Buying a used car from the UK.

[pingin]

My trusty 2006 Honda Jazz has 120,000Km on the clock. However, the maintenance costs and tax are going sky high, so I finally have to replace it.

My intention is to buy a UK import. I've seen six- and seven-year-old cars on importers' web sites for €7000–8000. They seem to be in very good condition.

My budget is limited and I can only afford repayments of €150–200 per month.

I have two questions:
1. Is it worthwhile going for cars of that age or older?

2. How has your experience been in dealing with importers of UK cars?

Thanks for your help.

 

[InfoSeekerM]

Check out autotrader.co.uk use a random UK post code for the search.
Use the Revenue VRT calculator to get an idea VRT cost.
Get a quote for transport of car over and compare against costing of flying and driving back.
Cost how much you will get on Euro to Sterling exchange. I’d advise using a money transfer service provider not a bank. Bank will hammer you on costs and rate might not be great either.
Once you have these costs added up then benchmark against same car in Ireland.
I have brought in two cars in the last three years and made a decent saving.
The more expensive the car the bigger the saving.
Saving on a sub 10K euro car might be marginal.
Also aim to buy from main dealer and get background checks on the car.
UK garages don’t like to haggle, the price is generally the price. Although on my second as I purchased at end of quarter on last week of month I squeezed some points discount.
Also beware some garages in the UK will force you into buying necessary warranty.

It can be daunting buying from the UK but once planned right and buying from a reputable deal it’s not that bad.

 

[pingin]

Check out autotrader.co.uk use a random UK post code for the search.
Use the Revenue VRT calculator to get an idea VRT cost.
Get a quote for transport of car over and compare against costing of flying and driving back.
Cost how much you will get on Euro to Sterling exchange. I’d advise using a money transfer service provider not a bank. Bank will hammer you on costs and rate might not be great either.
Once you have these costs added up then benchmark against same car in Ireland.
I have brought in two cars in the last three years and made a decent saving.
The more expensive the car the bigger the saving.
Saving on a sub 10K euro car might be marginal.
Also aim to buy from main dealer and get background checks on the car.
UK garages don’t like to haggle, the price is generally the price. Although on my second as I purchased at end of quarter on last week of month I squeezed some points discount.
Also beware some garages in the UK will force you into buying necessary warranty.

It can be daunting buying from the UK but once planned right and buying from a reputable deal it’s not that bad.

Thanks very much for the comprehensive reply. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to travel over myself. I'm more interested in buying from an importer in Ireland. From what you say, it might not be worth my while if it's under €10,000.

 

[InfoSeekerM]

I used NVD to transport first car over. There are other transport companies. You just give them details of location & car to be collected. They give you a pick up date and arrival date at this depot. All very simple and can be better value than fly / drive.
Using an import company will eat into potential savings.
Have a play with the numbers.
Once you plan each step it’s easy enough.
Assuming the car is in good shape.
Good luck with it

 

[EmmDee]

Thanks very much for the comprehensive reply. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to travel over myself. I'm more interested in buying from an importer in Ireland. From what you say, it might not be worth my while if it's under €10,000.

I think you asking about buying a car from a dealer here who has imported it from the UK. My daughter just bought a 6 year old car from a dealer for about the same amount youa re talking about - the car hadn't been registered in Ireland yet. So once she agreed to buy it, there is a week or so wait while they register it here and complete the NCT.

Overall, as I understand it, second hand imports from UK tend to have better specs (related to VRT on new car sales here). It used be true (though I don't know if it's still valid) that there was a better culture of ongoing car maintenence in the UK so imports tend to have good service history.

You should get some level of warranty from the dealer but realistically it will be limited in coverage and won't be more than a year max. It might be worth trying to get the original registration of the car and perform a background check to make sure it wasn't a write off - but if you're dealing with a decent outfit you'd like to think they avoid that.

