UK Imports really that bad?

cautiouscarguy

I had a bit of near miss earlier in the week with a cat c write off from the UK and according to motorcheck 1 in 4 cars from the UK have something dodgy going on (clocked/crashed/robbed etc).

Right now, Im seeing some great cars (on Irish plates) that I would snap up in a minute but then they turn out to be UK imports and its just instantly putting me off. Anybody else feel the same..??

randy hickey

The fact that you are able to obtain previous accident/theft damage info on UK cars is a positive thing.

Show me where you can get the same sort of information on Irish cars.

shooter88

cautiouscarguy wrote: »

I had a bit of near miss earlier in the week with a cat c write off from the UK and according to motorcheck 1 in 4 cars from the UK have something dodgy going on (clocked/crashed/robbed etc).

Right now, Im seeing some great cars (on Irish plates) that I would snap up in a minute but then they turn out to be UK imports and its just instantly putting me off. Anybody else feel the same..??

cat c is not bad that basically a bumper or boot maybe wing or bonnet..you prob more likely to get a lemon here as the UK generally maintain cars to a higher standard

cautiouscarguy

From a different thread:

Cat C is the heaviest category of damage that is allowable to go back on the road

nct tester

was talking to a toyota salesman last week and he was saying that over at an auction in the uk, there was a guy going around to irish buyers offering to 'recalibrate' the odometer to whatever mileage they wanted for £50.

ABajaninCork

I assume the Cat C you speak of is your car? When you bought it, did you make the necessary checks? i.e. AA/RAC inspection and HPI.

You do know you can get lemons anywhere, not just the UK? Why do you assume it's just UK cars and not Irish that might be lemons? Caveat Emptor. It's down to the buyer to check the car's credentials thoroughly before buying. Do not assume anything!

Atlantic Dawn

nct tester wrote: »

was talking to a toyota salesman last week and he was saying that over at an auction in the uk, there was a guy going around to irish buyers offering to 'recalibrate' the odometer to whatever mileage they wanted for £50.

These cars are the ones typically bought by muppets when they land in Ireland, they don't do HPI checks, they don't check with previous owners and only have themselves to blame. Lots of rubbish clocked cars were bought up by Irish dealers and private sellers from Ireland in the UK and then resold here to people who didn't have a clue.

RobFowl

I've imported my last two cars from the uk. Generally find them to be higher spec and better maintained than Irish ones. Service histories are a useful tool and can be checked as well.
It wouldn't put me off at all tbh.

randy hickey

You can understand how people with a vested interest would want to scaremonger about Uk cars, but really, it's getting old at this stage.

cautiouscarguy

ABajaninCork wrote: »

I assume the Cat C you speak of is your car? When you bought it, did you make the necessary checks? i.e. AA/RAC inspection and HPI.

You do know you can get lemons anywhere, not just the UK? Why do you assume it's just UK cars and not Irish that might be lemons? Caveat Emptor. It's down to the buyer to check the car's credentials thoroughly before buying. Do not assume anything!

No I didnt buy that car. Luckily.

I know you can get bad cars anywhere. But I was reading on motorcheck that 1 in 4 UK imports are dodgy so thats what has me paranoid about UK imports.

shooter88

randy hickey wrote: »

You can understand how people with a vested interest would want to scaremonger about Uk cars, but really, it's getting old at this stage.

It's funny alright..
A salesman that was at a auction where clocking is on offer,talking about dodgy UK cars(I love Irish humour)

Kenny Logins

cautiouscarguy wrote: »

I had a bit of near miss earlier in the week with a cat c write off from the UK and according to motorcheck 1 in 4 cars from the UK have something dodgy going on (clocked/crashed/robbed etc).

Right now, Im seeing some great cars (on Irish plates) that I would snap up in a minute but then they turn out to be UK imports and its just instantly putting me off. Anybody else feel the same..??

Nope. My last 4 cars have been UK imports.

ABajaninCork

cautiouscarguy wrote: »

No I didnt buy that car. Luckily.

I know you can get bad cars anywhere. But I was reading on motorcheck that 1 in 4 UK imports are dodgy so thats what has me paranoid about UK imports.

