Buy in Europe, full-time in Europe, address in UK

[flipside]

Hi Folks, I'm jumping into motorhoming with both feet. I'm going to buy a MH and begin full-timing immediately. I intend to be out of the UK for more than 12 months. I want a LHD model and, looking at prices differentials, it seems a no-brainer to buy in Europe. I've read many of the older threads about insurance, but I'm not clear how best to proceed.

 

I don't know whether I could or should register and/or insure the van in the country of purchase. I rather think that I won't be able to register it unless I have an address there. That seems to mean that I will have to bring the van back to the UK to register it, and repeat that once a year. Having registered it in the UK, I'll have to use one of the specialist insurance companies to get coverage while out of the country.

 

I'm really just looking for any advice on the best way to proceed in my situation. I've yet to decide exactly which van I'll buy, but I really like the look of the Rapido 7FF range. As Rapido is a French make, my intuition is that it will be cheaper to buy in France, though many of the posts here seem to suggest Germany as the cheapest place to buy. I'll most likely be looking for a used model in the £20-30000 range

 

I have an address in Portugal which I might be able to use, but I don't know that that would be of much help. My understanding is that all vans and cars are pretty expensive in Portugal.

 

Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Guest pelmetman]

Hello Flipside and welcome to the loony bin :D...............

 

It might be worth your while asking the same question on www.motorhome365.com as they have a lot of experience of full timing over there ;-)......but I fear its not straight forward although your Portugal address might be useful.

[JamesFrance]

To register in France you would need to have proof of residence, for example an electricity bill in your name to your address.

[Guest JudgeMental]

This is a tricky one. with lots to consider...... taxation and health care for instance.

 

I am sure I heard somewhere of German dealers arranging an address to allow registration, but like Pelmet says better of on a forum more tuned to you needs. have a look on MHfacts as well they have a large data base of information.

 

Sounds like a grat plan! good luck also keep us informed! :-D

[Guest JudgeMental]

Grrrr........and I aint even had a snifter yet! *-)

[dougal]

This is a difficult problem as it is still not clear what the rules are. Many of us use a U.K Motorhome and insure with people like Saga who give you 365 days foreign use, buuuuuuuuuuuuut it is not clear if this is multi trip. The costs of tax and insurance is similar and we just pop back for an MOT. We spend most of our time in Spain and sold our Spanish registered van because fully comp. insurance is difficult to come by and expensive (even though the 'tax' is only 89 euros) All European countries want an address in the place of registration and attendant proof. Take out insurance on line and read all the policy terms before you commit yourself.

 

If you are keeping a U.K address this is the easiest and use your EHIC for medical cover (only emergency use) and use a Bank account travel insurance even though this is muti trip and often only 31 day cover with 90 days in total. It is a problem you have to address with your conscience - often the ferry port does not even look at your passport and with no border controls it escapes me how anyone knows where you are at any one time. We are all E.U Citizens with the right to reside and travel anywhere in the E.U. Should you wish to 'hide' just pay cash for everything and not leave a paper trail of C.C bills. (lol)

[Brian Kirby]

Within Europe, the "official" answer is that vehicles can only be registered by private individuals in the country in which they live. Why would you want to register outside UK?

 

My understanding is that re-registering an imported vehicle in Spain or Portugal is pretty much impossible.

 

It could be registered under an address in France if you have one, so you could then insure it in France. If doing this, buying in France would be the easiest way to go.

 

Otherwise, it would probably pay to buy in Germany, because at least you get third party insurance with the temporary German registration plates.

 

Unless things have changed radically in France (quite possible) over the past few years, if you intend driving away from the French dealer it will be given temporary export plates, but you will be unable to get insurance as you are not a French resident. If you can get the dealer to tell you what that reg No will be, you may be able to insure it f/c with a UK insurer on the French reg No.

 

Otherwise, AFAIK, you will be unable to get any insurance in France on either new or used, but will get third party only from a German dealer on either new or used. It depends how you feel about driving your van from the German dealer on third party insurance only. Probably the best alternative is to buy near a port, on the understanding that the dealer will drive you to the port on his insurance.

