earmer

I am a New Zealander who has a UK passport and residential address. I am wanting to travel Europe for 6 months this coming summer. I am wanting to buy a van in Germany as there seems to be more choices and better prices. Does anyone have any ideas about the best way to register the vehicle? Can I register the van in the UK online, without having to physically drive it back to the UK? Is there anyway I can keep the van registered in Germany if I don't have a residential address in Germany?

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,

Emily

Rubicund

https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicle...ported-vehicle

hetismij2

Can you get a RHD car in Germany for a good price?

Otherwise you are stuck with a LHD vehicle once you move back to the UK.

bilboburgler

Are you buying new or second hand. There might well be some great deals on new ones with the Euro being so far down to £ at the moment.

Resale of a LHD car in UK will take its price way down.

If you do go this way, go upmarket on the brand. I.e. no one want a Ford LHD anything in the UK, but a BMW might work.

Smeagol

You can potentially buy a new vehicle in Germany and save the VAT if you are exporting immediately to the UK but it MUST be exported. However a LHD vehicle ( and actually an up market brand ) would not be a good selling prospect once you come to sell in the UK. You would either be better of finding a good deal for a RHD car in Germany and selling it before you leave continental Europe or buying a car in the UK ( if that is where you want it to finally remain. ) be aware that if you buy in the UK and export ( and hence claim any applicable VAT back) you will be limited to when you can re enter with this car without being liable to repay the VAT.

hetismij2

You will pay VAT on the vehicle somewhere along the way. It will not be VAT free.

The days of getting a real bargain RHD car by buying it abroad are no more thanks to the British insisting all EU countries have the same basic, tax free price for vehicles.
It used to be that manufacturers varied the tax free price according to the weight of taxation in a particular country, so for instance the tax free price in The Netherlands, where the taxes on cars are high, were lower than in the UK with comparatively low taxes on new vehicles.
However that led to lots of British buying their cars in Europe, much to the chagrin of car dealers in the UK. SO the UK managed somehow to force through the law about the basic car price, which means now that vehicles in the Netherlands and some other countries cost considerably more due to the tax burden than the equivalent vehicle in the UK or Germany.

How do you intend to insure the vehicle? If you have a UK address and have it insured in the UK (which will probably mean importing it immediately) you are limited to 3 months abroad at one time and have to get the insurer to issue a green card. I doubt you can insure it in Germany without a permanent address there.

Cowboy1968

<i>Is there anyway I can keep the van registered in Germany if I don't have a residential address in Germany?</i>

No.
What you would get without German residence are short-term relocation plates which are valid for 5 days and a "green insurance card".
You would be allowed to drive the car with those plates anywhere in Germany and across the EU on your way to its final destination, i.e. the UK. But only during the period of 5 DAYS.

If you had a good friend with German residence, you could have him/her buy the car and insure it. Auto insurance in Germany covers the vehicle, not the driver(s) - unless you opt for some discount insurances which come with caveats.
So whoever drives the car (with consent of owner and with proper valid driving license) is insured.

bilboburgler

"So the UK managed somehow to force through the law" I think it was helped by the fact that French car showrooms were going out of business on the French/Italian border while Italian car showrooms were booming.

earmer

Thanks so much for all your replies, lots of great advice. My intention is to spend 6 months or so travelling around Europe, then possibly on-selling. Im in Austria at the moment and if I can avoid traveling back to the UK at all (to either buy or register the van ) I will. Any other suggestions or ideas will be so greatly appreciated!

ParisAmsterdam

Try these people... http://www.dutchcampervans.com They will carry the registration and insurance for you for a vehicle bought through them.

bilboburgler

You might do better with the leasing scheme