CompleteCar
Ask Us Anything

Send us your motoring question in the form below







Read our privacy policy here
(We don't do stuff we shouldn't with your details)

Any way around paying VRT on import?

Hi,

Could you please tell if there is a way of getting a car into Ireland from the UK without paying VRT? I am interested in bringing in a Peugeot 308 that seem to sell a lot cheaper and have smaller mileage in the UK. Say if I bought the car in Scotland and left it in my brother's house for six months or so (taxed and insured in my name), could I bring the car back to Ireland without paying the dreaded VRT?

Who is to say I wasn't using the car in the UK?

Thank you

Ruairi Mc Carthy (Mullagh Co Cavan)

Apr 2016 Filed under: importing

Read our answer...


What cars are best-suited to importing?

In terms of VRT, what are the best value used cars to import (from the UK) in the large family saloon/mid range exec range?

Brian Quinn (Drogheda)

Apr 2016 Filed under: importing

Read our answer...


Can I change UK clocks from mph to km/h?

If I import a one- or two-year-old car from the UK to Ireland, can the mph on the speedo be easily changed to km/h or is it stuck on mph forever?

Rory Mcgee (Dublin)

Mar 2016 Filed under: importing

Read our answer...


How do I claim back VAT on a UK car?

I'm thinking of purchasing a 'Vat Qualifying' car in the UK that is two years old. Do I get the money off the retail price from the dealer or how do I claim back the VAT element?

Tim

Tim Rafferty (Dublin)

Mar 2016 Filed under: importing

Read our answer...


I'd like to bring my car to the UK with me...

Hi,

I am a student studying in a UK university and looking to bring my Irish car from home over here. I'm going to be studying on my course for another two years after this year and then hope to return back to Ireland post-graduation. How do I go about bringing my car over? As far as I know, the AA (my insurance company) will cover me in the UK just like they cover me in Ireland at no extra cost. The car is also already taxed for the year. I'd preferably like to keep the Irish plates on to avoid the hassle of changing plates now and then back again in the future.

Thank you.

John Joe

Mar 2016 Filed under: importing

Read our answer...


Should I buy a Freelander in UK or Ireland?

Hello,

I am a German living in Scotland and would like to buy a Land Rover Freelander 2 because I had a little windfall. The thing is that the money is in a German account, in Euros and I don't want to lose money due to currency conversion. That's when I got the idea to buy in Ireland, where the steering wheel is also on the right but the currency is Euros.

Do you see a problem with that? Can I bring a car over to the UK and register it? Am I really saving money or is it cheaper to buy in Scotland?

Maike Neuhaus (Edinburgh)

Mar 2016 Filed under: importing

Read our answer...


Any need to tell UK I am exporting a car?

Great advice - just read through your advice page on importing - what about letting the UK know I am exporting the car - any need?

Dave Shanahan (Dublin)

Mar 2016 Filed under: importing

Read our answer...


How much VRT to pay on a £595 car?

What is the amount of VRT I would have to pay buying a car from the North of Ireland worth £595?

Paul Darc (Dublin)

Feb 2016 Filed under: importing

Read our answer...


Can you help me calculate import VRT?

Hello,

I'm about to register an imported car from NI. The model is not widely available in the Republic and therefore not listed on the Revenue VRT calculator so I have to complete a VRT estimate form myself, which involves calculating the 'ratio of UK to RoI price'. What exactly does this mean?

Thanks in advance.

John, Tralee

John Duggan (Tralee)

Feb 2016 Filed under: importing

Read our answer...


I'm trying to import a BMW X5 for business.

I would like to import a BMW X5 from the UK, which is VAT qualifying and use it here for my business. My business is VAT registered and I wish to pay the VRT on business class (five-seater converted), but the VRT office will not give me an answer if it can be done even though garages are selling them here as five-seater business class. They also told me that I would have to pay the VAT here and then reclaim the VAT. This is not the case with any other import and I am sure that it goes against the free trade rule. What do you think can be done?

Peter O Reilly (Dublin)

Feb 2016 Filed under: importing

Read our answer...


5,017 Irish motoring queries answered to date

On CompleteCar.ie there is no such thing as a silly question. No matter how small or complicated an issue seems, we'll do our best to help. Our experts will quickly answer your queries in a friendly and jargon-free manner.

Please remember that we offer advice, not gospel. We cannot be held responsible for recalls, a second hand car's history, 'acts of God', changes in car pricing or Government policy. We are here to help and offer independent, impartial and free advice. What you do with it is entirely up to you.

By submitting a question you are agreeing to this statement. Thank you.

CompleteCar.ie aims to be compliant with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), implemented on 25 May, 2018. At no stage shall we contact you without your express permission (by entering your email address, you are consenting for us to send you emails relating directly to your question).

Your data will never be shared with a third party and it is kept in a secure database on our servers, with limited personnel access.

You have the right to have your data deleted at any time and also to get a copy of your data on file. For any related queries, please send us a message using the form on the Who we are page.