Buying a used car thats been imported from UK?

T

Toby

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Some of the cars we're looking at have been imported from the UK. They are being sold by dealers. Is there anything to be concerned about in this situation or anything in particular we should check more carefully?

Thank you
 
Have the car checked on http://www.motorcheck.ie

You are trying to find out really if the mileage can be confirmed and if there is any outstanding finance owing on the vehicle.

Ensure the dealer pays the VRT for you and that you complete the normal Irish Change of ownership forms.

Also, very important. When you try to check the vehicle you will have to get the reg from the dealer. If the dealer will not tell you the UK Reg(some dealers can be shady carachters) then RUN AWAY.
 
I am no expert on this but changed my car earlier this year. I was advised at the time that the resale value of a UK import would be less that that of an equivalent Irish one. So if you plan to resell in a few years, keep this in mind. I found at the time that UK imports were not much better value.
 
you'll find most are imported. All dealers are at it. Not a big deal but do do the check above
 
thank you all very much, was surprised to see UK reg on some cars I was looking at on carzone and just wondering if it was a bad sign.
 
If its a BMW then dont be too surprised.

If you are any way savy you will go to the UK and buy it yourself and save a bigger wad of money.

BMW were promoting it recently as their "Sterling Cars" which basically means they head to the UK and buy a 3 series for €24,000(incl VRT) and come back here and sell if for €29,500(incl VRT).

Soooooo you could get a cheap flight to the UK, get an RAC check done the same day on the car, drive back on a Friday giving you until 5pm Monday afternoon the go to the local VRT office and hand over the money. Saving yourself a lot of money.

Only stipulation. The car must be at least 6 months old and have at least 6000km done otherwise you will have to pay Irish VAT which is more than UK VAT as well. Some new cars you can buy in the UK and get a UK VAT Exemption for export and then only pay the Irish VAT.

The Resale loss declanja mentioned is not too important because if you head to the UK you can recover this by the saving you make heading over anyway.

Irish Garages can be sticklers for taking in UK cars to fix under Warranty because they feel you are stealing food from their families mouths(quite the opposite is normally the case).

What car is it?

More importantly is it a company based in Blanchardstown?
 
On a (slightly) related note does anyone know if a main dealer will switch the speedo from MPH to KMH for an imported car? I know BMW were selling their "Sterling Collection" a while back and I always wondered if they would switch it over, other than that you'd be hard pushed to tell the difference between Uk-sourced and Irish.

I presume one-man-bands etc. wouldn't do this, it's main dealers selling "approved used" I was wondering about.

SSE
 
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Yes you can switch the whole unit over but it involves main dealer workings because the mileage must be corrected from the donor unit.

How can you tell the difference once it has been changed? The VIN number can tell you that if you go to the trouble. You may also have the original registration number etched into the windows.

The log book will also have the original garages name on it most likely.

The spec, depending on model, will be a tell tale sign.

VW Passats for example are VERY different. We actually have a higher class of VW Passat in Ireland.

The Highline Passat in Ireland has fogs, UK does not.
The same Passat in Ireland has a higher quality interior on the highline than the UK.
The Irish Passat Highline has a climate control which the UK has standard dials.
The Irish Passat has 17" alloys which are different to the UK ones.

The Irish Avensis has a rough road package which is different tensions on the suspension for Irish surfaces. Naturally the UK does not.

BMW's not so different. Every so often the UK does Special Editions(as opposed to the SE) which have little extras. Currently they are offering extras if you order a new vehicle like Xenons, leather etc etc. The Irish market does not.

The Mondeo's have different titles attached to them. They have a Titanium X SPORT which you cannot get here. There was a WRC SP Focus you could order here for a limited time which is a Zetec S in the UK which you can still get.

Volvo are differnet as well. The S40 does not offer leather as standard in the UK as we get here on the SE. It doesn't matter now anyway as the S60 out in September will replace the S40 anyway but for many €1000's extra.

Nissan can be around the same except the Qashqai. The spec is different. Our top end model does not come with 18" alloys or Xenon. The UK equivalent does. Our top end model is only different from the middle model by having a moon roof. Big WHOOP!

There are many others I could mention BUT your average punter going into a dealer wouldn't spot a fraction of them without doing their homework first.
 
Interesting point about differences in UK models, we are looking at a few different MPVs and minivans, VW Caravelle, Ford Galaxy, Hyundai i800, for example.
 
The residual value of the i800 wouldnt be much if you came to sell it. There is not much demand for that vehicle.

The VW Caravelle is what it is a workshouse of sorts.

The Ford Galaxy would be my choice. The choice is a Zetec or Titanium. The Titanium X with the extras like the ad on TV is list price of €52k but I imagine its not new you are looking at so its the previous model.

The Galaxy gets my vote. Stylish and practical.

You know what I prefer and it is quite roomy. The brand new Hyundai iX35. I drove one recently and it is quite roomy, reasonably priced at €26k(straight deal) and very powerful.
 
Make sure you get 2 keys for car and test them both before you leave garage.
If you were to lose keys some UK imports are impossible to get codes for.Leaving you with a hefty bill to get car back on road.
 
Thanks for the tip about keys.



Thanks Folder,

We need to cram 4 kids and lots of stuff into our next car though so I'm concerned the Galaxy might not offer enough extra space with all seats in regular use.

Caravelle seems to have lots of advantages but have yet to see one in person so may be too big for city manouvering.

Hyundai iX35 too small for us.
 
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