Expert answer

Hi Owen,

There are strict rules forbidding the use of vehicles registered as commercials (as the Discovery described above is) for anything other than purely business/company use. The rule says you cannot use it for private use as you've described. Many do, I might add, and just hope not to get caught...

Insurance might be trickier, however. The insurers don't seem to like insuring private individuals on commercial vehicles. Only way to know if that will affect you is to ring around and see what they say. Or employ a broker to do the same. 

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Hi David,

The good news is that you should be able to claim back the VAT. Because VAT now applies to all vehicles imported into Ireland from the UK, basically, you’re paying the VAT at the point of entry, at the standard rate of 23 per cent, so if you’re a VAT-registered company you should be able to claim that back as normal. Obviously, double check with your company accountant. 

You will be liable for VRT though, which will be charged at 13.3 per cent of the OMSP (Open Market Selling Price). 

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Hi Charlie,

What you need to register and tax a vehicle as a commercial are:

1. Current commercial insurance certificate for the vehicle

2. Evidence of registration for VAT

3. Tax Clearance Certificate

4.. Notice of Tax Registration Form.

If you don’t have all or any of those then you’ll have to register it as a private vehicle. That’s actually easy enough — you just ring up your local motor tax office and tell them what you want to do, and all of the listings are on the motor tax website — but it does mean that you’ll be paying tax on the engine capacity, which, with a 3.0-litre Discovery, is going to be pretty chunky. Equally, insurance can be tricky for commericals-as-private cars, so get hold of a good, reliable broker to get you some quotes.

For more on this, we recommend our sibling site, www.CompleteVan.ie.

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Hi Sheila,

Well, in theory the only thing you need to do to change the tax status of a car is to call your local motor tax office and tell them that’s what you want to do. As far as insurance is concerned, I think it would be a good idea to have a chat will a well-connected broker, who might be better placed to help you out. You might be able to find a policy that will allow you to insure the Land Rover as a private car even before it has been officially switched over, or possibly one that starts as a commercial policy but changes over once you’ve got the conversion. 

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Hi John,

You should have no VRT to pay as you will have owned the vehicles already for for than six months. There will be small re-registration fees, that's all. Have a read of these for more information:

How Much VRT is Paid in Ireland?

Guide to Importing Cars from the UK

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Hi Margaret,

If you’re looking for the new-shape Defender, there aren’t really any used examples around, although if you shop about you might track down a pre-registered, or dealer-demo model. As for the original Defender, they are VERY thin on the ground right now, not least because they’ve become a bit of an investment, with values firming, even rising, since the model went out of production. We have found a few here on Carzone.ie, but as we say, there aren’t that many available right now.

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Hi Paul,

Short answer: yes. The good bit is that you can still pick up second hand crew-cabs, or large SUVs that (briefly, technically) qualified as commercial vehicles and they are generally cheaper to buy than their regular passenger car counterparts. However, if you tax such a vehicle as a commercial, you can only use it as such — no social, domestic, nor pleasure use and there are some hefty fines if you’re caught out. 

Expert answer

Hi Bill,

You can absolutely tax and insure a commercial vehicle for private use and, as it is more than 30 years old, it’ll be really cheap to import and to tax — the VRT will be a flat rate of €200 while the motor tax will be €56.

Insurance will, as ever, be the wrinkle — generally, if you want to put it on a classic scheme, most insurers will insist that you have another ’normal’ car for everyday use, and it might be tricky putting down your son as a named driver. I’d suggest getting in touch with a good local broker, who might be able to unearth a better deal for you than just searching around on the internet. 

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Hi Matt,

In theory it would, but the seats would have to have been fitted as an original option to those specific chassis codes, so that might trip you up. It’s worth a try...

Expert answer

Hi Ruth,

There are lots of good choices for commercial SUVs. If you wanted something really swish, you could go for a Land Rover Discovery Commercial, but it’s a bit pricey. Smaller and more affordable is the Nissan Qashqai van, which is also pretty decent to drive. There’s also the Hyundai Kona Commercial, or if you’re feeling really futuristic, the Kona Commercial Electric. But actually, to be honest, your best bet might be to just buy a compact crossover, most of which are already pretty affordable, spacious (if you fold the back seats down) and which mostly have lower annual motor tax than the flat-rate €333 commercial van tax anyway. We’d suggest starting your shopping list with either the new Ford Puma or, if you’re really looking for bargains, the Dacia Duster. Some of our reviews to help you choose:

Land Rover Discovery reviews

Nissan Qashqai reviews

Hyundai Kona reviews

Ford Puma reviews

Dacia Duster reviews