Buying a car - UK or Ireland?

mjmjmj1983

Hi All,

Some interesting threads on here with some very useful advice!

Hopefully, some of you point me in the right direction!

I am currently living in London and plan to move home to the Dublin area with the wife in the next couple of months. I will be starting a new job which provides a company van, my wife is currently looking for work - her job wont be providing a car etc.

We plan to get a car when we return, we dont have any kids so we dont need a large car - more just something decent to get us from A to B etc. Depending on what job she gets, she may need to drive a considerable distance daily for the work commute.

My question is - should we buy a car in the UK and take it home to Ireland, or wait and buy in Ireland?

Also, my other half seems to think that a PCP purchase in Ireland is the best option, but i have heard a few negative things about it? Is a hire purchase in Ireland a better option?

We dont need a brand new car, a decent second hand car is fine, below €10k preferably.

Ideally we would pay €2k - €3k down initially and pay off the rest in installments.

Any advice on the best way to go about it? Moving home is a real stress!!

Thank a million in advance !

JC

biko

If you will remain in UK another 6 months then it won't cost you anything to bring it over (no VRT) - the car must be at your UK address 6 months or more.

bazz26

If you bring a car over with you from the UK then you will be liable for Vehicle Tax Registration (VRT) to register it on Irish plates, unless you qualify for an exemption. This VRT can range from a few hundred to a few thousand euro depending on the value of the car over that Revenue put on it.
https://www.revenue.ie/en/importing-vehicles-duty-free-allowances/guide-to-vrt/index.aspx
https://www.revenue.ie/en/importing-vehicles-duty-free-allowances/guide-to-vrt/vehicle-registration-tax/index.aspx

You will need to check if you qualify for VRT exemption through transfer of residency, or similar with Revenue here but you will need to own the car in the UK for at least 6 months and prove to Revenue here that the car was in daily use during that time in UK, ie proof of insurance, tax, MOT, etc.

More information here:
https://www.revenue.ie/en/importing-vehicles-duty-free-allowances/guide-to-vrt/reliefs-and-exemptions/index.aspx

If you can qualify for VRT exemption then it's worth buying the car in the UK as used cars tend to be cheaper in the UK than here in Ireland

Marcusm

biko wrote: »

If you will remain in UK another 6 months then it won't cost you anything to bring it over (no VRT) - the car must be at your UK address 6 months or more.

There have also been some recent Tax Appeals Commission cases staring the car needs to be taxed/insured and not declared off the road for the 6 month period to apply and the exemption to be available.

mjmjmj1983

Ok thanks for the input.

any advice on buying a car in Ireland? Is the PCP scheme worth it or should we just buy second hand from a reputable dealer ie. put a few grand down initially and pay off the rest over time? Is that considered hire purchase or does hire purchase only for new vehicles?

Thanks

mjmjmj1983

Bump

Heres Johnny

If you don't really want a new car just buy a second hand one from dealer.
Really get your head around pcp if you do decide to go that route, and I mean understand it 100%.
The deposit, the monthly payments and the GMFV.
And think about what happens in 3 years time, not just what happens now.
If you fail to get your head around it, just stick with your gut feeling and buy a 10k used car, loads of good ones out there if you do your checks.

U_Fig

Heres Johnny wrote: »

If you don't really want a new car just buy a second hand one from dealer.
Really get your head around pcp if you do decide to go that route, and I mean understand it 100%.
The deposit, the monthly payments and the GMFV.
And think about what happens in 3 years time, not just what happens now.
If you fail to get your head around it, just stick with your gut feeling and buy a 10k used car, loads of good ones out there if you do your checks.

If you decide to go used you would be probably better looking in the UK even with paying VRT if you cannot get an exemption you'll likely get a better deal, the UK had more choice of cars that generally come better speced and In a load of cases even after VRT will work out chepar than buying used in Ireland or at least the same, just make sure to your homework if going this route.

Belfast

You best option is to buy a second hand car in UK make sure it is insured and taxed in the Uk for a least 6 moths.
You need to be moving to Ireland and have a job offer here.
Cars in Ireland area lot more expense to buy than the UK. If the UK leaves EU before you come back this may not work.
Cars imported my people moving for work within EU are exempt from vrt as long as it is owned ,tax and insured for 6 months.