Anyone in Dublin (IE)?

[melle]

I'm moving from Denmark over to Dublin by the end of the month. Seems garage space is rare and expensive around there, so I wondered if there's any garage communities/ shared workshops around? I'll be in Dalkey area.

Looking for a place to tinker with my '70 Saab 96 V4 an '88 900i and park the car I'm not using (can still only drive one at the time...):



I'm a Saab nut, but absolutely not afraid of other makes!

[cianha]

Céad Míle Fáilte, melle!

Lovely collection! I'm on the wrong side of the country to be of any use to you, but there are a couple of places like Retrocars (http://www.retrocars-services.com/) that I hear good things about.

It might be worth joining backroads.ie to get more local knowledge as I know a few of the lads have shared spaces. A few SAAB nuts too, so you'll be in good company.
(Full disclosure: I'm an admin on the site)

[melle]

Thanks for the welcome and thanks for the lead to backroads.ie, I've signed up immediately after discovering the Swedish sub forum! Retrocars looks interesting, but a bit too posh for my kind of motors I'm afraid.

[Mark]

Hi Melle,

You're not the only Dublin member on here but potentially the poshest being in Dalkey The only tips I can offer are to have a look at Meath/Kildare/Wicklow for storage as prices are nuts in Dublin. I was attempting to buy an industrial unit for this purpose recently in Dublin but that has fallen through so I can't be of any help on the storage aspect but I'd be interested in considering a garage share if the price is right. My other recommendation would be to only bring over 1 car, ideally the 96 due to tax/NCT regimes over here.

We'll have to have a RR:Ireland gathering some time soon

Mark

[melle]

Hi Mark,

Dalkey being posh means I might be the one with the scruffiest cars. Let's see! I'm indeed hoping there's farms or old factories out of town that provide cheap space. Ireland doesn't have the typical council lock ups as are very common in the UK right? Having the 96 parked somewhere dry and safe would be a good start.

I'm from the Netherlands where I always had plenty cheap Saab V4s, but I've been living in car hell Denmark (otherwise a nice country) for about 3.5 years without any around and that didn't feel good. Quite the opposite, but I simply couldn't afford importing the 96 (€2000.00 import fine for this <€350.00 car and insane running costs), that's why I bought the 900 there as my new daily. Ireland is very cheap compared to Denmark! So I'm bringing the 900 and I hope to find a space for the 96 within a year. I still have a workshop in NL where the 96 is garaged and where I have a long term '77 Saab 95 project, but going there from Ireland involves careful planning whereas from Denmark it's just a blast down the German Autobahn.

Any tips on cheap insurance for both cars?

[cianha]

I insure the Trabi and the MX5 through a broker in Laois, Campion insurance: www.campionins.com/vintage-classic-insurance

[Mark]

As well as backroads.ie, have a look at boards.ie - it's an eclectic forum but lots of useful information on there for life in general in Ireland (as well as tips on getting classic car insurance).

Regarding the cars, seems like you've done your research and if you've owned both cars long enough you should be exempt from . The only thing with the 900 is that you'll pay €710 road tax/year until it's 30 years old and also have the hassle of a LHD daily car in Ireland (some of our roads don't have the best visibility). When you take into account ferries and getting through NCT etc, you might be better off just buying a RHD daily here. The 96 is more of a no brainer since roadtax is only €56/year and wouldn't be a daily so LHD shouldn't be as much of a pain.

Insurance in Ireland is a funny one - you'll probably be best going through a broker as you can only get classic insurance if you have a full policy on a "main car" or are a named driver on a car that you have full access to. Insurance in Ireland is pretty horrific compared to the UK and Saabs seem to be relatively expensive to insure here (absolutely no idea why). A broker should also help you get your NCB recognised in Ireland.

www.123.ie will give you a ballpark idea for car insurance cost for cars <20 years old.

[melle]

Thanks for all the info folks!

It's really hard to find a 900 with a good shell, so I'm keen on keeping this one. It's 26 years old and I've had it long enough to bring it as part of my house move (VRT exempt), same for the 96. The cars should be registered within a year of my arrival and within 7 days after they've first entered the country as I understand it correctly. I've lived in Scotland before and had LHD cars there, not really a problem if you're used to it. I have all the bits to convert the 900 to RHD though, should be about two-three days work. Also thinking of converting it to turbo, would this affect the insurance and do you have to have it retested or anything?

[Mark]

If you have the 900 on a classic policy, the insurance won't be an issue - they'll just insure it as a turbo. You're supposed to officially get an engineering report and officially change the engine number etc to stay legal...

[melle]

OK, thanks!

[puddiner]

HI.
welcome to Ireland.
I cant help either, I'm in Limerick.
I would like to know haow you lowered the 96 v4?
Good Luck.

[melle]

Time lowered my 96! It's still on its original 1970 springs and those have become pretty saggy over the years. From MY72 (I think) stiffer springs were fitted. It's so low now it's impossible to further adjust camber because all shims have been removed already. Quite happy with how it sits, but thinking of converting it to raised suspension/ Class 11 Baja style. Not sure how though, possibilities are pretty limited on Saab V4s.

[melle]

Imported my 900, have a reg and everything but now struggling to get it insured. I'm only getting insane quotes around the €1700-€1900 mark...

Still looking for workshop space, preferably South of the city centre as I'm in Dalkey. Can't wait to bring my 96 over, but I need somewhere dry and safe to put it first.

[Mark]

I hate to say it but you'll have to get a car <15 years old and insure it normally. Something like this:
cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2002-saab-9-3-2-0t-nct-01-15-tax-10-14/6867892

Allianz and Liberty will honour your NCB from abroad - should insure you for somewhere around €600. Then you'll be able to classically insure your Saabs

There is a way around it to classically insure the 900 without buying another car but I'm not sure if you'll be able to get away with it not having an Irish licence PM me for more info.

[melle]

Getting a cheap hack as a first car is a brilliant idea, hadn't even thought about that. The only problem is that where I live there's no way to park it so I really need to find a workshop soon!

[melle]

By the way, I would opt for a Suzuki Alto 1.0 or something similar to keep the insurance and tax costs minimal. Would I get away with effectively doing most of the mileage with the 'second' car?

[Mark]

A classic policy will limit you to about 8000km/year per classic car insured. Tbh, I've sold out and bought a modern 9-3 as getting insured on anything classic here was becoming a ballache. My girlfriend was quoted €1600 to insure her 98 Mini so that will now sit in the garage until 2018 when it can be classically insured. This country is a joke!

[melle]

I noticed, motoring seems even more expensive than it is in car hell Denmark. Sometimes I miss NL, I've never paid any road tax there because I always had vintage cars and I paid €60 insurance per annum for cars that cost max €1000!

8000kms would be fine, I mostly work from home or abroad anyway so I mostly cycle or fly.

[melle]

Finally sorted! Got an OK-ish deal with Axa in the end, they seem to be the only ones willing to insure older cars for daily use at a reasonable price.

[Mark]

How much? Did you try FBD too? They're pretty much the only two that will touch a car and I'm not sure if either of them honour foreign NCB.