Where to Trade Irish Car for UK Reg Car?

HungryHaggis

I'm moving back to the UK in the near future, and have an Irish registered low mileage 2004 MG ZT CDTI. After reading up on the bureaucracy involved in re-registering it in the UK, (together with the fact that it cost me €2,500 in taxes to bring it from the UK to Ireland in the first place), I'm thinking the simplest/best course may be to trade it in for a UK plate car.

Are there any car dealers that specialize in trading both Irish and UK registered cars over here? or failing that, any websites that would maybe have many cars to swap between UK and Irish plates?

I like my car, and don't particularly want to sell it, but that headache bureaucracy... and since dealers supposedly only make 10 or 15% on cars, and I have 20 or 25% of the illegal Irish 'tax' in the value of my car at the moment, it probably makes sense to try and trade it, if there are any traders doing this kind of deal?

CiniO

You can get your VRT tax your paid back when you export your car back to UK (or at least part of it)
Also paperwork involved with re-registering a car which was already UK registered in the past, shouldn't be too bad.

If you like your car, just take it back with you.

MidlandsM

HungryHaggis wrote: »

I'm moving back to the UK in the near future, and have an Irish registered low mileage 2004 MG ZT CDTI. After reading up on the bureaucracy involved in re-registering it in the UK, (together with the fact that it cost me €2,500 in taxes to bring it from the UK to Ireland in the first place), I'm thinking the simplest/best course may be to trade it in for a UK plate car.

Are there any car dealers that specialize in trading both Irish and UK registered cars over here? or failing that, any websites that would maybe have many cars to swap between UK and Irish plates?

I like my car, and know that it is reliable and good, but since dealers supposedly only make 10 or 15% on cars, and I have 20 or 25% of the illegal Irish 'tax' in the value of my car at the moment, it probably makes sense to try and trade it, if there are any traders doing this kind of deal?

not many dealers will want your MG to be honest, they're not a good seller at all.

Duke of Speed

put back the old english plates and tax and insure it over there the number is already on your irish tax book

CiniO

Duke of Speed wrote: »

put back the old english plates and tax and insure it over there the number is already on your irish tax book

I don't think it's that simple.
Car once registered in Ireland is deregistered in UK.

Duke of Speed

go to the dvla in wales they issued the export cert. i registered a jap import in in northern ireland for 48 pounds the dvla gave me a tax book for a car here 5 years ago by sending them a page with the vin number on the car traced with a pencil no problem rang them up no problem forget about reading and ring them
too many people give their version of what they think it should be without actually doing it

bazz26

Why not just sell it privately over here and then buy another car over in UK when you move back?

HungryHaggis

CiniO wrote: »

You can get your VRT tax your paid back when you export your car back to UK (or at least part of it)

Really? I didn't think that was the case. That would make a difference if true. I'm not 100% sure, but IIRC I thought I asked them this when paying the import tax, and they said 'no, we keep it'

"forget about reading and ring them
too many people give their version of what they think it should be without actually doing it"

True, but I was also reading the Govt. site and the forms that need to be filled in. It's easier than importing something exotic from outside Europe, but they still seem to go out of their way to make it hard these days. They want you to post various proof's of id, including original major documents, like passport or birth certificate, and proof of address, like council tax receipt (that I don't have because I haven't moved yet).

Technically, the car is totally illegal for road use as soon as you drive off the ferry (You'd still have Irish docs, but no Irish address). You can't register it these days until you've insured and MOT'd it, but, (and this next bit is internet hearsay) apparently it's a PITA to try and get UK insurance without a UK reg number - catch 22. The major UK insurers won't insure you, so you have to get expensive short term specialist insurance.

The whole thing sounds like a bit of a PITA compared to trading (or swapping) it for a UK car, but I guess it's still probably the better route. I know I have a good reliable car now, so probably better to stick with it. Problems with a car that came from a trader on the other side of the Irish sea wouldn't be good.

kuro2k

CiniO wrote: »

You can get your VRT tax your paid back when you export your car back to UK (or at least part of it)

I don't think you would get anything back on a 2004 MG

Where the current OMSP is less than €2,000, the vehicle does not qualify under the scheme; where the VRT calculation is €500, or less than the administration charge, no repayment is due

https://www.ros.ie/evrt-enquiry/vrtenquiry.html?execution=e2s2

goochy

You can reregister car in uk for about 50 quid probably worth as much if not more in uk

CiniO

HungryHaggis wrote: »

Really? I didn't think that was the case. That would make a difference if true. I'm not 100% sure, but IIRC I thought I asked them this when paying the import tax, and they said 'no, we keep it'

But regulations changed and from this year you can get your VRT back.
However car must be worth more than 2000 according to them. They will keep 500euro of your VRT and you must pay for pre-export inspection AFAIR 32 euro.
For my 2004 mazda 6 their website says I could get back about 480 euro.

True, but I was also reading the Govt. site and the forms that need to be filled in. It's easier than importing something exotic from outside Europe, but they still seem to go out of their way to make it hard these days. They want you to post various proof's of id, including original major documents, like passport or birth certificate, and proof of address, like council tax receipt (that I don't have because I haven't moved yet).

What's the problem with that?

Technically, the car is totally illegal for road use as soon as you drive off the ferry (You'd still have Irish docs, but no Irish address).

It's not.
You can drive a foreign registered car in UK for half a year AFAIR.
Also no one said you are becoming UK resident straight away you drive off the ferry.

MidlandsM

bazz26 wrote: »

Why not just sell it privately over here

it'd want to be very cheap

mickdw

For that particular type of car and if its a good one, the only solution is to take it to uk and register it over there.
While I believe they are a very fine car, you just dont have the customers for them here even in diesel.
Given that it was a uk car originally, alot of the hassle is taken out of registering over there so it should be very straight forward. You will possibly also get more for an MG over there than in Ireland anyway so it no big issue even if there is no vrt to get back. In fact, given the cars value here and the €500 fee revenue keep on vrt rebates, i wouldnt even bother looking into getting it back.

Anjobe

HungryHaggis wrote: »

Are there any car dealers that specialize in trading both Irish and UK registered cars over here? or failing that, any websites that would maybe have many cars to swap between UK and Irish plates?

It may not be the most cost effective solution, but there are car dealers in Northern Ireland who will happily take an Irish registered car as a trade-in.