Bringing European Motorhome to UK (1 Viewer)

[Janeymonica]

Hi have found a used motorhome from Germany on mobile.de that I'm keen to purchase for a four month tour of europe. At the end I'll be looking to sell the vehicle immediately (probably in Europe).

I'm wondering what I would need to do in order to drive the van legally in the UK for 2-4weeks before the trip to pack our things and take it on a test trip. I'm from Australia so a detailed description of anything I need to do would be appreciated.

I don't want to import the van long term.


Thanks,

 

[Boringfrog]

If it's a German registered van and you have insurance for it and the correct licence, I presume you can bring it to the UK.

 

[TheBig1]

the insurance will be your biggest issue

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[Janeymonica]

Hmm, yeah it looks like you can only insure a vehicle in the country its registered in and it can only be registered in the country you live.

So I may have to register it in the UK then.

How long would you expect the below proces to take?

1. Tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) within 14 days that the vehicle has arrived in the UK.
2. Pay VAT and duty if HMRC tells you to.
   
3. Get vehicle approval to show your vehicle meets safety and environmental standards.
   
4. Register and tax the vehicle with DVLA - they’ll give you a registration number so you can get number plates made up.
   
5. You must also insure your vehicle before you drive it on UK roads.

 

[TheBig1]

if you get lucky and manage to prearrange the test etc then it can be done in a couple of weeks. however DVSA are notoriously slow and have long backlogs of some applications following the closure of local offices. what you can do is insure temporarily based on the chassis number whilst waiting to get the van registered, but only a few companies will do this. you also need a uk address to register and insure at

 

[emjaiuk]

Hmm, yeah it looks like you can only insure a vehicle in the country its registered in and it can only be registered in the country you live.

So I may have to register it in the UK then.

How long would you expect the below proces to take?

1. Tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) within 14 days that the vehicle has arrived in the UK.
2. Pay VAT and duty if HMRC tells you to.
   
3. Get vehicle approval to show your vehicle meets safety and environmental standards.
   
4. Register and tax the vehicle with DVLA - they’ll give you a registration number so you can get number plates made up.
   
5. You must also insure your vehicle before you drive it on UK roads.

5 comes before 4, you need insurance before the van can be registered and taxed. 4 SHOULD take up yp 10 working days, mine has just taken 14!

To be honest, for a relatively short time-scale, I wouldn't have thought it practice to purchase a van in one country and register it in another. If you can manage the translation, have you thought about asking in Germany. They have a system of temporary plates, but IO don't know the details.


malcolm

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[nekarsulm]

They have tempory plates for export from Germany. You can buy a two week or a four week plate. You then buy insurance for the same lenght of time. By the time the plates expire, you must be out of Germany.Trouble is, you then need to register in UK or some other country. Where do you plan on selling it, UK?