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Hi Jason,

Sadly, it matters not what you paid for it, but what the car would be worth here in Ireland. A 2009 Micra is going to be worth around €3,500 on the Irish market (assuming it's in excellent condition with a full service history) and that model has CO₂ emissions of 139g/km. That puts it in VRT Band B3, which means you have to pay 19 per cent of the Irish market value, which would work out at roughly €665.

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Hi James,

Basically, yes, you can import the car without paying VRT because it meets the requirements of age, mileage and tax and MOT. You may have to provide some proof of employment, but in general, the new address should be sufficient. 

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Hi Richard,

The phrase ‘can of worms’ springs to mind. In general, a car can be registered to a company, and taxed and insured by the company, and still used by an individual for social, domestic and pleasure use. That’s how company cars work, obviously, but equally obviously there’s a Benefit-in-Kind tax liability to be paid. So it’s possible that your friend with the Land Cruiser is trying to avoid paying BIK.

In the case of the SUV, in theory a car that’s taxed as a commercial cannot be used for personal, social, domestic, or pleasure driving and there’s a fine to be paid if you’re caught displaying incorrect tax. Now, we should state at this point that we’re neither legal nor tax experts, and that the people you’re talking about could be operating entirely above board, and we’re not going to cast any aspersions on anyone.

Of course, this is Ireland and as we know, we don’t like sticking to the rules...

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Hi Stephen,

If it’s a full LPG conversion — i.e. the entire petrol fuel system has been removed and replaced — then there may be some way of applying for a lower VRT rate. Revenue doesn’t currently allow for LPG in its NOx ratings, and the likelihood is that if the car is still capable of running on petrol, then it will still be charged at the normal rate.

The really tricky part is the acceptance of the figures. In theory, Revenue will only accept the NOx figure taken from the car’s original Certificate Of Conformity, which obviously won’t cover any later conversions. I think the first thing to do is to get every scrap of papwerwork relating to the LPG conversion, and then have a long chat with your local motor tax office. 

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Hi Rory,

That’s a really tough one to answer, as there are so few E30 3 Series around at the moment, and values stretch from almost nothing to lots, depending on condition. The problem is that Revenue is notoriously awkward when it comes to valuing older, rarer cars and could slap a massive value on the car that’s simply not realistic. My best suggestion would be to get in touch with the BMW Owners Club in Ireland and get a good feeling for the value of your car. If Revenue mis-values it, you’ll be able to appeal and claim back the excess VRT paid. Or, perhaps, try and wait until October to get it done, which would be the best all-round. 

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Hi Leigh,

Yup, that’s exactly right.

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Hi Mary,

Yes, it will. Since 2005 all new Mercedes cars have had a two-year, pan-European warranty, so any warranty work should be honoured here in Ireland. There may be issues if the car was previously serviced by a non-Mercedes approved garage, but other than that you should be fine.

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Hi David,

OK, slightly tricky territory here, and it depends on where you live — in Northern Ireland or in the rest of the UK, as there are two different procedures for replacing a lost licence, you can find more details here: https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/replacing-your-driving-licence and here: https://www.gov.uk/apply-online-to-replace-a-driving-licence. The bigger problem might be your insurance when it comes to sorting out this accident. Unless you can show that you had applied for a replacement licence before the accident took place, the fact that you were driving without a current licence that could be shown to a police officer within seven days might affect how your insurer views the claim.

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Hi Philip,

I don't have a full picture of the design of the roundabout you mean, but, the RSA suggests a golden rule that covers most where the roundabout is seen like a clock, with you entering the roundabout at the 6 o'clock position. For any exits between there and 12 o'clock (inclusive) you should be in the left lane. For the exits after that, you should be in the right lane.

Now, there are grey areas; where a roundabout is on a dual carriageway, for example, it's often acceptable for both lanes to be used for straight on (usually the second exit). However, it would be incorrect for the person in the left-hand lane to continue around the roundabout in that scenario, regardless of indicating, to the third or subsequent exits. 

There are loads of exceptions to this golden rule of the RSA's of course, and most unusual roundabouts have some kind of markings to follow.

We actually did a guide on the mad design of the Walkinstown Roundabout in Dublin if you're interested.

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Hi Lynn,

There are actually a huge number of tax breaks for disabled drivers in Ireland, including exemption from paying Vehicle Registration Tax and VAT on new cars or imports, plus a repayment of any VAT spent on converting or adapting a vehicle to your needs. You’ll need to be able to provide a Primary Medical Certificate, which you may need to wait until you’ve moved here to get, as it’ll have to come from your local Health Service Executive (HSE) office - although it’s possible that a UK cert would also be acceptable.

You can claim back the VRT and VAT on a new vehicle of up to 6,000cc engine capacity, and there’s also a fuel grant of 60c per litre for petrol, and 49c per litre for diesel, which can be reclaimed at the end of each year (up to a maximum of 2,370 litres). You’ll also be exempt from annual road tax, and you can find out more on all of this by getting in touch with your local Motor Tax office.