AboAl Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I have purchased a new motorhome from Campirama in Belgium and have Belgium trade plates but can't find any insurance company willing to insure me so that I can bring it into Spain for registration at my Spanish address. They all say they can't insure it till its got Spanish registration plates!!!!! Does anyone know the answer? AboAl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 How about asking the dealer if they can deliver it to Spain? Or arrange your own transport on a lorry then you won't have to worry about insuring it until it arrives. Just my thoughts. Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Keithl - 2015-04-06 6:41 PM How about asking the dealer if they can deliver it to Spain? Or arrange your own transport on a lorry then you won't have to worry about insuring it until it arrives. Just my thoughts. Keith. Sounds like a plan...... Worse case scenario.......get someone to drive it there for you on trade plates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Have you explored the procedure, and cost, for registering your van in Spain? I have heard that it is extremely bureaucratic, protracted, and tends to be costly, even for standard LHD vans sourced elsewhere on the continent. I'd be interested to hear if the above advice is incorrect. In the meantime, I think I'd keep all options open until you are certain it is economical in time and cost to do this. If not, register in UK, which is reasonably straightforward, and then take the van to Spain. You would then have to tax and insure it in UK, and would also have to have UK MoT, for which you will need a UK address. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Brian Kirby - 2015-04-07 11:30 AM ....If not, register in UK, which is reasonably straightforward, and then take the van to Spain.... Not so I'm afaraid, because you introduce an extra requirement to convert the vehicle to driving on the left, which requires changing the speedometer scale so it reads in MPH as the principle scale, and changing the headlights - and conversion stickers are notacceptable. And you have to get the vehicle inspected by VCA to prove you've done it. You would presumably have to to the reverse to get the vehicle registered in Spain. I don't know why it's such a performance importing a used vehicle within the EU but it certainly still is! Having said that I'm amazed that you can't get insurance for a transit trip from Belgium to Spain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Probably the same as the UK where you can get insurance on the VIN plate once on UK soil, we get Campirama to drive the van to the port for us, not practical for Spain. There is a Dutch insurance company that will do it, I think charges are around €1000 for 30 days probably just as cheap to get it transported. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 lennyhb - 2015-04-07 12:46 PM ...There is a Dutch insurance company that will do it, I think charges are around €1000 for 30 days probably just as cheap to get it transported. That seems dear! Presumably even if you do get your new MH transported, you still need insurance against it being damaged in transit, even if it doesn't need insurance to be driven. I had a motorcycle shipped from the USA a few years ago and I remember insurance being a problem for that. Effectively you cannot insure against damage in transit, only total loss. Mine was one of six bikes in a container and two of them were damaged, probably during unloading from the container in UK at the arrival port. Couldn't prove where/when/who did it so the buyer had to stand the loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 StuartO - 2015-04-07 12:41 PM...............Not so I'm afaraid, because you introduce an extra requirement to convert the vehicle to driving on the left, which requires changing the speedometer scale so it reads in MPH as the principle scale, and changing the headlights - and conversion stickers are notacceptable. And you have to get the vehicle inspected by VCA to prove you've done it. You would presumably have to to the reverse to get the vehicle registered in Spain................ Change the speedometer readings is relatively cheap, and quite easy. Lockwood International are an excellent source of replacement faces, indistinguishable from the original when fitted. Headlamp change is easy, though it'll cost a few hundred pounds for the pair. Then, put the originals back for driving on the continent, but retain the UK pair for MoTs etc or for any other trips to UK. You may have to change the rear foglight to UK offside, but only if the van hasn't a pair already. Half a day's work total (done two :-)). VCA inspection by appointment. If all done as above, no problem. But, I think he'll find the cost and time to re-register in Spain will be an off-putter, which is why I suggested UK registration instead. If not, I hope he'll say, as I've always understood it pretty well wipes out the cost advantage of buying outside Spain, which, I gather, is what it is intended to achieve. The insurance will be problematic as you can only register a vehicle in a country in which you have an address, you can only insure in the country where the vehicle is registered, and it must be "MoT" tested in that country. It would have been easier, though more costly, to buy in Spain. Some of the cost saving from buying in Belgium will have to be spent finding the best work-around. Germany would have provided export insurance valid across the EU, but is "Road Traffic Acts" equivalent only. The Belgian trade plates may have some insurance, as the OP should be recorded as an official driver driving on Campirama's insurance. But worth checking, and also for how long that insurance remains valid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 A replacement headlight (a single headlamp) for a post 2007 A Class Hymer is around £900, and you would need a pair! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Just get someone to drive it to Spain on trade plates. Loads of companies advertise this service. As Brian said Spanish registration can take a while, just make sure you have all paperwork and COC :( A class headlights are swithchable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 StuartO - 2015-04-07 5:24 PM A replacement headlight (a single headlamp) for a post 2007 A Class Hymer is around £900, and you would need a pair! But if one of those, AFAIK, the lights are switchable for UK use (at least ours are: the almond shaped ones), so no need to replace. But, the OP hasn't said what type/make of van he bought. I was assuming a coachbuilt. Plus, Campirama sell several makes, so it could be any of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Brian Kirby - 2015-04-07 6:50 PM StuartO - 2015-04-07 5:24 PM A replacement headlight (a single headlamp) for a post 2007 A Class Hymer is around £900, and you would need a pair! But if one of those, AFAIK, the lights are switchable for UK use (at least ours are: the almond