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Travellers' questions that don't fit anywhere else This is an opportunity to ask any question, and post any notice you wish that doesn't fit into one of the other sections.
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  #1  
Old 12 Feb 2012
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getting MOT and inspection and tax of vehicle

Does any one know how a Non european person, a non uk resident can get MOT and tax on a vehicle in the UK. and in nesecary other insurance.

I know I need 3rd party insurance, as a driver

I have bought a van on ebay in the UK which is soon April 2012 to run out of MOT and tax. from then it needs the inspection get get back in MOT and TAX.

you might say O contact the DVLA, well thats had to do when the DVLA website blocks any enquires from persons without a UK address and UK post codes.

So can any one point me the way to get insuranc efrom a UK based insurance agency to make a start on this.
  #2  
Old 13 Feb 2012
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MOT. Take it to any MOT test centre. They are mostly busineses (not State owned) in every town, usually at workshop garages or similar facilities. Costs about GBP55. Takes about 30-40 minutes. There is no personal identity or other documentation required - anyone can take any vehicle and get it.
It iIs an annual certificate. If the existing certificate has not expired take it along and they will add to the new one any unexpired period of up to a month. If the old one (or the Tax) has expired you are permitted to use the vehicle to go to, and from, a pre-booked MOT and if it fails to go to a pre-booked repair place.

Tax. The vehicle must have a Registered Keeper who need not be the Owner nor the Driver. It can be any person or Limited Company but they must have (or provide) a physical UK address. The vehicle must have valid Tax if on any form of public road (even parked) in UK. If it has no tax it must be declared as off-road (SORN) annually. Its one or the other, tax/SORN.

Insurance. A regular problem for non-UK residents, but not impossible. There are other threads about this. Most use Internet insurance brokers.

You could ask the Seller to tax it forward for a year (and pay him the cost) if still the RK and has insurance for it. That postpones the tax problem for a year.

Are DVLA blocking you being on a non-UK IP address or just not accepting a typed-in enquiry without a physical UK address?
If the former you could try loading "Ex-Pat Shield" which assigns a temporary non-geographic IP address or a UK one (not sure which). It is normally used to be able to view on-line UK TV live, which is blocked to other countries for Rights reasons.
  #3  
Old 14 Feb 2012
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subject

Quote Insurance. A regular problem for non-UK residents, but not impossible. There are other threads about this. Most use Internet insurance brokers.

Can you advice where, this is the first problem, the second is no uk address to use as I don't intend to be in the UK very long before leaving.

I need to get MOT plus maybe inspection for old vehicle, Tax and insurance, then i will have to aply for export permit for vehicle i suppose, to take vehcle to France ( where it won't return back to the UK)
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Old 14 Feb 2012
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If nothing can be done by April 2012 to sort this out this vehcle will end up SORN off road and stuck at the previous owner property.
The previous owner now does not want the vehicle or pay MOT and tax on it.

So I need to find UK based insurure that will give me a Policy (3rd party) to non Uk resident.

Last edited by warrigal 1; 14 Feb 2012 at 22:21.
  #5  
Old 14 Feb 2012
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dvla website

no it is just i don't have a uk postcode that thew system will recognize.
does any one know a direct email contact to the DVLA offices
  #6  
Old 14 Feb 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tony P View Post
Insurance. A regular problem for non-UK residents, but not impossible. There are other threads about this. Most use Internet insurance brokers.

You could ask the Seller to tax it forward for a year (and pay him the cost) if still the RK and has insurance for it. That postpones the tax problem for a year.
unfortunately the seller is not prepared to put it back in his name for the road tax
insurance
and I can't get 3rd party insurance as yet because i don't have residence.
and i don't have a UK address for the tax

I find out now I also need a export permit to export the vehicle from the UK.but I need it it UK tax in my name first.
  #7  
Old 14 Feb 2012
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Why do you need an export permit to get it out of the UK? You just do that on the vehicle reg doc (V5 - declare a permanant export) You don't need any permit to do that; several of us are just about to do that with bikes and all we'll do is fill in the relevant bit on the V5 and send it off to DVLA at Swansea. Job done. As far as an address goes, book a night in a hostel and use that as an address. Just use the street number ( ie put 55 The High Street rather than ' Home for the Bewildered, 55 The High Street.'
  #8  
Old 14 Feb 2012
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There is no time in my planed travel to stay in the Uk any longer than just to go in and pick up the vehicle. (arrive london, travel to scotland , pick it up drive it back to the ferry port.)

