Filed Under: News
 |
|
|
|
| Classic Cars Ireland is the first Classic Car dealership in Ireland that specialises in Sourcing and Importing Classic Cars from the Continent and the UK. We have access to a network of excellent and reputable Classic Car specialists offerering high quality cars for excellent prices, and also a wealth of individual private sellers on the continent, allowing us to select some very rare and unusual cars against very competitive prices. Since not everyone has the ability and the expertise, or indeed the wish to check out a car abroad and deal with organising the transport and importation, this is where we can take the sting out of purchasing a Classic Car for you.
|
|||
According to Irish legislation, a car is deemed a “Classic” when according to its Date of First Registration, the car is older than 30 years. The year and date of manufacture will only be taken into consideration, when there is no paperwork at hand or when the Date of First registration is for some a lot later than the normal. When a car has the Classic Car or “Vintage” status, it benefits from the following:
• No VRT duty on imports
• Only 48 euro Annual Road Tax
• Cheap Insurance
• Exempt from compulsory NCT test
(only pre 1-1-1980 cars)
• Classic Cars retain their value
No VRT duty on imports
VRT is the tax that you have to pay when you import a car into Ireland. Ireland is one of the very few countries in Europe that is still hanging on to this excruciatingly high tax, which makes importing a new or 2nd hand car from outside the state, a very expensive operation.
In 2008 there have been some changes to VRT legislation in that the rate of VRT is now calculated on the basis of CO2 emissions and rates have been updated. Generaly on older cars, there is no CO2 footprint available, which means the tax office is entitled to charge the maximum VRT rate of 36% of the Open Market Selling Price of the vehicle, with a minimum of 720 euro’s!
More details about the VRT regulations can be found on
Guide to Vehicle Registration Tax
As you can imagine this tax means a substantial increase in the purchase price of any car imported from abroad! However, if according to the date of first registration, the car is older than 30 years, the car is exempt from VRT, whereby only small registration fee of 50 euros is payable. This suddenly makes importing a Classic Car a great way to find a good deal, and this is why we at Classic Cars Ireland tend to mainly focus on cars that are 30 years and older.
There is however one thing to keep in mind with the above, and that is that regardless of wether the car is older than 30 years, if the car is brought in from Outside the EU Union (for example countries like the US, South Africa, Australia, Japan, but also Switzerland!!) you will be liable to paying VAT @ 21% and Customs and Excise duties. This can sometimes push the seemingly bargain priced classic in the US into a different light and makes sourcing a car within the EU all the more interesting.
Only 48 euro’s Annual Road Tax
As of 2008 motor tax is now based on CO2 emissions instead of engine capacity. However, cars registered before 2008 will still be classed according to engine capacity, with the maximum engine capacity of 3.0 litre and over taxed at 1,566 euro’s per annum. However, if your car is 30 years or older, it would be exempt from Road Tax, and you would only have to pay 48 euros per annum, regardless whether your engine capacity is 1 litre or 6.7 litres.
The choice is yours!
Cheap Insurance
There are a number of Insurance companies in Ireland that offer reduced rates for Classic Cars on limited mileages. This would make sense, as Classic Car owners are known to really care for their car, and the car would almost certainly be used much less than the regular Vectra’s and Mondeo’s.
However, there are a couple of criteria that most insurance companies will follow, before you are eligible for a Classic Car scheme.
Age of the driver: minimum 25 years
Full licence required
Age of the car: minimum 20-25 years
Most companies will insist on the insurer having another motor policy as their main driver
Some companies require the car to be garaged
Some companies require an alarm fitted, etc.
The rule of thumb is to shop around and compare prices to get the best deal.
Exempt from compulsory NCT test for pre 1-1-1980 cars
In January 2000, the long awaited (and dreaded) compulsory testing of every vehicle older than 3 years has come into effect. This procedure is already commonplace in all other European countries, but Ireland had been able to ward of this type of compulsory testing, year after year. Designed to make the roads safer, it has great impact on the standard of the cars on the road. It will however mean greater costs for owners of older cars. Another benefit for Classic Car Owners is, that if your car is older than 1-1-1980 (and this is where the regulation deviates from the standard “30 year and older” guideline, with NCT, the ‘buck’ stops at 1980!), it will be exempt from the compulsory testing scheme.
This doesn’t mean however, that any old car will do, as we firmly believe that NO car should be passed on to you as a potential buyer, if it is not strictly Safe and Roadworthy! We will make sure of that, before we buy it
Classic Cars retain their value
When you buy a new car, the moment you drive it out of the Showroom, thousands of euros will be wiped off the value of your car. Not a nice thought when you are supposed to be happy about the purchase of your new car.
It’s a different story with Classic Cars. Prices for classic cars remain at a certain level and the cars are generally not subject to the sort of depreciation you will see with modern cars. It all depends how well you care for your Classic Car, but if you keep it in good condition throughout, you will certainly NOT loose any money on it.
Now where can you get a deal like that in a mainstream car dealership?
www.classiccarireland.eu
Subscribe Our News (RSS)
At Classic Cars Ireland we tend to focus on the individual needs of the client. If you haven’t settled on a specific Classic Car that you would like to purchase, we will help you determine the best possible car for you. If you DO know exactly what you want, we will start with evaluating if this car would indeed be suitable for what you are intending it for. It is important to us to determine if the car you are pursuing is right for you, because nothing is as bad as getting your ‘dream car’ only to find out it is not what you had expected it to be. Part of our service is therefore to give as much advice as possible on the cars, the practicality, the projected maintenance and the resale values. It has happened we had to ‘educate’ clients in their choice of cars and offer advice as to potentially more suitable candidates that would better fit the budget or the requirements of the client.