2016 UK import - step by step

HeadWrecked93 · 17-10-2016 2:03pm

Booked a peace of mind inspection with dekra this morning. How long does it take them to organise a date with garage and for inspection to happen. Hoping to travel in Saturday.

Moo Moo Land · 17-10-2016 2:04pm

Couple of questions...

1. Would I be able to drive around for a couple of days with a newly purchased car before heading for ferry?

2. I am thinking of buying a 2015 Hyundai I30 in Motorpoint in Birmingham. Do you see any pitfalls with that choice of car and dealer?

Bumski · 17-10-2016 2:07pm

HeadWrecked93 wrote: »

Booked a peace of mind inspection with dekra this morning. How long does it take them to organise a date with garage and for inspection to happen. Hoping to travel in Saturday.

My experience is limited but I booked on 5 July. They acknowledged the booking 6 July and inspected on 7 July. I had the report by email the evening of 7 July and had a chat by phone with the inspector a little later the same evening.

bazz26 · 17-10-2016 3:20pm

Moo Moo Land wrote: »

Couple of questions...

1. Would I be able to drive around for a couple of days with a newly purchased car before heading for ferry?

The car would need to be taxed and MOT'd if necessary. You would also need proper documentation from your insurance company to prove you are covered in the event the UK police stop you and check.

Moo Moo Land wrote: »

2. I am thinking of buying a 2015 Hyundai I30 in Motorpoint in Birmingham. Do you see any pitfalls with that choice of car and dealer?

They are a large car supermarket so you need to treat buying from them the same way you would buy a slice pan or pint of milk in Tescos rather than like a regular car dealer. The price displayed is the price you pay, there is no haggling and they will let you walk for the sake of £50. Their prices tend to be lower than regular car dealers but you will not get dealer services from them, ie the car might need to be valeted and or serviced and they may charge extra if you want these included.

Edit, I remember a thread recently on the main motors forum where they were refusing to sell to Irish residents due to a silly Brexit policy they have in place. You need to check with them if that is still the case.

savagethegoat · 17-10-2016 3:46pm

bazz26 wrote: »

The car would need to be taxed and MOT'd if necessary. You would also need proper documentation from your insurance company to prove you are covered in the event the UK police stop you and check.

They are a large car supermarket so you need to treat buying from them the same way you would buy a slice pan or pint of milk in Tescos rather than like a regular car dealer. The price displayed is the price you pay, there is no haggling and they will let you walk for the sake of £50. Their prices tend to be lower than regular car dealers but you will not get dealer services from them, ie the car might need to be valeted and or serviced and they may charge extra if you want these included.

Edit, I remember a thread recently on the main motors forum where they were refusing to sell to Irish residents due to a silly Brexit policy they have in place. You need to check with them if that is still the case.

add to that, check the origin of the car, likely to be a hire car or driving school car or at best a fleet car.

maddness · 17-10-2016 6:45pm

I'm going over to buy a car in the UK this weekend and just wanted to see what is the best way to pay for it. I believe TransferWise is good and have downloaded it but never used it.
Anyone here used it or recommend any other method.
Thanks.

walus · 18-10-2016 10:41am

maddness wrote: »

I'm going over to buy a car in the UK this weekend and just wanted to see what is the best way to pay for it. I believe TransferWise is good and have downloaded it but never used it.
Anyone here used it or recommend any other method.
Thanks.

Visa Debit. That is what I used. Confirm with the dealer what payments they accept. They want release the car unless the payment is cleared.

Moo Moo Land · 18-10-2016 3:08pm

Why don't people buy up North rather than go to England? Most people I hear about are heading to the England for cars.

darragh o meara · 18-10-2016 3:18pm

Moo Moo Land wrote: »

Why don't people buy up North rather than go to England? Most people I hear about are heading to the England for cars.

The reasons I have for not doing so, is that a lot of the stuff is usually brought in from the UK anyway and have been driven in reverse for a while

Also travelling here can be expensive and its not always practical to get someone to drive you. I've bought a few cars in the UK and theres not too many places you cant reach on public transport for a few quid and a cheap Ryanair flight.

Why not go to the UK for the day and cut out the middleman, to me it makes sense.

bazz26 · 18-10-2016 3:28pm

Bigger choice in the UK. Prices can be cheaper too even including travel costs. The likes of the AA and RAC don't provide inspections in NI either afaik which can be a big swaying factor for many people spending large sums of money.

Denisoftus · 18-10-2016 3:34pm

+1 for bigger choice, I looked into NI before looking at mainland, and couldn't find any in NI.

HeadWrecked93 · 18-10-2016 4:26pm

Any problems paying with visa debit or did you have to clear with bank before going? Is there a limit on card or is it personal?

bazz26 · 18-10-2016 4:29pm

It varies between banks so you need to check with your bank first. Some have a daily limit while others don't.

