Buying Tax Free...

[TDM]

Hi Folks,

An interesting and humerous Forum, but can you help please?

I would like to purchase a New Mercedes Benz Vito 112 CDI +2 van, tax free, and export it to England, anyone out there know of a dealership who might be interested & will not waste my time?
Thanks in anticipation.

If you want any info from the other Island just call.

Newbie.

[WhipLash]

Hi TDM, I'm sure we'll help if at all possible.

When you say you're looking for a dealership that will not waste your time, does that mean that you've already tried a few dealerships in Ireland already? If so, who were they, and what type of response did you get from them?

[TDM]

Whiplash-Hi,

Thanks for your prompt response; no I've not tried any Irish companies yet.
In the past I've tried Ireland, but the dealers sometimes assume that one is a time waster and do not appear interested - consequently my Celica and Punto were ordered & purchased in
Belgium...brought back to England - paid the VAT and saved £6k on one and £4K on the other... I thought that I would try Ireland again after some 4 years.

What do you think? Is there anybody worth phoning at a Mercedes dealership? Grateful for any info.

What do you folks do to get around the high cost of new cars in
Ireland- purchase in the North, pay the UK VAT and bring them in? will that attract any additional attention from the Revenue men for you?

Cheers,

[WhipLash]

TDM,

I don't know off hand of any specific dealers that you should try, but I can offer you some advice regarding the market here.

Firstly, you may have something to your advantage this time around - sluggish new car sales. Not sure of the actual sales figures so far this year, but since the bumper year in 2000 new car sales have dropped. Therefore you may stand a better chance this time around. However, are you in a hurry to order one right away? This reason I ask this is that car dealers process a lot of sales at the start of the year: Jan-March being quite busy. If you can wait a while, you might stand a better chance if you contact dealers during the summer or autumn months.

If you wish, you can use eForecourt.com to get your dealer contact details.

At the top of the hierarchy, you have the Merc importer themselves (http://eforecourt.com/php/irishcar_distributors.php/SELECT/Mercedes-Benz). They may be able to help you with a short list of dealers that could be willing to help. Worth a try anyhow.

You then have the varies Merc dealers (http://eforecourt.com/php/main_dealers.php/VIEW_BY/MAKE/SELECT/Mercedes-Benz) around the country.

I suppose best thing would be to phone around and explain that you are not a time waster, that in fact you have imported yourself before and are a serious buyer. That might be enough bait to get an honest and positive reply.

Here in Ireland we have no way of over overcoming the high tax rates applied to cars. If you buy a car abroad, you have to register with the customs to get your reg. When you do that your car gets assessed, and will be given an open market value. All additional extras on the car not standard on models here are taken into account too. One then has to pay VRT (Vehicle Registration Tax) based on that evaluation. The process is the same for second-hand cars. The bottom line is that its not really worth the trouble. However having said that, one can makes some savings on importing large luxury cars. I'm not sure that too many people bother though.

Hope this reply helps, and good luck with your efforts.

BTW, it would be interesting to hear back from you to see how you get on. Obviously sharing your actual experience here will be of use to other people looking to do the same.

[TDM]

Whiplash-Hi,

Thanks for the steer, I shall commence contacting the dealer network very soon. Cheers.

[lfcfan]

Check out John Newman Motors (http://www.john-newman-japcars.com/main/pages.asp?id=4) in Ashbourne. They provide a lot of assistance for people buying cars in Ireland and exporting to the UK.

[TDM]

Thanks for that steer I have now e-mailed them & will wait & see.

[WhipLash]

Just thought I'd correct a point I made earlier. I thought that car sales would be slower this year, but the latest figures show an increase over last year.

Perhaps this is due to the fact that 2000 car sales broke all records and those people are returning with their 3-year-old- cars for new ones.

Still, shouldn't make too much of a difference.