The Revenue Commissioners has begun a major national crackdown on Vehicle Registration Tax offences.Customs checkpoints, mainly in border counties and major urban areas, started this week and will continue for some time.

The major focus of the blitz is VRT evasion through the use of foreign registered number plates.

Revenue Commissioner Liam Irwin said, ‘We maintain a focus on VRT offences throughout the year but at regular intervals we undertake ‘blitz’ style operations which are high visibility.

‘The focus of this specific campaign is Irish residents illegally driving foreign registered cars.’

He warned that people who attempt to evade VRT ‘will face the consequences’.

Last year Revenue challenged 23,986 vehicles and 1,589 cars were seized for VRT offences.

ONCE a trophy vehicle favoured by Celtic Tiger cubs, the Hummer is now being offloaded in growing numbers.

The huge SUV is among the top-end makes that were bought at the height of the boom and are now being put up for sale.

At least 10 Hummers are being sold on used car websites, while repossession of two more vehicles in Dublin are imminent.

One site has reported emigrants selling expensive cars for “peanuts” to get a quick sale before they leave the country. 

VALUE

Merlin Motor Group has been asked to value two Hummers that are about to be repossessed from limo companies by banks.

“Work has dried up for them,” said David Byrne of Merlin. “The number of private functions has slowed down and people who would have been going the extra mile are now looking for cheaper options.”

Louie Ion, the owner of Cars For Sale Ireland @ funkymotors.ie, said sales had started to pick up after a slack January.

“A lot of people emigrating are selling their cars for peanuts to get a quick sale. Last night we got a private Lexus at €5,500.”

Funkymotors.ie has four Hummers up for sale — the cheapest is the private sale of a 1999 model for €55,000.

The prices go up to €110,000 for a 2009 model with just 100 miles on the clock being sold by a garage.

Carzone.ie has seven Hummers priced between €39,000 for an 05 to €110,000 for an 09.

The Hummer became a symbol of Ireland’s wealth during the boom years, and the stretch version was a familiar sight at debs and weddings.

– Andrew Phelan

Source: Herald.ie

Finally the new version of Motorcheck.ie is up and running!

MotorCheck.ie

It now includes UK and NI data along with Irish information.
Other additions to the database include Manufacturer warranty, NCAP Ratings, CO2 ratings and soon will have a vehicle valuation also!

Also, the National Irish Mileage Register has seen significant growth lately with more than 613,000 audited readings in the database!

Official Vehicle History Reports

Motorcheck.ie is the most informative, easy-to-understand and up-to-date car history check available.
Whether it’s an Irish or a UK registered vehicle you’re checking, don’t be taken in by other so-called “official” websites and run the risk of missing vital information that could assist you with your purchasing decision!

In addition to “Official” data from Irish & UK Government databases, Only Motorcheck provides the following:

The lowest prices with reports starting at €12
Instant finance checks (that Motorcheck.ie can verify with bank)
A totally integrated Irish and UK history
Irish stolen vehicle check
Data from Ireland’s leading Auction houses
Euro-NCAP Safety Ratings
Manufacturer recall info from European databases
Manufacturer warranty information…

Vehicles Licensed for the First Time February 2009

Decrease of 63.8% in new private cars licensed

There were 8,795 new private cars licensed in February 2009, compared with 24,290 in February 2008, a decrease of 63.8%. See Table 1 and graph.

The number of new goods vehicles licensed in February 2009 was 1,098 compared with 5,181 in the corresponding month last year – a decrease of 78.8%.

The vehicle licensing figures also show that:

In February 2009, the total number of all vehicles licensed was 18,609 compared with 38,879 during the samemonth in 2008 – a decrease of 52.1%.

The total number of all new vehicles licensed during February 2009 was 10,926 compared with 31,609 during the same month in 2008 – a decrease of 65.4%.

In February 2009, of the 8,795 new private cars licensed, 3,687 (41.9%) were petrol and 4,978 (56.6%) were diesel.

The highest number of new private cars licensed in February 2009, classified by make, was Toyota (1,755) followed by Ford (1,239) Volkswagen (916) Nissan (765) and Opel (574).

The licensing figures refer to vehicles taxed for road use only and classified by taxation class.

 Motorists are being warned of dangerous driving conditions this morning after freezing overnight temperatures caused icy roads.

Ice and frost may be a problem for drivers on many roads around the country, particularly those that have not been treated.

There have been no fresh snow falls but Met Éireann have said road temperatures are well below zero on most national routes.

Two Dublin Bus Routes are affected by the poor road conditions.

The 44B is only operating as far as Kilternan and the 65 is only operating as far as Ballymount.

AA Roadwatch is asking drivers to reduce speed and keep a safe distance from the vehicle in front.

In Britain more snow is forecast later today, which could affect ferry sailings on the Irish Sea and flight schedules at British airports.

Flights at Dublin airport are back to normal and are running to schedule so far this morning.

Frost should clear later in the day but may be slow to clear in some places in the north, the west and some parts of the midlands.

Motorists in the North have been also warned to watch out for icy roads especially in the Belfast and Lisburn areas.

There are also reports of foggy conditions in parts of Co Tyrone.

The Roads Service says it is gritting all main roads, covering about one quarter of all roads in Northern Ireland.

However, many minor roads are not treated and may be slippery.

Most flights are arriving and departing normally at Belfast City and International airports and City of Derry.

Toyota Ireland is to recall some models of its Yaris car due to a problem with the centre pillar housing the front seat belts.

The recall affects models manufactured between June 2005 and April 2007.

Owners of the vehicles involved will be notified by post in early February of the details of the recall.

Toyota dealers will remove both pillar pads from the centre pillar at no cost to owners and the refit should take no longer than 40 minutes.

The problem is related to the front seat belt retractor’s pyrotechnic pretensioner sound insulator.

Toyota says there is a possibility that the sound insulator may become damaged by the high temperature gas generated from the seat belt pretensioner when it is activated in the event of a crash.

When a car is involved in a crash the front seat belts are quickly drawn back by the pretensioners but Toyota has found the problem has arisen because of the improper position of the centre pillar sound insulator.

Toyota says there is no fault with the seatbelt.

The total number of vehicles affected worldwide is 1,279,693 with 9,841 vehicles in Ireland.

According to Toyota there have only been two cases reported worldwide, none in Europe.