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
