Buying a car in England?

[Conor D]

Does anyone know the procedure for buying a car in England and then taking it home on the Ferry; with regards the V5, what to bring to the ferry, and then what (if anything) you have to do once you're off the ferry in N.Ireland?

I might buy, insure it, stay here for a week or so.. and then get the ferry, does this make any difference to taking it back?

I'm sure there might be a few people who have done it before, so any advice or tips would be great - I'm in Liverpool, so I could go from Liverpool or Holyhead (If I went Holyhead, I would have to go through wales.. that would take me into Dublin too).

[DCor]

Hi Conor,
I did this five years ago.
Reasonably straightforward provided you realise that you're exporting the car from across the water - not just a simple change of ownership !! I of course did this the wrong way and it took about eleven months and countless calls to Swansea and Coleraine to sort out.
Might be worth checking with Coleraine that nothing has changed in the meantime.
I flew into East Midlands, collected the car and came back through Holyhead and Dublin on a glorious day at the end of August - a route specifically chosen to avoid motorways and enjoy the new toy to the full.
One of the best days driving I've had to date.
Enjoy !!
David

[will2020]

Just make sure you get the whole V5, dont let the owner send the new owner slip to DVLA as your address is in N Ireland they wont be able to change the ownership details, it will only end up being sent back to the English owner. Just explain to them we have our own version of the DVLA and they should be fine.

[stevep944]

Done it several times in the last few years, no problem at all.
Just bring the V5 (and MoT cert if applicable) back with you and re-register and tax it back in NI, no cost involved.

[PJ S]

Done the same thing with mine - flew over, checked the car over, done the deal, drove it back up to Stranraer.
Seller (home trader possibly) sent off the V5 to Swansea, received my copy a few months later.
All in all, a painless process and one that saved me a right bit of money, even after boat/plane/fuel was factored in.

[KillerJim]

Yea, dito.. 3 years ago, had no hassles even with the Sag's low clearance..

[stevieturbo]

Conor D said:

Does anyone know the procedure for buying a car in England and then taking it home on the Ferry; with regards the V5, what to bring to the ferry, and then what (if anything) you have to do once you're off the ferry in N.Ireland?

I might buy, insure it, stay here for a week or so.. and then get the ferry, does this make any difference to taking it back?

I'm sure there might be a few people who have done it before, so any advice or tips would be great - I'm in Liverpool, so I could go from Liverpool or Holyhead (If I went Holyhead, I would have to go through wales.. that would take me into Dublin too).

I actually think the V5 to V5NI process has changed, but I would still say try and get the complete V5 if at all possible. It makes the changeover totally simple.

Other than that, license, insurance and you're good to go. Wont matter what ferry route you take, just use what is convenient for you.

Obviously bare in mind if you go to Dublin, bring some Euros.
And when heading north, Head to J5 on the M50 and go North on the M2/N2 to Slane and then across to the M1 Northbound

It's only a very short distance longer, a nicer drive and no tolls

[sweepiedog]

Speaking as someone who works in the motor trade make sure you get the complete V5. if the previous keeper sends the whole thing to Swansea with a Northern Ireland address on it they will bin it. You could then fill in a V55/5 and a V34 (duplicate reg cert form) and pay £25. As long as Swansea are showing a disposal on their system you will be able to get the car taxed and re registered over the counter at any tax office.

[Conor D]

stevieturbo said:

I actually think the V5 to V5NI process has changed, but I would still say try and get the complete V5 if at all possible. It makes the changeover totally simple.

Other than that, license, insurance and you're good to go. Wont matter what ferry route you take, just use what is convenient for you.

For some reason I imagined it to be more complex than you say..

sweepiedog said:

Speaking as someone who works in the motor trade make sure you get the complete V5. if the previous keeper sends the whole thing to Swansea with a Northern Ireland address on it they will bin it. You could then fill in a V55/5 and a V34 (duplicate reg cert form) and pay £25. As long as Swansea are showing a disposal on their system you will be able to get the car taxed and re registered over the counter at any tax office.

So once I buy, take it home on the ferry with the full V5.. What do I do with the V5 then, send off the whole thing to Coleraine? Or what forms have to go with it?

[sweepiedog]

if you have the V5 then fill in a V10. You can then send it to Coleraine or take it to a tax office along with MOT, insurance and payment

[stevieturbo]

Or just go to the tax office yourself.

They also need to get some info off the tax disc itself. So if you cant bring it, bring a copy.

[sweepiedog]

if the car comes with a Mainland Uk taxdisc it can now be exchanged for a NI taxdisc for the same duration.

[stevieturbo]

sweepiedog said:

if the car comes with a Mainland Uk taxdisc it can now be exchanged for a NI taxdisc for the same duration.

Tax disc does not need exchanged.

You keep the mainland disc. You just need to have the V5 swapped for a V5NI

[x12yhp]

Out of interest, if the English owner gives you the full V5, how can he be confident that you will re-register it? You could just leave it in his name and get up to no good... he won't have any documentation to prove that he sold the car....

[stevieturbo]

x12yhp said:

Out of interest, if the English owner gives you the full V5, how can he be confident that you will re-register it? You could just leave it in his name and get up to no good... he won't have any documentation to prove that he sold the car....

He cant.

But it certainly saves you a lot of hassle. DVLA will not accept the V5 when it's going to a Northern Ireland address, as they still class it as an export.

[x12yhp]

So, in that case, should the english owner not fill in the section for 'export'?

[timrob]

When I purchased my last car from England I explained that it would be easier if I had the whole V5 to the seller. He declined as you would understand, and 2 weeks later the full original V5 arrived in the post from the DVLA. I just took it up to DVLNI at the Gasworks and got the new DVLNI V5 there and then iirc. A lot less painful as it once was!

Tim

[x12yhp]

Well the guy I bought my car from this weekend just handed the entire document. That said, he has sold loads of cars outside of his DVL system and NI is the same as another country, really. You would not expect to send the V5 away to swansea if the car was exported to australia!

[Conor D]

Im home with the car and the full V5.. Is there a time period I have to send the V5 off by?

I've been in and out of England since I bought the car, and haven't had a chance to get it sorted..

[stevieturbo]

Conor D said:

Im home with the car and the full V5.. Is there a time period I have to send the V5 off by?

I've been in and out of England since I bought the car, and haven't had a chance to get it sorted..

Not really. But obviously if you get nabbed for anything, the previous owner will be the one who gets a letter through his door etc.

If he was decent enough to give you the V5 to make things easy for you, then it's only the right thing that you get it registered here asap.