[thieawin]

and the only legal issue is the grey area of driving in UK from Port of arrival to actually registering.

Given my experiences in IOM being so personal and everything nearby it wasn't a problem here.

In UK I suppose that you could post the application immediately on arriving if you prepared it in advance and had the insurance etc. That way you would have done everything practical within a reasonable time and there should be no legal issue

 

[Poulbot]

Annsman, I reckon to have saved about £6000 on a new van imported from France, once I had added a few extras which would have been standard equipment on UK model. Well worth the effort in my opinion and the small administrative obstacles can be overcome.........though frustrating at the time!

 

[nicholsong]

While we are on the track of importing from the Continent, could somebody please advise whether in general continental models are including ovens now? and if so for how long have they been fitting them?

Microwaves are OK for those of you that like their 'umbilical cord' to the womb of an EHU point but we more adventurous ones need an oven :lol:

Geoff

 

[macmedal]

While we are on the track of importing from the Continent, could somebody please advise whether in general continental models are including ovens now?

In my recent experience of importing the answer is still no ovens on the vast majority of continental models. However if you were ordering a new vehicle I suppose there is there is always the option of having one fitted.

I saved over £14,000 on the best price UK version of my imported 2014 Dethleff. There have been a few changes over recent years which does add to the stress, and time to register vehicles. My recent experiences highlight the following.

UK NOVA payment on VAT for UK vehicle took longer than I wanted. It took a few phone calls after online submission to the PTU at Dover and emails to sort out but I eventually received the VAT certificate (to get my German deposit back) within about 11 working days (excluding weekends) from importation.

Getting Type approval with the VCA was pretty quick, I got my local MOT station to inspect my motor home and certify the UK changes. The VCA turned it around in five days from receiving the forms.

My biggest issue has been DVLA, now that local offices are gone it is a slow and frustrating process. They are SLOW and anything wrong with the application results in a rejection of the application, so make sure as best as possible everything is in order before sending off. So far one rejection due to Road Tax going up in the budget (despite submitting forms before the budget) which took three weeks to notify me and send the forms back. So after arguing with insurance company to issue another cover note for 30 days on a VIN (which they were VERY reluctant to do) it is now resubmitted.

So far 5 weeks tomorrow after importation and still not registered. Even if DVLA accept the V5/5 and everything goes through I reckon I am looking at least another 10 working days before I get the registration number. With another few weeks on top for the V5 preventing me potentially going abroad until late May.

 

[thieawin]

so its going to take the best part of 8 weeks. That does raise the question of can you use it on the road in the meantime. There is little doubt in my mind, but I cannot guarantee it, that the trip from port to home direct, not passing GO as it were, is fine; as is a trip to MOT to sort out VCA. But anything over is use on road (including parking) and isn't allowed because it is not within the Vienna Convention exception and the vehicle is neither registered, taxed or plated for GB.

Above someone suggested retaining a cherished number and putting the plates on just before arrival. That would be really unsafe. It means that APNR or police in a patrol car would be able to identify that there was no vehicle with that index allocated, imply no insurance (because it wouldn't show on the data base) and almost ensure you got stopped and maybe the vehicle impounded.

If you are going to do something grey, do it in the least conspicuous way, ie on the continental plates

 

[macmedal]

I would think that if all went well with no real problems, that you could realistically get it on the road within four to five weeks. But I would allow for more with anything less a bonus.The closing of local DVLA offices has really impacted on the time that it takes to register new vehicles as an individual.

If coming from Germany I would keep the foreign export plates on the vehicle as the vehicle is temporarily registered to that EU state for the two week or longer period that the insurance runs for. You also get a temporary German V5 equivalent which will give you something to wave at any UK police who stop you. I also found this document helped a lot with filling in the V5/5 form which can be hard work, also the IAC Individual Approval Certificate helps when it arrives. Trying to work out some of the data from the German Certificate of Conformity was not that easy.

Of course on arrival in the UK you can get fully comprehensive cover. But I found that cover only applied for road use (pre registration) for the journey from the port of entry to the insured address and only for appointments made for the registration process i.e. vehicle inspections. Therefore you will be uninsured if you drive it for other purposes pre registration. Mine has sat on my drive for five weeks not moving. Very frustrating !