Irish car to uk?

Hi all,

I bought my 2005 used Audi A2 in Ireland last year (still under instalment), and now I will travel with my car to London by ferry. What should I bear in mind when driving my irish car in uk? Do I need to put any sign/plate on my car?
Besides, if later on I gonna stay in london, do i need to re-register in uk?
And how much is it roughly cost? Will compare the price whether should I sell my car in Ireland and buy another one in UK instead.

Thank you if anyone can give me a hint.

No need to disply anything extra on the car as most Irish plates have the EU IRL on it.

Would advise a good read of the DVLAs pages to see if there is a time limit on visiting/staying.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring/index.htm

Insurance would need to be correct too.

As a resident of Northern Ireland my insurance automatically covers the south, it may be similar for you, but check.

Cheers

glock17

Thanks glock17! I found the site very useful.
I am not sure if my insurance covers that coz im living in Galway. But anyway the site mentions I can drive my car in UK if I have effective motor tax & insurance in my country, so should be ok.
All in all, thank you for your guide. Cheers!

Hi Anzel,

I am in exactly the same situation to you.

Planning to move to London.

To be honest, given VRT etc. the cost of used cars in Ireland is much more expensive than in the UK. I think my best option is going to be to sell the A2 here, much as it pains me, and then buy another one once I get to England.

If you look at carzone, there is a 2002 1.4TDi for sale with 52k miles at 12,000 Euro. Around £9,000.

Same price in the UK would get you a 2005 car the same.

My big issue is that I don't think I would get one with as good spec in UK. I love the OSS, heated seats, Symphony II that I have at present.

Given my car is a 2003 and has just 50k miles and 8 months Lumley Warranty remaining, if I could get €13k for it; it'd mean that 18 months of quality A2 motoring would have cost me €750 in total!

Hi Smick,

Thank you for your advice... though is a little late.

In fact I have just got off from the P&O ferry this morning and driven my A2 from Liverpool to London.
I decided to stay here for 3 months, if someone offers me a job, I think I will ask for how to re-register my Irish plate in uk.
I am not sure how much for the VRT etc. but be honest coz my car is still under financial payment, I may not be allowed to sell the car b4 I clear this debt.

Actually I love my 2005 A2 (35k miles on clock) although it doesnt have any spec at all... so don't wanna let go ^v^

So, I need to calculate again once I get a job here. Definitely those costs may depress me a bit, but luckily car insurance may reduce because I got Hong Kong full license (which can be exchanged for UK full license here), but for my Irish L-Plate Hibernian costs me a lot!!!

Anyway, tell me more when r u going to move to London? Keep in touch.

Cheers,

Anzel

Think I'm heading over in May. I live in Donabate, work in Donnybrook but my office is relocating to Sandyford so the commute is going to be 2hrs each way on the train from hell and the Luas.

The drive is about 20 miles of motorway but this will take over two hours plus cost €20 per week in tolls, never mind wear and tear and diesel whereas the train / luas ticket is €30 per week so I think it's easier all round to go the public transport option.

My wife and I are just going to rent out our flat, sell the car and our campervan and see what happens when we get to London.

It all sounds so easy!

I am definitely going to get another A2 once I get set up with a job in London. Remember the old Vauxhall ads:

"Once bitten, forever smitten"?