Trouble with German trade plates

[Hymerbell]

I’m off to look at another MH near Frankfurter....dealer says trade plates may be €500.....€500 ! Other dealers in other provinces...(are they provinces in Germany ?) have quoted €150 for 5 days 3rd party insurance. It will only take me 1 or 2 days to get back to UK...seems a lot to pay for a a couple of days insurance. Am getting insurance based on VIN for new MH...does that include driving through Germany or does that only kick in once I reach Dover ? MH doesn’t appear to have German plates on...do German dealers just remove them...can I ask them to put them back on and forget the trade plates and save €150 to €500....maybe to help pay for speed fines in the way back ?

 

[gerry mcg]

VIN insurance with Safeguard was only valid once you reach the UK.
The European leg was not covered

 

[ABZSteve]

I’m off to look at another MH near Frankfurter....dealer says trade plates may be €500.....€500 ! Other dealers in other provinces...(are they provinces in Germany ?) have quoted €150 for 5 days 3rd party insurance. It will only take me 1 or 2 days to get back to UK...seems a lot to pay for a a couple of days insurance. Am getting insurance based on VIN for new MH...does that include driving through Germany or does that only kick in once I reach Dover ? MH doesn’t appear to have German plates on...do German dealers just remove them...can I ask them to put them back on and forget the trade plates and save €150 to €500....maybe to help pay for speed fines in the way back ?

Glad to see you are a forward thinking individual. However, you may wish to try negotiating a higher discount to maybe help pay for the trade plates and perhaps road tax and UK insurance when required; or don't and use the discount to cover the fines. Again, forward thinking eh? Rememeber the breathalyser

 

[Robin McHood]

I’m off to look at another MH near Frankfurter....dealer says trade plates may be €500.....€500 ! Other dealers in other provinces...(are they provinces in Germany ?) have quoted €150 for 5 days 3rd party insurance. It will only take me 1 or 2 days to get back to UK...seems a lot to pay for a a couple of days insurance. Am getting insurance based on VIN for new MH...does that include driving through Germany or does that only kick in once I reach Dover ? MH doesn’t appear to have German plates on...do German dealers just remove them...can I ask them to put them back on and forget the trade plates and save €150 to €500....maybe to help pay for speed fines in the way back ?

German plates belong to the individual not the vehicle. We went with previous owner to ADAC office for the ownership transfer and then to the registration office where we got our new plates good for 3 months and including 3rd party insurance. Dont remember the cost now but it wasnt huge and certainly not €500

 

[Augusta08]

When I imported my first MH a McLouis from Italy, I bought a cheap cherished number, my son's initials, on a retention certificate. Then insured the vehicle on that number, got a cover note, got plates made. Flew to Milan with plates and sticky tape in my baggage.

The factory had my vehicle ready, they looked amused when I took the plates out stuck them on and drove home.

Gerry

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[Lenny HB]

The export plates are a legal requirement in Germany but €500 does appear to be OTT.
You could enquire at the TUV office in the dealers area to see how much they are then you would know if the dealer is stitching you up. If they are a lot cheaper you can then ask why he is charging so much.

 

[sallylillian]

When I imported my first MH a McLouis from Italy, I bought a cheap cherished number, my son's initials, on a retention certificate. Then insured the vehicle on that number, got a cover note, got plates made. Flew to Milan with plates and sticky tape in my baggage.

The factory had my vehicle ready, they looked amused when I took the plates out stuck them on and drove home.

Gerry

I have a personal plate too and considered this ruse on both occasions I imported. Even in today's world of online records the transfer on a UK transaction would take days for the insurance companies databases to see the relationship of the new vehicle to the personal plate from the DVLA. So in principle sounds a plan. BUT. What happens if you have an accident on foreign soil on the way home? It would not take long for assesors to suss that the vehicle was never on the DVLA database, hence not registered, hence no insurance! Now this may be doom and gloom on my part as the alternative is to take the German export plates and the third party insurance only, and then VIN cover of fully comp once in the UK. At least you have a legitimate paper trail to talk with Police about.
Michael

 

[Hymerbell]

Ah right..Thanks all. Think it’s a bit late for the cherished number plate ruse as I fly out tomorrow (decided not to risk the French speeding fines and Belgium motorcycle gendarmes). I think I’ll do as Lenny HB says and pay a visit to local Kfz-Zulassungsstellen office first although that might be a pain as won’t have car to get there. Also dealer says they are only open between 9am and 11am which can’t be right. It’s Germany not France. So I think dealer maybe trying to rip me off which then makes me worry if the MH is not such a good deal after all ?.

