UK registered cars in Uk with Spanish insurance

 Mike

Some ideas for insurance companies for you:-
Linea Directa
Abbeygate Insurance
Ibex Insurance

All seem to be popular among friends and colleagues on the costa del sol area.
 

We used Abbeygate when we had a UK reg car in Spain for a while, they were the cheapest at the time but onlu gave 3rd party cover when the car was returned to UK.

I've read all this with interest. I'm here in Spain but spend some of the year back in the Uk, driving and working between the two with a transit van on English plates, so I try to keep out of trouble as I don't want the hassle of trying to prove when I came or went. My insurance is English and has a 90 day abroad fully comp cover after which it turns into 3rd party, this is the best I could get for the price and I got breakdown with it as well for wherever I am. I got a quote from Saga last year but it was more, althugh the cover was unquestionably better - just couldn't afford it is all. I'm presently trying to afford to renew my road tax which annoys me as technically I shouldn't need it here, my insurance and MOT being all present and correct. The DVLC position is you need it as if you enter the country without it you are immediately in the wrong, but nowhere can I find any clear statement that I am in the worng HERE in Spain without English road tax. Very tempting to wait until I'm going back again and get it in time for the journey, but then CVLC reckon you can't declare SORN from abroad, anyone got any experience of any of this? Seems I either pay road tax I'm not using or get fined for disappearing without tax or SORN, or lie about where the van is and declare SORN. I'd like it to be easier to do the right thing - and affordable of course.......

Janet Bookworm... have you ever read any?

Firstly maybe someone has stitched you up by selling you a vehicle with 'ENGLISH PLATES'  and then you purchased 'ENGLISH INSURANCE'  from someone who convinced you that it exists...  and then you managed to find a bogus Post Office to sell you 'ENGLISH ROAD TAX'  maybe thats why you have a problem..because none of those exist.. I think you wil find if you care to accept it - you are British and without doubt all of the items you mentioned are also British (UK for your info) fine be English... but when you talk about things that are without doubt British, you should really acknowledge that FACT... You probably recon You have an ENGLISH passport and ENGLISH money... WRONG im afraid.. No wonder the Scots want total independance from the UK and especially England.. when all they hear is talk like this... wake up!

You know what? I don't think I want to bother with Eye on Spain and these kind of discussions when you get this kind of abuse from people with a serious attitude problem hijacking a genuine question and answer type discussion to make points which they consider major and the rest of us don't - no offence intended by the use of ENGLISH by someone who is, ok?  I'm talking abut me and not anyone else. Get a life and stop shouting at other people who just aren't as hung up on technicalities. I wanted to talk about the problem of owning an English vehicle and using it in Spain, not exchange insults with someone who hasn't anything better to do and a SERIOUS ATTITUDE PROBLEM. Where are the moderators in this outfit, asleep?

 worry not janet b you are not alone on here the know alls AKA no nowts abound 

what you said before is correct in what you are going to do 

seems people make stuff up 

no idea why

i am lostagain on here cos i am usually at a total loss on here as to what is being said

so you are not alone i only come on here to see what nonesense comes on next

amazing what people behind a nom de plume dare say yet they wouldnt even say it to my daughter face to face

take care j

Fortunately I don't need to contact Dvla ( altough unfortunately I have to deal with them regularly ). It's on the website.

SORN or vehicle tax due to expire while you’re abroad

The vehicle must be in and remain in Great Britain to make a SORN. You can make a SORN up to two calendar months in advance. Fill in a V890 together with a letter explaining why you’re applying so far in advance and post them to DVLA, Swansea SA99 1AR.

Bookworm.. Sorry if you were offended by my comments.. But it is not a technicality, it is a fact.. If you care to read the thread title it clearly states 'UK registered cars in UK with Spanish Insurance.'

Again in your retort to me you State you have an English car... you dont. fact! I have not as you state Abused you.. only letting you know in a playful manner that it in its self is offensive, your car and everything to do with it is British...you wont find any Scottish or Welsh on any forums talking about their Scottish or Welsh car or insurance..

By your reaction you are hurt by the way i handled my response to your comment, for that i apologize that was not my intention I just hope that a little more thought goes into it in the future.. We are all a part of the union even (especially) when we live abroad.

And i dont have a serious attitude problem... i am quite a nice bloke (so im told)  good luck with the van...

You officially should have road tax but not all do.. the thing is you will get gyp from the DVLA and ask you to sorn it..  but if you are back and forth you would be as well to just keep the van official and get it taxed. as for the 90 day insurance.. i have been with Abbeygate for a few years and they are ok but never know what will happen if their is a problem.

 The current situation is that the DVLA will issue a fixed penalty notice to any owner who does not tax their vehicle or whose vehicle does not appear on the motor insirance database. Effectively this means that any vehcle which leaves the UK for more than twelve months must be permenantly exported or it is illegal and the registered keeper will be fined!

Britain is doing just what European law requires and more fool us. The Greeks have been ignoring the law and paying the fines that attracts for years because they see that as beneficial to their economy. Spain is at last recognising that proper application of the car taxation and registration rules is in their interest and who can blame them. If you have a UK plated vehicle in Spain for more than six months you are breaking the law and must be prepared to deal with the consequences.

My personal view is that the world is going mad. We are allowing the beaurocrats to decide how we live our lives and thats not just the case with cars.

Returning quickly to the subject of hte thread I applaude the reminder post about the union, it is indeed unusal to see anyone refer to a Scottish or a Welsh car. We'll leave aside that it is probably semantically incorrect these days even to refer to a British car but that aside  I urge posters not to discourage posters from referring to things as English, the more they do the more certain it is that it will soon be incorrect to refer to the Union - roll on the referendum.

