VRT is the tax that you pay when you import a car into Ireland. This is an extra 20% of the current market value (not neccessarily the price you paid for it) of a car with an engine volume up to 1.3 litres, 25% of the market value on cars from 1.3 to 2.0 litres, and 30% of the market value of a car with an engine volume over 2.0 litres. The VRT office determines the actual VRT levy, which CANNOT be challenged.

As you can imagine this will mean a substantial increase in the purchase price of any car imported from abroad! However, if the car is older than 30 years (i.e younger than 1971) there is NO VRT charged, but only a small registration fee of 40 pounds. This suddenly makes importing a Classic Car a great way to find a good deal, and this is why we at Classic Cars Ireland tend to mainly focus on cars that are 30 years and older.

If you think that perhaps there won't be any interesting cars of that age, have a look at our "Showroom" and think again!!

Only £27 Road Tax

If your car has an engine volume of 3.8 litres, this would set you back nearly £900 in Road Tax a year. However, if your car is 30 years or older, you would only have to pay £29, whether your engine volume is only 1 litre or 6.7 litres.

The choice is yours!

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.At present, there are only two insurance companies offering Classic Car policies, but as popularity grows, Insurance companies should soon realise the developing market potential and more policies will become available in the near future.

Exempt from compulsory NCT test

In January 2000, the long awaited (and dreaded) compulsory testing of every vehicle older than 3 years will come into effect. This procedure is already commonplace in all other European countries, but Ireland has been able to ward of this type of compulsory testing, year after year. Designed to make the roads safer, it will have great impact on the standard of the cars on the road. It will however mean greater costs for owners of older cars. The biggest benefit for Classic Car Owners is, that if your car is older than 30 years, it will be exempt from the compulsory testing scheme. Another benefit for classic cars that are over 30 years old.

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.

Classic Cars retain their value

When you buy a new car, the moment you drive it out of the Showroom, you will have lost thousands of pound off the value of the 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.In the late eighties, Classic Cars were being seen as investment schemes, and as a result of that prices went absolutely crazy. Since then, prices have come tumbling down and a lot of people lost a lot of their investments.

Prices have been steady now, over the last couple of years, and are not expected to fall any further. This means that if you care for your Classic Car, and keep it in good condition throughout, you will certainly NOT loose any money on it. Some dealership even offer a 1 or 3 year guaranteed Exchange price, which means that when you exchange your car within that period, you will get the same amount back that you paid for the car in the first place.

Now where can you get a deal like that in a mainstream car dealership?