# VRT & Open Market Selling Price



## InfoSeeker (11 Feb 2014)

Used a contact to buy a 2010 Ford S-Max in the UK a few weeks ago, at this point I checked the Revenue VRT calculator on the car we were looking at and it returned a value of 3918 euros.

For a few days before and after the car was purchased I repeated this and VRT charge was the same, the dealer did the same and emailed me the details which included 3918 for VRT.

Car was delivered last Sunday week so I set up an appointment with the local NCT office for VRT inspection & payment. I got a bank draft on Monday and went through the checklist to verify I had all the details that are required.

I decided to verify that the VRT charge was the same, entered the same details and now 4651 is being returned.

Checked Budget 2013 & there were no changes to VRT rate, car has C02 of 152 so rate is 23%.

Basically in the space of a week, maybe 2 weeks the Open Market Selling Price for a 2010 Ford S-Max increased by close to 20% from circa 17,000 to 20,200.

Contacted Revenue, nice person on phone but he could not help as he cannot tell if values changed, he redirected me to a phone number in Rosslare which is the head office for VRT but no one answers the phone as it gives you a voice recorded message to check FAQs, etc on revenue website. There was an email address so sent them an email.

Another item I found bizarre is that you can only make payment in one format, debit card has a limit of 2,500 so now I have a bank draft for 3918 but cannot pay the difference by debit card, cash or credit card.

Also I have no way of knowing if the OMSP will change again before my appointment on Thursday so personally I think this is a daft system making compliance in a self assessed system difficult.

If I pay by credit card I incur a 1.5% surcharge, if I get a bank draft and amount changes on Thursday I need to make another appointment.

Wondering if anyone else has encountered difficulties similar to the above?

Both our current cars came in from the UK though it was prior to when Revenue contracted this out and the process was so simple.


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## vandriver (11 Feb 2014)

A very quick look on donedeal seems to confirm that the 20 grand is correct!I have heard that revenue monitor searches,and if there seems to be a lot of interest in a model,they reprice it on their database.


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## ronaldo (11 Feb 2014)

vandriver said:


> A very quick look on donedeal seems to confirm that the 20 grand is correct!I have heard that revenue monitor searches,and if there seems to be a lot of interest in a model,they reprice it on their database.



They probably wouldn't even need to do much monitoring on the car sales websites - a simple review of their own database would suffice. If they notice a sharp spike in the number of a certain model being imported, they'd know that something's up.


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## vandriver (11 Feb 2014)

Just to clarify,I meant the revenue monitor the searches on the VRT database.


Allegedly!


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## ronaldo (11 Feb 2014)

vandriver said:


> Just to clarify,I meant the revenue monitor the searches on the VRT database.
> 
> 
> Allegedly!



I imagine that you're correct. They'd be stupid if they didn't...


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## seantheman (11 Feb 2014)

InfoSeeker said:


> Used a contact to buy a 2010 Ford S-Max in the UK a few weeks ago, at this point I checked the Revenue VRT calculator on the car we were looking at and it returned a value of 3918 euros.


Did you happen to print off this valuation?


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## InfoSeeker (12 Feb 2014)

In hindsight it was stupid not to print it off as I have no evidence now. 

Prices on donedeal, etc are a guide but actual sales price would be more accurate. 

I found it bizarre that the OMSP would increase by 20% in a couple of weeks for a 2010 car, perhaps Revenue think it is better equipped to deal with floods, gale force winds and pot holes.

Anyway not much I can do, I have an email from the dealer where he states he checked it and it was 3918, will appeal regardless as nothing to lose...next response they might increase it again....if they do they can keep it!!!

We enquired about 2 cars in Dublin with similar spec and one was for 17K and the other 18K, listed price on carzone was higher but they reduced it after a few calls, this was a month ago.


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## Clohass (12 Feb 2014)

Was there a difference in the CO2 emission between each enquiry. That might be part of the reason.

I think your only option is to pay what is the current VRT amount and appeal the valuation  to Revenue in Rosslare. You can appeal once you have paid the VRT but there are no guarantees of success. However if your appeal is accompanied by ads for comparable spec, condition and mileage cars then there is no reason why this won't be accepted, obviously there are no guarantees around this.

Re payment options there is no reason that you cant part pay with the draft and then put some on your card. I did this only last month with a registration.

The level of supporting Documentation required to register a car is now quite onerous. Please make sure you have everything stated on the website to avoid having to make another appointment (for which you are charged I understand).

Best of luck with your new purchase and I hope this experience doesn't spoil your enjoyment.


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## InfoSeeker (12 Feb 2014)

Thanks for your helpful response Clohass.

Yep CO2 was 159 but I adjusted it to 152 each time which resulted in 3918 a couple of weeks ago & 4651 now.

You are right re only option to pay & then appeal though probably little chance of a change but do want to highlight that a 20% increase in a 2010 car seems excessive, i.e. why was prior OMSP so wrong to need a 20% increase


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## InfoSeeker (13 Feb 2014)

Just an update on this as I had a very good experience with the VRT section. Received an email this morning from VRT Head Office in Rosslare and they agreed that the valuation online was too high, he said he reviewed advertisements today and reviewed the statistical code to just under 17K from 20K.

In the VRT office in my area, the amount they requested was a few euro below this again and the wholse process took less than 10 minutes.


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