Importing from the UK - definitive guide (Q&A)

deezell wrote: »

Hkvp
VRT is based on odometer, I'm wondering was the car set to Km back in April, hence the higher reading back then, 39k in Km would have been 24k in miles. I've seen that on NCT records of cars I've owned in the past, higher Km reading entered as Miles.

Yeah it seems the most obvious reason, but only one owner and all other service records are in miles.

deezell wrote: »

How many recorded services are there, is the high reading in April inconsistent with the increases over time.

No not really, the opposite in fact - 19,000m in July 17 (April 16 car). So 39,000 by April 19 seems more logical.

What are the chances that both the Audi garage servicing it in April 19, and the MOT, would both record miles if it was kms at the time?

darragh o meara wrote: »

It is possible that the owner was messing with the dash and changed it to KMs and the lads servicing and MOT’ing presumed it was miles and didn’t spot it. To be fair it’s a know easy one to miss if your not looking for it. Previous owner could live had the car over here or in mainland Europe and needed the speed in KMs come up on the dash... I’m pretty certain that Audi wouldn’t take a car in that had been clocked and they would be in a prime position to tell if it was..

If you were doubtful call into an Audi garage and ask them to do a scan and see what mileage is actually on the car, they’ll tell you quick enough. If the car was clocked it’s unlikely they changed the reading in all the various control units it’s stored on, they usually only worry about the module that feeds the dash display. It might cost you 50 quid but at least you then have a cast iron case to go back to the seller.

Chatting the manager there so the original owner is of EU descent (name confirms this) and had asked for it switched to kms. Only ever serviced at same garage, who recorded it as miles by mistake. This would make sense with the 19,000 reading in July 2017. MOT carried out there as well.

When he traded it in, it was re-set to miles. The sales guy that sold him the new car confirmed he had to change it over to KM on that car as well.

Audi are preparing the paperwork to update databases with historic numbers all back to miles, and will send me confirmation when done.

Happy enough that it checks out

Been following this thread for a long time, thanks to everyone for their notes and observations! I have now done the deed as well, went over yesterday (Thursday) morning and came back into Dublin with my 'new' car in the afternoon - a bit worried about Lorenzo but in the end, the ferry was grand and the drive down to Cork was uneventful after getting out of Dublin's heavy traffic. It was a long day, up at 4.30 to get the 6.45 Cork to Birmingham flight, got back home for about 8.30, but very glad I did it now. A few lines on my experience for all those thinking of going over for a car ... it's a bit all over the place!

I sat into the car at 10:00 in Birmingham to drive over to Holyhead and I got there for about 1.20 - I entered Holyhead on the Sat Nav whilst in the garage and thought it would bring me up the motorway and then I would cut over into Wales. However, it took me on a cross-country trip which was fine I guess, but I ran into tractors, buses, maintenance vehicles, etc. I was lucky it was a Thursday morning otherwise I could've been held up longer. If you are doing the trip in the next few weeks, there are major road works about 12-15 miles outside Bangor, so whichever way you travel, you will run into them. I was only caught for 10 minutes at them yesterday and in the end, I had 10 minutes 'to spare' based on Stena's line of being there 30 mins beforehand.

You won't see any ferry signs until you are almost into Holyhead itself. Stena depart from T5, easy enough to spot in the daytime after you go into the port but could be tricky at night? I don't know, maybe not. I had booked a Premium ticket - oh, use the code STENATIMES whilst booking your ticket for 20% off - and you get handed a premium card at the entrance to the port. Being the fool I am, I put it on the seat beside me. I drove over to T5, the queues for Premium are on the left so I queued there, but the guy kept waving everyone but me through?? I opened the window and he said these queues were for Premium, I said I had a Premium ticket and showed it to him, he said "I don't have x-ray vision, put it on the dash so we can see it!" So lesson learned there! Premium lounge is comfy, plenty of complimentary teas, coffees, etc., I dozed off for a bit, well worth the price especially with the 20% discount paying for it really. Paid for the Stena ticket using Revolut.

