Buying an imported car from the UK

jduffy3

Hi guys- I'm looking to buy my first car.
I'm starting to notice a few low mileage cars being brought in from the UK. A couple of the cars advertised have the reg displayed and when I check totalcarcheck[dot]co[dot]uk the mileage seems to check out.

My question is- How reliable is it when buying from a dealer in the UK? There's a dealer up in Belmullet I'm considering going to SC Motors- has anyone any experience with them? Specifically I'm looking to pick up a 1.4 Toyota Corolla Diesel. If anyone has any advice I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.

Atlantic Dawn

No more or less than when buying from anyone else, always do a full history check and if your buying a UK reg or previously UK reg car in Ireland run the original UK reg in a history check too, this reg number will be on the vehicle licencing certificate.

jduffy3

Cool- I just seemed a bit skeptical because they seem to coming in at such low mileage. I overheard someone saying once that imported cars coming from the UK were coming in with the odometer rolled back. But that doesn't make entirely much sense. There's nothing to stop any car's odometer from being rolled back!

Just made me wonder more when I saw more cars being sold here with such low mileage. I then wanted to check the forums to see if anyone had any experience with buying a imported car from a dealer and maybe anything to look out for or how they found everything afterwards.

bazz26

Have a read of this thread, there is some good info and eye opening stuff in there.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057335812

Now not every UK import is clocked but usually an irresistible bargain is cheap for a reason. Look before you leap by doing proper background checks and due diligence.

jduffy3

That's a pretty large thread. Anyway of verifying really if a car has been clocked or not? Or is it just the case of making sure the car has been serviced and if possible verifying through the dealer the car was serviced?

bazz26

You check the UK reg in here (doesn't work for cars less than 3 years old or from the North):

https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/

You also ring the garages that stamped the service book and verify with them what they did so that it corresponds with what is in the service book. Also any story of the service history missing on a UK car is bull and you should walk away. Unlike here they have a tendency to pay more attention to detail and document their service histories.

the_shark

I'd heavily advise doing the Uk mileage check on any cars that guy is selling, personally wouldn't go near him as he's not a mechanic/dealer just selling imported cars out the back of his house as a hobby

jduffy3

Yea definitely will do a mileage check.
It'd be nice to know if anyone has dealt with them before.

Part of the reason I'm planning on going there is to find a UK import as its the lowest quote for insurance I've found. However I'm trying to find more info on is it actually possible to get UK insurance in Ireland. It has been really hard for me to find a realistic quote.

I'm getting quoted for roughly 4k on a 1.4 Toyota Corolla with 0 NCB / no previous insurance, 2 years full license and 3 points ( I used to just rent when needed, was more economical that way and was pulled for speeding on the motorway )

colm_mcm

Just to be clear. You would have to get the car registered as on Irish plates, and get Irish car insurance.
It's not clear from your post, but it looks like you priced insurance in the uk?

jduffy3

Yes. What actually happened was I sourced a car with Irish plates. When I rang a broker they told me the car was imported from the UK. They then came back to me with a quote for 1,308 (happy days compared to the 4k I was looking for) however this was just for a quote on the spec of car I wanted.

When I was interested in an actual car (Irish reg, not imported) the quote shot back up to 4k and speaking with the broker they mentioned that for the 1,308 quote they got that from a UK insurance provided. So, that's why I'm wondering maybe I should look for a UK import (obviously get the proper reg and have vrt paid). But is getting covered by a UK insurance like that valid?

colm_mcm

That doesn't add up. You really need more than 2 examples to establish that that's the reason. The Irish reg may have flagged something that caused it go go higher.
Have you priced other models other than Corolla. Is €4K really high or is €1.3k low in comparison to most of your quotes

A uk import would never be cheaper than an Irish spec usually. Something's wouldn't import and vrt a car on the strength of one quote on a different reg number.

jduffy3

Yes 4K is really high... and 1.3k is the lowest I can find unfortunately.
I've gone through just about every motor insurance company broker on the thread in boards.ie and from googling around. In fact I'm keeping a spreadsheet! :O

I haven't priced any other models than Corolla because that's the car I'm looking to get. 1.4 litre shouldn't be that high of an engine either? Why would the quotes be astronomical for a Corolla? It's not exactly a thrill seekers car is it?

colm_mcm

Why are you going diesel, are you doing a lot of mileage?
Have you had insurance quotes on petrol?

