Finnish car in Ireland.

Mikko Mallikas

Hi, I will be bringing my Finnish registered and insured car to Ireland for 6 months in March, my Insurance is all sorted, apart from not keeping the car in the country for more than 6 months and no Irish residents can drive it while there, is there anything else I should know. I am an Irish citizen living in finland for the last 12 years and the car and I are returning to Finland in September.

slimjimmc

Bring loads of proof (bills et.c.) that you are resident in Finland and keep some in the car just in case you're quizzed by customs. Could avoid having the car seized if he thinks you're resident here.

Del2005

A return ticket.

Atlantic Dawn

If it's a left hand drive and you have valid insurance they tend not to bother you too much as it has a low resale value here so you should be grand.

Marcusm

Make sure you have your original insurance cert and vehicle registration document (not to mind your licence)! I have never been stopped driving a UK reg car around Ireland

I drive over and back from London regularly (6 times since JUly) and yesterday was the first time I have ever seen anyone stopped at Dublin port. Yes, it was me. ON the flip side, I get stopped at Holyhead nearly everytime (coming and going). Not sure if they think it's drugs, porn, excess cash or illegals I'm carrying. Yesterday the guy stopped me and burst out laughing as he remembered stopping me twice in December.

dr.fuzzenstein

Marcusm wrote: »

Make sure you have your original insurance cert and vehicle registration document (not to mind your licence)! I have never been stopped driving a UK reg car around Ireland

I drive over and back from London regularly (6 times since JUly) and yesterday was the first time I have ever seen anyone stopped at Dublin port. Yes, it was me. ON the flip side, I get stopped at Holyhead nearly everytime (coming and going). Not sure if they think it's drugs, porn, excess cash or illegals I'm carrying. Yesterday the guy stopped me and burst out laughing as he remembered stopping me twice in December.

Do you look like this?



:P

Mikko Mallikas

Just a thought, as someone mentioned it to me. What about the potential for getting a ticket (when car unattended) for non display of tax, insurance etc. by some ticket warden/Guard on a power trip or bad day, as Finnish cars display nothing on their windscreen.

vectra

Mikko Mallikas wrote: »

Just a thought, as someone mentioned it to me. What about the potential for getting a ticket (when car unattended) for non display of tax, insurance etc. by some ticket warden/Guard on a power trip or bad day, as Finnish cars display nothing on their windscreen.

Hand it back to them explaining they are not a requirement where the car is registrered

Rasmus

Mikko Mallikas wrote: »

Just a thought, as someone mentioned it to me. What about the potential for getting a ticket (when car unattended) for non display of tax, insurance etc. by some ticket warden/Guard on a power trip or bad day, as Finnish cars display nothing on their windscreen.

With out of state plates (i.e EU reg) the likelyhood of that is slim. As far as getting stopped, always have your return ferry ticket in the car to show you intend to go back to Finland along with your proof of Finnish insurance.

Ellis Dee

Just be extra careful driving, as your steering wheel (and you) are on the wrong side of the vehicle and you are a a disadvantage visibility-wise when overtaking and in bends.:):) Also, be careful what you leave in the car when you park. In the experience of my Finnish and Swedish visitors, a car with foreign plates is more likely to be broken into, as the scumbags assume visitors to our fair land have more property with them.

Mikko Mallikas

I actually won´t have a return ferry ticket, as it is impossible for me to know at that point the exact date I will leave Ireland, just sometime late August or early September.

Rasmus

Mikko Mallikas wrote: »

I actually won´t have a return ferry ticket, as it is impossible for me to know at that point the exact date I will leave Ireland, just sometime late August or early September.

Well, that's just what the Gardai told me to show when pulled over in an foreign car in Ireland. A ticket can be changed, even if it has a certain date on it.

Marcusm

There's no obligation on you to have a return ferry ticket. Just make sure that you are able to explain the temporary nature of your stay here. You are Irish so presumably will have no trouble communicating with the gardai.