shaped ones), so no need to replace. But, the OP hasn't said what type/make of van he bought. I was assuming a coachbuilt. Plus, Campirama sell several makes, so it could be any of those. Campirama only sell Hymer & Corado (Hymer's cheap brand) :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 lennyhb - 2015-04-07 7:45 PM Brian Kirby - 2015-04-07 6:50 PM StuartO - 2015-04-07 5:24 PM A replacement headlight (a single headlamp) for a post 2007 A Class Hymer is around £900, and you would need a pair! But if one of those, AFAIK, the lights are switchable for UK use (at least ours are: the almond shaped ones), so no need to replace. But, the OP hasn't said what type/make of van he bought. I was assuming a coachbuilt. Plus, Campirama sell several makes, so it could be any of those. Campirama only sell Hymer & Corado (Hymer's cheap brand) :-) Even so Lenny, the costly headlamp is an A class problem, but only if it can't be switched for RHD, which I believe it can (possibly unless Xenon?). The standard Ducato headlamp, that would be fitted to all coachbuilts, is easily replaceable at far lower cost, AFAIK. (BTW, Campirama appear also to handle Burstner motorhomes and caravans - though they show no stock.) My point, though, was that from what I have heard about trying to register in Spain a van bought elsewhere, it may well be cheaper and a lot easier to register in UK and then take it Spain. Many do, returning the van to UK as and when the MoT becomes due. I know it isn't supposed to be kept outside UK for more than 6 months in any 12, but it doesn't seem to cause problems for those who do. It would need a "full time" insurance pack, but with that it would be legal anywhere within the continental EU. As I said, it is a possible work-around, and perhaps worth the OP checking. A better soultion might have been found by asking all these questions before buying in Belgium, or the OP may already have done so. However, his question suggests that he may not have. Doubtless, he will pop back to say in due course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Brian, your idea will only make sense if the owner could register the MH as a UK vehicle and keep it that way, in spite of taking it to Spain. You aren't suggesting that it will be easier to reister a British vehicle in Spain than a Belgian one, which is at least already configured fro driving on the right, are you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoko8pups Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Abbeygate, based in Gibralter, ave a Spanish and Portuguese branch. The Portuguese one is www.abbeygateportugal.com so the spanish one is probably www.abbeygatespain.com. They specialise in this kind of insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Brian Kirby - 2015-04-08 2:47 PM BTW, Campirama appear also to handle Burstner motorhomes and caravans - though they show no stock.) Don't believe everything you see on a website Brian, they used to sell a few Burstner caravans years ago, never Motorhomes, They also have the Eriba logo on their site from when they took over all the stock from the dealer that went bump not seen one there for a couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 StuartO - 2015-04-08 3:17 PM Brian, your idea will only make sense if the owner could register the MH as a UK vehicle and keep it that way, in spite of taking it to Spain. You aren't suggesting that it will be easier to reister a British vehicle in Spain than a Belgian one, which is at least already configured fro driving on the right, are you? No Stuart, just to register, tax, and insure it as a UK vehicle, and then take it to Spain. But, only as an alternative to registering it in Spain if it is, indeed, as difficult and expensive as others seem to have found it. The problem, or at least part of it, is that if imported into Spain, Spanish VAT, not Belgian, has to be paid - which I think is where the fun starts! The same is true in UK ("new means of transport"), but I think UK VAT is slightly lower than Belgian, so you save a few pennies along the way. So, you buy VAT free for export in Belgium, and pay the UK VAT on the calculated Sterling cost of the van, using HMRC's rate of exchange for the day on which payment was made. (It's a few years since I did it that way, but that was how it then worked.) You do need a UK address to register in UK, and you aren't supposed to keep visiting vehicles in-country for more than 12 months ("temporary export"). However, it gets a bit "grey" in the Schengen area as to where vehicles have actually been. No border controls, no ferries, so where is it? Our previous van is presently in Spain. The buyers live in Gibraltar, where they can't take it, so it is stored nearby in Spain. They tax and insure it from a UK address, and return it to UK to see family and MoT the van. So, the vehicle is fully UK legal, and is permanently exported on a temporary basis. With ferries, this can, of course, be proved. I gather quite a few other folk have similar arrangements. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 lennyhb - 2015-04-08 4:56 PM Brian Kirby - 2015-04-08 2:47 PM BTW, Campirama appear also to handle Burstner motorhomes and caravans - though they show no stock.) Don't believe everything you see on a website Brian, they used to sell a few Burstner caravans years ago, never Motorhomes, They also have the Eriba logo on their site from when they took over all the stock from the dealer that went bump not seen one there for a couple of years. Ah, thanks Lenny! So it must be a Hymer or a Carado. However, I somehow don't think the headlight issue will be that much of a problem. I'll be interested to see what the OP says when he next posts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 AboAl - 2015-04-06 6:09 PM I have purchased a new motorhome from Campirama in Belgium and have Belgium trade plates but can't find any insurance company willing to insure me so that I can bring it into Spain for registration at my Spanish address. They all say they can't insure it till its got Spanish registration plates!!!!! Does anyone know the answer? AboAl Hang on a minute! If dealer is lending you the export plates this surely includes trade insurance for the driver? 8-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 JudgeMental - 2015-04-11 5:35 PM Hang on a minute! If dealer is leading you the export plates this surely includes trade insurance gor the driver? 8-) Dealers trade insurance will only cover staff driving, the OP wants to get it to Spain not to a port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted April 11, 2015 Share Posted April 11, 2015 Try googling ING Insurance Belgium and see if they can help. Failing that, if you get in touch with Shiply Car Transportation they maybe able to help. Tell them your problem, they are very helpful and with contacts and agencies all over Europe. There are freelance Trade Plate Drivers still around, but I'm not sure if they can operate outside the UK Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.