Costs to import a car from Japan?

Can you explain the calculation of charges involved in importing a car from Japan?

Jamie O'Brien (Dublin)

Nov 2019 Filed under: importing

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Expert answer

Hi Jamie,

There are three main charges to consider when importing a car from Japan. Of course, there’s VRT, which you can try to calculate using the online resources supplied by Revenue, but often it’s a matter of guesswork until the car is actually physically inspected here. Secondly there’s the shipping (which would normally be in and around €1,000 to get a car freighted to Dublin). Finally, there’s VAT and customs duty — these will usually only be a minor charge if the car is relatively old, but if it’s a recent model, the VAT especially could be rather significant.

Neil Briscoe - Complete Car Advisor
@neilmbriscoe