I parked a UK car on the street in Dublin for 8 months and never once had an issue with tickets for insurance. I do recall cars close to me having notes put under the wipers - I saw that they had out of date tax.

Are you staying in Dublin? If so, where will you be parking. One issue I had was that Dublin Corpo could not give me a residents parking disc although I had a lease of a house in Donnybrook. The issue was that the car was not insured at the particular address - as it was only temporary, there was no need. I had to buy visitor parking permits from them but that was a hassle as I was travelling over and back to London on a regular basis (with the car left here).

I had to make sure not to park in a permit bay during those times as I wasn't around to change the permit each day.

triple-M

matter of interest what route would you take to ireland i-ve always wanted to take the car up to scandanavia

Mikko Mallikas

Marcusm, maybe that is where I actually see being Irish as being a negative here:) with the wonderful Garda Siochana having difficulty comprehending an Irish person having a foriegn reg car ! I´ll be baseed in Baltinglass, Wicklow but travelling around the country, maybe even to and from UK and the North for work. Triple M, this is the route I intend to take for personal reasons, the route may not suit everyone and there are a dozen or more ways to go. http://g.co/maps/v94dw

Marcusm

Mikko Mallikas wrote: »

Marcusm, maybe that is where I actually see being Irish as being a negative here:) with the wonderful Garda Siochana having difficulty comprehending an Irish person having a foriegn reg car ! I´ll be baseed in Baltinglass, Wicklow but travelling around the country, maybe even to and from UK and the North for work. Triple M, this is the route I intend to take for personal reasons, the route may not suit everyone and there are a dozen or more ways to go. http://g.co/maps/v94dw

Ah but you see I'm Irish too (and in fact grew up in Carnew, not far from Baltinglass) but only ever drive foreign reg'd cars here. Never been a problem apart from the odd skanger screaming "tiocfaidh ar la" at me. Guards will perfectly understand the idea of an Irish man abroad bringing back his car for a visit. I suspect they'd be more interested in a chat about the route or long distance you've travelled. I would always have the car VLC, insurance etc in the car and also some electricity bills etc from where I live in the UK. (Likewise, I tend not to volunteer the ESB, Bord GAis bills etc from my Irish home.)

Mikko Mallikas

ahh, long time since I was in Carnew, if I had my way I would go to a Garda station and declare everything and then never have to deal with them again, I just don´t want the feeling of always going to be stopped, and the automatic assumption that you are breaking the law as most people feel when they see all the Polish cars

keithclancy

I went back to Ireland for a while in my Dutch registered car, I'm Irish.

Had no problem with the Gardai, still have my Irish License, my Dutch Insurance Card and my Stadtpas (City Pass)

Bills etc are useless. Customs won't know what its for anyway (Since its all in 'foreign' as they say)

Jesus ... all the bills are in the wifes name come to think of it :pac:

For customs to seize your car they have to be pretty sure your resident in the Republic, just keep the Ferry Ticket and you'll be fine, there is no requirement to register (or in Ireland become resident) as long as your ties remain in Finland.

And for a Finnish car seeing as the registration Taxes are higher than Ireland you would want to be mentally ill to import a car from Finland anyway.

If some plonker tries to give you a ticket for non display of a Motor Tax Disc or Insurance wait for the summons to show up in Finland :rolleyes:

Mikko Mallikas

Another thought, what if I get flashed by a Go-safe van ( which won´t happen cos I don't speed) surely I cant even get the fine cos they have nowhere to send the letter, and certainly no points I guess. Right or wrong?

galwaytt

Mikko Mallikas wrote: »

Another thought, what if I get flashed by a Go-safe van ( which won´t happen cos I don't speed) surely I cant even get the fine cos they have nowhere to send the letter, and certainly no points I guess. Right or wrong?