Motorcheck? Hmmm - that explains a lot! You read it, so without making your own enquiries or talking to people who have gone through the process, you've assumed it must be true!

Righto.

Del2005

cautiouscarguy wrote: »

No I didnt buy that car. Luckily.

I know you can get bad cars anywhere. But I was reading on motorcheck that 1 in 4 UK imports are dodgy so thats what has me paranoid about UK imports.

The fact that it's nearly impossible to verify most Irish cars would be the reason why they don't have 1 in 4 Irish cars being dodgy. If we had the checks available in the UK there'd be a bigger percentage coming up as being dodgy.

George Dalton

The average standard of a UK car in terms of both spec and condition is certainly better than in this country. And yet motorcheck are seeing 25% of imports have some kind of hidden past. The reason is simple, it is not a reflection of UK cars in general, it is a reflection of the type of Irish person that is importing these dodgy cars and (arguably even worse) the type of Irish person that is subsequently buying them.

This country is flooded with imports that are essentially the dregs of the UK used car market. They are bought cheaply in the UK due to high mileage or previous damage etc and then sold on over here to unsuspecting people who haven't a clue. They are usually advertised on donedeal by "private seller" type dealers who offer no warranty and it goes without saying pay no taxes on their enterprise either. This is so widespread now that there are essentially two separate used car markets in Ireland, the cheap end of the scale where nobody wants to pay their way and the guys who are struggling to run a legitimate business while being utterly unable to compete with the cowboys on price.

BigEejit

I wonder how many of the cars that are marked as dodgy or suspect are marked that way because some dodgy dealer has clocked them?

mathepac

cautiouscarguy wrote: »

... according to motorcheck 1 in 4 cars from the UK have something dodgy going on (clocked/crashed/robbed etc)...

I can understand how organisations like Motorcheck would want stats like that published (as it promotes their service) but I'd like to know how the statistic got compiled and verified.

Customers buying from reputable established importers have very little to fear.

bazz26

Do your homework and proper background checks and you are less likely to be stung by a dodgy car irrespective of its country of first registration. The problem for the most part is that alot of buyers are not educated enough to do this.

Del2005

BigEejit wrote: »

I wonder how many of the cars that are marked as dodgy or suspect are marked that way because some dodgy dealer has clocked them?

All of them, very few private motorists clock cars, that's the reason why they are suspect.

As can be seen by the all too often threads here and consumer issues too many people buy a car without doing the basic checks, if consumers took more care prior to purchasing then dodgy dealers wouldn't last very long,

visual

Maybe the garda should be more active in inspecting these cars after all it is criminal offence to sell a car with altered mileage.

randy hickey

visual wrote: »

Maybe the garda should be more active in inspecting these cars after all it is criminal offence to sell a car with altered mileage.

Ah,but here's where it get's ridiculous.
It is only an offence if it can be proven that you sold it knowing that it had been clocked but didn't inform the buyer.

"Mileage correction" in and of itself is not an offence!!

yop

So you don't have a vested interest in selling cars then OP?
Plenty of UK cars been sold out of Irish garages as Irish cars, so the whole place must be covered in dodgy cars.

cautiouscarguy

yop wrote: »

So you don't have a vested interest in selling cars then OP?

If you're trying to accuse me of stirring up hate/fear in a particular direction people would be far more likely to believe me if I said I was a car expert with buckets of experience and that I have yet to see a decent UK import.... and not... hey I know zilch about cars, but 1 website said UK imports are dodgy, Im kinda skeptical, what do you guys think.

ABajaninCork

cautiouscarguy wrote: »

If you're trying to accuse me of stirring up hate/fear in a particular direction people would be far more likely to believe me if I said I was a car expert with buckets of experience and that I have yet to see a decent UK import.... and not... hey I know zilch about cars, but 1 website said UK imports are dodgy, Im kinda skeptical, what do you guys think.

Read the bolded bit again. Then read the replies on the thread. What do YOU think??

Tea 1000

RobFowl wrote: »

I've imported my last two cars from the uk. Generally find them to be higher spec and better maintained than Irish ones. Service histories are a useful tool and can be checked as well.
It wouldn't put me off at all tbh.