 

[Sadim]

Check out autotrader.co.uk use a random UK post code for the search.
Use the Revenue VRT calculator to get an idea VRT cost.
Get a quote for transport of car over and compare against costing of flying and driving back.
Cost how much you will get on Euro to Sterling exchange. I’d advise using a money transfer service provider not a bank. Bank will hammer you on costs and rate might not be great either.
Once you have these costs added up then benchmark against same car in Ireland.
I have brought in two cars in the last three years and made a decent saving.
The more expensive the car the bigger the saving.
Saving on a sub 10K euro car might be marginal.
Also aim to buy from main dealer and get background checks on the car.
UK garages don’t like to haggle, the price is generally the price. Although on my second as I purchased at end of quarter on last week of month I squeezed some points discount.
Also beware some garages in the UK will force you into buying necessary warranty.

It can be daunting buying from the UK but once planned right and buying from a reputable deal it’s not that bad.

I bought an a 3 year old Audi A4 6 years ago in Huddersfield and I reckoned I saved about €5,000 at the time even with less favourable FX rates than they are now. It had a full service history with Sheffield Audi. You can also do searches on the cars online to see if it was a write-off, stolen, outstanding finance etc. Never had a days trouble with it but it is high mileage now (170k miles!). I'm inclined to do the same again but don't fancy going to Huddersfield with all this Brexit lark! Might go to Belfast this time.

One thing though, there are additional NOx taxes now on these imports (well, all cars) and the saving isn't as strong but then again I expect sterling to fall further as the crazies over there jump off the Brexit cliff. I found the process very simple and yes, for payments I used transfermate.com. There is a haulier based in Roscommon, Kevin White, who is full time bringing lorry loads of cars back from the UK. I had to wait a week I think until he had a full load but he dropped it off at a garage 5 miles from me and I went and picked it up.

Very simple process and the saving is worthwhile.

 

[pingin]

I think you asking about buying a car from a dealer here who has imported it from the UK. My daughter just bought a 6 year old car from a dealer for about the same amount youa re talking about - the car hadn't been registered in Ireland yet. So once she agreed to buy it, there is a week or so wait while they register it here and complete the NCT.

Overall, as I understand it, second hand imports from UK tend to have better specs (related to VRT on new car sales here). It used be true (though I don't know if it's still valid) that there was a better culture of ongoing car maintenence in the UK so imports tend to have good service history.

You should get some level of warranty from the dealer but realistically it will be limited in coverage and won't be more than a year max. It might be worth trying to get the original registration of the car and perform a background check to make sure it wasn't a write off - but if you're dealing with a decent outfit you'd like to think they avoid that.

Thanks EmmDee. That's exactly what I had in mind. We used to have relations and friends visiting from the UK when I was a child and their cars always looked beautifully clean and colourful. I think they did have a better culture of looking after them. Better roads too back then!

While I'd like to save a few bob, the higher quality of the car is also important. Thanks again for those suggestions.

 

[pingin]

I bought an a 3 year old Audi A4 6 years ago in Huddersfield and I reckoned I saved about €5,000 at the time even with less favourable FX rates than they are now. It had a full service history with Sheffield Audi. You can also do searches on the cars online to see if it was a write-off, stolen, outstanding finance etc. Never had a days trouble with it but it is high mileage now (170k miles!). I'm inclined to do the same again but don't fancy going to Huddersfield with all this Brexit lark! Might go to Belfast this time.

One thing though, there are additional NOx taxes now on these imports (well, all cars) and the saving isn't as strong but then again I expect sterling to fall further as the crazies over there jump off the Brexit cliff. I found the process very simple and yes, for payments I used transfermate.com. There is a haulier based in Roscommon, Kevin White, who is full time bringing lorry loads of cars back from the UK. I had to wait a week I think until he had a full load but he dropped it off at a garage 5 miles from me and I went and picked it up.

Very simple process and the saving is worthwhile.

Thanks Sadim. That's an enormous saving you got! Yes, Belfast is a good option, plus the delivery option. And with the pound falling too. I'll definitely consider those suggestions too.

 

[SparkRite]

Generally buying in NI you will pay a premium compared to the equivalent car in GB.
I have bought a few over the years and after all is said and done savings are to be made for a little bit of effort.

