Buying a used car in Ireland guide

Dead_Shot

well i was wondering could i get abit of help...first time buying a car was looking at this on www.adverts.ie/car/volkswagen/golf/1997-volkswagen-golf-for-sale/6115500

he hasnt taxed it or nct'd it since he bought it as it was only for a run around while his car was being done up.

will i have to pay back tax on it if i go to tax it?
also do i need to ask him for any documents to say it has been off the road?

sorry i really have no idea when it comes to cars lol

it wouldnt let me link the page so just but a space in between to make it work

Esel

You only need to tax it from the first day of the month of purchase. You don't need anything from the seller regarding this.

Dead_Shot

what all do i need of him then or what should i ask about regarding the car?

Esel

Read the first post in this thread - it is very comprehensive.

lillen

I'm planning on buying a car in the coming week, however I'm quite unsure on how I would go about with the payment.
The car I'll be buying will set me back roughly 3000 euro.

What would be the "norm" in Ireland when buying a car privately, paying by cash or meeting up at the bank making a lodgement? Maybe a different method?

What else than a receipt and the car keys should I be expecting to getting with me driving away?

Read the first post, but these two questions are not covered.

jesso22

Hi LM, I wonder can you help me?

I want to change the ownership of my car to my partner's name, as it turns out it's a lot cheaper to insure us this way.

The question is, do we have to renew the tax again after we register the car, or is the tax that's on it still valid? There are months still until it is up.

Jess

Guffy

The car is taxed not the owner

L-M

gufc21 wrote: »

The car is taxed not the owner

As above, the tax stays with the car!

If ye are married, ask your insurer as it may not matter who's name it is in.

jesso22

Thanks very much guys :-)

realdanbreen

Just a quick one, I bought a 02 passat Diesel, lovely car. The timing belt/chain was done at 158K, when should it be done again? Also it had a full service last march, when should it get another one?

bazz26

My understanding is that the timing belt and water pump should be changed on those TDI engines every 60k miles or 5 years. Servicing depends on what was done last time but personally I have the oil and filters changed every 15k km or at least once a year if your mileage is low.

pedatron

Excellent first post. Answered so many questions for me.It's my first time buying second hand or anything for that matter really. I've been lucky to get cars off family prior to this. Been looking at a golf that I really like the look of. A 1.4 TSI 170bhp. With a quick google I found out about the most common problems were with the car for me to check out. It has a full service history according to the ad and all looks good. I'm bringing two guys that know a good bit about cars with me as well.

Are there any other major things I should be looking out for? (Definitely printing out this guide BTW)

L-M

pedatron wrote: »

Excellent first post. Answered so many questions for me.It's my first time buying second hand or anything for that matter really. I've been lucky to get cars off family prior to this. Been looking at a golf that I really like the look of. A 1.4 TSI 170bhp. With a quick google I found out about the most common problems were with the car for me to check out. It has a full service history according to the ad and all looks good. I'm bringing two guys that know a good bit about cars with me as well.

Are there any other major things I should be looking out for? (Definitely printing out this guide BTW)

I've heard awful bad stories about the 170. I personally would either go all out and buy a Gti, or try get a 122.

bazz26

Those twin charger TSI engines are far from reliable.

pedatron

Good enough for me lads. I'll give it a miss so! Thanks!

carq

What do you think of this car ?

cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2005-bmw-318ci-m-sport-pristine/7465629

I presume seller would have no issue sending the Cartell report in advance of viewing?
Also - I am curious about the logistics of buying the car. I would be travelling 1.5 hours to view.
Should I have payment funds with me when viewing ?
Would the safest thing be to go into a bank with the Seller and do a transfer in person in the bank ?
Is the log book and keys handed over before or after this part ?
Say I do buy the car, how quick typically can you get insurance changed to enable you to drive it back?

bazz26

Normally as your buying the car so it is up to you as part of your background checking it out to get your own history report done on it. I would not depend on one from the seller.