There's a difference though. If I'm going to buy my own car, I'll find a UK one myself, do all the checks, test drive a few of them, pick the best one, buy it, clear it, job done.
If some dude looking for some easy money wants to sell cars doing it goes to the UK for a car he's only after one thing... the cheapest version of that car he can find. Cat C, Cat D, clocked, 15 owners, he doesn't give a crap.
The unsaleable dregs from there usually find their way into cowboy Irish dealers hands.
But even a decent Irish retailer who wants to sell decent UK cars won't put the same kind of effort into finding the mint ones, although many usually find fairly good ones though.

cautiouscarguy

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Read the bolded bit again. Then read the replies on the thread. What do YOU think??

What do I think? Well since starting this thread Im a bit more open to the idea of buying a UK import. I was under the impression (based on 1 website) that an import was almost a surefire way to get a lemon. But now Im thinking its probably 50/50.

Tea 1000

George Dalton wrote: »

The average standard of a UK car in terms of both spec and condition is certainly better than in this country. And yet motorcheck are seeing 25% of imports have some kind of hidden past. The reason is simple, it is not a reflection of UK cars in general, it is a reflection of the type of Irish person that is importing these dodgy cars and (arguably even worse) the type of Irish person that is subsequently buying them.

This country is flooded with imports that are essentially the dregs of the UK used car market. They are bought cheaply in the UK due to high mileage or previous damage etc and then sold on over here to unsuspecting people who haven't a clue. They are usually advertised on donedeal by "private seller" type dealers who offer no warranty and it goes without saying pay no taxes on their enterprise either. This is so widespread now that there are essentially two separate used car markets in Ireland, the cheap end of the scale where nobody wants to pay their way and the guys who are struggling to run a legitimate business while being utterly unable to compete with the cowboys on price.

Bang on, pity I didn't read this before I posted mine! Saved me the keyboard work!

ABajaninCork

As long as you make your own enquiries, then you'll be fine. There's a thread on here telling you exactly how to import a car from the UK. I brought over my own car, and there was NO problem selling it, believe me!

cautiouscarguy

ABajaninCork wrote: »

As long as you make your own enquiries, then you'll be fine.

Thats the thing. Without meaning to open a can of worms or whatever. I came so very close to buying a lemon. I had a very (seemingly) reputable mechanic check out this car and he reported it was good to go.. and I just had a slight niggling something wasnt right. I started a thread on here and long story short, using the advice I got from here it turns out it was a lemon, and now I feel lost buying a car, if a mechanic cant figure it out then what hope have I.

If I could get anything from this website it would be give me the name of a garage (preferably Dublin area) that I can absolutely trust and that values lifelong customers... and arent into making money on one-off killings. And as I said, I will pay extra for that.

Tea 1000

cautiouscarguy wrote: »

Thats the thing. Without meaning to open a can of worms or whatever. I came so very close to buying a lemon. I had a very (seemingly) reputable mechanic check out this car and he reported it was good to go.. and I just had a slight niggling something wasnt right. I started a thread on here and long story short, using the advice I got from here it turns out it was a lemon, and now I feel lost buying a car, if a mechanic cant figure it out then what hope have I.

If I could get anything from this website it would be give me the name of a garage (preferably Dublin area) that I can absolutely trust and that values lifelong customers... and arent into making money on one-off killings. And as I said, I will pay extra for that.

Or go to the UK yourself!

yop

Plenty of us have bought UK cars, in total I have taken in 4 myself and bought another 4 for family and not an issue with one. That said I did a LOT of checks on the car and ensured I got AA checks done on the cars and AA went out and checked the cars.
I lost AA check money on 1 car as they returned a "dont buy".

But labeling all UK cars as lemons is rubbish, there are many clocked, cat C etc Irish cars out there.

Plenty have bought off reputible UK sites like cargiant also, so thats a route to look at .

Good luck with your search

ABajaninCork

cautiouscarguy wrote: »

Thats the thing. Without meaning to open a can of worms or whatever. I came so very close to buying a lemon. I had a very (seemingly) reputable mechanic check out this car and he reported it was good to go.. and I just had a slight niggling something wasnt right. I started a thread on here and long story short, using the advice I got from here it turns out it was a lemon, and now I feel lost buying a car, if a mechanic cant figure it out then what hope have I.