Anyway had enough of trawling all over Holland and Germany (and Lytham St. Anne’s) looking for a MH so going to just go for this one and put it down to experience if it blows up on the way back to UK as I’m dying to get going on a trip to sunnier climes for a month or two.

 

[Robin McHood]

Ah right..Thanks all. Think it’s a bit late for the cherished number plate ruse as I fly out tomorrow (decided not to risk the French speeding fines and Belgium motorcycle gendarmes). I think I’ll do as Lenny HB says and pay a visit to local Kfz-Zulassungsstellen office first although that might be a pain as won’t have car to get there. Also dealer says they are only open between 9am and 11am which can’t be right. It’s Germany not France. So I think dealer maybe trying to rip me off which then makes me worry if the MH is not such a good deal after all ?.

Anyway had enough of trawling all over Holland and Germany (and Lytham St. Anne’s) looking for a MH so going to just go for this one and put it down to experience if it blows up on the way back to UK as I’m dying to get going on a trip to sunnier climes for a month or two.

FYI, this was from Wolfgang at the time we bought RH...
"I just checked this item and have learned the office is open afternoon, depending of the weekday.
And we / I can make online-reservation to reduce the waiting time. Good service. But this system need one week forerun.
Very important for you is, to bring with you the "electronic certificate of insurance", called "eVB-Ref.-Number" (seven-digit).
Other documents will not accepted!
Further required papers - except your passport! - are on my part: Zulassung I and II, last TUV-certificate, last emissionstest.
The TUV-certificate is still value till end of april - so I see no reason for next test in Germany, because you have to do all the procedure at home (again)."

Good luck with your purchase!

 

[Hymerbell]

FYI, this was from Wolfgang at the time we bought RH...
"I just checked this item and have learned the office is open afternoon, depending of the weekday.
And we / I can make online-reservation to reduce the waiting time. Good service. But this system need one week forerun.
Very important for you is, to bring with you the "electronic certificate of insurance", called "eVB-Ref.-Number" (seven-digit).
Other documents will not accepted!
Further required papers - except your passport! - are on my part: Zulassung I and II, last TUV-certificate, last emissionstest.
The TUV-certificate is still value till end of april - so I see no reason for next test in Germany, because you have to do all the procedure at home (again)."

Good luck with your purchase!

Hmm....the electronic certificate of insurance ?.....whats that ? I don’t have any certificate of insurance electronic or otherwise....?

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[Robin McHood]

Hmm....the electronic certificate of insurance ?.....whats that ? I don’t have any certificate of insurance electronic or otherwise....?

We got this short term insurance at the local ADAC office in Ulm. Your dealer should be able to guide you through this, in our case Wolfgang was a huge help. This insurance covered us, for one month up to loading onto the ferry which gave us a chance to do a bit of touring in Bavaria and on to the Netherlands before the ferry home.. No cover on the ferry itself but UK VIN based insurance kicked in once we drove off the ferry. I had already booked the required MOT (for the following day to ferry arrival) in Edinburgh. Our home just happens to be halfway between Newcastle and Edinburgh so I was legally compliant for driving in UK on German plates as we were enroute to the MOT testing station. From there, once done, with legal MOT and insurance I drove home and RH sat on the drive until the UK reg procedure was completed and we had our new UK reg number.

 

[Hymerbell]

We got this short term insurance at the local ADAC office in Ulm. Your dealer should be able to guide you through this, in our case Wolfgang was a huge help. This insurance covered us, for one month up to loading onto the ferry which gave us a chance to do a bit of touring in Bavaria and on to the Netherlands before the ferry home.. No cover on the ferry itself but UK VIN based insurance kicked in once we drove off the ferry. I had already booked the required MOT (for the following day to ferry arrival) in Edinburgh. Our home just happens to be halfway between Newcastle and Edinburgh so I was legally compliant for driving in UK on German plates as we were enroute to the MOT testing station. From there, once done, with legal MOT and insurance I drove home and RH sat on the drive until the UK reg procedure was completed and we had our new UK reg number.

Hmm right, that ADAC short term insurance seems ideal..any idea of what it costs ? I have a feeling that my dealer is not going to be so helpful as yours...I thought that the trade plates that you got from the local registration office INCLUDED 3rd party insurance. I’m OK with the VIN insurance when I hit Folkestone, just trying to find the cheapest way to get the trade plates to get me to the Channel Tunnel...as I said the dealer seemed to think it would be €500 ! I feel he may be trying to recoup some of the money I knocked off the price of the MH but I presume I am a bit stuck there as he has to be present and transfer the ownership/plates to me. I can’t just go al9ng and get my own trade plates can I ?