 

You can get UK insurance from some companies on the chassis number, but it will not come into effect until you are actually in UK. Most companies, if not all, will also attach conditions regarding how long you will then have to get the van through the UK registration process.

 

To speed up that process I suggest you get the personal importing pack from DVLA, which is very comprehensive, and also describes the modifications that you will need to make to the vehicle for registration. Pre-ordering such as headlamps and speedometer would assist with time, but you need to know exactly which model you will be getting in advance because specifications vary between models.

 

Hope this helps.

[Guest pelmetman]

I thought left hookers were cheaper in the UK :-S

[flipside]

Thanks for the replies, all very helpful. I'm not too worried about tax and health, as I feel can sort that out myself.

 

Regarding the van, I'm really just looking for the simplest and most cost-effective way to buy one and start using it. Ideally, I'd like to go over to France, Germany, or wherever, pick up the van, and be on my way. Bringing it back to the UK to register and insure it, before immediately turning around heading off back to Europe, is an inconvenience and expense, that I was hoping I might be able to avoid. If I can't, then it's not the end of the world, of course.

 

Having just written the above, the thought occurs to me that it might be possible to send the documentation back to the UK, and register and insure it without actually returning here. My concern about that is that I believe I read somewhere in the older threads that the authorities can, and often do, request to see the vehicle before allowing the registration to go through.

 

I'll apply for the DVLA pack, and see where I go from there. Thanks again for the help.

[Guest JudgeMental]

when you register it (or try to) with DVLA they will most probably want to see it to ascertain that it comply s with our regs (construction & use reg's) it will need: right dipping headlight, a speedo that reads MPH (as unlike ours German vans normally only read KPH) and a fog light on right side....

 

see if you can pick up a UK LHD van here that is already registered..but check price is not inflated by comparing with vans on: www.mobile.de

[Guest JudgeMental]

Brian Kirby - 2012-06-29 7:34 PM

 

You can get UK insurance from some companies on the chassis number, but it will not come into effect until you are actually in UK. Most companies, if not all, will also attach conditions regarding how long you will then have to get the van through the UK registration process.

 

Hope this helps.

 

In another recent thread, I emailed German dealer and asked how much delivery to Calais would be and he wanted 550€ (£440). Considering this is a 6 hour 350 miles trip for this example, and you wont need the 250€ export plates either, I think its a good option for the nervous among us who dont feel like driving on 3rd party export plates

[Derek Uzzell]

JudgeMental - 2012-06-30 8:03 AM

 

...and you wont need the 250€ export plates either...

 

That seems a lot of cash.

 

I've dug out receipts relating to the purchase of my Hobby back in 2005 and the total cost then of the complete German temporary registration process (including number-plates and short-term insurance) was about €93.

[Guest JudgeMental]

Derek Uzzell - 2012-06-30 9:24 AM

 

JudgeMental - 2012-06-30 8:03 AM

 

...and you wont need the 250€ export plates either...

 

That seems a lot of cash.

 

I've dug out receipts relating to the purchase of my Hobby back in 2005 and the total cost then of the complete German temporary registration process (including number-plates and short-term insurance) was about €93.

 

that's inflation for you

 

From memory *-) I think I was charged 220€ last year...Did a quick Google and seen figures around £120 - £150 for 5 day plates. So you are right I was overcharged a bit I guess, but dealer sorts it all out, the examples I gave above where when they went to authority's themselves for plates...

[Brian Kirby]

dougal - 2012-06-29 7:17 PM

 

This is a difficult problem as it is still not clear what the rules are. Many of us use a U.K Motorhome and insure with people like Saga who give you 365 days foreign use, buuuuuuuuuuuuut it is not clear if this is multi trip.