If I could get anything from this website it would be give me the name of a garage (preferably Dublin area) that I can absolutely trust and that values lifelong customers... and arent into making money on one-off killings. And as I said, I will pay extra for that.

If you're not comfortable getting a mechanic, then pay for an AA check. It'll cost, but at least you'll have peace of mind.

I know nothing about cars. But I know enough to pay for an AA/RAC check, and an HPI check as well. And I've never had a lemon (touch wood!).

yop

ABajaninCork wrote: »

If you're not comfortable getting a mechanic, then pay for an AA check. It'll cost, but at least you'll have peace of mind.

I know nothing about cars. But I know enough to pay for an AA/RAC check, and an HPI check as well. And I've never had a lemon (touch wood!).

You should try it in a drink, its nice

corktina

there are a lot of high quality cars availble in the UK but the best way to get one is to go there yourself. Probably cheaper too.

visual

randy hickey wrote: »

Ah,but here's where it get's ridiculous.
It is only an offence if it can be proven that you sold it knowing that it had been clocked but didn't inform the buyer.

"Mileage correction" in and of itself is not an offence!!

That is true and would apply to cars that have had theirspeedo replaced but these are few and far between. Mileage correction in the vast majority ofcases is just a nice word for doctoring the car mileage to increase the carsvalue and defraud the buyer.
However once the car goes for sale it is a requirement tohave the correct mileage and offence to sell a car with doctored mileage evenif seller claims they didn’t know.
Trading standards in the UK have no problem prosecutingsellers and often do spot checks on garages and the excuse I bought it like this doesn’t wash.

Del2005

cautiouscarguy wrote: »

Thats the thing. Without meaning to open a can of worms or whatever. I came so very close to buying a lemon. I had a very (seemingly) reputable mechanic check out this car and he reported it was good to go.. and I just had a slight niggling something wasnt right. I started a thread on here and long story short, using the advice I got from here it turns out it was a lemon, and now I feel lost buying a car, if a mechanic cant figure it out then what hope have I.

If it was this thread the mechanic did say it was suspicious. A high mileage car can still be a very solid car and give years of trouble free motoring. The car can be fine if it's bought at the correct price, which the clockers try to increase.

cautiouscarguy wrote: »

If I could get anything from this website it would be give me the name of a garage (preferably Dublin area) that I can absolutely trust and that values lifelong customers... and arent into making money on one-off killings. And as I said, I will pay extra for that.

That's the problem no one can recommend a garage that's 100% reliable. As no matter how good a garage is it can still sell a lemon. Even brand new cars can be lemons.

The only way to be sure not to buy a lemon is to take every car on it's merits and do as much research as possible on issues that the car has and then get it inspected. Even doing this you can still end up with a lemon, but the chances are reduced.

visual wrote: »

That is true and would apply to cars that have had theirspeedo replaced but these are few and far between. Mileage correction in the vast majority ofcases is just a nice word for doctoring the car mileage to increase the carsvalue and defraud the buyer.
However once the car goes for sale it is a requirement tohave the correct mileage and offence to sell a car with doctored mileage evenif seller claims they didn’t know.
Trading standards in the UK have no problem prosecutingsellers and often do spot checks on garages and the excuse I bought it like this doesn’t wash.

The reason UK trading standards can prosecute clocking is because they have access to mileage databases. Ireland doesn't have one, that I know of, so it's hard to proof the car has been clocked and as it's a criminal charge it needs to be proven beyond reasonable doubt, which is difficult.

shooter88

cautiouscarguy wrote: »

What do I think? Well since starting this thread Im a bit more open to the idea of buying a UK import. I was under the impression (based on 1 website) that an import was almost a surefire way to get a lemon. But now Im thinking its probably 50/50.

Not even 50/50 there is a small number of hooky UK cars,the reason so many UK cars end up here through private owners are simply higher SPEC and save a nice few bob..most of the stories you hear are spread by the dealers themselves to try block you by passing them and importing a car...
Vrt takes 10-15min including waiting on your new number to be generated..
Iv bought last 5 or so vehicles from UK as have family members and nit one lemon

Churchy

BigEejit wrote: »

I wonder how many of the cars that are marked as dodgy or suspect are marked that way because some dodgy dealer has clocked them?