Export permit, that is just what I have heard lately on other forums I have posted on about this on quite a few now.
will this V5 be approved for a non uk person.

This information I have on residency and a uk address is you arn't classes are a Uk resident until you have been there 3 to 6 months on Visa.

As I can't get a visa for the UK any type, despite paying a lot of money for various types, that makes me a tourist, so for that reason, I don't intend to be there in the UK for very long.

I have also been trying to find someone in the UK that could get all this MOT inspection (which will be due to do in April) and get the tax started again. The seller of the vehicle to me is not prepared to do this even if I pay him back, because the vehicle will still be in his name for UK Tax. for next 6 or 12 months.

I have looked at european green card insurance, but that is only for a UK taxed vehicle In tax, not for one not in Tax.

I have to get all this organized before I come to europe, I cannot afford two trips to Europe , One to organize the vehicle and then the trip.

Last edited by warrigal 1; 14 Feb 2012 at 22:23. Reason: change
  #9  
Old 14 Feb 2012
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As far as I know this can still be done the old fashioned way.

Walk into a high street insurance brokers, give the address of a hotel or the one on the V5, hand over the cash and walk out with a cover note.

Find a "no appointment" MOT place, drive in, bribe the ****wits to pass it, sorry, I mean buy new shock absorbers/wiper blades/bulbs/ash tray cleaner, drive out with the certificate.

Walk into any post office with cash and the three bits of paper (V5, cover note, MOT certificate) and walk out with the tax disc.

Ring the broker and cancel the UK insurance (they'll keep most of the premium for "administraton"), ring your German or Australian insurer and do whatever is required to get the driver cover green card extended to cover this vehicle as required. Post half the V5 back to Swansea from Calais with the Exported box ticked.

Not the cheapest way but the fastest.

Andy
  #10  
Old 14 Feb 2012
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You can buy a new tax disc whilst the old one is still valid. If the previous owner of the vehicle still has his old Certificate of Insurance lying around (even though he has cancelled the policy) get him to go and buy a new tax disc on your behalf now, whilst the MOT is still valid. Doesn't matter if the MOT runs out in 2 weeks time, if you go to the post office they still have to give you the tax. (It used to be easy to drive around with no MOT without getting caught).

If you're takeing the van out of the UK before the tax+mot expire, then just don't bother. Foreign police/officials *in general* don't know what you're meant to have. The exception is parts of France where lots of UK expats live.

Unless you've bought a very unique vehicle, or got an incredibly low price, then buying in Scotland looks like a massive mistake. You should have waited till something came up in the South East.
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  #11  
Old 14 Feb 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Threewheelbonnie View Post
As far as I know this can still be done the old fashioned way.

Walk into a high street insurance brokers, give the address of a hotel or the one on the V5, hand over the cash and walk out with a cover note.

Find a "no appointment" MOT place, drive in, bribe the ****wits to pass it, sorry, I mean buy new shock absorbers/wiper blades/bulbs/ash tray cleaner, drive out with the certificate.

Walk into any post office with cash and the three bits of paper (V5, cover note, MOT certificate) and walk out with the tax disc.

Ring the broker and cancel the UK insurance (they'll keep most of the premium for "administraton"), ring your German or Australian insurer and do whatever is required to get the driver cover green card extended to cover this vehicle as required. Post half the V5 back to Swansea from Calais with the Exported box ticked.

Not the cheapest way but the fastest.

Andy
yes but can a non european / uk person do this
  #12  
Old 14 Feb 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nath View Post
You can buy a new tax disc whilst the old one is still valid. If the previous owner of the vehicle still has his old Certificate of Insurance lying around (even though he has cancelled the policy) get him to go and buy a new tax disc on your behalf now, whilst the MOT is still valid. Doesn't matter if the MOT runs out in 2 weeks time, if you go to the post office they still have to give you the tax. (It used to be easy to drive around with no MOT without getting caught).

If you're takeing the van out of the UK before the tax+mot expire, then just don't bother. Foreign police/officials *in general* don't know what you're meant to have. The exception is parts of France where lots of UK expats live.

Unless you've bought a very unique vehicle, or got an incredibly low price, then buying in Scotland looks like a massive mistake. You should have waited till something came up in the South East.
The information I have been told by The seller (a UK citizen) is he cannot leagally do it for me because it will still be in his/their name for UK Tax.

the problem is time, I don't have the time to hang around one or two weeks to wait for the paperwork and permits to be posted out to a tempory address.

and to me it is a very unique vehicle, and it was at a low purchase price because it is Old.
Its either hire a vehicle in the UK at over $5000 plus Australian or by a vehicle for a lower price.