Some price examples of quotes on certain cars would be helpful

jduffy3

The inital quotes I got were actually on Petrols!

I'm planning on Diesel because I am planning on doing a lot of mileage.

I was looking at 2005 1.4 Petrol Toyota Corollas.

Any response I got was either "No quote" because I didn't satisfy all requirements or 3.8K - 4K range for a years insurance.

jduffy3

To further clarify- I initially checked for Petrol because I was going to go with Petrol but I think Diesel would be more economical due to the mileage I would be covering.

allthedoyles

Just wondering about these odemeters been tampered with.

Say a car is on sale with 95k and it had been set backwards

Like if that car had originally 125000k it would obviously make the seller an extra grand or so , but does it make much difference to the actual mechanics of the car .

If the car was checked out and buyer liked it and was willing to pay asking price , would this be enough .

savagethegoat

well not if he thought the car had done 95k as it would need more work and sooner than one that had really done that mileage. It would need to be a lot cheaper than a real 95k car to make it worthwhile and that rather misses the point of clocking it

colm_mcm

What was the second cheapest quote you got, and on what car?

punisher5112

Op it's usually the complete opposite as most insurers load imports even from UK and some won't even quote.

As above use mot check for over the water cars and be very wary of extremely low mileage as UK would have a lot covered in most cases.

Lots more motorway and lots of Extaxi, cop cars and rep motors.

There a 2011 mondeo for sale and has nearly covered 400k miles and seller has said lot less on it.

bazz26

allthedoyles wrote: »

Just wondering about these odemeters been tampered with.

Say a car is on sale with 95k and it had been set backwards

Like if that car had originally 125000k it would obviously make the seller an extra grand or so , but does it make much difference to the actual mechanics of the car .

If the car was checked out and buyer liked it and was willing to pay asking price , would this be enough .

Of course it would, the car actually having about 30k more on it than what the odometer reads means it has 30k more wear on it and it's parts. For a lot of people that is about 2 extra years of driving on it. Also how could you trust the seller if they dishonest enough to falsify the odometer reading, what else are they dishonest about?

Another thing you can be guaranteed they bought the car alot cheaper than they are selling it so you would be a right fool to line a clocker's pocket. Remember too that you have to sell the car on at some stage which will be difficult.

bazz26

punisher5112 wrote: »

Op it's usually the complete opposite as most insurers load imports even from UK and some won't even quote.

As above use mot check for over the water cars and be very wary of extremely low mileage as UK would have a lot covered in most cases.

Lots more motorway and lots of Extaxi, cop cars and rep motors.

There a 2011 mondeo for sale and has nearly covered 400k miles and seller has said lot less on it.

I wouldn't say insurance on UK imports is in anyway higher, or at least it wasn't for me. My premium was coming the same for both an Irish and UK example of my car. My last 4 cars including my current one have been UK imports.

I think there is more at play here as the difference is substantial and the OP probably has missed something that we are not aware of.

solodeogloria

Good afternoon!

Having just bought a second hand in the UK (not to import) some things to try also.

Get the MOT history on the British Government website.
https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

This will show past results and advisories on the car. It also shows the mileage at each test.

Get a copy of the V5C (tax certificate) as it'll tell you if the car was a Category C insurance write-off. Meaning car was written off because repair costs exceeded the value of the car.

Also get the service history.

Other than that happy buying
solodeogloria

colm_mcm

bazz26 wrote: »

I wouldn't say insurance on UK imports is in anyway higher, or at least it wasn't for me. My premium was coming the same for both an Irish and UK example of my car. My last 4 cars including my current one have been UK imports.

I think there is more at play here as the difference is substantial and the OP probably has missed something that we are not aware of.

It don't think it's ever going to happen that the insurers will reduce the premium by €2700 because it's an import. Imports might get loaded, but I've never heard of an equivalent uk car being any cheaper than Irish.

