Costs Of Running A Modified MX-5 In Ireland? (Not NI)

[Westcoast]

Hi folks, I'm hoping that you can answer a few questions for me...

I've got a 1994 1.8 Eunos Roadster turbo (FM II) with various other mods such as race rad, suspension, exhaust, etc, etc, which I've had for several years and I've got no wish to get rid of it. I live in England but now I'm planning to move to Ireland. This has got me thinking about whether it's realistic to take the car with me. I've come up with a few questions...

1. Which costs can I expect to be higher due to the car being modified? e.g. Irish road tax (VRT?) Irish 'MOT' (NCT?) and of course insurance. Are there any other costs I ought to consider?
2. The VRT road tax - as my car is a 1994, will the VRT be simply on engine size? Will it make any difference to the VRT that my car is turbocharged?
3. Are there likely to be any complications going through the NCT test? I took the catalytic converter off my car but it has no problem passing the British MOT as, due to the age of the car and the fact it's an import and hence its VIN isn't in the emissions computer, the emissions test is quite basic.
4. What about insurance? As a guide, my last policy was £360 for a 3,000 mile limited mileage policy *including* commuting to work, driving other cars and trackday cover. (Age 37, 1x basic SP30 speeding ticket, 3 points, 1 claim in past five years for vandalised soft-top.)
5. Are there tricks I can use to help keep the costs down? Not that I want to do anything dodgy, and not that I can think of any examples, except perhaps only 'taxing' the car for six months per year, to keep the VRT tax down.

I'd really appreciate feedback from you guys who are in the know.

Cheers.

Westcoast

[rhysmate]

1. Road tax will be based on engine size and not aspiration so a 1.8 will be around the 550 euro mark.
2 you have to register the car (VRT) and its usually based off the car current value. i dont think its very expensive for the mx5 at the moment.
3 .your cat is gonna be an issue man.. post 92 cars need a cat to pass nct.
4. I cant help with this.. as a 22 year old male with 5 yrs ncb i pay an absolute fortune for insurance. my mx5 NA was 1800 a year with AVIVA. i havent looked into insuring the Turbo MX5 yet as it isnt finished, but from what i hear it doesnt change the policy by much at all.
5. VRT is what you pay once off to register the car in Ireland and is calculated here http://www.vrt.ie/ . Road tax you pay every year and on a 1.8 is around 550 a year.

Bring the car over man you'd only regret selling it.. hopefully my descriptions above arent confusing

[rhysmate]

Also, Welcome to the Forum man

[MX5Spares]

You wont have to pay VRT if you are transferring residence fom UK to Ireland.You just need evidence of such and may not be allowed to resell car within 1 year of living in Ireland,but no problem there really.Revenue just dont want you to "trade" in the car as such and transfer muct be for personal use.Great time for you to import a nice car cheaply from UK but only 1 car basically or 2 if you have a partner.Insurance should be approx 750e max ??? Nct will need cat to be fitted for car test but we have used one,s there quite cheaply( and plenty of other used mx parts) .Best of luck !!!

[Westcoast]

Thanks for your answers guys, much appreciated.

Re question 3 (NCT) would the car fail the test simply by not having a cat fitted, regardless of what the actual emissions are?

Bring the car over man you'd only regret selling it.. hopefully my descriptions above arent confusing

There's a bit more to my situation to be honest. I was in an accident recently so I'm having to think about whether it's worth getting the car repaired, whether to buy another car and transfer all the bits over from mine, or whether to strip all the bits off and sell them. That's part of the reason for me asking the question about costs to run/own a modified MX-5 in Ireland - if it was going to be huge costs it could really affect my decision on what to do with the car.

It sounds like there are no big costs I'm not aware of apart from the higher road tax* and of course the insurance is a bit of an unknown (I suppose I could get a quote though; Are there specialist insurers recommended on the forum? If so I will go and search for their details.)

Incidentally, my current road tax is £220 for 12 months (~€275). Due to the age of the car, it's simply done on engine size, but it's the same price for anything of 1,550cc or over.

Thanks again guys. Any other relevant info you think of, please feel free to add it.

[mx5ash]

Is a post 92 jap import tested for full emissions?
Anyway welcome to the forum. Hope you get to bring it over, some great roads for the five over here.

[hoopsbhoy]

Yes it will be tested on emissions and 100% will not pass without a cat, its impossible i'm afraid. Surely you can fit a cat just for the test? There may be problems with the map on your car and emmisions levels as a result so that may be something to think about, also may be relevant if you are mapped for specific fuel. Not anything that can't be changed handy enough i assume though.

Road tax will be based on engine size ehre too, but we get slightly robbed so it will seem like a big increase for you.

[rhysmate]

Well if you'd crashed it why not take off the good parts, bring them over here, buy an Irish mx5 (there's plenty) and reshell it with the engine and parts you have? Tell you what, if you're coming to cork I'll even help you out whenever you want.. ( I have all the tools you need

[Steve]

yep, will need to swop in a cat for the test. You can lean out the master fuel a bit before the test on your link keypad too
Insurance, get online quotes with www.123.ie www.insure.ie and aviva to start with (they will only have the BBR turbo listed though but it'll give you a ball park figure).