Importing a car for parts

Superwofy

Hi all,

I would consider importing a car from Japan in order to scavenge a large amount of parts. Not really looking for a half-cut since I would need parts from the rear too. Having to pay VRT and road tax on it would make it uneconomical.

I'd like to know if this is even possible.

-Thanks.

Marcusm

If it is not capable of propulsion, eg no engine, it would not be liable for VRT at the point of importation.

s15r330

You don't pay vrt at the point of entry anyway, you could import it, and once it isn't going to see Irish roads you should be fine. Can't pay vrt on a car that won't be registered as it will be in pieces soon after its arrival.
EDIT: Is it an FTO? If so I don't think it'd be worth the hassle, you'd surely get one here as they go for little or nothing, they weren't very popular and i'd be surprised if there were many modified examples with aftermarket parts going in Japan. I used to import cars myself and I don't think I ever saw an FTO on the auction sites or in the docks when I was picking up cars.

Marcusm

s15r330 wrote: »

You don't pay vrt at the point of entry anyway, you could import it, and once it isn't going to see Irish roads you should be fine. Can't pay vrt on a car that won't be registered as it will be in pieces soon after its arrival.
EDIT: Is it an FTO? If so I don't think it'd be worth the hassle, you'd surely get one here as they go for little or nothing, they weren't very popular and i'd be surprised if there were many modified examples with aftermarket parts going in Japan. I used to import cars myself and I don't think I ever saw an FTO on the auction sites or in the docks when I was picking up cars.

I didn't mean that you paid it at the port, you have 7 days to arrange the appointment and 30 days to complete the process. The point is that if it is a mechanically propelled vehicle when it comes off the boat then VRT is due on it even if you cut it apart with a chainsaw or burned it out in Dublin Port. The way to ensure no VRT is ever dye is to make sure it's a non runner before it arrives. Even if it is never expected to see a public road, VRT would be technically due - causes issues for people who import rally or track cars which they never need to register in their own minds.

hi_im_fil

Just remember that you still have to pay a lot of tax to import the car, even if you don't end up paying VRT. Ballpark figure is to almost double the cost of the car in Japan by the time you have it in Ireland.

5500

You still need to pay 10%duty then 23% vat on the CIF price of the car (car cost including all fees in japan, shipping and insurance)
Plus unloading and port fees when it arrives. You wont need to pay vrt If its never going to be used on the road.

dr.fuzzenstein

For every import question, the answer is always the same:
Make sure you "own" it abroad for 6 months before bringing it in.

hi_im_fil

Why would that make any difference?

Marcusm

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

For every import question, the answer is always the same:
Make sure you "own" it abroad for 6 months before bringing it in.

Not really applicable for someone seeking to import from Japan.

dr.fuzzenstein

hi_im_fil wrote: »

Why would that make any difference?

If you bring a car in that you have owned abroad, no tax is due. It may have changed, but I've done it twice with two cars that I did indeed bring over from Germany, German reg and all.
If one were to "own and drive" a NI reg car for a while and bring it in as his own every day car, tax would not apply. Again, unless that has changed.

Marcusm wrote: »

Not really applicable for someone seeking to import from Japan.

Aye, that would make it more difficult perhaps.

slimjimmc

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

For every import question, the answer is always the same:
Make sure you "own" it abroad for 6 months before bringing it in.

Ownership is not enough.

He would have to have prove he was living in Japan for at least the previous 12 months and be able to prove he owned and was using the car for at least 6 months before import.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/leaflets/tax-relief-transfer-residence.html

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

If one were to "own and drive" a NI reg car for a while and bring it in as his own every day car, tax would not apply. Again, unless that has changed.

One would have to show one met the foreign residency requirement too.

Chris_Heilong

If you are bringing a car in just for parts then dont bother with the VRT, you will still have to pay vat and duty at the port so make sure to get the car as cheap as possible as the vat and duty are a percentage of what you paid for the car + shipping.

FTOs were popular in the early 2000, so much so Mitsubishi UK officially imported a few, less popular now that all the kids are into their Fast n furious/inital D RWD Turbos. Mitsubishi tuned the **** out of their little 2lt V6 to get 200 hp so there is not a lot if any way to gain extra power from it.

Superwofy

Thank you for all the answers.

The reason I consider importing from japan is because the cars there are not affected by Ireland's salty climate (need some of the parts that are exposed to the elements). Not to mention that the Japanese do not use salt on their roads. The engine in the car also has far fewer km's than mine and is coupled to an auto tranny so it's less likely it was driven into the ground.

I knew in advance that VAT and duty are due (makes sense really. You're buying something taxed in another country).

