Registering an import
Registering an import
Author
Discussion

steve1968

Original Poster:

401 posts

290 months

Thursday 13th February 2020
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Could anyone advise on the cost /procedure for registering and German import , bike is 16 years old , 10k miles and already here , not bought it yet .

Had a google , is it as simple as getting MOT , filling the forms out , waiting for new registration then having plate made ?

Cost being MOT and number plate only ?

NS400R

507 posts

189 months

Thursday 13th February 2020
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You need a Nova certificate. Without one, walk away.... Other than that MOT, insurance and £55 first reg fee plus road tax iirc.

roboxm3

2,485 posts

225 months

Thursday 13th February 2020
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My Aprilia was bought new over here by the original owner, then shipped to Spain (on Spanish plates) for a few years and I was the first owner back in the UK. I can't remember exactly what I had to do i.e. which forms needed completing etc. but I do know that all I had to do was rock up at the post office in P'boro and do some "stuff" and it was sorted, no biggie...

catso

16,529 posts

297 months

Friday 14th February 2020
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I imported my Guzzi from Italy, as above you need to fill out the NOVA certificate which is basically to assess if you need to pay any VAT (I didn't as it was it was old and from the EU). I believe there is a requirement to fill in the NOVA within 6 months of import - not sure how they know when it was imported though as mine was brought over in a van with no paper trail required?

Then needed an MOT so I insured on the frame no. to allow me to ride to the MOT station. Once MOT'd I filled out the DVLA form and sent it to them along with the original registration document, MOT certificate, the fee (around £80 IIRC) plus the cost of the road tax.

I got a V5 document and a new MOT certificate (with reg. rather than frame no.) about a week later and was issued an age related plate.

Note - if you don't have the original documentation or some other proof of age then you may struggle to get an age related plate, maybe even get a 'Q' plate? plus DVLA keep/destroy the original documents.

All in I was impressed with how simple and quick it was and not what I was expecting at all.

Krikkit

27,938 posts

211 months

Friday 14th February 2020
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Does sound deceptively straight-forward - how easy was the insurance by frame number? I always have a mental image of hearing the poor operator on the phone have a brain aneurysm when you ask for it.

NS400R

507 posts

189 months

Friday 14th February 2020
quotequote all
Krikkit said:
Does sound deceptively straight-forward - how easy was the insurance by frame number? I always have a mental image of hearing the poor operator on the phone have a brain aneurysm when you ask for it.
That's the easy part.

If any piece of paperwork is missing, then it can become a nightmare. We bought my son's bike from a reputable dealer. The bike had been brought back from Guernsey and the owner hadn't got NOVA. It took 3 fraught months to sort.


catso

16,529 posts

297 months

Friday 14th February 2020
quotequote all
Krikkit said:
Does sound deceptively straight-forward - how easy was the insurance by frame number? I always have a mental image of hearing the poor operator on the phone have a brain aneurysm when you ask for it.
No problem, I called the insurance co. that covered my other bikes and added it to the multi-bike policy. They were happy to issue the frame number for up to a month (extendable if necessary) and to let them know the reg. no. once issued - they didn't even charge an 'admin' fee once I updated it.

That said I only needed insurance to ride it to the MOT, if you could take it in a van/trailer then you could leave the insurance until after registration.


Edited by catso on Friday 14th February 16:26

steve1968

Original Poster:

401 posts

290 months

Friday 14th February 2020
quotequote all
Thanks all , the bike has got Certificate of Conformity , need to did a bit further , i wont be in any rush just dont want a big bill .

From the feedback it sounds like £150 approx. ?

gareth_r

6,769 posts

267 months

mygoldfishbowl

4,293 posts

173 months

Saturday 15th February 2020
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Get a free import pack from the DVLA site, everything you need to know is in there. To register costs £55 plus VED price. Pain in the arse but they accept cheque or postal order. You will get your original documents back in a separate envelope to the new registration document.

Last year they sent someone to inspect one I was importing and the fella told me they were now trying to inspect 50%, I have no idea how true that is. If everything is above board there's no problem having it inspected it just adds time to the process.