasm wrote: »

Er, sorry to go slightly OT here but i was just wondering, is this "VRT assessment" for all vehicles that are brought in to the country?, from what i've read on here and other sites it seems it applies to cars and bikes, but what about vans ?
I know commercials were €50 in, but having said that, vrt on motorcycles seemed pretty straightforward before this too.

They've also reworked the classification of vans. Everyone has to register at the NCT.

From today all the stuff at the VRO's are redundant as all VRTing is now done by the NCT crowd. Have any of the staff being redeployed yet or are they still in the empty offices?

The new rules apply for all imports not just form the UK/NI.

chasm

Del2005 wrote: »

They've also reworked the classification of vans. Everyone has to register at the NCT.

From today all the stuff at the VRO's are redundant as all VRTing is now done by the NCT crowd. Have any of the staff being redeployed yet or are they still in the empty offices?

The new rules apply for all imports not just form the UK/NI.

Thanks Del2005, another question....are these vrt assessments done by existing nct staff? The thing about the nct is/was, because it was done by computers there was little chance of people being bunged a few quid to get it through(though i think it was done in a local nct centre here a few years ago iirc)
anyway what's to say i'm not best buddies with the guy doing the assessment and i get it passed as having no extras etc.... or are these tests more than just ticking a few boxes.

Apologies to anyone working in this line of work, i'm not trying to imply you are crooked or anything, i'm just generally curious;)

Mc Love

So this probably means to end of going abroad for cars?!

RossDonegan

peasant wrote: »

Absolutely idiotic system:

- take your import to the NCT and all they'll do is to make sure that you will get stung for all the equipment, the correct engine size and options when paying the VRT

- go to the VRT office, get stung

- take it back to the NCT for the test proper only to be told then that it won't pass because it's been welded together out of two write offs

Good man.
Exactly my thinking aswell

jimmycrackcorm

And in other news this new system will not prevent you buying an existing Irish car that has been written off.


Likewise:

peasant wrote: »

Absolutely idiotic system:

- buy an Irish car, get stung anwway

- take it back to the NCT for the test proper only to be told then that it won't pass because it's been welded together out of two write offs

corktina

i dont think they are new rules, just tightening up the existing ones by having the cars examined by people who (in theory) know about cars.

Just the start though...watch this space!

vengeance52

corktina wrote: »

i dont think they are new rules, just tightening up the existing ones by having the cars examined by people who (in theory) know about cars.

Just the start though...watch this space!

Looks to me that they just want the people in NCT center to identify what "Extras" the cars have so they can charge more for VRT.

Seth Brundle

vengeance52 wrote: »

A NEW system that will see car tax collected at National Car Test (NCT) centres from today will not prevent thousands of cars written off in Britain being imported here with a clean bill of health.

Is there evidence that thousands of cars written off in the UK were being imported here before this change or is the Indo just being its usual tabloid self?

mickdw

Its pretty much accepted that many cat c & d cars were coming in here anyway. Nothing wrong with those if fixed properly except of course the fact that irish people are paying full value for them compared to uk where repaired car will only make about 75% of normal value.

Seth Brundle

...and presumably most passed their NCT, which on the assumption that the NCT is a good test, means that the entire article is a load of crap!

corktina

vengeance52 wrote: »

Looks to me that they just want the people in NCT center to identify what "Extras" the cars have so they can charge more for VRT.

Yes but thats what the VRO were/should have been doing all along so its no change from that point of view.

Esel

Validating the chassis no. of every car is another major difference.

corktina

esel wrote: »

Validating the chassis no. of every car is another major difference.

the VRO was supposed to do that too surely.

Motorcheck

Anyone know if you're entitled to accompany your car through the test?

opinion guy

I'm confused. When you import a car now do you have to make an appointiment with the NCT or do you just rock on up ? Doesn't it take ages to get an NCT appointment ? How are you supposed to pay your VRT within 24 hours if you are waiting on an appointment ?

Does this go for importing a new car too ? You bring it to NCT ?

corktina

on importing ANY car you now have 7 days to make an appointment for inspection with the NCTS and (presumably then) 30 days to complete the process. I assume if its needs an NCT you will also have to get this. Thye will require to see the reipt of purchase and the ticket or some evidence of the date of importation. They will be looking for a chassis number stamped into the chassis.

I imagine dealers who are currently registered to import cars will have a derogation from this until the car is sold but I did see that a dealer would be responsible for registering the car before he sells it.

chasm

opinion guy wrote: »

I'm confused. When you import a car now do you have to make an appointiment with the NCT or do you just rock on up ? Doesn't it take ages to get an NCT appointment ? How are you supposed to pay your VRT within 24 hours if you are waiting on an appointment ?

Does this go for importing a new car too ? You bring it to NCT ?

Info from revenue here:
http://www.ncts.ie/vrt.html

"An appointment for one of the designated NCT centres can be made through one of the following methods:

- On-line for VRT bookings ONLY
- Phone: 1890 927 787
- Post: Vehicle Registration Tax Inspection, 3026 Lakedrive, Citywest Business Campus, Naas Road, Dublin 24

Confirmation of your appointment will then be sent to you either by SMS, e-mail or by post. Please ensure you have carry proof of your confirmed appointment with you when using your vehicle until the registration process is completed and the registration number is displayed on the vehicle."

Also be aware of this:
"If you cancel or rearrange this confirmed appointment within five working days (Monday- Friday) of the test date (not including the day of the test), or fail to show up for the test, a €28.29 (inclusive of VAT) surcharge will be applied when the vehicle is next brought for testing."

Propellerhead

At least a mugger is honest about what they want.

Fishtits

The article was in the Indo so its credibility has been immediately trashed,

The Indo is a rag.