UK import vs local (approved used)

rawliii

Hi all,

I'm a young professional working in the sunny south east finally looking at getting my hands on a car (20-25k€ flexible) range looking at a 3/420D, A4/5 B9 or C/E class.

I've looked at the importing cars UK thread but there's so much confusing info about cartell checks and vehicle history. Is my best bet getting a mechanic from NI to check out the car or going locally approved used from a dealer with a warranty?

The general consensus is that UK may offer better value for money short term but I feel local approved dealers offer better peace of mind long term. I'm hesitant about buying locally through SIMI/Private dealers but again am flexible.

Also please feel free to share your experience/advice on importing a car, reputable NI mechanics/online checks and all experiences.

Cheers !

Heres Johnny

rawliii wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm a young professional working in the sunny south east finally looking at getting my hands on a car (20-25k€ flexible) range looking at a 3/420D, A4/5 B9 or C/E class.

I've looked at the importing cars UK thread but there's so much confusing info about cartell checks and vehicle history. Is my best bet getting a mechanic from NI to check out the car or going locally approved used from a dealer with a warranty?

The general consensus is that UK may offer better value for money short term but I feel local approved dealers offer better peace of mind long term. I'm hesitant about buying locally through SIMI/Private dealers but again am flexible.

Also please feel free to share your experience/advice on importing a car, reputable NI mechanics/online checks and all experiences.

Cheers !

Look at both sides of the border and across the sea, find a car you like then see what the options are in the other country. Then the pros and cons will be clearer. My last 2 cars I bought were a BMW and an Audi in the same price bracket you are looking in. Both originally UK cars, one bought in UK and the other in Ireland. Depends on how much you value a warranty from garage really. Something similar can be bought for a fee anyway. I wouldn't personally buy from a main dealer here as I prefer to use my own mechanic for everything anyway. Do it as an exercise anyway and see what results get thrown up. There will be much better selection of nice examples in UK than here at any given time, especially in the big 3 German brands. You should be OK for nox charge too as I guess you are looking at 2016/17 cars.

On the age point, what you might find is you'll get a 17 car in UK for 16 car prices here (or about 4 to 5k price difference)

bazz26

How much driving will you be doing? If your not doing a huge amount of driving/commuting then I'd recommend something fun for a young professional like a Mk7 Golf GTi. There will be plenty of time later in life to drive a more sensible diesel saloon. 25k would get you a nice 2016 example here. You might get a 2017 from the UK but Irish ones tend to have better standard spec. There is an entire thread on here around the Mk7 GTi and plenty of lads in there who have bags of experience of them.

rawliii

Thanks for the advice guys. Did you experience any trouble with the import on your cars ??
A GTI also a very good option but insurance costs would be through the roof. 25yr old N driver,

beggars_bush

I'd buy a more sensible car for 2-3 years and get your years on full licence built up first

marcos_94

rawliii wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm a young professional working in the sunny south east finally looking at getting my hands on a car (20-25k€ flexible) range looking at a 3/420D, A4/5 B9 or C/E class.

I've looked at the importing cars UK thread but there's so much confusing info about cartell checks and vehicle history. Is my best bet getting a mechanic from NI to check out the car or going locally approved used from a dealer with a warranty?

The general consensus is that UK may offer better value for money short term but I feel local approved dealers offer better peace of mind long term. I'm hesitant about buying locally through SIMI/Private dealers but again am flexible.

Also please feel free to share your experience/advice on importing a car, reputable NI mechanics/online checks and all experiences.

Cheers !

I have just imported a car for the first time and it was not a difficult process. The most challenging thing right now is collecting the car if its based in the UK because of Covid. I searched up BMW specialists in the area where the car was and the seller dropped it into the garage of my choice while the inspection was performed. That all went smoothly, and I had the car collected by a friend of a friend who brings cars from the UK to Ireland.

My last 4 cars have been UK imports (a previous owner had brought them in) and I found that they normally had better optional extras and tended to be better taken care of. There is of course potential risks in that cars from northern parts of the UK can be more prone to rust due to being exposed to salt on the roads but this is something that should be picked up by a pre purchase inspection.

There will be plenty of options here in Ireland so my suggestion to you is go out and test drive a few different models and decide which car exactly you want, and then look at the price differences between Irish and UK cars