.....if I say you're right, you're not to head out now tearin' up the town

.....you're right - nowhere to send the bill

Mikko Mallikas

.....if I say you're right, you're not to head out now tearin' up the town

That is exactly what my Father will say

CiniO

Mikko Mallikas wrote: »

Another thought, what if I get flashed by a Go-safe van ( which won´t happen cos I don't speed) surely I cant even get the fine cos they have nowhere to send the letter, and certainly no points I guess. Right or wrong?

Surely there is a place they can send a letter with a fine. It's you address in Finland under which you have your car registered.

However I think it's extremely unlikely anyone from Ireland will bother contacting Finnish authorities to get your Finnish address for the fine to be sent there, considering they don't have any way to force you to pay it anyway.

I've done a thing opposite to you, as I'm Polish who lives in Ireland, I traveled few times with my Irish registered car to Poland.

I got flashed once by speed camera in Germany on the way, and probably few times in Poland.
I never got any fines in the post.
If even Germans don't bother chasing foreign cars for speeding, surely Irish won't.

However you might be stopped by Gardai for speeding if they use hand speed gun (or tripod) and you might get fined then on the spot I assume.

PS - You say you don't speed, but don't be fooled, as in Ireland there is only two possibilites - you are speeding or not. If you are only few km/h over the limit, it means you are speeding and you can be fined with full fine (80 euros), as opposed to most other EU countries, where speeding fines depend on how much you were above the limit (and from what I heard in Finland even they depend on your salary - not sure if that correct).


PS2 - As other adviced you make sure you have your vehicle registration certificate, insurance certificate and some proof car has a valid test, as you are required to have all these with you at all times, while driving abroad.
In Ireland probably most Gardai don't even know about it, but on your way abroad you might be asked to present it . I was asked to show my VRC and insurance cert once in Germany, and I think 3 times in Poland during regular road checks. However don't worry about discs on your windscreen, as they are required only from vehicles registered in Ireland.

dr.fuzzenstein

Had a German registered car here for a few years, got a few parking tickets, ignored them, never heard from them again.
There where no Go Safe vans at the time, so I couldn't tell you, but I passed a few Gards with hairdriers, maybe even a tad over the limit, never was stopped, I can only assume that writing me a fine wasn't worth the bother since I wouldn't have paid and it was unenforceable once I was out the country.

Mikko Mallikas

I will be driving Tampere, Finland to Baltinglass, Ireland next month. I will leave Tampere on March 8, taking roughly the route below, if anyone has anything reasonably small or anybody needing collection or delivery on the route. Contact me if you have.http://g.co/maps/z268z

CiniO

Mikko Mallikas wrote: »

http://g.co/maps/z268z

Looks like very nice trip.
How many stop-overs are you planning?

dr.fuzzenstein

Mikko Mallikas wrote: »

I will be driving Tampere, Finland to Baltinglass, Ireland next month. I will leave Tampere on March 8, taking roughly the route below, if anyone has anything reasonably small or anybody needing collection or delivery on the route. Contact me if you have.http://g.co/maps/z268z

Yes, I left these behind last time I was over there:



Should fit in the glovebox.:D

Mikko Mallikas

one will fit in the glovebox, the other is going on the bonnet:)

4zn76tysfajdxp

Mikko Mallikas wrote: »

I will be driving Tampere, Finland to Baltinglass, Ireland next month. I will leave Tampere on March 8, taking roughly the route below, if anyone has anything reasonably small or anybody needing collection or delivery on the route. Contact me if you have.

Too bad you're not going three weeks later, I could've gotten a lift.

Mikko Mallikas

Pity, have to be there by Paddy´s day

Mikko Mallikas

A little update, been in the Country about 2 and a half months now, been stopped 3 times and been threatened with confiscation twice. Been followed on countless occasions, went outside today to see the traffic corps sitting looking at my car and driving away as I waved at them.

