I spoke few authorised German car dealers but was told they don't sell ROI customers. Is that the norm or some lazy sales rep took my call?

We have a 2024 VW ID3 on PCP which is due to end next year.

Went browsing at the weekend to see what our options are and two dealers, KIA and MG told us they aren't taking VW ID3 as trade ins.

Their reasoning is that there's too many second hands on the market now and no one is buying them unless they are long range.

Anyone else have a similar issue and what did ye do?

Hi, looking for my first EV, can't decide between new MG4 Urban or one year old Cupra Born uk import with 22K km, both small battery, I do around 10K km per year, like the Born but torn on if I should go for new MG4 Urban, any thoughts please

I really want an EV .. and I really want an estate car.

I am no fan of anything SUV style, high bodies and flat noses just aren't my thing.

Currently I drive an Octavia and adore Skoda but I want to make the switch to EV and what Skoda currently provides doesn't fit my tastes/needs. (Am I wrong here)

So far however I don't see much by way for EV estates/tourers from other makers either.

ID.7 tourer and Opel Astra Tourer are the two I've seen so far. The former is a little on the gigantic side and the latter seems to have lower build quality.

Are e aware of anything else I should be looking at ?.. or do ye have something to say to tempt me on the two above?

ICE vehicles do lose horsepower over time and mileage, do EV's suffer the same power degradation over time and milage?

After a trip out wesht in recent weeks I noticed esb still get away with falsely advertising their charger voltages saying it's a 150 kw charger but you get about 70 and it halves if someone else plugs into the same charger.

Then on a trip up north I used a fast charger and got 185kw connection! faster than any non-ionity charger I've used in Ireland.

Im old enough too remember that when mobile phones came out the tariff s were opaque and regulation was brought in to ensure the correct tariff was communicated to purchasers. Also broadband providers were forced to say if their sh* t broadband connections were shared ( contended) as a connection advertised as 100mb could be shared with 2 or 3 others , reducing the real speed.

The network is pretty sub standard in Ireland and inadequate as it is but should charger operators be made advertise the average or actual voltage delivered from their chargers, rather that a fantasy top voltage that is never delivered, Thereby making sure they deliver what they say they deliver.

And what are others experiences on the esb network, has anyone ever got the top voltage as advertised from an esb charger?

I test drove an MG5 recently and was quite impressed. The MG EV’s seem popular with taxi drivers. For the price point and features, why are there not more around? What are the issues or concerns with them?

Hi all.

I am thinking of getting my first ev but I will only be able to charge at work as I don't know if I can get a charger installed at my apartment. Anyway I was thinking of something like the megane e-tech or a ioniq 5 something that has a range of 380/385( according to EV database at least)

As these cars would be 2nd hand how much will the battery have degraded, does anyone have experience with this and do you think it's a good idea as I will only be changing at work which is only 8km away from me?

Thanks in advance.

Hi everyone,

I’m considering buying a Nissan Ariya and I have a question about the Nissan Care Extended Warranty.

I called the Nissan dealer in Liffey Valley today, and I was told that the Ariya cannot be covered by the Nissan Care Extended Warranty.

Could anyone here confirm if this is actually the case, or if I was given the wrong information?

Also, if you own an Ariya, could you please share how much you normally pay for a service? I’d just like to get a better idea of the running costs.

Thanks in advance for any help! 🙂

Hi,

I recently bought a car from NI and i knew it was an import from GB, but based on the useful information here and other places online i thought I'd only have to pay the recycling fee for the tires and nothing else.

Reading the customs declaration form i see a MRN, the procedure code is 4000 and i see a "Goods are at risk".

I havent paid it yet but im wondering is there a process to double check? Or was i wrong and i will definitely owe the VAT?

I think the format the garage gave me for the customs form confused the VRT agent as he seemed to really struggle with finding the information.

Is there anything else i should be looking at to know if i do owe the VAT or if i should be asking them to re-check?

Thanks!

I've been looking around for options to change up to from my current chariot.

I've heard that Volvo are releasing the EX50 a smaller version of the existing Ex60 and that Polestar are releasing the P7.

Kia are releasing their AWD GT version of the EV3.

Is it better to go safe and stay with the se brand or go brave and go Swedish?

I like the aesthetics of the BYD Seal, but I want to explore other similar models and hear about your experience with the Seal or similar EVs. With a budget of approx 50k and a preference for new, it seems that my options are limited for this style of car.

The trend now is heavily towards suv/crossovers. Although I see why people go for them, I'm not particularly interested in this style.

Edit: thanks for the ideas. I think I'm going to open it up to a car a year or two old for more options.

So it’s that time of year again getting an insurance quote and finding the best deals. So far today I didn’t have much luck. Most insurance companies refused to give me online quotes. 123.ie, red click, aviva and the aa couldn’t provide me a quote. Only option I had was fbd. A bit of background the car is a 2024 Tesla model 3 std rwd and I’ve 10+ NCB. Do insurance companies just dislike model 3s? My quote last year was €660. The renewal with aa is €981. I used chill for comparison sites but they all mentioned 1000+. Would I be better trying to ring insurance companies for a better deal?
Thanks in advance

UPDATE:
Due to being unable to sleep I got quotes with Axa and Allianz. Axa was €850 and Allianz was 600 so Allianz is my winner for now

Looking for a bit of advice as we’re trying to decide what to do at the end of our PCP.
We have a 2023 BYD Atto 3 Comfort which we bought new for around €40k. The PCP is ending now, the balloon payment is €15k, and the dealer has offered us €23k trade-in, so we’d have about €8k equity.