There is def something amiss here. I can't see someone with 3 points and zero no-claims getting insured for €1300

bazz26

Yep, there has been no advantage or disadvantage to the price of insurance for me so far on UK imports.

Fiskar

bazz26 wrote: »

Yep, there has been no advantage or disadvantage to the price of insurance for me so far on UK imports.

Good to hear, have my eye on a UK import as neither of the two cars are on sale here. Last thing I want is to pay higher insurance. It is too damn high already.

jduffy3

colm_mcm wrote: »

What was the second cheapest quote you got, and on what car?

First cheapest quote was 1,308
Second cheapest 3800
Third cheapest 4,000

Let me clarify. I haven't read the rest of the thread but this is my situation.

I want to buy a car with "realistic" insurance.
I picked a car on done deal to match the spec I was getting.
I started going through a list of insurance providers and brokers I compiled.
All I was getting back were no quotes or up to 4K
I came across a broker and when I gave them the reg (which was Irish) they told me that it had actually been imported. When they came back with a quote it was 1,308! The most "realistic" yet!

When I actually came across a car I wanted I rang the broker and the insurance shot back up to 4K! Me and the broker didn't know what the hell was happening. The only difference they told me was that the previous car was a uk import and the cheapest quote came back from a UK provider.

I'm now thinking do I need to find a UK import car to go through that UK company or is it possible to buy a car and use a UK insurance provider?

jduffy3

colm_mcm wrote: »

It don't think it's ever going to happen that the insurers will reduce the premium by €2700 because it's an import. Imports might get loaded, but I've never heard of an equivalent uk car being any cheaper than Irish.

There is def something amiss here. I can't see someone with 3 points and zero no-claims getting insured for €1300

Well realistically what should I be getting quoted for? I've 2 years full drivers license. I'm over 30 years old.

I think what I'm saying is not coming across correctly.

I was just shopping around for quotes so I picked a car on done deal that matched the car spec I wanted. Little did I know that car was a UK import with an Irish reg. The broker came back with the cheapest quote I received (€1,308) trying to contain my excitement after all the other insurance providers were either not quoting me or asking for €4k I politely explained I was shopping for a quote for that spec and would get back to them when I sourced a car I was interested in.

Here's the part that made me create this thread...

I found a car I was interested in. It wasn't an import when I rang the broker a second time for a quote they came back with the lowest at €4k.... My excitement did not require any containment... Even the broker was wondering what was different. The only difference they found was that the previous quote was from a UK provider and they went with them because the car came in as a UK import.

Make sense? Because it doesn't really to me. Again why I'm creating the thread. I'll call the broker again and see what happens if I find a UK import I'm interested in but just thought I'd ask around if anyone else had done this or is this even possible?

allthedoyles

Liberty insurance are on boards on a talk to forum .
Wonder if you could start a thread in there and to get some clarification on imports

colm_mcm

I'm thinking the company they used is called "bump". they're new to Ireland and are licenced in the UK. they had one of the best prices when i was renewing last week. through munster group insurance brokers.
I would get a few more UK import regs and try them again with them. but there's no guarantee that they would come up with the same figure once you bring one in and register it.
you could try giving them a uk reg and say you hadn't registered yet. I know when I brought a car in my company insured it on the UK reg and then amended it once registered.


As an example. my insurance worked out at €595. that was including a discount (no claims 9 years no points) of €687

jduffy3

allthedoyles wrote: »

Liberty insurance are on boards on a talk to forum .
Wonder if you could start a thread in there and to get some clarification on imports

I'll try and find the liberty thread and ask there. Although if I remember correctly they wouldn't even talk to me when I looked for a quote

Just on a side issue- check out this ad

www[.]donedeal[.]ie/cars-for-sale/toyota-corolla-1-4-d4d-t3-hatchback-diesel/11231500

I ran the reg on totalcarcheck and vehicleenquiry.service and it's coming back with no MOT and no tax. I guess I just can believe how shiesty these dealers can be

colm_mcm

if it's UK reg then no tax is normal. it disappears once ownership changes. the garage is saying it will have an nct. mot is irelevant in Ireland.