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Is it straight forward buying a car in France.

Nin

Enthusiast
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Do you have to register foreign car in uk DVLA? And can someone tell me about the MOT situation ...if it has a foreign equivalent does it have to go thro a uk MOT? Can I insure a car from France and drive it back or would it have to be transported ?

Thx Nin
 
Its been covered many times so have a bit of a search for more detail, but in summary;

You can buy a car in France and bring it back here - theres no additional tax to pay.

A UK classic insurer should be able to insure it against the chassis number - a French insurer would be unlikely to offer cover if you are not resident there.

Yes, you do have to register it in the UK but its straightforward - get an MOT then toddle off to DVLA, hand them money and fill out the appropriate forms.

Personally I'd drive it back so long as it was road worthy and legal. However, a UK resident and licence holder driving a French registered car that they own, in the UK might be an interesting legal situation but the chances of you actually getting caught are incredibly small. Worth further investigation though...
 
Many thx

Cheers for summary, not as problematic as I thought. Will have a deeper scroll through the the forum:)

Nin
 
Unfortunately things are a little more complicated now due to changes in the VAT rules and the closure of DVLA offices. You will need a NOVA certificate before you can register the car and unless you live near a licensing office which is still open all the paperwork has to be sent to the DVLA. The insurance on chassis number is usually limited to 14 days and there are reports of people having their paperwork returned with the vehicle unregistered as the insurance had run out in the meantime. One Lambretta owner apparently had this happen to him on more than one occasion. Google Nova certificate for an idea of the current situation.
 
If you are importing from within the EU you do are 100% certainly not liable for any VAT or customs fees as a private individual.

The situation might be different with scooters if they weren't originally sold here as they would require BIVA / SVA or whatever but that won't apply to a standard EU sourced R4.

The NOVA forms only have to be completed by businesses or anyone importing vehicles from within the EU in the course of their business.
 
thx guys

Thank you both for this... I am off next weekend to view one:D not in France so I won't need to worry about VAT, Papers etc. It has already been registered here in UK. Will keep you all posted about how I get on.

Trying to keep very :cool:
 
The NOVA form must be completed by individuals as well as businesses, VAT will not be payable if the vehicle comes from the EU but the form must still be completed before the DVLA will register a vehicle. This applies to all vehicle imports I just used the example of the Lambretta as there is a very active scene bringing these in at present so the numbers of people suffering from delays in the new procedures is quite large. I suggest you look at this page

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/sectors/consumers/personal-vehicles.htm

it clearly explains that the regulations apply to new and used vehicles including personal imports from the EU
 
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