Also this market is rife with insurance write offs, a lot imported from GB, so do your homework well.
Main dealers are usually above board but again top prices.

 

[pingin]

Generally buying in NI you will pay a premium compared to the equivalent car in GB.
I have bought a few over the years and after all is said and done savings are to be made for a little bit of effort.

Also this market is rife with insurance write offs, a lot imported from GB, so do your homework well.
Main dealers are usually above board but again top prices.

Thanks SparkRite. It's just that I can't afford the cost of a visit to the UK but maybe the potential savings would make it worthwhile. I'm researching the NI market at the moment but there doesn't seem to be much in my price range.

 

[roker]

My trusty 2006 Honda Jazz has 120,000Km on the clock. However, the maintenance costs and tax are going sky high, so I finally have to replace it.

My intention is to buy a UK import. I've seen six- and seven-year-old cars on importers' web sites for €7000–8000. They seem to be in very good condition.

My budget is limited and I can only afford repayments of €150–200 per month.

I have two questions:
1. Is it worthwhile going for cars of that age or older?

2. How has your experience been in dealing with importers of UK cars?

Thanks for your help.

120,000 km is not a lot.
Don't forget you will have to change from mph to kph, the dealer will probably do this

 

[bbound]

I've imported 4 cars from NI over the years.

Depends what you are seeking but you can generally find cars there that have much lower mileage than here and with service history to prove it. Financially its worth the extra drive there and the dealers in my opinion are more professional than here.

You don't have to change the speedometer from mph to kph either when importing.

With the current exchange rate its a no brainer.

Not sure yet how brexit will affect it.

 

[pingin]

I bought an a 3 year old Audi A4 6 years ago in Huddersfield and I reckoned I saved about €5,000 at the time even with less favourable FX rates than they are now. It had a full service history with Sheffield Audi. You can also do searches on the cars online to see if it was a write-off, stolen, outstanding finance etc. Never had a days trouble with it but it is high mileage now (170k miles!). I'm inclined to do the same again but don't fancy going to Huddersfield with all this Brexit lark! Might go to Belfast this time.

One thing though, there are additional NOx taxes now on these imports (well, all cars) and the saving isn't as strong but then again I expect sterling to fall further as the crazies over there jump off the Brexit cliff. I found the process very simple and yes, for payments I used transfermate.com. There is a haulier based in Roscommon, Kevin White, who is full time bringing lorry loads of cars back from the UK. I had to wait a week I think until he had a full load but he dropped it off at a garage 5 miles from me and I went and picked it up.

Very simple process and the saving is worthwhile.

Thanks Sadim. The current Covid situation makes travelling over there impossible. I had thought of choosing a car on Autotrader and getting the AA to check it for me but maybe that's a risk angle.

I know a few people who have bought in Belfast and they seem to be happy.

 

[pingin]

I've imported 4 cars from NI over the years.

Depends what you are seeking but you can generally find cars there that have much lower mileage than here and with service history to prove it. Financially its worth the extra drive there and the dealers in my opinion are more professional than here.

You don't have to change the speedometer from mph to kph either when importing.

With the current exchange rate its a no brainer.

Not sure yet how brexit will affect it.

Thanks bbound. NI would be very easy. It probably has a smaller range of cars than the UK but that probably wouldn't be a problem. Interesting that you say that dealers are more professional!

 

[Sadim]

Thanks Sadim. The current Covid situation makes travelling over there impossible. I had thought of choosing a car on Autotrader and getting the AA to check it for me but maybe that's a risk angle.

I know a few people who have bought in Belfast and they seem to be happy.

I think I would go the Belfast route this time too. At least it saves you the €500 to get a low-loader to bring the car back! Also, check out this Irish company who specialise in buying in UK imports and selling them on www.ukcarimports.ie. Obviously they will add on a margin but you do have the comfort that they do some basic checks and you can pay more to get a more detailed check. Certainly now with Sterling at £0.91 it is a lot more attractive, it was £0.78 when I did it 6 years ago.