Getting a Fiat 500 from Sicily to U.K.
Discussion
If you have any budget, there are a couple of companies that specialise in sourcing cars in Italy and can help with everything, from just speaking Italian to doing all the documentation and the logistics.
The ones that I most often hear recommended are Al McNaughton Gisby ( http://www.asmgitalia.com)
and Paul Baker, who gets bonus points for formerly owning an S4 Stradale ( http://www.omologatoconsultancy.com
The ones that I most often hear recommended are Al McNaughton Gisby ( http://www.asmgitalia.com)
and Paul Baker, who gets bonus points for formerly owning an S4 Stradale ( http://www.omologatoconsultancy.com
Edited by jamesatcandsc on Friday 31st March 21:28
Edited by jamesatcandsc on Friday 31st March 21:28
This thread would be worth a read -> http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=161...
Having driven a '66 500F to the UK from Florence around this time of year a few years back my advice would strongly be "don't do it!".
All the romance that made you want the car in the first place gets beaten out of you as you struggle along for hours on end, day after day, in the rain, deafened and cramped in the thing. It feels a long way from zipping around the local towns for thirty minutes with the roof open. Don't get me wrong, it was an adventure and friends still smile at the memory many years later, but we ended up almost resenting the car by the time it was home and we never quite fell in love with it again, so ended up selling it after a few years. It was still beautiful to look at but the joy had gone from driving it. And ours didn't have a major breakdown either (we were lucky).
Import-wise you would need the original plates if you do want to drive it and, yes, the current owner will need them back. MOT was straightforward as could be done on the chassis number. The DVLA local office (when they existed) turned our paperwork round in just over a week and returned all the Italian docs with it.
Good luck with it! :-)
All the romance that made you want the car in the first place gets beaten out of you as you struggle along for hours on end, day after day, in the rain, deafened and cramped in the thing. It feels a long way from zipping around the local towns for thirty minutes with the roof open. Don't get me wrong, it was an adventure and friends still smile at the memory many years later, but we ended up almost resenting the car by the time it was home and we never quite fell in love with it again, so ended up selling it after a few years. It was still beautiful to look at but the joy had gone from driving it. And ours didn't have a major breakdown either (we were lucky).
Import-wise you would need the original plates if you do want to drive it and, yes, the current owner will need them back. MOT was straightforward as could be done on the chassis number. The DVLA local office (when they existed) turned our paperwork round in just over a week and returned all the Italian docs with it.
Good luck with it! :-)
MI y girlfriend made a surprise eBay purchase back in January and we ended up taking a trailer having fitted a towbar to dad's Giulietta the week before. We did plan to buy one to drive back but felt it would probably be a little much, especially as we bought in January and we encountered some snow on our journey.
The seller also spoke no English, communication was all by email and Google translate. When we met, he conveniently had an American friend on the phone to translate. In Italy, on purchases above a certain value, you need an invoice signed by a "notarie" which cost us €160 on top of the purchase price.
We kept the Italian number plates on the promise to return them upon the car's registration here in the UK.
IMG_7197 by Kamil Burczyk, on Flickr
The seller also spoke no English, communication was all by email and Google translate. When we met, he conveniently had an American friend on the phone to translate. In Italy, on purchases above a certain value, you need an invoice signed by a "notarie" which cost us €160 on top of the purchase price.
We kept the Italian number plates on the promise to return them upon the car's registration here in the UK.
IMG_7197 by Kamil Burczyk, on FlickrEdited by kamilb1998 on Saturday 1st April 09:49
If you do decide to buy this car and want to bring it back to the UK, you might like to note that there is a ferry that runs from Palermo in Sicily to Genoa. It takes 22 hours and when I did it in the reverse direction many years ago, there were no cabins and everyone just stayed in their cars for the duration of the trip. There may then be a train on which you can put it to take it to Calais - there was one from Antibes a few years ago. Keep us in touch!
I was about to drive to Lake Como last week for a few days when my Merc suddenly felt poorly so I went in my lhd Panda instead. Apart from leg ache due to no cruise control, it was a breeze.
I've done it several times before to get the Panda MoTd but generally have a good rest between trips. This time I did the return trip only a week later but it was still a breeze, even at my advanced age (73).
I test drove a 500 lots of years ago for my wife but refused to buy it as it was so tiny and underpowered so don't think I'd be driving it from Sicily unless you take a week or so to do it. I'd guess the ferry to Genova would be a really good start.
I've done it several times before to get the Panda MoTd but generally have a good rest between trips. This time I did the return trip only a week later but it was still a breeze, even at my advanced age (73).
I test drove a 500 lots of years ago for my wife but refused to buy it as it was so tiny and underpowered so don't think I'd be driving it from Sicily unless you take a week or so to do it. I'd guess the ferry to Genova would be a really good start.
So, to end this story, I decided to get a bloke to bring it back in the back of his van!
Easy to do - cost me £1k - but at least I have it in the UK 2 weeks later. Not a romantic story, no epic road trip, bit of a let down really. However, the car is great, really cute and lots of fun to drive!
Thanks for all the help/ideas/suggestions!
Easy to do - cost me £1k - but at least I have it in the UK 2 weeks later. Not a romantic story, no epic road trip, bit of a let down really. However, the car is great, really cute and lots of fun to drive!
Thanks for all the help/ideas/suggestions!
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