Expert answer

Hi Martin,

That's trickier than ever to predict right now as prices of used cars have gone through the roof. A dealer would likely try to sell that car for around the €29,000 mark, which means they'd offer you a few grand less as a trade-in. 

Do yourself a big favour though: get offers from several different dealers, as the price will vary.

Let us know how you get on so we can pass the knowledge onto other readers.

The BMW i4 is a great choice by the way!

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Hi Ken,

It is technically possible, and allowed under the regulations, but it’s going to be a costly job. You see, the conversion to N1 commercial status in the first place will have involved not merely taking out the rear seats, but also the mounts for the rear seatbelts. Putting those back in is physically both expensive and time-consuming, even for a professional, but with a car like a Range Rover there are also rear-seat safety systems, such as pyrotechnic seatbelts and rear side airbags to consider.

As I say, you can do it and there are some forms to fill out at the local motor tax office to get it re-designated as a passenger car, plus a bunch of extra motor tax to pay, but it’s going to be an expensive project. 

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Hi John,

In my experience (I test a few hundred cars a year and I have three kids myself), your only proper options are people carriers, MPVs and larger SUVs. We ended up buying a Volkswagen Touran, which was absolutely excellent, but there are plenty of other cars with the same kind of space. The Tiguan Allspace, Skoda Kodiaq and SEAT Tarraco all are virtually the same as that inside and ideal for the job. Watch out for smaller SUVs, such as the Qashqai etc, as their rear seats are no wider or more accommodating than an average estate. 

Now, depending on whether you're using ISOFIX and how wide the child seats are, you might find an estate that will accommodate the three, so don't give up just yet. The only way to know for certain is to bring the seats with you to try out in the backs of a few cars at a dealer or wherever. The Skoda Superb Combi and VW Passat Combi would be worth a try for sure.

Please do let us know in the comments below how you get on.

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Hi Joe,

There aren’t any specific battery issues to look for, and the good thing about a plug-in hybrid is that you can’t fast-charge them, so there’s less likelihood of wear and tear on the battery cells from repeated rapid charges. Obviously, batteries do degrade a little over time, but you shouldn’t see more than a few percentage points wiped off the performance. Make sure you go for a fully-charged test drive first though, and if the range seems abruptly short (allowing for weather, traffic etc) then the battery might have been physically damaged at some point.

Other plug-in hybrids worth considering would be a BMW 530e, although that probably won’t squeeze into your budget, or a Volkswagen Passat GTE, which provides performance almost as good as that of the 330e, but for a much lower cost overall and it's more spacious. Don’t forget that the battery eats considerably into the 330e’s boot space, and it was never a big car inside to begin with. The updated Passat GTE (2020) was available as an estate, too...

BMW 330e review

Volkswagen Passat GTE review

Volkswagen Passat GTE Estate review

BMW 530e review

Expert answer

Hi Dan,

OK, so I’m assuming that you mean bringing in a Range Rover Sport from the UK? It’s going to be pretty expensive. A rough VRT calculation suggests you’re looking at around €5,500 minimum for VRT, and then you’ll have to pay import duty (ten per cent) and 21 per cent VAT on top of that. Most likely you’re looking at a total cost of around €9-10,000 to get it registered here.

If you converted it to a commercial, that might help, but it would mean an expensive, full conversion, removing the back seats and bolting in a load floor. You’d also have to get the work done in the UK before the car comes to Ireland, as otherwise you’d have to pay the full passenger car VRT when it gets here. That would lower your VRT rate to 13.3 per cent, and take out the NOx levy, which would help, but you’d still get stung for the VAT and import duty.

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Hi Babs,

It depends on how much over the 30 days you’ve gone. Between 30 and 60 days, you’ll pay a penalty equivalent to five per cent of the car’s Irish market value. If it’s more than 60 days, but less than six months, then it’s ten per cent. If it’s more than six months, then it’s an additional five per cent of the value for every month that you’re overdue. 

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Hi Tom,

OK, so rather than run our bad-home-school-maths brains over this, we just went straight to the source, Volkswagen Ireland, and asked for a break down of the figures for us.

So, here goes:

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Hi Frank,

The process of taxing it is relatively straightforward — just ring up your local motor tax office (list here: https://www.gov.ie/en/service/1fc151-find-your-local-motor-tax-office/) and ask them to switch you over. The problem is twofold — with a 3.0-litre Range Rover Sport, you’re going to be paying the second-highest rate of motor tax (€1,494 per year) because a commercial re-registered for private use is taxed on the old engine capacity-based tax system. Insurance can also be a major issue — it shouldn’t be, but it is, so get hold of a good local broker to help you navigate those waters before you take the leap. 

Read Buying a commercial vehicle for private use for more information.

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Hi Declan,

Unfortunately, this is the way things have gone now. Revenue were being relatively generous (relatively is of course a relative term…) in the first couple of weeks of January for people who’d imported in December and been unable to get an inspection date until January, but that grace period seems now to have passed.

Given that the car didn’t come into your possession until after Jan 1st, I don’t think they’ll give you a break on it, I’m afraid, and of course it’s not that you’re paying extra in VRT (although you are, a little, of course thanks to the switch to WLTP emissions), you’re actually paying extra in VAT and import duty thanks to Brexit. I wish I could give you better news, but these are the perils of importing a car.

Expert answer

Hi Eoin,

If you are, yourself, VAT registered, or if your company is and you’re buying the car through the company, then that may well be possible, but I would check with your accountant just to be certain before taking any leaps. Also, don't forget about the NOx levy and customs duty that will be due regardless. Read our Guide to Importing Cars from the UK feature for full details.