Buying a car from Ireland to bring to the UK?

[samg1988]

Hello all. Apologies if this is in the wrong place, and if it's a very noobish question.

I'm looking at the possibility of buying a car from Ireland to bring home to the UK.

I have no idea how something like this would work. Insurance for example - As the car has a different reg, would I have to find a specialist company to drive it home?

Is there an equivalent of MOT and tax that I should be looking out for in Ireland, or is it pretty much the same?

Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks

[PandaSelecta]

www.dft.gov.uk/vca/other/importing-a-vehicle-common-questions.asp

[jonnynitro]

right first things first here in ireland
1 any car pre 1980 is mot exempt
2 tax on any 30 year old car is 53 euro per year
3 zv reg plated cars are all rereged imports ie from england
4 most imported classics are kept on there english reges (a lot of owners don't like zv plates)
5 irish sellers will look top dollar even for rot boxes
6 buy with your head not your heart

good luck with your hunt and let me know if you have any more questions

[DWDarkWheels]

Interesting stuff, jonnynitro. I didn't know a lot of that.

Just for clarity, I assume you mean importing from the Republic of Ireland?
If moving a car from Northern Ireland, it's still part of the UK, so you merely register the car with DVLA in Swansea (we have the separate DVA Coleraine in N.I.) It's not importing (where you might think about customs ,etc) even though the government departments for some unknown reason, do refer to it as importation.

[I'm not trying to be political or annoy my fellow enthusiasts in the Republic, so no offence intended, chaps, just keeping you straight on the practicalities.]

[jonnynitro]

yep darryl my info only concerns the republic
i had assumed the north would be more straight foward and forgot to ask the op
where in ireland he was thinking of buying
ps no offence taken sure theres no borders for car enthusiasts we are all one big slightly mad but happy family

[trevorbrady]

there are companies specialising in delivering Irish cars to UK buyers, door to door. I was only talking to a chap last week who does exactly that. If you want contact details, PM me
oh, I'm in Republic of Ireland BTW

[japclassics]

Ive seen cars go to Northern Ireland, then registered/MOT'd,Taxed there, then bought & returned to England but once re-registered here they show Nil Previous owners..... Is this correct?

[hairnet]

insure on chassis no drive home

done this with old bikes

done other way also

[leigh]

As Johnny said, you'll pay top money for something from here - people look stupid money (and seem to get it)

[v1xz]

Bought a Luton van with southern Irish plates.
Was MOTd in northern Ireland and brought to UK.
Thought it would be expensive to register and the fact that it would be classed as a import. (extra £300 on traders policy for imports)
£55 registration fee DVLA take and you have to go into your local office with paperwork.
As it happens it was originally registered in northern Ireland, used in the uk and then registered in southern Ireland. It already had NI plate number.
Saved me £300 on traders policy and £55 on the day. Taxed it there am then and WA la.
Got my self a fat scran with the £55, still taste the beef burger, hmm.... Beef burger!!!
Always check with the DVLA if it's been registered here or NI before.
Also if he hadnt had got it tested in NI that would have been another £60+ to have it tested here.
Enjoy!

[Battles]

Jul 15, 2012 18:55:51 GMT japclassics said:

Ive seen cars go to Northern Ireland, then registered/MOT'd,Taxed there, then bought & returned to England but once re-registered here they show Nil Previous owners..... Is this correct?

I've heard it happen both ways, as above and as you'd expect.
The way the DVLA and DVLANI handle things seems very inconsistent, which is consistent with our experiences of the DVLA (NI or otherwise).

My mate ended up in a guddle because he was using a car in NI when it was three years old and tried to MOT it. They wouldn't book it, he contacted the DVLA for advice, had to phone a DVLA office in Scotland and they told him to wait until it was 4 years old, which is the norm in NI.
He ended up having to take it for what sounds a lot like VIC but had to bring it to Scotland to get it done.

Sorry, totally off topic...

The info about the MOT/tax regs in the Republic was interesting.
Anyone know how long it's been like that?
Does that lead to more older cars being kept on the road?

[jonnynitro]

The info about the MOT/tax regs in the Republic was interesting.

thanks ;D glad to be of help

Anyone know how long it's been like that?

up untill last year it was a rolling mot/nct excemption
now the cheep vintage tax is the only thing left for post 1980 classics

Does that lead to more older cars being kept on the road?

not really i drive my 1978 mk1 fiesta as a daily and i see a few vw bugs and buses about i also have a few mates that drive theres daily but ireland suffers from numberplateitis ie they have to have the newest and best plate going so next year there will be a mad rush to have 13 so 1 on the numberplate of there boreing eurobox
oooh forgot to say our new plates system work like this
13 so 1
13= year 2013
so= county sligo d=dublin g =galway ect ect ect
1= number of car as reged in the county

I'm still trying to get my head around the english system

[Battles]

Jul 16, 2012 11:27:55 GMT jonnynitro said:

I'm still trying to get my head around the english system

Funny you should say that...
Me and my mate (he of the fourth year MOT) spent a trip to and from the Giant's Causeway trying to work out some logic behind the NI 'dateless' registrations and the Republic's system.

How do personalised plates work in the Republic?
We saw a couple of plates that seemed to be a bit special. Usually on some flash motor.

[leigh]

Jul 16, 2012 11:27:55 GMT jonnynitro said:

I drive my 1978 mk1 fiesta as a daily and I see a few vw bugs and buses about I also have a few mates that drive theres daily

I presume this is on limited mileage classic insurance? Thought about doing it myself but frowned upon at work for the same. Nice to see a random retro on the way to/from work though ;D

Jul 16, 2012 14:57:58 GMT Battles said:

How do personalised plates work in the Republic?

Simple answer is they don't. Reg's are non transferable so no market for selling/buying.

[hairnet]

you can reserve an irish reg plate

unless its 12-d-1 or 12-c-1 etc (main cities) as these are reserved for the mayors of those cities

only seems to be cute hoors with lots of money ie bmws benzes range rovers ;D

as it costs 1000 euro (used to be 300)

[hairnet]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_the_United_Kingdom

irish more simple - year - county - how many regd that year to that point

NI - first 3 letters tell you where in the country regd

[anorak off]

[cianha]

On the return leg of out Mizen to Malin run, as we toured the north coast, it was interesting to see how the DIGs and FIGs gave way to the less poetic BNZs, DLZs and so on…

It still beats the hell out of YY-CO-1234!