Denisoftus · 18-10-2016 4:40pm

HeadWrecked93 wrote: »

Any problems paying with visa debit or did you have to clear with bank before going? Is there a limit on card or is it personal?

Check the previous pages, so far what we know (subject to clarify with your bank):
1. BOI - no limit
2. The rest - various limits.

So if you have BOI debit card, you should be fine, give them a call in advance and advise amount on the day of the charge. Check with motor dealer that they are happy to charge debit card.

MightyMunster · 18-10-2016 7:27pm

AIB daily limit is 5000 euro per card. Used it to buy a car in England on Sunday split across 3 cards. You get the Visa rate, 1.11 on Sunday. Transaction fee is capped at 11euro. Goes through instantly as opposed to transfermate etc which take days. I'd recommend it if you have enough cards/accounts!

HeadWrecked93 · 18-10-2016 9:50pm

OK so myself and the OH are travelling over on Saturday to collect car. Because we live down the country and flight is so early we have to drive to airport. Which is the easiest place to park so we can collect car again later that night?

Bigbok · 18-10-2016 10:30pm

I bought myself a 131 Kia Sportage leather and sunroof,car getting vrt 25 as I had to wait for dvla to send papers to me.all in all I will save between 3000-7000€ once vrt is paid and got a good spec well looked after car which I have already been offered a trade in price of 6500 more than I paid for the car if I want to upgrade to a newer one from a Kia dealer

darragh o meara · 18-10-2016 11:49pm

HeadWrecked93 wrote: »

OK so myself and the OH are travelling over on Saturday to collect car. Because we live down the country and flight is so early we have to drive to airport. Which is the easiest place to park so we can collect car again later that night?

Anytime I fly out of Dublin I use the carpark at the Clayton hotel. They provide a shuttle bus from the hotel every 15 mins and the same from airport. The cost isn't.ad cheaper than the long term car parks but you don't have the hassle of spending half an hour looking for your car as the carpark at the hotel is underground and pretty well laid out.

HeadWrecked93 · 19-10-2016 8:51am

darragh o meara wrote:

Anytime I fly out of Dublin I use the carpark at the Clayton hotel. They provide a shuttle bus from the hotel every 15 mins and the same from airport. The cost isn't.ad cheaper than the long term car parks but you don't have the hassle of spending half an hour looking for your car as the carpark at the hotel is underground and pretty well laid out.

But can I drive into his car free or just drop him at gate and make him walk?

darragh o meara · 19-10-2016 9:28am

HeadWrecked93 wrote: »

But can I drive into his car free or just drop him at gate and make him walk?

Im pretty sure youd have 10 mins to get back out free. Even if you had to drop at the gate its a min walk at most to the car.

You can book it online which is handy.

HeadWrecked93 · 20-10-2016 8:48pm

Going over on Saturday to collect car but found out today that although there is no limit on my debit card they do charge 2.15% which on 10k is a nice bit. Is it too late to set up currencyfair/ transferwise etc?

HeadWrecked93 · 20-10-2016 9:38pm

HeadWrecked93 wrote:

Going over on Saturday to collect car but found out today that although there is no limit on my debit card they do charge 2.15% which on 10k is a nice bit. Is it too late to set up currencyfair/ transferwise etc?

Nevermind the transaction fee is capped at â‚¬11.43 per transaction

Denisoftus · 21-10-2016 11:07am

Finally get my car imported, VTR paid and car taxed, thanks to the boardies I manage to avoid painful delays, fines for late VRT, etc, in particularly V5 form requirement (full form, not just green slip) played the biggest part in painless and quick import process. Surely the requirement of having to provide full V5 form should be posted on revenue and VRT website, the guy in front of me, who haven't heard of boards.ie (how come?) came with only green slip, and was surprised that he needs full V5 document or DVLA export certificate, the long and costly process lay in from of him now.

Also, the option to pay with BOI debit card helped a lot and provided flexibility of buying any car, if one you selected online doesn't fit, which exactly happened to me, as the seller didn't have any documents on the day of collection, what disaster could it be if I did bank transfer, I had to give it up and went to look in other nearby garages.

Thanks everyone, and especially OP, who contributed by providing advices, etc.

Good luck everyone with importing, it is well worth it!

An Ard Ri · 21-10-2016 2:26pm

Hello,

Great write up.

I'm collecting a car in the UK on Thursday. I have to pay at least 6 months tax.

From what i understand, i fill out V5C/4 before i leave the UK, together with a letter.

My question is, in the letter do i include my bank details or do they send a cheque.

Thanks in advance.