Your correct to question the figures. I work in the trade in the north and HPI around 75-100 cars/month. Fully expect most of them to be recorded as having finance owing as they are from finance companies! My hit rate on positive checks would be around 80%. Inter dealer/auction checks finding stocking plans etc.. will all be recorded as having "something" to hide.

If they could strip out the inflated figures it would be much much less.
The problem isnt as bad as they make out.

However it is still important for regular punters to do the checks as a lemon could prove very costly.

cooper38

I was minutes away from buying a car in Dublin from a chap that swore there was no financing on it. The motor check site stated there was, could have been a headache if I hadn't checked.

I also imported a car from north 4 years ago and did all the hpi checks and independent mechanic checks. Well worth it.

Sterling is weak so nice time to pick up something, a few tips:

1. Goes without saying, always haggle
2. Don't just take your banks exchange rate. Compare what your bank offers
Check Another bank and also check currency.ie website . A better exchange
rate will potentially save hundreds.
3. Make sure to get a copy of the cheapest version of the car you're buying on car zone and evidence that in the vrt office if they apply vrt on what they be
believe should be a higher price.

Markcheese

Are the dealers not making more off second hand cars than new at the moment...? And a good share of newer second hands are from uk, why would dealers be slagging them off ... ?

dollybird2

I have a UK imported car on Irish plates. This is the first car I have imported, but I hope it won't be the last. I wanted a diesel focus for under 11k. Simple? No, not in my experience. I saw so many overpriced ones, then the ones with high mileage, body damage, pure bog standard spec.... nearly bought an 09 focus until I did a history check, it was a Cat C write off in UK but the buyer did not inform me of this and reacted angrily when I asked him about it.

I read up the guide on here about importing and went to have a gander. Got my car, newer then I had thought I'd get, with full service history, full history check, mileage readings recorded at intervals since it was registered, good spec and excellent condition in the UK, brought it over & VRT'd for bang on my budget.

Next time I am changing my car I won't waste my time driving around garages and waiting for responses - some that never came even though I was a cash buyer - I will go to UK and do the same again.

There is always a risk with buying a car, so it's ridiculous to write off cars from any other country as a dangerous selection, the onus is on the buyer to perform the necessary checks and buy as suits them.

Saab Ed

randy hickey wrote: »

You can understand how people with a vested interest would want to scaremonger about Uk cars, but really, it's getting old at this stage.

The naivety!

The stories don't just drop out of thin air. The UK system is comedy gold. Routine abuse of service history records, manipulation of the DVLA database, MOT back handers. There's the non mention of stolen recovered cars on the data base nevermind accident damaged, the rampant clocking and that's before I mention countless junk, not dumped over here by UK dealers but actively sought by rogue Irish dealers.

You can buy a good car anywhere, UK or Ireland, but to suggest that the UK is bank vault tight with regards to a cars history is just daft.

Saab Ed

Del2005 wrote: »

The reason UK trading standards can prosecute clocking is because they have access to mileage databases. Ireland doesn't have one, that I know of, so it's hard to proof the car has been clocked and as it's a criminal charge it needs to be proven beyond reasonable doubt, which is difficult.

Jebus! And you're handing out advice.! Order me a pint at the bar there will ya

opinion guy

cautiouscarguy wrote: »

Thats the thing. Without meaning to open a can of worms or whatever. I came so very close to buying a lemon. I had a very (seemingly) reputable mechanic check out this car and he reported it was good to go.. and I just had a slight niggling something wasnt right. I started a thread on here and long story short, using the advice I got from here it turns out it was a lemon, and now I feel lost buying a car, if a mechanic cant figure it out then what hope have I.

If I could get anything from this website it would be give me the name of a garage (preferably Dublin area) that I can absolutely trust and that values lifelong customers... and arent into making money on one-off killings. And as I said, I will pay extra for that.