Marcusm

Would have thought the local jungle drums would have everyone knowing your business (ie live in Finland but home for a few months) so that the guards wouldn't bother you. Ultimately your in the right and I hope you don't get any hassle. If they confiscate it, the compensation you'd be entitled to for breach of your rights might get you a Ferrari or Rolls.

CiniO

Mikko Mallikas wrote: »

A little update, been in the Country about 2 and a half months now, been stopped 3 times and been threatened with confiscation twice. Been followed on countless occasions, went outside today to see the traffic corps sitting looking at my car and driving away as I waved at them.

How did the confiscation threats look like?
Did they ask you at any time to prove you are not resident in Ireland? If yes - what did they expect?

dr.fuzzenstein

Mikko Mallikas wrote: »

A little update, been in the Country about 2 and a half months now, been stopped 3 times and been threatened with confiscation twice. Been followed on countless occasions, went outside today to see the traffic corps sitting looking at my car and driving away as I waved at them.

Make a copy of the relevant legislation that proves you are acting within the law.
Keep a copy of that with you and show it to whoever stops you once they decide to start threatening you with impounding the car.
Usually the officers on the ground do not know the exact legal situation, they just see foreign reg and go into full-on mode.
If you do get into trouble, get onto these guys.
You can only argue with an official on the frontline so far, they have to be seen to assess the situation and act accordingly and like a football referee they don't always get it right, but they cannot go back on whatever call they make there and then, it can only be done by a superior using the correct channels.
Keep polite and make sure you have as many details in writing as you can, i.e names, dates, location, what was said, etc...

With a bit of luck they're just going to fcuk you around a bit to make things awkward for you in the hope you get the car re-registered.

keithclancy

Are you sure ?

Gardai generally have nothing to do with it, next time tell them to call customs if they like.

Mikko Mallikas

A quick follow up as I am back in Finland again now, I drove Finland Ireland Finland whilst spending 6 Months in Ireland in between, I never met a policeman on either of the journies or on many trips throughout Ireland EXCEPT for being stopped 12 times in the 6 months and followed countless times and having the traffic corps sit outside my home, all of this happened within a few miles of my temporary home in Baltinglass Wicklow. To say I was hounded is an understatement. Within 2 hours of entering the country the Baltinglass guards had stopped me and threatened to have the car impounded and said I was lying about the car and my Residency, less than one hour before I left for Rosslare to leave Ireland they followed me to my place of work. I was always polite and stood my ground but anyone easily intimidated would have been in trouble. The other times I was stopped varied from one and a half hours on the side of the road checking all papers to just asking for my licence and then letting me go. All in all The Baltinglass Guards have left a very bad impression on me. I also drove 3 different vans all over Ireland and UK for the 6 months, I was never stopped once and one of those vans is even Northern registered.

Pkiernan

Sorry you got hassled by bogger cops with nothing better to do.

You should have complained in writing to the Garda Ombudsman each time after the second time you were stopped.

Our man in Havana

The problem is the local cops don't know the law and can easily intimidate people.

They just can't accept the fact that an Irish person can live abroad and return with their foreign vehicles for short stays.

I just throw my foreign driving licence and identity card at them. That is normally enough to shut them up. I did laugh at one that said he "could not read foreign".

Mikko Mallikas

I considered many options during the 6 months to get them off my back, but of course everyone's general thought was not to antagonise them as I did have to live locally. The furthest I went was to talk to a Super and insist on having my registration put on the Pulse system as checked and clean. The stops that stand out in my mind were a Female Guard who insisted the car had to have a DOE cert, and another who claimed she was not letting me go anywhere until I produced an English translation of the Finnish roadworthieness cert, when I pointed out how fruitless that was she proceeded to examine the car in minute detail, all to no avail as it is in immaculate condition and treated like a baby.

Our man in Havana

Female Guard who insisted the car had to have a DOE cert

LOL! Some of them are thick.

and another who claimed she was not letting me go anywhere until I produced an English translation of the Finnish roadworthieness cert

There is no legal requirement to have translations.