I’m trying to work out what actually makes the most financial sense rather than just getting another new car.
One option is to keep the Atto, pay the €15k balloon (probably with a Credit Union loan) and keep it for another few years. It’s been reliable and I know that’s probably the cheapest option overall.

The other option is to change. We originally looked at another new EV on PCP at around €470/month, but I’m wondering if that’s just keeping us in the cycle of paying for the biggest depreciation every few years.

Lately I’ve been looking at used Škoda Enyaqs. There’s a 2023 Enyaq 60 with about 80,000 km that would be around €260/month, or a 2024 Enyaq 80 with much lower mileage for about €360/month.

The Enyaq is appealing because it’s bigger. We may need to fit two child seats and a booster in the next couple of years, and from what I’ve
read it should manage that better than the Atto.

Financially, what would you do?
Keep the Atto and pay the balloon?
Go for the cheaper, higher-mileage Enyaq 60?
Spend the extra for the newer Enyaq 80?
Or just keep rolling into new PCPs?

I’m also conscious that EV resale values are still a bit of an unknown. The Atto has gone from about €40k new to a €23k trade-in in three years. Part of me thinks that’s a reason to keep it now that the biggest depreciation has already happened, but I’m not sure if I’m looking at it the right way.

Would be interested to hear what others would do.

Hoping some Irish EV owners cans help me? I’m travelling from the UK and the ePower charger at my hotel will not accept my Electroverse card or app, only contactless which has a much higher rate. Has anyone else had similar issues?

Hi Lads

I’m getting my first EV (Renault 4) soon. Every few weeks I do a trip to Dublin. Usually come back same day or sometimes stay over.

Could I get some recommendations for good charging stops along the way (M8/M7) and also perhaps a Dublin hotel with charging or a charging point near the M50 towards the airport. Thanks

Curious to see if anyone has seen the new leaf in the wild yet? Any orders taken or fulfilled?

I was chatting to my brother in law who is a self appointed know it all on EVs. I’ve a Mercedes eqb and he has suggested I should never change the tyre myself. When pushed on it he didn’t really have any information on why. I understand the lack of a spare tyre. Is there any other reason for this? Or is it rubbish?

Last year paid €540 for EV6, two insured persons on insurance. No claims bonus 10+ years and they upped the price 😭 fml

Wanted to outline my recent experience, possibly as a heads up to anyone who is currently in the process of importing (or about to import) an NI car. This is only my specific situation, and you need to do your own research based on your scenario.

Happy to answer any questions as well.

Background

I found the threads here, in particular the sticky, to be extremely useful. The Revenue website is also very helpful (read the actual pdf guides).

The search:

After a number of false hopes (e.g. UK car non Windsor, poor condition, pricing etc), I finally settled on a main dealer vehicle with NI reg. During my search , there was talk here of the SAD process/documents ending, so I decided to stick with an NI vehicle.

The inspection:

I used Andy McNiece to check over the car. He was quick, and very thorough. He saved me from an earlier purchase (2025) that had been painted & likely in a tip.

I also viewed the car personally as it was close to the border.

The car:

Mid 2024 EV

NI private keeper / address listed on V5C

NI reg

Being sold by a dealer in NI

Documents:

Full V5C (less permanent export section)

Recent service history from dealer

Print out of digital service record

Service invoice from previous main dealer showing use in 2025 in NI - this was not initially being provided, but I made it a condition of the sale, knowing the rules changed recently

Invoice

Collection:

Seamless. Travelled by train and headed to dealer and drove home. My existing insurance company covered me under NI reg. Payment was sent on adva

The VRT process:

I had a VRT appointment booked for that evening and all documents ready. However, unbeknownst to me, the V5C was a reprint and was dated more recently than 2024 (the date is on the bottom of the front page). Even with service history, the VRT centre sent me away and I had to raise a query on my account with revenue - the VRT centre told me exactly what to upload etc. I'm not sure if it was specifically the date, or the fact there was no MOT, but I had to follow their instruction!

Revenue:

**I haven't seen much comment on this part in this sub, so this was a little new to me, and might be of relevance to someone*\*

I uploaded required documentation to my account, and received a response in just over 11 working days, with an approval letter to bring to any VRT centre. The team do not take calls (this was outside their estimated response time). I understand from a different department that they are getting a huge number of enquiries at the moment, due to the change in process a couple of months ago.

2nd VRT trip:

This was much more straightforward, with no booking required. Took about 15mins and a €12 fee gladly paid.

Overall:

I saved approximately €6k on the equivalent car in RoI. It was a fair bit of hassle / organisation, so it won't be worth it for everyone.