Importing a Hummer stretch

Sparky

A good friend of mine runs a succesfull limo buisness and is planning on bringing in a hummer stretch in to the country for use in weddings debs etc etc.
But he seems to be hitting a brick wall with the carrage office and the dept. of transport, they keep giving him excuses of its not allowed in the country because of its size and height and it cant be used for pupic services etc etc.

I have already seen 2 in dublin in the last month and he even asked one of owners of 1 how he got it imported, and he said he brought it in under comercial status and transfered it to private.

So my mate askes the dept of transport about it and they told him its illegal to do this.

So im asking here, if there is anywhere he can get info on what he can do etc.
I mean he can buy one and imported it but basically the offices are telling him he can use it on the roads and use it in his buisness, even thou there are 2 other companies in dublin using them.

So any info possible would be appreacted.
Thanks.

astec123

You could try importing it to the UK with a friend and then importing it here. Not sure but if it is illegal for one it should be illegal for all.

Bits_n_Bobs

There has defo been a hummer in Ireland for the last 3/4 years, used to see it beetling down teeeny narrow Booterstown Avenue, which naturally has a 3 tonne limit on it, so someone managed to get one in a few years ago, as well as drive it illegally lol

Funxy

This dosnt surprise me at all. Having dealt with the vrt end of things myself i realsie they do anything and everything possible to make it so hard for you to import anything that you have no choice but to pay the rip of prices they charge you in ireland. Typical of the irish way of things im afraid

AMurphy

I'd say just it's a heap of crock. Too long, too heavy, etc. then just about ever Roadstone truck would be off the road in the morning.

I'd say, just import it as a "Hummer" for limo/commercial purposes.
The guy at teh VRT dept and the the guy at the end of the phoe are not the same and rarely talk.

seem to have no problem letting Our good Prez bring in armor plated stretch limos. Which do you think is heavier?.

IMHO, it's just a case of, If we do not have a VRT rating for it, then it's illegal.

Ask the other guys who brought in 20+ Ft Dodge trucks and Expeditions.

Guy:Incognito

Sparky_S wrote:

I have already seen 2 in dublin in the last month and he even asked one of owners of 1 how he got it imported, and he said he brought it in under comercial status and transfered it to private.

So my mate askes the dept of transport about it and they told him its illegal to do this.
.

Thered be no reason to transfer it to private as it will be used as a commercial vehicle, or am I missing something?

stratos

I dunno what the problem with this is you ring the vrt office in Rosslare, They will ring you back within 3 days with qoute. A Hummer stretch won't be on the books but Rosslare deal with all odd vehicles.

Sparky

ok ill give him the info offered here, and to the other poster, he put it under commercial to get the 3% vrt i assume, but like you said whats the private thing about since its going to be used as a limo, could be my misunderstanding, so ill recheck it.

TBH, i dont see the big deal with this problem, its just he's going to contact some rep. because the carrage office are basically telling him he cant bring one into the country, why i dont know, its beond me.
ive seen normal hummers on the roads, but this is a hummer stretch is that why they are just saying no. tbh its no bigger than a bus.

drdre

i think the hummer limo is a great idea as its something different from the regular cars like mercs etc.

John R

I assume if it is registered as commercial then it can't be insured for carrying paying passengers.

Our man in Havana

John R wrote:

I assume if it is registered as commercial then it can't be insured for carrying paying passengers.

But once he has it in he can change the class to private and off you go!

prospect

I don't see the difference in bringing this in to carry passangers,
And bringing in a coach, to carry passangers!

Your average bus eireann, or JJ Kavanagh coach is probably longer, and heavier!!

Sparky

was talking to him today, he has sent emails to various dept. and just got the generic reply "were looking in to this issue"
He found out some more info today aswell
Such as since the hummer can carry 14 passengers he will only be allowed 8, more than 8 then its a bus, as far as the dept of transport see it.

AMurphy

So import a "bus" called Hummer. or look for a shorter stretch limo.

John R

If it is kept with more than 8 passenger seats then it would be classed as a bus and a D1 licence would be needed to drive it, no bad thing considering the size of it.

Sparky

John R wrote:

If it is kept with more than 8 passenger seats then it would be classed as a bus and a D1 licence would be needed to drive it, no bad thing considering the size of it.

true, hopefully he gets it in as i can get free rides of him:D

AMurphy

I saw an extended Hummer H2 Limo on a lot over the weekend;
Probably 1 or 2 extra rows at best.

Limo Lite Coach Works
1-877-LIMO-MFG in San Jose.

Actual item on sale here;