 

[Robin McHood]

Hmm right, that ADAC short term insurance seems ideal..any idea of what it costs ? I have a feeling that my dealer is not going to be so helpful as yours...I thought that the trade plates that you got from the local registration office INCLUDED 3rd party insurance. I’m OK with the VIN insurance when I hit Folkestone, just trying to find the cheapest way to get the trade plates to get me to the Channel Tunnel...as I said the dealer seemed to think it would be €500 ! I feel he may be trying to recoup some of the money I knocked off the price of the MH but I presume I am a bit stuck there as he has to be present and transfer the ownership/plates to me. I can’t just go al9ng and get my own trade plates can I ?

In our case we were buying from a private individual. The plates we got were export plates, I dont know anything about trade plates but would guess they are the same thing, it is because reg plates in Germany are for the person not the vehicle. While I dont now remember the costs, they were not huge, I think the plates were around £30 or £40 and the insurance at ADAC wasn't massive or I would remember how much it was!

 

[Robin McHood]

I dont think you can get these plates yourself, there has to be a German resident in the municipality present when you apply.

 

[busbuddy]

when i bought my last one (a karmann) in 2006 the seller(small used car dealer in neu ulm) had to come to the local office with me and we had to take the van
at the local office we did a bit of paperwork, like yes its his and i am the buyer with passport, went almost next door to get export plates made and pay the 30 day insurance (other length cover was available) came back to office and the lady behind the desk came out to the van to check vin, back into office to sign and then i dropped the dealer back and drove off
a few details seem to differ depending on where you buy, like a big dealer getting export plates for you and other variants

maybe this is a future subject for jims magazine

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[Crazylegs]

The €500 quote is a bit odd and would worry me, we bought our first Hymer from a dealer who reluctantly arranged the third party export plates for us, I think we paid €150 but a good chunk of that was a charge for the dealers time to arrange the plates.
Just as in the U.K. there are Motorhome dealers in Germany who may not have your best interests at heart, we went all the way to southern Germany to view a Hymer that had severe hail damage all over it but the dealer didn’t think it was worth telling us about it in advance.

 

[Peatmoor]

when i bought my last one (a karmann) in 2006 the seller(small used car dealer in neu ulm) had to come to the local office with me and we had to take the van
at the local office we did a bit of paperwork, like yes its his and i am the buyer with passport, went almost next door to get export plates made and pay the 30 day insurance (other length cover was available) came back to office and the lady behind the desk came out to the van to check vin, back into office to sign and then i dropped the dealer back and drove off
a few details seem to differ depending on where you buy, like a big dealer getting export plates for you and other variants

maybe this is a future subject for jims magazine

When I bought my used MH from near Hamburg, the dealer came with me in the MH to the local registration office. I had to go through the same procedure as above.. The MH was inspected and the chassis number checked, then temporary plates were made and handed over for me to fit before I was allowed to drive the van. The 3rd party insurance which came with the plates allowed me to drive for 5 days in Germany. I can,t remember the cost but I think it was under 250 euros in 2014.

 

[Robin McHood]

When I bought my used MH from near Hamburg, the dealer came with me in the MH to the local registration office. I had to go through the same procedure as above.. The MH was inspected and the chassis number checked, then temporary plates were made and handed over for me to fit before I was allowed to drive the van. The 3rd party insurance which came with the plates allowed me to drive for 5 days in Germany. I can,t remember the cost but I think it was under 250 euros in 2014.

Interesting, we didnt have to take our mh anywhere but maybe that was because it was still on existing owner's plates so it was a transfer as opposed to a dealership which wouldn't have existing owner plates due to the personal nature of german plates.

 

[bobandjanie]

I have some for sale ? as new condition with funster discount €1 + postage and packing. ? Bob.

I think we paid €250 including 30 days insurance.

 

[Hymerbell]

Thanks all....well the trade plates were obtained by the dealer....he said he would email me what they cost...said €25 plus insurance which he didn’t have the cost for yet.....if it’s €500 I just won’t pay it....couldn’t be bothered arguing as needed to get going and get home to sort out all the DVLA stuff. He actually turned out to be a nice guy so sure he’s not ripping me off......sorted out VIN insurance with Safegard and sitting in the new (to me) Hymer on the Channel Tunnel as we speak....hurraaah !

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