Bumski wrote: »

I recently purchased a car in the UK. There are a number of threads on this issue, including the bumper one, but given the recent Brexit and the sterling rate and their impact on the value formoney that can be got, I thought I’d put down a number of steps that I followed on the process.
I’m an average guy with no specialised knowledge about cars,mechanics or engines. Others, more expert, might not bother with the AA check I paid for, but it saved me time and I was able to fly to the UK and leave on the ferry with the car on the same day. I hope that this can be of use to someone

So the steps (with costs) were:

1 sourced the car model and spec on autotrader UK and/or motors.co.uk

2 Check the probable VRT cost online on the Revenue ROS VRT calculator

2A Check the UK MOT site for mileage at last MOT https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

3 Checked with my insurance company the impact of the proposed new car on my policy and premium

4 I booked a low fares airline morning midweek return flight to the UK for a date 2 weeks later for €30 (the return leg cost €10 included in the €30 – I bought the return leg in case of any unforeseen problem) I booked to Manchester for 10.30am

5 contact the garage and discuss price – noted to garage that I would be exporting the vehicle and so would not be test driving myself ahead of time (I did not want to buy from a private seller as I think it would be more difficult to arrange an engineer car check and meet up and payment safely)

6 Check how many keys are there for the car (is there a master key or code tag), whether there is a service history, are there any further documents (eg. Previous mot certs, garage receipts for work done). Is the user manual in the car.

7 Agreed a small deposit (£200) by phone and paid garage with visa

8 Organised a comprehensive car inspection using Dekra (£125) This inspection also includes a full HPI. Adverse findings are advised orally but the full results of the check are not included in the report

9 Opened an account with transfermate to minimize sterling conversion costs. This needs to be done maybe a week before the date you want to pay as there are some admin requirements including proof of identity and address. Emails of pdfs of utility bill, bank details and passport required)

10 Received car inspection report and phone the engineer to get his non written general opinion

11 A few minor niggles reported to the garage to be sorted before I collected the car

12 Obtain UK garage bank details and send to transfermate

13 Type up a letter seeking refund of UK road tax that most garages will get you to pay online before leaving

14 Organise transfer with transfermate. Allow 2 working days. Day one transfers from your Irish account to Transfermate. Day 2 – transfers to UK.

15 The day before flying – organise to transfer insurance to the new car (you need the make model and reg)

16 Book the ferry for the next day I booked the latest possible at 8pm – cost me €144

17 On arrival at the garage obtain all keys, the manual, an invoice and a complete V5C document (minus part 4 which is sent bythe garage to the DVLA in Swansea)

18 Pay the UK road tax (minimum 6 months) Maybe you can avoid this but it cost me €77 (but depends on the emissions of the car and the exchange rate) and UK car tax no longer transfers with change of ownership. UK cops have the right to impound an untaxed car (though any reasonable cop probably wouldn’t if it’s en route to the ferry for export)

19 Give the letter seeking refund to the garage to include with the V5C part 4 to send to the DVLA.

20 Drive to Holyhead smiling!

21 On arrival in Ireland book the VRT test at the NCTS. The cost of the inspection is covered in the VRT that you pay. No separate charge. This inspection does not test the car (it is not a standard NCTS test) and only verifies that the VRT amount is correct. The booking must be made within 7 days and all paperwork completed within 30 days or the import is subject to fines

22 Although not necessary, I kept a colour copy of the V5C and the other documents that I supplied to the NCTS, the documents required are detailed at: http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/vrt-guide.html

· I provided: V5C (this is very important!)

· Dated Invoice for the car

· Recent Utility bill

· P60 (you can black out salary details)

· Recent Internet Bank statement (but subsequently stamped by my bank as revenue insist on one original document – myP60 and utility were also online generated printouts)

· VRT Vehicle Purchase Declaration Form VRTVPD2 http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vrt/vrt-guide.html#section2e3

· Proof of date of entry (I used my ferry booking details)

· Declaration Form for the Registration of a newVehicle/ Motorcycle

23 Pay the VRT following the inspection. Max allowable on a debit card by banks is normally €1500 (your individual limit may differ - if you're planning to go this route check with your bank and the NCTS that it's ok). Credit cards can be used subject to a 1% additional fee (and subject to your individual credit limit). If necessary, NCTS advised me that you can mix payments from both cards to minimise the cc fee. You can also pay with a bank draft – my draft cost €2.40.

24 On receipt you will be given a new registration number by the NCTS

25 New plates can be made by many motor factors for about €20

26 Notify your insurance company of the new registration

27 Change any relevant details for etolls, M50 or any work related car information if applicable.

28 One day later your registration details will appear on the motor tax online website and the tax can be paid online using a pin number supplied by the NCTS

29 The tax disk arrived for me two working days later.

30 I am currently awaiting the new VLC which should arrive this week and will then book my required NCT.

I'm ever hopeful that I might get a five month rebate on the UK motor tax paid.....

Denisoftus · 21-10-2016 3:47pm

No, you have to take FULL V5 with you, don't need to fill it, just form as is in full. Nowadays UK seller can register car with DVLA for export online.

