buying a 911

[ivanmn]

Finally taking the plunge to buy my first porsche. I've been shopping online for months and yet to find one that has that "right feel" to it. (and when i do, it is usually way out of the budget)

I am an expat and the VAT-Qualifying program is important to me. Do all dealers have this or is it limited to certain cars only? Based on all the good information ive gathered so far, a car like below should fit the criteria, but i am more of a coupe man

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/p...

help advice on the VAT-Q question, and would appreciate any reccomendation of whats good on the market. p/s: i am based in london

[thegoose]

The only way a used private car (as opposed to a commercial vehicle/van etc) can be VAT-qualifying is if it's only ever been owned from new by:
A car dealer
A driving school (including race experience)
A taxi or chauffeur firm
A funeral director
A car rental firm
A contract hire or lease company

This is not an official list, just one from my memory. The car can have changed hands between any of the above provided they've invoiced appropriately. The most likely VAT-Q cars you'll come across will be ex-demo's (usually up to 6 months old) or ex-contract hire (up to 3 years old typically but there's no limit). You will have to pay the VAT upfront and then claim it back (I think once you prove that it's been shipped to and registered in a non-EU state). By necessity you'll be buying from a dealer so they should be able to help with the paperwork.

[stratfordshark]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

Nope. Unless rules have changed in past couple of years being vat-registered makes no difference. You can't claim back vat on cars, with exception of 50% of the vat on monthly payment if car is on a lease.

[gl20]

To the OP. you'd need to give more specifics here for anyone to provide a response that is exactly right for your situation. Eg you say you are an expat but are you ordinarily resident inside or outside the EU and also how long do you intend to use the car in the UK before exporting it? These factors and others impact what/if you can reclaim. The Hmrc site is actually not that bad at explaining how it works. Take a look here http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/sectors/consumers/perso...

[thegoose]

DELETED: Comment made by a member who's account has been deleted.

Only those type of companies I listed are able to legitimately claim back VAT on private motor vehicles - rules are different for commercial vehicles of course.

To be eligible to claim the VAT back on exported Qualifying vehicles the purchaser needs to be resident (or a business) outside the EU.

[ivanmn]

thanks guys. very helpful information. i'm a resident from outside EU, and intend to go back soon. after reading the HMRC links, i think i fulfil the criteria for eligibility under the "Exporting motor vehicles outside the EU - the Personal Export Scheme".

Looks like if there is a porsche that qualifies for VAT, it was used purely for business purposes (i.e. a company car) prior to being put up for sale. Question now becomes, how much care do ppl put into company cars........

also, after looking at some VAT exempt cars, looks like the VAT exemption is about a discount of £6-7k. Is this about right?