I paid for everything with Revolut - it was fine in the end but be aware of some things including their initial time limits/constraints. I only signed up 3 weeks ago for a Revolut account and it was primarily for the purchase of the car, went with a Standard account. Late last week, I added/linked my BOI debit card to the account and began transferring in some money, all seemed well. When I had made up my mind to purchase the car, I paid a deposit which went through and then upgraded to a Premium account with the intention of cancelling that Premium subscription within 14 days (which I did today via the app itself, no problems with that BTW). However, I then tried to add 000's to my account but I kept hitting a 24hr limit (you have transferred the max for this period) which continued for a day or two. After that, the money went through ok thankfully. I kept an eye on the Exchange rate in the app before going with a rate of .8885. Not the best of the week but I gambled on waiting til the night before I travelled and that was the rate I got *shrug* Over in the UK, when paying the garage, I had to add their account in the Payments section of the app as they couldn't process the amount via the Revolut card - I only have a virtual card, never went for the physical which could've been a bad mistake! Anyway, at 9.05 I clicked on the newly created account for the garage in my Payments section, typed in the amount that I owed, added the reference they wanted adding and clicked 'Send'. Got a message saying that was fine and the app said the payment was pending. At 9.10, I got an email saying that the transfer had been submitted and then at 9.13 I got an email to say it had been executed and the app told me the transfer was completed. My payment was for over £20k so I was worried that I didn't have the physical card as they (the garage) couldn't process that amount with my virtual card, but thankfully it all went smoothly using the Transfer method.

I also paid the UK car tax using Revolut, and had to do 6 months of it, so I will be writing to the DVLA to get some of that back, it literally is just a case of sending a letter according to this. The garage wouldn't let me leave without taxing the car. Also, they wanted proof of insurance which was difficult as the one-liner from the AA didn't really cut it. In the end, the dealer fudged whatever he was filling out with a UK postcode, he took my word that I was covered and we were done with that. No problem with the V5C logbook either, he said they were used to giving it to Irish customers by now!

Couldn't get a VRT appointment where I live, so took one for Tralee in 2 weeks time and I will try and amend that next week if possible. Hopefully it won't be too painful a hit!

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed to this thread, and continues to do so. And to anyone who is considering going over, once you have done your research and all your ducks are in a row, I say go for it!

Surprised the never brought out personalised number plates here like the UK.

Tried to book a VRT inspect just now, no slots are available in any centres and I'm now on a waiting list and told to keep an eye on my mail and phone.

Is this normal and should I just expect an appointment soon?

Thanks?

dp639 wrote: »

Tried to book a VRT inspect just now, no slots are available in any centres and I'm now on a waiting list and told to keep an eye on my mail and phone.

Is this normal and should I just expect an appointment soon?

Thanks?

I live in Cork, I had to take a booking in Tralee for 18th Oct when I first tried to make a booking last Friday as no slots in Cork. Just checked it now, and managed to change that booking to Cork for 22nd Oct. There are a number of openings now in Cork for anyone looking to amend a VRT booking.

Budget implications on UK imports

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/budget-2020-new-emissions-tax-on-new-cars-and-used-imports-1.4043840

A new tax based on a vehicle’s nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions will be applied to new car purchases and used imports from January 1st, replacing the current 1 per cent diesel surcharge.

Used imports hit
Using the NOx tax as a deterrent to those seeking to import a used diesel car from the UK could well prove effective.

For example, a 2013 Volkswagen Golf 1.6 TDI (and the Golf is currently the most popular imported car) has NOx emissions of 118mg/km. That would incur a NOx tax charge of €1,510. Given that a 2013 Golf would currently be charged only €1,500 or so in terms of VRT when it’s imported, that may well prove a significant barrier to second-hand car shopping in the UK.

With other models, though, the impact will be minimal. For example, a BMW 520d executive saloon from 2015 (again, a hugely popular car among those importing from the UK) has rated NOx emissions of just 17mg/km, so would only be charged €85 in NOx tax. Equally, an Audi A6 2.0 TDI diesel saloon, also from 2015, has NOx emissions of 55mg/km, so while it will be a little more expensive, the total charge will amount to just €275.

For those seeking to find out what the NOx emissions are on a particular vehicles, things are a little complex. The only figure that really matters is the one on the certificate of conformity for the car you’re buying. That’s its birth cert, and that’s the final word on that car’s NOx emissions.