Having read through this thread I am sorry to see you guys don't seem to like the 2.5 diesel. Well, I don't care because I have a 2001 DHSE which is a real HSE version. And I like it - a lot. So there 😆 😆 😆 - ha ha ha ha ha ha.
The problem with the big engines is that here in Ireland we have to pay road tax based on engine horse power, and engine size, and the big engines cost around €3000 a year. Even the 2.5 diesel is €1200, but is affordable as a weekend adventurer - just. Although this year it cos me €2800 to put it through the annual road test. Unfortunately, I am not great at DIY repairs. I can do the basics but I am no good when it gets to things like using a Nanocom, or stripping the EAS, so I have to employ the services of a guy I know who repairs classics. He is very good, and he does keep the hourly charges down, but it still costs if it has to go to him.
Fortunately, things like replacing seals, door handles and less difficult stuff like that I can do in the drive, but I don't have a garage to work in. I have the "booklet" icon on the heater control display but, and I know people will be critical, despite having read lots about it I am still not sure how to repair it. I bought a repaired HEVAC unit from Marty which solved a lack of display pixels, and also the fan speed control, and replacing that was straight forward, but trying to get at the mechanical controls behing the centre console looks like a big job, perhaps bigger than I can consider.
The other real issue now is that, with Brexit, the cost of importing parts has jumped - a lot. If you want to import a complete vehicle I think that it is almost unaffordable compared to what it was pre-Brexit. Previously, you bought the vehicle, drove it to Ireland, went to the car test centre and paid something called Vehicle Registration Tax, which is based on the original new car selling price. As an example, I bought my RR P38 for £6000, and paid €1700 in VRT when I imported it.
But now, after Brexit, I would have to pre-pay 21% VAT, 10% import duty, and the original VRT. And provide documentation about the origin of the parts. In theory the seller shouldn't charge VAT but that could also be an issue, and as far as I know you can't retrospectively claim back UK VAT if you live outside the UK. So that means you are paying two lots of VAT, although there may be a dispensation of not paying the 10% import duty if you can prove that the vehicle is mostly [probably over 80%] UK manufactured parts.
The used car trade between the UK and Ireland was a very big part of the Irish second-hand car market but I would think that it is currently dead in the water now. I think there were something like 110,000 second-hand vehicles imported into Ireland in 2019, mostly by private individuals, but also a lot by motor dealers themselves, especially Mercs, BMW, and Audi's. I suspect the dealers were buying mostly ex-PCP [is that the correct terminology?] stock from big dealers in the UK, like Arnold Clark.
Another unexpected issue is the idea that Ireland will achieve something like 50% of car sales to be EV's in three years time, which would include used vehicle. But guess where almost all second hand EV's are sourced from - you guessed it - the UK. Original Irish registered EV's are quite limited, and expensive, in comparison to imported ex-UK cars. For instance, a two year old Jaguar I-Pace in the UK could be about £35,000 from a dealer [perhaps a bit less], but the very same car in Ireland will cost closer to €65,000 - €70,000.
It is difficult to know how much import duty, and VRT, you will have to pay as well, because although the Irish revenue department have a look-up list for VRT costs they don't have listings for electric versions in most cases, and they don't have any listings for Tesla [or they didn't as of two weeks ago]. So if you import a Tesla you could be charged pretty well anything that revenue feel is suitable, a bit like the guy from Manila had explained in a post earlier for importing into the Philippines.
Lastly, LPG was a big thing in Ireland about 15 years ago. Just about every taxi in Dublin used LPG but it never really gained any great support, and I don't know whether there are many garages in Ireland still selling, commercially, LPG on the forecourt. I have heard of people filling their LPG tanks from home heating tanks, but I don't know if that is just hearsay.
Anyway, I still like my DHSE, so there, although I see the day in the not too distant future when it will just be left in the drive as a nice place to sit in the summer, because the repair costs are too high and no one will buy it - except, perhaps, for our friend in Manila.
Pierre3.