Buying camper abroad?? (1 Viewer)

[Biscuit]

my wife and I will be retiring next month and are considering buying a motor home abroad. The vehicle will be our home on wheels so obviously layout will be important. I have a few questions and hope you or others might be able to help. If we buy one abroad in Europe what are the rules about this…ie registration if we have no fixed abode, tax implications, insurance etc..mots down the line if always on travels?
I have noticed that most homes are Fiat based, silly question but they didn’t have a good reputation in the car industry or has this changed dramatically to warrant the base build. I would like the base build to be Mercedes.
I have a lot more questions but think this is enough to get on with…any advice out there?

 

[Cush]

Might be worth checking your duration entitlement if you are both on a British passport. My understanding is 90 days then return to your place of residence for a longer period . I believe you will need an Address for all the Paperwork. Others will be along soon to share their experiences and a search of the full timing forum will help.

I have a 2003 autotrail on a Fiat. Its well loved and serves us well.
Welcome to the forum

 

[Eggs]

my wife and I will be retiring next month and are considering buying a motor home abroad. The vehicle will be our home on wheels so obviously layout will be important. I have a few questions and hope you or others might be able to help. If we buy one abroad in Europe what are the rules about this…ie registration if we have no fixed abode, tax implications, insurance etc..mots down the line if always on travels?
I have noticed that most homes are Fiat based, silly question but they didn’t have a good reputation in the car industry or has this changed dramatically to warrant the base build. I would like the base build to be Mercedes.
I have a lot more questions but think this is enough to get on with…any advice out there?

JJ I'm fairly sure you have an abode, (your land), can you help with no abode abroad?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[JJ]

JJ I'm fairly sure you have an abode, (your land), can you help with no abode abroad?

I'm not sure how I can help... each country has it's own rules.

JJ

 

[jongood]

my wife and I will be retiring next month and are considering buying a motor home abroad. The vehicle will be our home on wheels so obviously layout will be important. I have a few questions and hope you or others might be able to help. If we buy one abroad in Europe what are the rules about this…ie registration if we have no fixed abode, tax implications, insurance etc..mots down the line if always on travels?
I have noticed that most homes are Fiat based, silly question but they didn’t have a good reputation in the car industry or has this changed dramatically to warrant the base build. I would like the base build to be Mercedes.
I have a lot more questions but think this is enough to get on with…any advice out there?

We bought our old girl in Luxembourg in one of the sanity gaps last year. Buying it was easy enough and the private vendor was very helpful in adding me to his insurance so i could drive it back just before Luxembourg went into lockdown, but DVLA were horrendous it took me 2 months of constant harranging to get them to do what is a fairly simple task and by the sound of it they have got even worse since. I believe Its also become more complicated since Brexit.

The main driver for us was that we had many years of experience and knew ( as much as you ever can) exactly what we wanted. maybe I'm reading it wrong but your posts suggests very little motorhoming experience? If this is the case my suggestion would be buy a "cheapie" over here first and give it a go for a year, buy then hopefully you will have more idea whether you even like motorhoming, what layout suits you, what sort of places you want to stop at ( so how big) and hopefully somebody upstairs might have given DVLA the kick up the ass that it so badly needs.

hth
Jon

 

[Abacist]

I have a horrible feeling that you might be caught for VAT on the van when and if you bring it to the UK if second hand post Brexit. The same with a new one but you should get back the EU VAT paid in the country of sale as an export and you can prove VAT has been paid.

don’t knock Fiat based Motorhomes as they are the base of the majority of vans made. I have had two and no problems yet in 8 years, touch wood!

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[funflair]

At the moment there seems to be some confusion regarding bringing in a use van from abroad and wether you pay VAT again in the UK, if you do it really would make more sense to buy in the UK.

No they don’t all have to be on Fiat but most are, if you are full timing you might want a big van with plenty of payload so RWD might be a good option, can you drive over 7500kg as that opens up an exciting array of options.

 

[Hagstrom]

I've had both Merecedes and Fiat motorhomes and both were very reliable. Layout has been more important for me.

 

[Speve]

my wife and I will be retiring next month and are considering buying a motor home abroad. The vehicle will be our home on wheels so obviously layout will be important. I have a few questions and hope you or others might be able to help. If we buy one abroad in Europe what are the rules about this…ie registration if we have no fixed abode, tax implications, insurance etc..mots down the line if always on travels?
I have noticed that most homes are Fiat based, silly question but they didn’t have a good reputation in the car industry or has this changed dramatically to warrant the base build. I would like the base build to be Mercedes.
I have a lot more questions but think this is enough to get on with…any advice out there?

I think you will need to look very carefully at rules governing your travel in Europe and also the problem of having an address for documentation etc before purchasing a van or you could end up wasting a lot of time and money
Hope it all works out for you and good luck

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Biscuit]

We bought our old girl in Luxembourg in one of the sanity gaps last year. Buying it was easy enough and the private vendor was very helpful in adding me to his insurance so i could drive it back just before Luxembourg went into lockdown, but DVLA were horrendous it took me 2 months of constant harranging to get them to do what is a fairly simple task and by the sound of it they have got even worse since. I believe Its also become more complicated since Brexit.