Can you get away without tax? or you planning to travel in UK for some time? I'm not advising it, but I just drove from the garage to Pembroke Dock and took my chance, I have heard most of the people do this.

An Ard Ri · 21-10-2016 7:09pm

Thanks for the reply. I'm buying from a main dealer and they have informed me it must be taxed. Obviously I'm going to try and not pay it. I'm flying in first thing in the morning and home on the 14.10 ferry.

Denisoftus wrote: »

No, you have to take FULL V5 with you, don't need to fill it, just form as is in full. Nowadays UK seller can register car with DVLA for export online.

Can you get away without tax? or you planning to travel in UK for some time? I'm not advising it, but I just drove from the garage to Pembroke Dock and took my chance, I have heard most of the people do this.

Isambard · 21-10-2016 7:40pm

if you do have to tax it (I would have thought for three months not six) you should be able claim back the unused months. I'm not clear if you can do this without a UK address.

Make sure you bring the V5C. they can hang on to the export bit if it makes them happy, but bring the main section at least.

Denisoftus · 21-10-2016 8:14pm

An Ard Ri wrote: »

Thanks for the reply. I'm buying from a main dealer and they have informed me it must be taxed. Obviously I'm going to try and not pay it. I'm flying in first thing in the morning and home on the 14.10 ferry.

I have bought from main dealer too, and they asked for signature that I'm aware that car is not taxed, but if you have to do it - do.

Perhaps you can use parcel motel address to get it registered/refunded?

Denisoftus · 21-10-2016 8:29pm

Also, just noticed you said you are flying tomorrow, you need to be very sure that insurance will insure the car on Saturday, I nearly left empty handed, if not for my wife's car and her sacrifice

, long story short:

1. called Zurich Ins. on Wed, gave them new car details, asked to transfer insurance starting from Sat. they said - oh ,yeah, no bother, but don't do it now, who knows what car are you going to end up with (and that was true

), we have 24-hours line, they can do transfer on Sat for you, blah, blah, blah. So trusted their advice and went off.
2. on Sat called them again to the number (took me a while to find one as main offices closed) and guy said, NO, sorry we only deal with breakdown assistance. Anyway after long conversation he agreed to make an exemption and give me 24-hour coverage, just to come back to me in 1 minute to say, sorry but it can't be done, my old car is 2L and new is 3.5L, they can't make this bigger jump-upgrade. I was devastated, and almost left, but recalled that my wife's car is 3.3L, so I kindly asked her not to drive the next 48 hours, and my kids will have to skip weekend classes/activities.
3. Dealer was too good and tried to give me free insurance coverage, but it ended up nowhere as it only works for UK addresses (PM address didn't work)
4. Called back to check if they can give us temporary cover by transferring my wife's insurance - they did but as an exception and made it clear they will NOT do it again.

As you can't and wont drive without insurance its a big deal breaker, or you just need to park yourself near the garage and wait for the weekday. I will never ever again collect a car during the weekend

Hope this will help you to avoid such mistakes, even it all ended up happily, still it was very stressful time.

An Ard Ri · 21-10-2016 8:36pm

Thanks, should have said I'm flying first thing Thursday morning to avoid such problems.

Denisoftus wrote: »

Also, just noticed you said you are flying tomorrow, you need to be very sure that insurance will insure the car on Saturday, I nearly left empty handed, if not for my wife's car and her sacrifice , long story short:

1. called Zurich Ins. on Wed, gave them new car details, asked to transfer insurance starting from Sat. they said - oh ,yeah, no bother, but don't do it now, who knows what car are you going to end up with (and that was true ), we have 24-hours line, they can do transfer on Sat for you, blah, blah, blah. So trusted their advice and went off.
2. on Sat called them again to the number (took me a while to find one as main offices closed) and guy said, NO, sorry we only deal with breakdown assistance. Anyway after long conversation he agreed to make an exemption and give me 24-hour coverage, just to come back to me in 1 minute to say, sorry but it can't be done, my old car is 2L and new is 3.5L, they can't make this bigger jump-upgrade. I was devastated, and almost left, but recalled that my wife's car is 3.3L, so I kindly asked her not to drive the next 48 hours, and my kids will have to skip weekend classes/activities.
3. Dealer was too good and tried to give me free insurance coverage, but it ended up nowhere as it only works for UK addresses (PM address didn't work)
4. Called back to check if they can give us temporary cover by transferring my wife's insurance - they did but as an exception and made it clear they will NOT do it again.

As you can't and wont drive without insurance its a big deal breaker, or you just need to park yourself near the garage and wait for the weekday. I will never ever again collect a car during the weekend

Hope this will help you to avoid such mistakes, even it all ended up happily, still it was very stressful time.

2016 UK import - step by step

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