Putting new plates on car

RunningFlyer

Hi folks

Ive just re-registered my Irish car in the UK and need to put on the new plates.. probably really basic question but just wanted to make sure before I get the power-drill out.

Basically the Irish plates were fixed using 2 screws, and it looks like a power drill had just been used to screw it into the plate area on the car (ie. maybe no specific manufacturer indents from what I can tell).

My new UK plates dont have any holes preset in them, so Im wondering if it will be ok just to use a power drill to drill through the plates and attach them to the car (even if the plug hole isnt the original ones?).

Is this OK to do or could I end up damaging the car? Or does anyone have any other tips?

Cheers

Midnight_EG

Just use a drill...two screws and you're set. Place the old reg over your new one and drill through the old ones holes...then you can line it up just the way it was before on your car

Henry Ford III

Take a new plate and then hold an old one in front of it. Using a pencil mark the screwholes through the old plate onto the new one. Ensure no letters or numbers are obscured.

patrickc

RunningFlyer wrote: »

Hi folks

Ive just re-registered my Irish car in the UK and need to put on the new plates.. probably really basic question but just wanted to make sure before I get the power-drill out.

Basically the Irish plates were fixed using 2 screws, and it looks like a power drill had just been used to screw it into the plate area on the car (ie. maybe no specific manufacturer indents from what I can tell).

My new UK plates dont have any holes preset in them, so Im wondering if it will be ok just to use a power drill to drill through the plates and attach them to the car (even if the plug hole isnt the original ones?).

Is this OK to do or could I end up damaging the car? Or does anyone have any other tips?

Cheers

drill through the plates before you put them up to the car, just line the plate up with the existing holes.

Berty

Place Irish plates on top of UK plates and drill through the existing holes through the UK plates and fix onto the car. Essentially the new holes, if you don't mess it up, will line up with the existing holes on the car itself.

You can get a pair of fixing covers in most uk car shops. Yellow for the back and white for the front so you can cover over the screws.

YouTookMyName

How did you go about changing over? Whats involved?

RunningFlyer

Thanks everyone for the (almost simultaneous) replies! Sounds like the best way to do it.

YouTookMyName - there's a few things to do but in the end its relatively straight forward. If you order a 'Import Pack' from the DVLA they send you all the forms you need. You have to fill out a registrations form with details on the car, get a UK MOT done, ensure you have insurance and once you have all that you go to the local DVLA office with all the paperwork (including Irish registration cert), and pay a registration fee (£55) plus the car tax period (which is cheaper than Ireland). About a week later you should receive the registration of your new car, tax disc & a form that enables you to get plates made up legally.

You also send a form off to customs but if the car is from the EU and VAT has already been paid youre unlikely to have to pay anything. I think some recent cars may require a 'certificate of conformity' or something from the manufacturer, but if your car is 10years old or older (like mine) it's exempt.

Hope that helps