The main driver for us was that we had many years of experience and knew ( as much as you ever can) exactly what we wanted. maybe I'm reading it wrong but your posts suggests very little motorhoming experience? If this is the case my suggestion would be buy a "cheapie" over here first and give it a go for a year, buy then hopefully you will have more idea whether you even like motorhoming, what layout suits you, what sort of places you want to stop at ( so how big) and hopefully somebody upstairs might have given DVLA the kick up the ass that it so badly needs.

hth
Jon

Hi Jon
Thanks for your reply, you are right in us being newbies. We are looking to travel across Europe to maybe one day come across a location we love and then to purchase a home, taking into account new 90 day rulings on our travels after Brexit and stopping in and out of non shengan agreement countries. I hold an hgv class one licence so will be looking at a rear wheel drive twin axle rear bed home with a garage to take a motorcycle for easy travel. An American RV would be nice but think probably a bit too big for European camp sites and narrow streets in places, hence looking at a European style/size motorhome.I think we have a good idea of what we are after as it will be our home on wheels.
My main issue is rules and regs buying a left hand drive vehicle abroad..pros and cons and will it save us money doing so or buy in UK?

 

[Biscuit]

I have a horrible feeling that you might be caught for VAT on the van when and if you bring it to the UK if second hand post Brexit. The same with a new one but you should get back the EU VAT paid in the country of sale as an export and you can prove VAT has been paid.

don’t knock Fiat based Motorhomes as they are the base of the majority of vans made. I have had two and no problems yet in 8 years, touch wood!

Hi thanks, certainly not knocking Fiat but they did have a bad reputation but like you said most motor homes are Fiat based which now obviously speaks volume.
My main issue would be finding out that if we bought abroad and spend all of our time away from the UK how do things like MOT etc work if it is not registered here as the motorhome will be our main home. We have friends who have properties abroad so can we register it there?. A lot to enquire about

 

[Biscuit]

At the moment there seems to be some confusion regarding bringing in a use van from abroad and wether you pay VAT again in the UK, if you do it really would make more sense to buy in the UK.

No they don’t all have to be on Fiat but most are, if you are full timing you might want a big van with plenty of payload so RWD might be a good option, can you drive over 7500kg as that opens up an exciting array of options.

Hi thanks for your reply. I hold an HGV class 1 licence and would love to get an American RV but think it might be just that little too big for a lot of the narrow streets in Europe. Looking at a twin axle with garage,rear double bed, separate toilet/shower and obv left hand drive, it’s only for me and my good lady so want something which is comfortable and not small just in case friends want to visit just got to locate a dealer either UK or abroad with a lot to look at…

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[jongood]

Hi Jon
Thanks for your reply, you are right in us being newbies. We are looking to travel across Europe to maybe one day come across a location we love and then to purchase a home, taking into account new 90 day rulings on our travels after Brexit and stopping in and out of non shengan agreement countries. I hold an hgv class one licence so will be looking at a rear wheel drive twin axle rear bed home with a garage to take a motorcycle for easy travel. An American RV would be nice but think probably a bit too big for European camp sites and narrow streets in places, hence looking at a European style/size motorhome.I think we have a good idea of what we are after as it will be our home on wheels.
My main issue is rules and regs buying a left hand drive vehicle abroad..pros and cons and will it save us money doing so or buy in UK?

Quick answer for now is have a look on Link Removed, there are some bargains to be had and will be more in the Autumn. Germany is the biggest market for larger stuff in Europe. But my previous remarks regarding registering in UK still apply, have you got any trustworthy and accommodating mates in EU?

 

[Biscuit]

Quick answer for now is have a look on Link Removed, there are some bargains to be had and will be more in the Autumn. Germany is the biggest market for larger stuff in Europe. But my previous remarks regarding registering in UK still apply, have you got any trustworthy and accommodating mates in EU?

Got a good friend who has a property in the Algarve

 

[jongood]

Hi Jon
Thanks for your reply, you are right in us being newbies. We are looking to travel across Europe to maybe one day come across a location we love and then to purchase a home, taking into account new 90 day rulings on our travels after Brexit and stopping in and out of non shengan agreement countries. I hold an hgv class one licence so will be looking at a rear wheel drive twin axle rear bed home with a garage to take a motorcycle for easy travel. An American RV would be nice but think probably a bit too big for European camp sites and narrow streets in places, hence looking at a European style/size motorhome.I think we have a good idea of what we are after as it will be our home on wheels.
My main issue is rules and regs buying a left hand drive vehicle abroad..pros and cons and will it save us money doing so or buy in UK?

This one has been for sale for a long time ( probably because of the paint)

<Broken link removed>