Why so much to import a Porsche Cayenne from the North?
My niece who lives in Dublin has bought my 2014 Porsche Cayenne for £12,000. It has 11,0000 miles on it and it's a 4.0-litre diesel. The emissions are 187g/km. The car is a Northern Ireland car with five years of MOT certs showing its use in the North. We are being quoted €13,000 to import it by Revenue, which seems extortionate.
Michael Rankin (Portstewart )Mar 2026 Filed under: importing
Expert answer
Hi Michael,
Given what you said, we'd assume that there is no import duty or VAT in that price, just VRT and the NOx levy.
VRT is based on the CO2 emissions band and the so-called Open Market Selling Price (OMSP). The latter is not the price paid for the car, but the value Revenue believes it to be worth after importation in Ireland.
And while the CO2 emissions rating might be 187g/km, that is likely to be the old NEDC rating. Revenue 'uplifts' that to be comparable to the newer WLTP standard, which would put this Cayenne into the top band for VRT, at 41 per cent of the OMSP.
It's not easy to estimate what Revenue might say the OMSP is, as that's a rare car in that specification, but for example, if it said it's worth €30,000 in Ireland, then the VRT alone would be €12,300.
On top of that is the NOx levy, which can be really expensive for big old diesels. We'd estimate that could be just under €3,000 for the Cayenne S Diesel.
Unfortunately, therefore, the price you've been quoted to bring this car into Ireland isn't at all surprising.
Shane O' Donoghue - Complete Car Advisor