Anyone got a kit car outside the UK (in Europe)?
Discussion
Hi everyone,
does anyone have a kit car (any make) that they have in any non-UK european country?
I'm in France and really, really want to get a caterham-type car for a long time. Now I could live with the fact that the car is RHD drive (will be a weekend/track car only), but if I keep it on UK plates it means a) I need to find insurance that will cover me for a whole year or more abroad (very hard and expensive in my experience) and b)I would also have to drive back to the UK (from the south of France) once a year to get the MOT so the insurance is valid (which would be a big hassel in a car like that and lots of money). There are some LHD french registered cars in france, but they are very very expensive to what you pay in the UK. Is anyone else in the same situation (perhaps in a different member country) but found a way of resolving this?
cheers
PS I suppose another option would be to convert a RHD to LHD and get it registered but I have no idea if thats possible.
does anyone have a kit car (any make) that they have in any non-UK european country?
I'm in France and really, really want to get a caterham-type car for a long time. Now I could live with the fact that the car is RHD drive (will be a weekend/track car only), but if I keep it on UK plates it means a) I need to find insurance that will cover me for a whole year or more abroad (very hard and expensive in my experience) and b)I would also have to drive back to the UK (from the south of France) once a year to get the MOT so the insurance is valid (which would be a big hassel in a car like that and lots of money). There are some LHD french registered cars in france, but they are very very expensive to what you pay in the UK. Is anyone else in the same situation (perhaps in a different member country) but found a way of resolving this?
cheers
PS I suppose another option would be to convert a RHD to LHD and get it registered but I have no idea if thats possible.
Hi,
I live in Belgium and own 3 kit cars ... I have 2 Ginettas and a Midas Gold. The Midas Gold is my everyday car and the Ginettas are my week-end toys.
The Midas and one of the Ginettas are RHD and it is very easy to get used to have the wheel on the "wrong side" ... you just have to be carefull when overtaking.
I wanted my cars to be fully road legal in Belgium ... now they are correctly insured and registered on belgian plates.
It takes a few months to register kit cars in Belgium but is not as difficult or as expensive as I thought (+/- 250 euros per car). Here it is called "Agrément à titre isolé". there must be something similar in France.
I think all European countries have to accept (there is a european law) and register a used car previously registered in another european country. It has been easier for me to register kit cars in Belgium than for other people to register well known cars (a Mercedes ML for example) coming from non european countries.
Authorities and official dealers try to limit this kind of parallel import for obvious reasons but they really have to accept your car and register it.
For peace of mind I would register the car correctly ... imagine what problems you may have in case of an accident.
Hope this helps.
Stefano
If you want more informations you can contact me through my personal e-mail (see profile) ... I speak french.
The French have got some really annoying rules when it comes to kit cars. My brother (who's English) lives and works in France, and he really wants to build a car.
Currently the only option that he's found is to build it in France, register it in the UK, and take it back over. It then has "regular jaunts" back to the UK to prevent it from having to be registered in France (which I've been told is next to impossible).
Having said that, at this year's Stoneleigh show, there was a French kit car club stand, so I presume it is possible to do. Unfortunately, I didn't make a note of their details - my brother would be very interested in talking to them.
Currently the only option that he's found is to build it in France, register it in the UK, and take it back over. It then has "regular jaunts" back to the UK to prevent it from having to be registered in France (which I've been told is next to impossible).
Having said that, at this year's Stoneleigh show, there was a French kit car club stand, so I presume it is possible to do. Unfortunately, I didn't make a note of their details - my brother would be very interested in talking to them.
I know one guy who exported his kit to Italy and got it legally registered there....but it took him a very long time. I know another who totally failed to get anywhere registering his kit in France so he just gave up and sold it (could be realted to his manner....). I know a couple of guys who do the UK registered and trips to blighty routine.
I get the distinct impression it's very much down to the man you talk to on the day and how you approach them. Far from ideal. While the SVA may be somewhat variable in it's application from time to time, and the rules on Q or not Q also a bit open to interpretation by your local VRO, one thing you can be sure of in the UK is actually being allowed to use the darn thing after you build it.
I get the distinct impression it's very much down to the man you talk to on the day and how you approach them. Far from ideal. While the SVA may be somewhat variable in it's application from time to time, and the rules on Q or not Q also a bit open to interpretation by your local VRO, one thing you can be sure of in the UK is actually being allowed to use the darn thing after you build it.
i sold my old kitcar to a frenchman, and he said he was keeping it on uk plates as it was a lot easier, and that there were a lot of hoops to jump through to get the car registered in france.
he was also very keen to get as many bills for the car as possible to back up the valuation for his insurance.
i don't know if this just applies to older cars (mine was early '70's), or to all kit cars.
he was also very keen to get as many bills for the car as possible to back up the valuation for his insurance.
i don't know if this just applies to older cars (mine was early '70's), or to all kit cars.
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