Bottom line, am I to understand that if I don't register it, then VRT is not due? Does it have to be non-running? Could they just yank the plugs :pac:?

mgbgt1978

There are Honda Civic Rally Cars running around this Country on Jap Plates for years. They are on Transporters, Public Roads, and Closed roads at least once a month.
I'd say you would be very, very safe bringing in your spares car (just pay Duty & VAT) and keep it away from public view.

dr.fuzzenstein

Superwofy wrote: »

Thank you for all the answers.

The reason I consider importing from japan is because the cars there are not affected by Ireland's salty climate (need some of the parts that are exposed to the elements). Not to mention that the Japanese do not use salt on their roads. The engine in the car also has far fewer km's than mine and is coupled to an auto tranny so it's less likely it was driven into the ground.

I knew in advance that VAT and duty are due (makes sense really. You're buying something taxed in another country).

Bottom line, am I to understand that if I don't register it, then VRT is not due? Does it have to be non-running? Could they just yank the plugs :pac:?

You do know Japan is kind of an island. :pac:

Superwofy

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

You do know Japan is kind of an island. :pac:

I was indeed wondering about that. Maybe I'm wrong on that point. It might be only that they don't use salt.

Either way, my '99 (imported here in 2006) is covered in advanced rust whereas the '95 I was looking at looks rather new.

If anybody knows why certain Japanese cars turn into rust when brought to Ireland and the UK, let me know .

dr.fuzzenstein

Superwofy wrote: »

I was indeed wondering about that. Maybe I'm wrong on that point. It might be only that they don't use salt.

Either way, my '99 (imported here in 2006) is covered in advanced whereas the '95 I was looking at looks rather new.

If anybody knows why certain Japanese cars turn into rust when brought to Ireland and the UK, let me know .

Well, I wouldn't blame the salt, it wasn't used on our roads until fairly recently.
So as to why most older cars disintegrate in Ireland, we have to look towards the weather and the general aversion of people here to put cars into the garage. Here you fill your garage with a few hundreds worth of crap only fit for the charity shop and leave €20k of car to rot in the drive.
Pre 90's cars do not react well to that. Queue a lot of people jumping in and swearing black and blue that leaving it out in the rain is actually good for it, always happens.
In that case always garaged cars from Japan should be nothing but rustheaps then...

Sh1tbag OToole

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

You do know Japan is kind of an island. :pac:

They have an army of Asimo bots hopping around the coast pulling the grains of salt out of the air before it gets to any cars

Superwofy

Sh1tbag OToole wrote: »

They have an army of Asimo bots hopping around the coast pulling the grains of salt out of the air before it gets to any cars

Had to bring up Honda, didn't you?

Del2005

dr.fuzzenstein wrote: »

Well, I wouldn't blame the salt, it wasn't used on our roads until fairly recently.
So as to why most older cars disintegrate in Ireland, we have to look towards the weather and the general aversion of people here to put cars into the garage. Here you fill your garage with a few hundreds worth of crap only fit for the charity shop and leave €20k of car to rot in the drive.
Pre 90's cars do not react well to that. Queue a lot of people jumping in and swearing black and blue that leaving it out in the rain is actually good for it, always happens.
In that case always garaged cars from Japan should be nothing but rustheaps then...

Most cars rust from the bottom up, unless you are throughly washing the underside of the car every night before you put it in the garage it'll still rust.

Superwofy

Del2005 wrote: »

Most cars rust from the bottom up, unless you are throughly washing the underside of the car every night before you put it in the garage it'll still rust.

If I show you some borescope photos of the inside of the sills, doors and the chassis members, you'd quickly reconsider.

That being said, I'm sure this body has never seen a cavity wax treatment.

5500

Plenty of rust buckets in Japan, mainly it's the car's from northern Japan areas that are rusty due to the amount of snow they get, but in a lot of cases they get transported down south to auctions in Nagoya and Kobe and passed off there, either way's it's fairly common to see rust buckets come up.

You'll have hassle trying to ship in a non runner too if you go that route. You'd most likely need it shipped via container if you go that route which can be nearly double the price of a standard. Either ways a car that costs 1k in Japan is likely to be about 3.5k by the time you land it to Ireland with vat/duty paid so make sure it is financially viable even if just for parts

Superwofy

5500 wrote: »

Plenty of rust buckets in Japan, mainly it's the car's from northern Japan areas that are rusty due to the amount of snow they get, but in a lot of cases they get transported down south to auctions in Nagoya and Kobe and passed off there, either way's it's fairly common to see rust buckets come up.

You'll have hassle trying to ship in a non runner too if you go that route. You'd most likely need it shipped via container if you go that route which can be nearly double the price of a standard. Either ways a car that costs 1k in Japan is likely to be about 3.5k by the time you land it to Ireland with vat/duty paid so make sure it is financially viable even if just for parts

The car in question is in Tokyo. If it is still available next year I'll import it properly and use it to re-shell my car (i.e, I'll be moving my drive-train into it). It's purchase price (not CIF) is actually $316 .