No Australian insurance broker will provide insurance cover for a Vehicle overseas / UK

For the DVLA it must be a UK based insurance.
  #13  
Old 14 Feb 2012
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DVLA is not a helpful, user friendly organisation.

You might be yet another to be fcuked over by DVLA, their self made 'rules' mainly implemented to gather 'out of Court settlements' that offset their failing budget, and too many uninformed opinions (and I will not claim to know more for present purposes - your call!)

Half of your fears are not a problem until the expiry date of MOT and any existing Road Tax disc.

Forget the Export Permit nonsence. Someone is talking from 'down - under'!
Oops! Sorry, Cobber - no offence intended

Your problems to concentrate on are getting it out of UK with -
- V5C, main details page. Not necessarily in your name, but you will need to take with you and retain for onward travels in other countries. The Seller should send it back to DVLA to get himself 'off the hook' for the vehicle.
- Insurance. As you pass the locust like plague of ANPR cameras throughout GB (I am so glad I live in one of the World's remaining Free Countries where all that Orwellian predicted state control nonsence does not exist) they instantly flag up to the operator whether the vehicle is on the Motor Insurers Bureau database and has Road Tax (but not the MOT - that takes longer for them to find).

I am not offering solutions here but showing you what you must concentrate on and what you can ignore.

Once the vehicle (and V5C) is out of UK you can in practical terms forget anything else and travel with the V5C (with a letter of authority from whoever is named as the Registered Keeper) and local insurance. But for your own financial future's sake ensure you have insurance!
  #14  
Old 15 Feb 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by warrigal 1 View Post
The information I have been told by The seller (a UK citizen) is he cannot leagally do it for me because it will still be in his/their name for UK Tax.
Then either he's misunderstood what you're asking, or he's talking bollocks.

As mentioned in the post above, it's the registration document (in the UK the V5c, also known as the logbook) which is important. As mentioned above it doesn't have to be in your name, but I would recommend it as foreign officials will start asking extra questions if it isn't. The guy you're buying the car off will insist on transfering the registration to you, because if he didn't then you could drive through speed cameras, get parking tickets etc, and they would be sent to him.

You need some mates living in a shared house in the UK who don't give a shit what mail comes through their door. This should include any Aussies over on the obligatory 1 or 2 year working holiday visa. You give the guy selling the car this address and your name. The new registration document (v5c) gets posted to this address and has your name on it along with this address. For all purposes concerning the vehicle, you now live there. The fact that you don't live there is irrelevant. There is no such thing as officially residing at an address. We don't have this concept in the UK. You live where you say you do. Because you're immediately leaving the country, there is nothing going to be sent to you at that address of any importance apart from the v5c itself. You only need tax, MOT and UK insurance long enough to get out the UK.

I take it you're doing one of those banger rallies, probably to Mongolia? Seeing as how loads of Aussies do them every year with UK vehicles without any problems, I think that you're looking for problems that don't exist.
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  #15  
Old 15 Feb 2012
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Catch 22

You have a lot of good advice and explanation here about the mess that are the UK regulations for vehicles, including the way they are implemented by computer software with hardly any recourse to humans.
A prime issue I can't see how you are dealing with is the registered keeper aspect - you say that you have already bought the vehicle, so the seller is, at the very least, wanting a UK address from you so that the V5C can be completed and he is no longer the RK, thereby no longer taking responsibility for what happens with the vehicle while on the public roads:- all the other aspects itemised here, cameras, insurance cover and the like.
The problem of using "any old" address such as a hotel or where ever is that becomes the address where the new V5C will be sent - and that takes time in the mail + the processing time at the DVLA; some weeks when they are busy.
For me this is the catch 22 issue and you can see why Brits are loath to offer their own home address as an "accommodation address" - whatever that vehicle incurs in traffic offences etc comes straight back to the registered address, sooner or later and as long as the vehicle is registered there.
Haven't you got any Aussie mates living in a flat in Earls Court who can send the V5C on to you???

Assuming you can find a solution to the above, I would just drive the vehicle to the nearest ferry port, with a pre-booked MOT test at that port (done from the phone book but you don't turn up), using minor back roads and well away from all forms of cameras.
After all you say you are not bringing the vehicle back to the UK, ever.

ps bring a set of OZ plates with you and stick them on for the UK cameras while driving to the port.
But, that won't get you insurance cover
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