Payment is down to you but an electronic transfer can take a few days if the buyer and seller's banks are different. If the seller accepts a draft (very unlikely) then the seller may require the draft number in advance in order to verify it with the issuing bank that it is genuine. Would not fancy carrying large sums of cash on me either as there are just too many dodgy characters out there.

Alternatives would be to go view the car, check it out and if you are happy then tell the seller you will leave a small deposit to hold it and will be back in a few hours. Before viewing inform your bank that you may be buying a car and may want to withdraw the amount in cash from a local branch. Go to the branch and withdraw the cash, ring the seller and ask them to either meet you at a local Garda station where you can hand over the cash in front of them or arrange to meet at the seller's bank and you lodge the cash into their account at the counter. If the seller uses the same bank as yourself then safest thing to do is just transfer the funds electronically, as you both use the same bank it should be done in a matter of minutes. If you are using cash then make sure you have a friend or family member accompany you, don't do this alone.

Keys will be handed over once payment has been verified by the seller. Logbook is not handed over to the buyer. The seller will get you to fill in the change of ownership section and then post it off to the DOT in Shannon who will then issue the new owner a new log book. Best have a stamped addressed envelope ready for this and both of you just drop it into the nearest post box as some sellers get lazy once they have your money and forget or don't bother posting it off meaning it's more hassle for the new owner to get the registration transferred over.

Insurance can be transferred from you existing car over to your new car via a phone call. But if you are collecting the car at the weekend then take note that your insurance company may not be contactable at the weekend to do the transfer so you will need to arrange the transfer in advance with them, giving them a specific time you want the transfer to happen.

carq

Perfect – that has answered a lot of my questions –
You mention that keys won’t be handed over until payment is confirmed ?
Does the log book also not get signed until payment is confirmed – What is to stop them doing a runner with the cash in their a/c and still have the keys ?
I might sound overly cautious but you never know!

The cartell point was that in the Ad he mentions that he has a cartell check on it.
Surely he would have no problem to send this on ?

bazz26

That is why the seller should verify the draft number with the issuing bank in advance so that when they receive it from you it should have been already confirmed as genuine. Of if paying by cash then the keys should be handed over at the same time as well as the log book being sent off to Shannon.

Seller should have no issue sending you on a copy of their cartell report but personally I prefer to do my own for my own peace of mind. At the end of the day you don't know the seller so I tend to air on the side of caution.

larrymiller

Looking at a ad for a van but don't understand this note.
Should I add 1500 onto the price listed

colm_mcm

It means that's the price, no trade in.

If you want to trade something in you can, but your starting point is the price + €1500

larrymiller

colm_mcm wrote: »

It means that's the price, no trade in.

If you want to trade something in you can, but your starting point is the price + €1500

Price listed is 2500.
So if I want to trade in they will start at 5000?

L-M

colm_mcm wrote: »

It means that's the price, no trade in.

If you want to trade something in you can, but your starting point is the price + €1500

I think you could be wrong there. I think it means if it's advertised for 8k and you trade in a 99 starlet, you'll get a minimum of 1500 off the price.

larrymiller

Limerick man wrote: »

I think you could be wrong there. I think it means if it's advertised for 8k and you trade in a 99 starlet, you'll get a minimum of 1500 off the price.

Now your talking!

colm_mcm

Yes, but the €1500 has already been taken off?

Your cost to change would be €8000 using your example

L-M

That makes no sense on both parts. What is it? If it's overpriced by 1500 we'd know, lol.

larrymiller

Its a 06 transit connect.
Has 2500 on the ad. But then that note on the bottom.
I'm so confused

L-M

larrymiller wrote: »

Its a 06 transit connect.
Has 2500 on the ad. But then that note on the bottom.
I'm so confused

Just text and ask I suppose, it's the easiest way.

larrymiller

Yep I will in the morning!

BraveInca

I did a search on the motor tax site for a car that I'm looking at and got the report below. Is this fishy? Does it mean that the car was bought in August and sold on to a dealer in September? Any legitimate reason for this sequence?


Purchased by a Dealer on : 06/09/2014
Notified on : 20/09/2014
Vehicle Registration Certificate
Most recent Vehicle Registration Certificate issued on : 11/08/2014