Are Used Car Prices Dropping Quickly

bazz26

It's been done to death on this forum but the cost of converting the existing infrastructure to drive on the other side would be massive. Also who is going to pay for privately owned infrastructure such as car parks, drive thrus, etc that would need to be converted? The end customer of course. All this will outweigh any benefit of "cheaper" imports and that is all on the big assumption that the government wouldn't tinker with VRT rates to protect the Irish motor trade.

Flinty997

This country is incapable of such a project anyway.

creedp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121533091#Comment_121533091

So you think every driver swopping over to the rhs of the road with rhd cars will not increase accident levels? This in a country where many on here constantly claim Irish driving skill levels are are already shite. Would these same people insist of a nationwide mandatory driving test to prove ability so safely drive on the opposite side of the road before allowing people to do so in the wild? IMO its an insane suggetion but I suppose like a lot of topics possibly worthy of discussion in a theoretical sense.

Flinty997

You don't have to think or guess. (Or scaremonger) Lots of countries have done it. You can look at their data. Some switched to left to match Australia for example.

Speedline

There is nothing stopping anyone in Ireland from importing a car from mainland Europe right now. Insurance would be higher alright but it's still absolutely possible.

Flinty997

A few years back friend of mine ordered a right hand drive from the factory. Then flew over to collect it.

downcow

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121532729#Comment_121532729

We would just need one of these at Newry, and then you could go ahead and change sides

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121533470#Comment_121533470

What about all the local roads that cross the UK/Ireland border multiple times within the space of a few kilometres?

Montage of Feck

I'd imagine switching over would result in absolute chaos with deaths in the hundreds if it was to ever occur.

redsheeps

Haven't been tracking specific costs per se but costs are still looking pretty mad. Exploring Rav4s and 5 year old with 200k km on it up for €20k.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121533485#Comment_121533485

I take it Irish drivers are unable to drive in Europe or the US on holidays without causing carnage..

poker--addict

Has any country swapped in modern history? Sweden was in the 60s? Urbanisation and infrastructure to manage traffic has changed immeasurably since in the western world.

logistically I don't think any developed country could flip, and economically it would be prohibitive?

being with the bigger supply would obviously be far more in our interest than aligning with U.K., moving to RHS could be a term of the U.K. rejoining the EU :-)

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121533206#Comment_121533206

What infrastructure would need to change as a matter of interest? Toll booths and signs?

hoodie6029

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121533236#Comment_121533236

+1. Just look at the high profile public projects, the Children’s Hospital, I recently heard described as The Debt Star.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121534113#Comment_121534113

Lol, I'll be reusing that.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121534051#Comment_121534051

You don't think Sweden (population 7.5m) was modern developed country in 1967?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_37_Viggen

The cost to switch was approx a billion dollars in today's money.

Samoa switched in 2009. Not really comparable I'll give you.

Flinty997

What has this got to with used cars btw?

Unless I needed a car immediately I'd wait see what happens next year.

bazz26

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121534058#Comment_121534058

junctions, slip roads, traffic lights, etc would also need either adjustment or redesign. Same goes with entrances/exits to private property that the public have access to such as retail parks, etc. No small or cheap undertaking and as said this country doesn't have a good track record with delivering big projects on time or within budget.

You then have the problem of all the existing RHD cars now driving on other side of the road which causes it's own dangers. People who have been driving on the left for years who still haven't even mastered that are now driving their RHD car on the other side of the road.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121534253#Comment_121534253

Wouldn't junctions and slip roads just reverse? On ramps become off ramps and so forth.

goochy

The reason cars in Ireland are expensive is vrt no matter where you buy car it will still be expensive because of vrt . You can only buy new cars now in your own country , that thing of being able to buy a new rhd merc from Germany or elsewhere is long gone , surprising they get away with it nod we are in the eu

bazz26

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121534264#Comment_121534264

Not in all cases. It's not just a case of reversing signs and road markings.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121534272#Comment_121534272

Friend of mine only bought a RHD Renault van from France a few weeks ago. He reckons he’s going to save a fortune

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121534253#Comment_121534253

Must have been some disadvantage for the Irish people travelling all over the world for generations not being able to drive in other countries. Same with people moving to Ireland being unable to switch.

bazz26

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121534581#Comment_121534581

That is not the same thing. Learning to drive a LHD car in a country with roads setup for LHD or vice versa is not that difficult. We all do when renting a car on holidays. The difficulty is when you have existing cars that now need to switch to the other side of the road overnight.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121534628#Comment_121534628

You have to instantly learn on holiday, or a work trip. No difference. Some countries you'll find yourself in somewhere in a RHD (US) car but under LHD (UK) rules. Besides everywhere has done it has had no issues. Why you think Ireland in 2024 would be less able to do it than people in the 60's and earlier I have no idea.

poker--addict

People aren't the problem- takes 30 seconds to mentally adjust to new side of the road.

Having cars with steering on wrong side for an interim period isn't a big deal either, albeit reduced safety goes with it.

the issue is the amount of infrastructure that is the wrong way around from large junctions through to small private slip roads.

i don't think Sweden was undeveloped in 1967 but the level of infrastructure across the western world must be 100x what it was then, so if it cost a billion in todays money at the time, it's 100bn to do it now!

Buddy Bubs

This has gone very off topic, but the suggestion we should change sides of the road to facilitate importation of cars won't happen. With the impending ban on sales of new ICE cars coming (is it 2030?) will there also be a ban on importing more used ICE cars?

Ireland has targets it must adhere to and presumably less ICE cars on the road is part of that

Widdensushi

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121534757#Comment_121534757

That ban will be pushed back,I think it's very loosely termed,i.e. it was never going to happen....

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121534690#Comment_121534690

When you have to learn on holidays your sharing the road with people who know how to drive.

Compare that to sharing the road with millions of people also trying to learn.

And then you have the issue of everyone trying to drive a RHD car on LHD roads

And there were barely any cars on the roads in the 60’s and road safety wasn’t taken as seriously.

I’m not saying its not possible but its not as easy or straightforward as you make it out to be

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121535001#Comment_121535001

It's not something I made up.

You can look up the stats and experiences of countries who switched.

Road safety has improved not because drivers are better. But because the cars are safer. So it's illogical to suggest it will be more dangerous now, with 20 airbags and AI driving the car.

In general accident rate fell when they switched as people drove more carefully and slower for a while. Very quickly all got used to it and went back to old bad habits of driving badly.

It will never happen in Ireland, the country is incapable of it.