Importing goods by car

[elise2000]

Hi all

Can anyone advise on the below please?

I’m considering purchasing some items at auction in Europe to bring back to the UK by car. These items will then be sold by my business (vat registered). Total value likely to be £1k or less, as this is just an experiment for expanding the business.

As I understand it:
I cannot make a simple online declaration if I want to claim the vat back when importing
I need to make a full import declaration, or get a customs agent to do it for me

Assuming the above is correct, can anyone advise on customs agents and what the costs may be?

Thanks in advance