Can I register a van without inporting it?

rx6

I want to drive around Europe in a camper van. Long trip, maybe 12 months. It makes sense to buy a left hand drive van on the continent rather than taking an Irish van over there. I'm thinking of buying in the Netherlands and setting out from there and selling again there afterwards. It makes no sense to bring the van back to Ireland (neither before nor after the trip).

I assume I will have to tax & insure and I assume that should be done in Ireland. Is this reasonible or is there a better way?

Is it possible to tax & insure it in ireland but avoid paying VRT if the vehicle is never actually imported? Or does the system assume/insist that the vehicle is in fact imported?

User1998

You can’t tax a foreign registered vehicle in Ireland. And local motor tax is irrelevant once you leave that jurisdiction. I would have thought that all you would need is insurance, and perhaps a roadworthiness certificate from the country of registration, similar to an NCT.

Can you not just rent a camper to avoid all the hassle? How do you plan on selling a camper in a foreign country? Are you going to just camp there until it sells and fly home?

Alkers

I think better to tax and insure it where you buy it. You might need an sddress

rx6

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123064911#Comment_123064911

Thanks for the info. I will look into renting, but I also want to sus out this option.

I don't think selling in any country will be a problem. I can sell it more or less instantly to a dealer or privately in a few days.

rx6

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123064912#Comment_123064912

That would require me to become resident in NL and maintain some kind of address box there in case of tolls / parking / speeding fines etc. That sounds dodgy and maybe expensive.

rx6

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123064911#Comment_123064911

Can I register it in Ireland without importing it?

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123064942#Comment_123064942

And you will loose thousands doing so

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123064949#Comment_123064949

No

bcklschaps

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123064949#Comment_123064949

I think with Campervan registrations in Ireland you need to have it physically available for inspection and certified as a campervan by a VRT guy or registered garage etc. Soo the answer would be no.

Might be worth a conversation with VRT though to see if a foreign certification would suffice? (would save you lugging it on ferry etc.)

Peregrinus

rx6:

I can sell it more or less instantly to a dealer or privately in a few days.

User 1998:

And you will loose thousands doing so

Yes. But the appropriate comparison here is between:

• the cost of renting a van for a year; and
• the cost of buying a van and then selling it a year later.

He will lose thousands buying and then selling a van, but it may still cost considerably less than renting for a year.

It's not a direct comparison, because the cost of vehicles, the taxation, the regulatory requirements, etc are different in different countries. But for what it's worth it's common for backpackers making an extended trip to Australia to buy a second-hand vehicle, use it for going round Australia, and then sell it again before they leave. It's cheaper than renting for a prolonged period.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123064980#Comment_123064980

Yeah sorry I missed the part about it being 12 months. Probably best to buy one then.

mk7r

You can't insure a vehicle in Ireland without registering it here but even if you do that there is normally a limit to the amount of time you can spend out of the country (90 days is pretty standard)

Cookie_Monster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123064980#Comment_123064980

No insurance required in Aus (or NZ) (well, its is included in the cost of registration) makes this much more feasible. And camper converts of **** old hiaces and the like are worth mad money and don't depreciate so easy to own it for 6 months or a year or whatever and not lose anything.

A bit different in the EU where you have to have insurance… and probably everything slightly newer and more €€€

goochy

most stupid thing asked in boards motors

Nux_BlackThumb

Plenty LHD campers for sale on donedeal, most are cheaper than their RHD equivalents too, easiest least convoluted way of doing what you are trying to do.

TBH, driving RHD on the continent is grand, takes about 5 mins to get used to, the worst is roundabouts and you'd have to get used to going the wrong way around them in an LHD anyway.

ednwireland

maybe have a look through the motor homes forum or post there.

https://www.boards.ie/categories/motorhomes-campervans-caravans

celtic_oz

Great question (for the camper section) ! Have a scout around youtube for couples who have done this and created a travel vlog, might reveal where they bought one

This is very popular amongst South Africans and Australians

I believe Italy is the cheapest place to buy a Camper / Motorhome

here is an example :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03Ty_tezYAs