Exporting a car from the UK

[AndrewEH1]

What could stop you from removing the UK plates as soon as you get it then putting your Swedish plates on before driving to the ferry?

[XFDreamer]

Isn't there a way you can drive an untaxed vehicle to a MOT station as long as you have an appointment?

Book an MOT in Harwich on the day you intend to travel but don't bother turning up.

Once you're on the docks you should be okay.

[Finlandia]

Now we are getting somewhere, the above things could actually work, slightly bending the law but not really breaking it either.

[TooMany2cvs]

AndrewEH1 said:

What could stop you from removing the UK plates as soon as you get it then putting your Swedish plates on before driving to the ferry?

But they wouldn't be Swedish plates relating to that car... They'd be Swedish plates off a different car entirely. Ringing cars is never a wise move.

[solo2]

You can tax a car as a new keeper but not change the address on the V5C. use the document reference number to tax it on the green new keeper slip of the log book. It's one digit longer than the main document number.

DVLA will know that a new keeper has taxed the car and then you can driver it legally and export it. You just won't get a refund of the remaining tax

[Roo]

TooMany2cvs said:

Roo said:

CDB1983 said:

German transit plates,

http://www.transit-plate.com

Fill out all the online forms before you leave your home country, Arrive in the UK, remove UK plates and put the transit plates on and your good to go

Isn't that just for Germany?

No, you can get international ones.

I struggled to understand that site. It looked, to me, like either the car had to originate in Germany or be heading there.

[Finlandia]

solo2 said:

You can tax a car as a new keeper but not change the address on the V5C. use the document reference number to tax it on the green new keeper slip of the log book. It's one digit longer than the main document number.

DVLA will know that a new keeper has taxed the car and then you can driver it legally and export it. You just won't get a refund of the remaining tax

Cheers, that sounds best so far.

[anonymous-user]

Roo said:

I struggled to understand that site. It looked, to me, like either the car had to originate in Germany or be heading there.

They do seem to be valid europe wide and as they will accept non German documents I think this is the case,

Also i've noticed places in Poland and in Greece that provide them, (Physical offices) so i'm guessing you should be fine to use them for the purpose of transporting a car around Europe. One of my Aussie friends used them for 6 months whilst backpacking around Europe without any issues. Be aware the insurance is Third party only though.

[chalda]

Roo said:

I struggled to understand that site. It looked, to me, like either the car had to originate in Germany or be heading there.

Technically speaking, the car has to originate in Germany. It is unlawful to assign german numberplates to a car not located in Germany.

However, the relevant bit of the offer is:

"DOCUMENTS REQUIRED:
- Copy of the german registration document (front and reverse)
- Copy of the valid german MOT (certificate of the technical inspection-TÜV/Dekra)"

Law in Germany has changed recently. Those (we call them "short-term") numberplates are only issued anymore if you can provide a valid TUeV document. Which renders them mostly useless, as they were used for driving cars to/from dealers, storage etc. Obviously there was a lot of misuse.

[Pete54]

2 years ago I imported an SM from Holland. The dealer organised these German transit plates and the customs in both Holland and Newcastle seemed pretty familiar with them. Last year I was talking to a chap in Calais who was bringing in a Ferrari 599 - usuing the same transit plates. Whether this is still a sensible way to go I'm unsure.

[Finlandia]

Thanks for the ideas and help. All went well, even if I ended up buying a different car than the one I initially had set my eyes on

[chalda]

Pete54 said:

Last year I was talking to a chap in Calais who was bringing in a Ferrari 599 - usuing the same transit plates. Whether this is still a sensible way to go I'm unsure.

If the Ferrari's origin had not been Germany, it was/is not (at least if you intend to drive in Germany). German law has changed. It now says that you need a valid TUeV certificate for those german transit plates to be assigned to your car. And they do not let you have the plates anymore with you to decide on what car you want to stick them. Law also says that you are only allowed to stick these plates on cars that located are in Germany (for your enjoyment, that is the unzulässige Fernzulassung). Law says this, law says that.

If your route does not take you through Germany and you are willing to gamble that nobody is really interested, well...