Very general car pricing question

funkhouser

I'm in the process of replacing both cars in the house. As a long time Liveline listener and paranoiac I'm very wary of scams. I've come across a couple of cars that are definitively below the price I would expect for such a car and I'm lost on what to do next so generally avoid at the risk of foregoing a bargain.

In particular to UK imports being sold from within Ireland are there scams to watch out for? Let's say there's a UK import being sold for 9k here that a dealer would want at least 16k for. 9k plus VRT is 11.5k, is that roughly what you'd expect? You would be doing well to buy the car in the UK from a dealer for 9k euro.

Generally is the adage that if it's too good to be true it is?

bazz26

Any legitimate car dealer selling a car on foreign plates should be selling it to you at the price including VRT as they will VRT it on your behalf.

Private sellers legally are not allowed sell you a car that is on foreign plates, by law they are supposed to VRT and register it here first. However enforcement of this is lax and the likes of donedeal are full of them selling UK reg cars and telling the buyer to VRT themselves.

Also if your looking at the cheapest examples of a model/year then chances are the risk of being sold a car with a colourful past by a trickery sort, increases. Best stick to reputable dealers if your not sure of what is legit or not legit.

Atlantic Dawn

Are you doing history checks on them? A large portion of UK reg cars here that are on sale cheaper than can be picked up in the UK are clocked, crashed or flood damaged cars that they sell to suckers here unwilling to spend €15 on a history check when parting with €20k on a car.

Idbatterim

what cars are you looking at and what price are they going for here?

funkhouser

Take a 2012 Avensis Estate T-Spirit. Dealer asking 19k.