# Is it still worthwhile importing car from Northern Ireland?



## sam h (22 Apr 2010)

Not really up on VRT & exchange rates (TBH-takes me a while to get my head around if it is favourable or not)

But I'm just wondering if it is still advantagous to import from Northern Ireland?  Do some cars fair better than others?  eg - larger specs, newer years for the reduced road tax etc). 

Also, can anyone give details of any cars that have 3 full seats in the back (rather than 2 + bump). Was all set on a new car, but the bump would result in ongoing rows & arguements - not woth it.

I know everyone disses Renault, but the 3 full seats in the back are great, what other cars have 3 full seats.


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## bobalong (22 Apr 2010)

Hi Sam,

I find it interesting when people asking such a question just lists VRT and Exchange Rate as the cost points ONLY.

You also need to consider the cost and time of travel to/from the North looking around, then also you should be getting a Vehicle physically checked for you before buying to be safe, cost here can be €400 per car check. Is the car from a Garage? What about Warranty? If something goes wrong are you up and down to the North alot? Cost of this ..

The VRT can be checked here:

https://www.ros.ie/VRTEnquiryServlet/showCarCalculator

Exchange Rate here:

http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/

All I would say is prices have dropped here and the wriggle room for haggling is in the corner of the buyer now. Adding VRT to a UK import could bring things close to the Irish equivalent.

A buddy of mine who buys in UK said to me that in the last year or so the value - when you factor in all other costs - has gone out of the UK v Irish for him. Where the advantage still lies though is that IN THE UK YOU WILL GET A BIGGER SELECTION OF THE MODEL YOU ARE LOOKING FOR.

When buying a UK car ( not sure about North ) - Salt is a consideration. Salt is used on the roads alot during cold spells. This can rot the underneath of a car and its engine. I heard somewhere if buying in UK stay South, less freezing hence less salt used.

Where the Renault argument goes - well - from my read ups of reviews and the like their are two things to consider when buying a Renault car:

1. Resale Value's, Residuals, are uncertain. Be prepared not to get a great price if trading in in a few years. Word is the reason the value of renaults drops is traditionally they supplied huge number of cars to the car rental firms. These firms quickly resold the vehicles thus flooding the market on a constant basis with cheap renaults. If driving the car into the ground then this point is moot.

2. Electrics - traditionally this is what has plagued Renaults. Windows, Sunroofs and the like not working.

Renaults mainly use Nissan engines now. The new Megane has a 1.5L diesel engine, 50-60mpg, good torque ( pull ), cheap tax €104 pa.

Brother in law bought one - loves it, he says effortless driving. 

Whatever anyone says one cannot argue with the prices at www.irishscrappage.ie

Re 3 full car seats in back, you are looking at "people carriers" I reckon:

- Citroen C4 grand picasso
- Ford c-max
- Opel zafira
- Honda FRV
- VW sharan
- The good old Renault Scenic

In car terms - not sure - but maybe a Ford Focus or Opel Astra ( not the coupe ) or Citroen Picasso?

To see these have a look at used cars at www.carzone.ie

Whatever car and with all this green consideration plus cost of petrol and road tax - *in terms of running costs* the game seems sort of over for petrol cars, it appears diesel is where its at for the moment, particularly around the 1.5/1.6L engine size with emissions  in band A or B and with a year of mid 2008 on, to benefit from the new tax regime:

https://www.motortax.ie/OMT/pdf/co2_emissions_rates_2009_en.pdf

This is where a car like the Megane scores all around. The Mazda 3 also falls in here.

Talking to a main dealer garage friend recently. He said the first question asked these days AND The sell or not sell one is "How much is the road tax?" - if the car is in Band A or B, its easier to sell.

Hope this lot helps,
Bob


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## ivuernis (22 Apr 2010)

sam h said:


> Is it still worthwhile importing car from Northern Ireland?



It could be depending on the make/model and the exchange rate. To get a rough guide on any potential savings (on a new car) look up the manufacturer's OTR (on-the-road) price from their UK website. Take off UK VAT of 17.5% (divide by 1.175), apply the currency conversion, add Irish VAT of 21% and then the VRT on top again for the car you had in mind. You can then compare this figure with the Irish price as a guide. Of course you'll have other added costs such as charges for converting from Euro to Sterling and travel expenses. I printed out a very good guide to the whole process a while back, I'll dig it out and post a link in due course. 

Am looking at buying a new car sometime over the summer, I have a particular model in mind so I haven't really looked into the potential savings in too many other cars. Depending on the exchange rate I may buy it in the north unless I can get a dealer in the south to come reasonably close on the price. However, the exchange rate is tipping back in Sterling's favour this week so if I was buying tomorrow I'd probably haggle with an Irish dealer for the best deal. However, if Euro/Sterling goes back to around £0.90 then I'd look at buying in the north again. I'm hoping for a hung parliament after the UK elections


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## bobalong (22 Apr 2010)

1234 said:


> Not convincd that this is a factor not to buy in the UK. We also use salt here in Ireland.



Hi 1234,

I think it has to do with older UK cars that have been driven on salted roads alot longer. Particularly above mid way UK where weather has been colder.

I dont think we have been using salt anywhere as long as the UK?

I only mentioned this in passing.

No I am not in the motor trade, just popping up stuff as I have heard it. Take it or leave it. And I dont have any foible about people buying in the UK either.

My main point is to ADD UP ALL THE COSTS when buying from the UK. People tend to go, jeez, this car cost me €3000 less in the UK, but do not add in the 4 other Vehicle Inspections they got the UK RAC to do @ ( actually ) about €220 a pop, the costs of going over and back themselves, the 1 year warranty trips and so on. 

Just make sure you add up all the small costs + vrt + vat @21% + .... thats all! Then see if it is better value.

Bob


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## sam h (22 Apr 2010)

Great - thanks for all that.  

I take on board that there are some extra costs in searching for UK car.  I do have a contact in NI, which is whay I would look there, but I don;t want to try to call in a favour and find it would have been as cheap to have bought here.  

I would trust him to get me the best price possible & a reputable car so I wouldn't need to do car checks.

On first look (just used my own current car as an example), there doesn't seem to be much/any saving at all from what you could get down here - but thats a 4 year old car, hence the reason I was asking if the make and model would have a big impact on what sort of deals you could get.

My net is probably too wide at the moment - I need to focus in on one or 2 models and stick with them.  Need to do some more homework!!

Thanks for all the advice.....Bobalong, that post should probably be added onto a key post....loads of info on it.


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## bobalong (22 Apr 2010)

sam h said:


> I would trust him to get me the best price possible & a reputable car so I wouldn't need to do car checks.



Hiya Sam,

Still though - I would do an online check on the car anyway - to see if it was crashed, written off or finance still on it. I mainly use:

www.cartell.ie

They cover cars here in the republic and also check info if they were from the UK originally. The UK RAC have a similar thing:

http://www.rac.co.uk/products-services/

£14.99 per car checked. This at least is worth it for the few cars you looking at. I did a check 2 years ago on a car, turned out their was finance still owed on it from the owner BEFORE the guy I was buying it from. Check even if buying off a dealer. Your buddy can physically check the car, but that only tells some of the story.

To get an idea of Northern IRL cars try:

http://www.niautotrader.co.uk/contentv3/

At bottom of page is links to Autotrader UK and Ireland also.

Cheers
Bob


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## suzie (23 Apr 2010)

You'll get loads of advice too over on this motor forum http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=47

S.


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