In
this section we try to explain some of the benefits of
owning and driving a Classic Car in Ireland.
According
to Irish legislation, a car is deemed "Vintage" when
according to its Date of First Registration, the car is
older than 30 years. The year and date of manufacture will only be taken into
consideration, when there is no paperwork at hand, or when the Date of First registration
is for some a lot later than the normal. When a car has the Classic Car or "Vintage" status, it
benefits from the following:
• Flat VRT rate of 200 euro on imports
• Only 48 euro Annual Road Tax
• Cheap Insurance
• Exempt from compulsory NCT test
(only pre 1-1-1980 cars)
• Classic Cars retain their value
Flat VRT rate of 200 euro on imports
VRT is the tax that you have to pay when
you import a car into Ireland. Ireland is one of the very
few countries in Europe that is still hanging on to this
excruciatingly high tax, which makes importing a new or 2nd
hand car from outside the state, a very expensive operation.
In 2008 there have been some changes to VRT legislation in that the rate of VRT is now calculated on the basis of CO2
emissions and rates have been updated.
Generaly on older cars, there is no CO2 footprint available, which means the tax office is entitled to
charge the maximum VRT rate of 36% of the Open Market Selling Price of the vehicle, with a minimum of 720 euro's!
More details about the VRT regulations can be found on
VRT Calculator
As you can imagine this tax means a substantial
increase in the purchase price of any car imported from abroad!
However, if according to the date of first registration,
the car is older than 30 years, a fixed flat VRT rate is charged. This used to be 50 euro's but as of 2011, this rate has increased to 200 euro's. Not as cheap anymore as it used to be, but still considerably less that the going rates for younger cars.
There is however one thing to keep in mind with the above, and that is that regardless of wether the car is
older than 30 years, if the car is brought in from Outside the EU Union (for
example countries like the US, South Africa, Australia, Japan, but also Switzerland!!) you will be liable to paying
VAT @ 21%, and on top of that Customs and Excise duties to the tune of 10%. This can sometimes push the seemingly bargain priced classic in the US into
a completely different price bracket and makes sourcing a car within the EU all the more interesting.
Only 48 euro's Annual Road Tax
As of 2008 motor tax is now based on CO2 emissions instead of engine capacity. However, cars
registered before 2008 will still be classed according to engine capacity, with the maximum engine capacity of
3.0 litre and over taxed at 1,566 euro's per annum. However, if your car is 30 years or older, it
would be exempt from Road Tax, and you would only have to
pay 48 euros per annum, regardless whether your engine capacity is 1 litre
or 6.7 litres.
The choice is yours! |
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Cheap Insurance
There are a number of Insurance
companies in Ireland that offer reduced rates for Classic
Cars on limited mileages. This would make sense, as
Classic Car owners are known to really care for their
car, and the car would almost certainly be used much
less than the regular Vectra's and Mondeo's.
However, there are a couple of criteria that most
insurance companies will follow, before you are eligible
for a Classic Car scheme.
Age of the driver: minimum 25 years
Full licence required
Age of the car: minimum 20-25 years
Most companies will insist on the insurer having
another motor policy as their main driver
Some companies require the car to be garaged
Some companies require an alarm fitted, etc.
The rule of thumb is to
shop around and compare prices to get the best deal.
Exempt from compulsory NCT
test for pre 1-1-1980 cars
In January 2000, the long awaited
(and dreaded) compulsory testing of every vehicle older
than 3 years has come into effect. This procedure is
already commonplace in all other European countries,
but Ireland had been able to ward of this type of compulsory
testing, year after year. Designed to make the roads
safer, it has great impact on the standard of the cars
on the road. It will however mean greater costs for
owners of older cars. Another benefit for Classic
Car Owners is, that if your car is older than 1-1-1980 (and this
is where the regulation deviates from the standard "30 year and older" guideline, with NCT, the
'buck' stops at 1980!), it will be exempt from the compulsory testing scheme.
This doesn't mean however, that any old car will do,
as we firmly believe that NO car should be passed on
to you as a potential buyer, if it is not strictly
Safe and Roadworthy! We will make sure of that, before
we buy it
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Classic
Cars retain their value
When you buy a new car, the moment
you drive it out of the Showroom, thousands of euros
will be wiped off the value of your car. Not a nice
thought when you are supposed to be happy about the
purchase of your new car.
It's a different story with
Classic Cars. Prices for classic cars remain at a certain
level and the cars are generally not subject to the
sort of depreciation you will see with modern cars.
It all depends how well you care for your Classic Car,
but if you keep it in good condition throughout, you
will certainly NOT loose any money on it.
Now where can you get a deal
like that in a mainstream car dealership?
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