VED expert required

[Richie200]

If I buy a car, insure and tax it then take it away on the continent for say, 5 months; would it be legal to SORN the vehicle for this time as it will not be driven on UK roads?

[Tom_C76]

Not unless you tax it on the continent! You'll also struggle to find insurance cover for 5 months abroad.

[GKP]

OK for the UK side of things, but the country in which you'll be driving will need you to either satisfy all legal requirements of your own country (and allow you to drive as a guest), or import and re-register the car in theirs.

So in a word, no.

[Richie200]

Insurance cover is not the problem as this aspect is covered. I believe that after 6 months a car would need to be registered in the new country. I also travel all over the EU and spend only a few months at a time in each country, hence why I am concerned only about it being covered from the UK perspective. If the car has an MOT and insurance and not driven on UK roads then I think legally there is no requirement for UK road tax???? Please correct me if I am wrong.

[GKP]

You are wrong. For the country you are visisting to let you drive your car there, the car will need to be fully legal in the car's home country (the country in which it is registered).

Having no tax for the UK will make your car illegal to drive here in the UK, so it will automatically be illegal to drive in the country you are visiting.

[crofty1984]

I think it's not legal.
However I also think that they're unlikely to catch you (There's no Italian-run ANPR cameras in the UK for example)
So that's a choice that's up to you.

[Denis O]

And when, heaven forbid, you prang it and your insurance company want all your documents how are you going to explain the lack of VED.

As others have said, for the 6 months you can drive in a foreign country, your car must be legal in it's home country.

Insurance
VED
MOT (if over 3 years old)

[Steve748]

And don't forget to take the V5 insurance and mot with you as well as license and passport to show if you get stopped. Photocopies are not allowed