Buying a car Northern Ireland

vanillamojo

Does anybody know what's the best way to pay for a car from a main dealer in northern Ireland?

By best, I mean the cheapest fees and the best currency conversion rate. Approx £15000 Sterling. Dealer says they can take bank transfer, draft, pay by card etc

Thanks

bazz26

If you have a Bank of Ireland debit card then I think there is no limit on the amount that can be drawn down on them obviously as long as you preload the money in advance and notify the bank of the pending transaction. I don't think they charge a debit card transaction fee either over the normal currency exchange commission.

If the dealer will accept a sterling draft then it might be the easiest way to go, you might have to send them a photocopy of it in advance though so that they can verify it prior to you arriving.

vanillamojo

Thanks for the reply bazz.
Have a ptsb debit card. Think they charge 1.7% with a max fee of around €15 so not too bad but would you get a better exchange rate with the debit card or draft or is it all the same?
I'd hate to be losing a few hundred in a poor exchange rate.

bazz26

That's something you'll have to do some man math calculations on. If going debit card just make sure the dealer has no daily transaction limit on their end.

vanillamojo

Yea I'll have to ring the bank but was hoping someone here may have done it recently and knew what was the cheapest way. I can't get info on what's the current exchange rate with debit card, draft and bank transfer with a Google search. I know it changes daily but wondered was there a big difference cause I know there is if you need to buy Sterling notes.
Thanks

Cannon_fodder

vanillamojo wrote: »

Does anybody know what's the best way to pay for a car from a main dealer in northern Ireland?

By best, I mean the cheapest fees and the best currency conversion rate. Approx £15000 Sterling. Dealer says they can take bank transfer, draft, pay by card etc

Thanks

Visa Debit. With Ulster Bank there is no limit on the amount. Even better if you have a UK account

vanillamojo

Thanks all. Rang the bank yesterday and it seems that visa debit is the way to go as I get the currency rate through visa which yesterday would have given me almost 3p more per euro than the bank rate if I were to get a draft or do a bank transfer so a saving of a few hundred euros.

Ptsb however have a maximum daily transaction limit of €2500 which they can't increase even as a once off! Seems that bank of Ireland and Ulster bank don't have any limit. Just thought I'd update in case this might help somebody buying up north.

kokiyou

I used transfermate they were great to deal with over the phone. No fees and rate was 0.905 or so probably better rate nowadays. Also worth a look is transerwise but I didn't bother getting a quote from them. Revolut another option but have fees above 6,000 euro. These would all be bank transfers type of methods.

CiniO

Yes OP use TransferWise or currency fair and you'll save another few hundred on your purchase.
Definitely worth it when spending 15k.

vanillamojo

Thanks. I've just requested a quote from transfer mate and I'll check out the other crowd. Looks like I transfer the money to them first but is that safe? Is my money protected?

CiniO

vanillamojo wrote: »

Thanks. I've just requested a quote from transfer mate and I'll check out the other crowd. Looks like I transfer the money to them first but is that safe? Is my money protected?

My understanding is that they are private companies and if they go bust during those few hours when your money is with them, then it's your bad luck.
On the other hand, considering how long they've been on the market and how many people use them everyday often for much larger sums, I'd say you are way more likely to be kidnapped by UFO then suffering money loss with them.

user_name_d

Sorry to pull up an old thread. I'm wondering how the OP got on or if others have advice?

I have some specific questions;

Will I be able to use transfermate on a Saturday if I travel up?

Would irbe easier and cheaper with kbc to transfer online to the dealer bank account (they have a daily limit of 15000€)

Or what would folk recommend?

Thanks in advance

vanillamojo

I ended up using a bank of ireland visa debit card. Got a really good exchange rate on the day and was delighted! Got a quote from transfermate that was a few hundred more than what i ended up paying. Saved a few thousand euro than if i bought in the republic even with the vrt. Very easy process to buy up north

CiniO

vanillamojo wrote: »

I ended up using a bank of ireland visa debit card. Got a really good exchange rate on the day and was delighted! Got a quote from transfermate that was a few hundred more than what i ended up paying.

I actually struggle to believe this.

Could you give exact figures of exchange rates?

user_name_d

vanillamojo wrote: »

I ended up using a bank of ireland visa debit card. Got a really good exchange rate on the day and was delighted! Got a quote from transfermate that was a few hundred more than what i ended up paying. Saved a few thousand euro than if i bought in the republic even with the vrt. Very easy process to buy up north

Thanks for reply. I'm looking at about 4k saving too with vrt added so it makes sense.

Did you need to let BOI aware of the big purchase? I hope KBC can allow the same

kokiyou

I also doubt that you got a better rate from a BOI debit card. Did you get a transfermate quote a week prior and the exchange rate shifted since then or something?

vanillamojo

Haha well i'm hardly making it up! On the 21 aug i got a quote from transfer mate @ 0.90135. 3 days later i made the transaction and it cost me €229 less than their quote including fees. I dont have the exact exchange rate i got to hand at the moment but if you pm me im sure i could find it.
Of course everyone should shop around to see what the cheapest way is today but that was my experience. I emailed transfermate back and told them i could get a cheaper rate with visa and never got any response.

vanillamojo

Op, i didnt let bank of ireland know in advance and didnt have any problems but as per my previous posts i originally wanted to use a ptsb visa debit card but they had a maximum usage limit and couldnt even increase it for one day. Check that your bank dont have the same limit

kokiyou

Fair enough, I got no fees from them and a rate much better than my bank, probably 3-4% better no clue on figures as it was almost a year ago.

central park

Can anyone recommend a good reliable car dealer in the Belfast area. I'm looking to buy a second hand car there and bring it back toDublin. Any advice on how to go about this? I have the cash and am wondering is there room for negotiation on a cash sale?Thanks

Agent_47

I bought from Audi Belfast this time last year, very little room for manouvre but got the cruise control fitted FOC and paid cash. very quick and professional experience, would look at Isacc Agnew group cars, huge selection