Give yourself a bit of credit here - you successfully detected the lemon and didn't buy it!! This place can be a resource for stuff like this!

scamalert

Most UK cars have higher spec,like total opposite to Ireland where you have toyotas 2012 still with wheel covers on,or insignias with manual window opening at the back seats ,as most people here care for plate number then the specs itself.I think the myth came from jap uk imports,as most cars are prone to rust especially older jap cars that were made or imported into uk.And clocking is done everywhere no matter which country you buy from.
As for cat c its considered to be a very mild damage,but at the same time one could get higher cat just by asking,especially if the car is new.My car was bent in the middle during an accident,although engine wasn't effected and car was still driving,but passenger side was just huge bend through the whole car,and yet they managed to class it as cat c :rolleyes:

BigEejit

Saab Ed wrote: »

The naivety!

The stories don't just drop out of thin air. The UK system is comedy gold. Routine abuse of service history records, manipulation of the DVLA database, MOT back handers. There's the non mention of stolen recovered cars on the data base nevermind accident damaged, the rampant clocking and that's before I mention countless junk, not dumped over here by UK dealers but actively sought by rogue Irish dealers.

You can buy a good car anywhere, UK or Ireland, but to suggest that the UK is bank vault tight with regards to a cars history is just daft.

Please post a link up for the manipulation of the DVLA database please, I have not heard of this before. As for routine service history shenanigans, dont see cars from cargiant having this.....

JohnBoy26

scamalert wrote: »

Most UK cars have higher spec,like total opposite to Ireland where you have toyotas 2012 still with wheel covers on,or insignias with manual window opening at the back seats ,as most people here care for plate number then the specs itself.I think the myth came from jap uk imports,as most cars are prone to rust especially older jap cars that were made or imported into uk.And clocking is done everywhere no matter which country you buy from.
As for cat c its considered to be a very mild damage,but at the same time one could get higher cat just by asking,especially if the car is new.My car was bent in the middle during an accident,although engine wasn't effected and car was still driving,but passenger side was just huge bend through the whole car,and yet they managed to class it as cat c :rolleyes:

I can assure you that the rust thing is not a myth. It also doesn't just effect jap cars or jap imports but most makes of cars. However in most cases it's not as much of an issue as people make out.

A car from the southern parts of the uk is usually fairly clean underneath in my experience, however cars from northern parts of england and scottish cars tend to have lots of corrosion underneath after 5+ years.

the_syco

Del2005 wrote: »

As can be seen by the all too often threads here and consumer issues too many people buy a car without doing the basic checks

I find people will do more research into a €800 TV than a €15,000 import.

I wonder when the OP closed their account?

Tea 1000

the_syco wrote: »

I find people will do more research into a €800 TV than a €15,000 import.

I wonder when the OP closed their account?

I'd agree. Folk head over after finding a car on Autotrader with the cash in their pocket and the ferry booked home. They have themselves convinced that they're going to look at it and only buy it if it's genuine, but in reality they're going to buy it. They'll think their way around any odd-ball crap they find with it just so they can hand the money over and make the ferry home, so they can be in the pub later with the mates boasting about how much they saved!

Saab Ed

My biggest concern about spending 10 grand or more on a UK import would be the lack of a warranty. One dodgy gearbox, clutch, flywheel, DPF or anything big would completely negate any savings from the UK cars original cost.

I find it bizzare that people don't just haggle harder and get the peace of mind. Okay fine if you can repair or upkeep your car yourself but for ordinary Joe its madness.

ABajaninCork

Saab Ed wrote: »

My biggest concern about spending 10 grand or more on a UK import would be the lack of a warranty. One dodgy gearbox, clutch, flywheel, DPF or anything big would completely negate any savings from the UK cars original cost.

I find it bizzare that people don't just haggle harder and get the peace of mind. Okay fine if you can repair or upkeep your car yourself but for ordinary Joe its madness.

Depends on whether you get the car from a main dealer, doesn't it? If you're importing, then it would be common sense to buy from one IMO. The reason? Any warranty taken out in one EU country has to be honoured in another.

For example. I buy a Ford from a main dealer in London. I get a warranty with that car. But the car breaks down over here. If I take it to a Ford dealer here and show them the warranty, the dealer has to honour it. (After verifying it, of course)