See all Motoring AdviceHurrah! The cheque has cleared, or the bank transfer has gone through, and your new car is now officially yours. The long search for the right car, the test driving, the tyre kicking; all are now done.
However, there’s still some work to do. Once the keys are in your hand there’s a checklist of things to be done. Sorry to spoil the celebrations, but if you get cracking, this shouldn’t take too long…
1. Transfer the ownership
If you’re buying a new car, this isn’t so much of an issue — the dealer will take care of all this — but with a used car you need to inform the authorities that you’re now the owner. For cars registered from 1993 onwards, you need to complete the Vehicle Registration Certificate and send it to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
If the car you’ve bought was registered before 1993, you need to download an RF200 form from motortax.ie and send it and the car’s logbook to your local tax office.
2. Pay the tax
If there’s still some time to run on the tax disc, happy days, but if not, you’ll need to get that sorted right away. Motor tax rates were based on engine capacity for cars registered before Jan 2009 and on CO2 emissions for those registered since, with changes in the rates in 2021. You can find the right tax band for your car on motortax.ie and helpfully that’s also where you can pay the tax, which can also be done via post, or in person at your local motor tax office.
3. Insurance
Next up is the somewhat vexed subject of insurance — always a major expense in an Irish context. You’ll need to have a confirmed policy in place before you take to the road, and all we can suggest is to shop around carefully before buying as you’ll hopefully be able to track down a cheaper premium. It’s always worth finding a good local insurance broker, who may be able to find a better deal than you can on your own, especially for any cars that are outside the ordinary.
4. NCT Test
Like motor tax, a car’s NCT certificate does transfer with the change of ownership, but obviously if you’re buying a car with an expired cert, you’ll need to get booked in for a test fast, as it’s technically not legal to drive with an expired cert (other than to and from the test centre) and your insurance may not be valid without a current NCT cert. Cars aged between four and ten years need to be tested every two years, and every year once they’re more than ten years old.
5. Register for tolls
If you’re a regular commuter in the Dublin area, it’s important to have your car registered for the M50 toll, as not only will you pay a lower rate, but if you leave the tolling authority still thinking that the car is registered to its former owner, you could technically be committing fraud. A windscreen mounted toll tag from one of the tolling providers, is a good idea as that means you’ll be able to use the express lanes at all toll bridges and booths throughout the country.
6. What if something’s wrong?
If you’ve bought a used car from a dealer, then you do have protection under consumer law, especially if it turns out that there’s a significant issue with the car which was not disclosed to you before purchase. That does assume that you’ve been diligent yourself in checking the car before purchase.
With a purchase from a private buyer, you’ll have much less comeback in the event of any issues — hardly any, in fact. The ultimate recourse in a case of a car not meeting the description it was sold under might be a trip to the small claims court, but even then, there are no guarantees.