 

Well, you could always ask Saga! Their answer, I'm 99% certain, is that it is. However, there will be a stated limit to the maximum number of days for any one trip. This will be in the conditions attached to your policy. Usually this can be increased by paying an additional premium. Several motorhome specialist insurers will increase to 180 days but, in general, after that you have to obtain "full timing" insurance, that will cover you for 365 days continuous absence but is more expensive.

 

The costs of tax and insurance is similar and we just pop back for an MOT. We spend most of our time in Spain and sold our Spanish registered van because fully comp. insurance is difficult to come by and expensive (even though the 'tax' is only 89 euros) All European countries want an address in the place of registration and attendant proof. Take out insurance on line and read all the policy terms before you commit yourself.

 

I would advise against taking the insurance on-line. Look out a specialist motorhome insurer, they advertise in MMM for example, talk to them, and tell them exactly what you intend doing. Check the details on the quote when it comes, and make sure it comes with a specimen policy document. Read that document to be certain everything you want covered is. Anything you don't declare prejudices your chance of a successful claim if you have the misfortune to need to do so.

 

If you are keeping a U.K address this is the easiest and use your EHIC for medical cover (only emergency use) and use a Bank account travel insurance even though this is muti trip and often only 31 day cover with 90 days in total. It is a problem you have to address with your conscience - often the ferry port does not even look at your passport and with no border controls it escapes me how anyone knows where you are at any one time. We are all E.U Citizens with the right to reside and travel anywhere in the E.U. Should you wish to 'hide' just pay cash for everything and not leave a paper trail of C.C bills. (lol)

 

BUT, it may be a problem you have to address with your wallet! Nearly all travel insurance policies for Europe (watch their definitions of Europe, some put Spain into Europe zone two which attracts a higher premium) are based on the understanding that you will have an EHIC. So, if you don't (and if you are hospitalised this will immediately become clear), the insurance is liable to be declared void. So you get all the bills. Second, as the EHIC covers the major medical costs, the main remaining element is repatriation if you are struck down with something serious. My experience is that your passport will be machine read on exit and entry. However, you will leave a trail of transactions as you go: credit card bills, cash withdrawals etc, and if an insurer suspects you have been away for six months, and your insurance covers only 31 days they will investigate, and they can access such details. The cost of the items the EHIC does not cover, combined with re-patriation costs can be tens of thousands of pounds and, IMO, it is a mug's game to think you will get away with it if the worst happens.

 

On a recent trip I met a chap who had had a heart attack in France about three years ago. He was insured, and was re-patriated back to UK accompanied by a doctor. He was hugely impressed with the insurer, with their attention to detail, and their liaison with medical staff and hospitals in UK, in France, and his wife. While in the French hospital his consultant told him there was another British patient there at the same time who had also had a heart attack, but had no insurance. He could not be re-patriated because he was not well enough to travel, neither could he be discharged because he could not pay his outstanding medical bills. The hospital was liaising with the British Embassy in Paris to try to get him emergency funding, and to see if they could assist with getting him home. Eventually, when sufficiently recovered, he will have been discharged, but the debt will have followed him and would have to be paid. So too would the cost of any financial or transport assistance arranged by the Embassy. So, be very careful, and don't make assumptions based on inaccurate information. The consequences could be literally ruinous! Even expensive medical cover is cheaper than that!

[Brian Kirby]

pelmetman - 2012-06-29 7:59 PM

 

I thought left hookers were cheaper in the UK :-S

They are, relative to the cost of a similar RHD van. It is an altogether simpler, though not necessarily cheaper than buying in Europe, solution. However, you have to find the van you want from a much smaller selection, so is unlikely to be quicker.

[flipside]

I've applied for the DVLA pack. I'll see what that says. From what I'm reading here, it seems that, after buying it in Europe, I'll have to bring it back here to have a speedo and headlights fitted, which I don't need and will never use, get it registered, then get the headlights changed back, before returning to Europe and beginning my travels. If it has to be, it has to be, but it's certainly frustrating.

 

I have had a look at a few LHD vans in the UK but, even though they're cheaper than RHD equivalents, they still seem more expensive than their European counterparts.