Storage in Europe

[alistair]

We are New Zealanders and own an Autosleeper Duetto, currently in storage in the UK after 5 months touring in 2007 and awaiting our return in May 2008. As undercover storage in the UK is quite expensive and generally fully booked well in advance, I’ve been looking at options in Europe for storage in future years. Storage seems to be much cheaper in some places over there. The cunning plan would be to store the van there for the 8 or 9 months each year we were home in New Zealand, and as we would always spend time in both UK and Europe, we would cross to the UK each trip and while there would MOT the van to keep it legal.

 

It has been suggested to me that this arrangement would be illegal in Europe as EU rules are the same as those in the UK, as described on the DVLA website, and don’t permit a vehicle to be used for more than 6 months in any 12 in a country other than the one in which it is registered. I’m not sure whether the French, Belgium, Dutch or whoever authorities would regard storage as constituting “use”, but it seems likely that keeping a UK vehicle in a European country for more than 6 months would be illegal without registering it in that country, which we would not want to do.

 

I see from this forum and from magazines that many UK residents seem to be either full-time in Spain or southern France, or spend much of their year there, and I wonder how they handle this apparent 6 month limitation on the maximum time in any country.

 

Can anyone comment?

 

[Mel E]

The answer is that nobody seriously checks on the 6-month limit.

 

More seriously, if your 'van is insured in the UK, it is unlikely that the insurer will give permission for it to be put into storage in Europe. I have yet to come across a UK insurer that allows this. The result is that your vehicle instantly become uninsured.

 

Mel E

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[Mel E]

The answer is that nobody seriously checks on the 6-month limit.

 

More seriously, if your 'van is insured in the UK, it is unlikely that the insurer will give permission for it to be put into storage in Europe. I have yet to come across a UK insurer that allows this. The result is that your vehicle instantly becomes uninsured.

 

Mel E

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[BGD]

One idea would be to store it here in Spain - as has been mentioned above, no-one checks the " 6 month" limit here at all.

 

There are storage sites here that are insured - but anyway you can nowadays take out insurance here in Spain on a UK plated Motorhome which will cover you all over the EU, including the UK.

 

Our UK plated MH lives here in Spain with us, and is insured here.

 

 

 

[Brian Kirby]

Unless Spain has introduced some very individual legislation, I think you may have a problem somewhere, and should check very carefully what you actually have.  You live in Spain, your vehicle is UK registered, and it is insured in Spain.

Something tells me there is a contradiction there somewhere, and I think it is that your vehicle should be re-registered in Spain, and only then will its insurance be valid.

I'd be interested to hear the definitive verdict on that, though.

[A W]

This is a complicated subject and there can be many differing interpretations.

Very generally you have 3 months(not 6) to register a vehicle in an EU country where you are RESIDENT.

I speak from personal experience having been through this long and difficult process.

From what you say you will not be resident in any EU country and so I see no problem BUT your camping car must be kept totally UK road legal.The point about not getting insurance for European storage is probably a valid one.I do know that some French insurance companies will insure on UK plates for up to a year in total.AXA did that for me but I wouldn't want to test the cover if a claim resulted.For storage purposes it may be acceptable.

By the way the word you need to Google is "hivernage" for French storage