Delaluzian you've left out that you'll get a fixed penalty notice also if you have a taxed vehicle that has no mot . That's illegal now .Also you cannot  now legally sell a vehicle in the uk, that is taxed, as under the continuous insurance legislation you cannot know that the person buying has insurance unless you can check on the database. If the vehicle you sell is involved in an accident without insurance they'll be looking for whoever taxed the vehicle as well.

Under the legislation now if the vehicle has no insurance then it must be on a SORN

If it has no tax it must be on a SORN

If it has Tax & no mot then the tax disc must be sent in for a refund & a SORN declaration made.

I quite agree withyou that they've got completely out of hand & require reigning in , at least.

 Really, when did that piece of legislation come into force? I understoof that it is illegal to drive a vehicle on British roads without a valid MOT certificate unless you are driving it to a MOT test centre for a prebooked MOT test. If that is correct then I should be interetsed to see the notice from DVLA which advises the change in the law. 

The main point here is that the MOT is required to drive on UK roads not other European Union roads. If a vehicle is simply visiting a country then it needs to be leagl in its own country. Provided it has complulsory thrid party insurance it is legal to drive a vehicle anywhere in the European Union. I  doubt a local police officer would be interested in tax let alone MOT unless they were out to get an individual. 

It would be very interesting to hear from anyone with direct experience of being stopped by the police in any European country and even asked about  UK tax and MOT.

Aren't we going to have fun when Scotland is independant again with a different vehicle tax and MOT regime to England!

The part about mot's  was in a reply from the dvla, but on checking it would appear to be nonsense , so I apologise. The rest is fact though.

The Eu requirement , that all countries are signed up to is that the vehicle has to be legal in the country in which it is registered to be able to be driven anywhere.

Yes the spanish police do know the laws, especially that Uk vehicles need tax & mot. Yes they do seize them , they have regular roadblocks with policia local, Guardia civil & national police involved complete with recovery trucks to take them away. I used to sit & watch  ! The guardia civil Trafico ,in many regions , Cataluña & Andalucia being the first , have direct access to the dvla database . Just like being in the UK.

With Mapfre & Liberty Seguros insurance companies , If you insure a british registered car with them they notify the dvla insurers database so if you go back & are stopped by the police your vehicle will come up on the system. Not a lot of good to people ( & I know of some)  who have insured vehicles that they have registered as sorn in the UK !

 Apology accepted. It goes to show how careful one must be as there are many trusting people out there who believe what they read without checking. Clearly it is their own fault if such misinformation causes them panic but I wouldn't wish to be the poster who caused that panic and the subsequent heart failure!

Anyone can access the motor insurers database in the UK or its equivelant in Spain but such access is carefully controlled to prevent breach of data-protection legislation. I don't beieve this is the case for the MOT database as it is not comprehensive and UK law applies only to the UK. Access to the driver and vehice database in the UK is not freely available and the published lists do not include foreign governments or overseas companies. the cross border exchange of information is strictly controlled as the DVLA website says:

"Sharing information across Europe

The European Car and Driver Licence Information System (EUCARIS) is to share information in a secure and controlled way, between European registration authorities including DVLA.

The information is used to check the validity of driver licences presented for exchange.
Also to make sure that a vehicle presented for registration in this country has not been stolen or seriously damaged in other member state.

The spectre of Guardia with limited use of English interogating the DVLA databases from the roadside is still someway off."

I do not try to explode these apocraphile tales to protect the guilty but rather to expose the thoughtless

A piece of useful information:  The DVLA will send a new Tax Disc (VED) to an address outside of the UK providing the vehicle has a current MOT and valid Insurance.

I am not allowed to post the link, but if you Google 'Vehicle tax due to expire while you’re abroad', the relevant DVLA website page will appear.

Hope this helps anyone wishing to renew their tax.

Incidently, all UK ports now have ANPR cameras installed, so if your UK registered vehicle has no MOT or tax and you try to re-enter you will be pulled to one side by customs officials.  The only exception being if you have a MOT appointment (with proof) you are allowed to drive straight to the testing station, therefore, it needs to be close to the port.

• Unless the practice has changed in the last few weeks, since I asked them to do it the DVLA will only send a tax disk to the address of the regoistered keeper of the vehicle, which by definition, must be in the UK.
• All the ANPR camera can do is recognise a number plate. since the loop-hole exists to drive to a MOT Testing Station without a current tax disk it cannot generate an automatic penalty, that requires the intervention of a police officer. Provided it is possiblke to prove a pre-arranged MOT Test appointment and it is within driving distance and a reasonable journey time from the point of entry to the time of the test no offfence has been commited. this does not nean it is necessary to book a test within any particular distance of the port. If I enter at Prtsmouth from a morning ferry it is entirely possible for me to reach a prebooked test the same day in Edinburgh.
• Please lets avoid this scaremongering, the facts are clear and easily checked on-line.

 It looks like they have changed the rules.  Last year, I wasn't able to get a new tax disc as they would only send it the UK address the car was registered at and suggested I got a friend to check the mail and post it to me.  This is different to the new advice on the DVLA site which is:

Send a tax disc to an address abroad

Supply the foreign address in a covering letter and include this with your tax application. Your Great Britain (GB) address must be written on the V10 ‘Application for a tax disc’.

Of course, you would still need a valid MOT and Insurance to get the disc.

To Delaluzian

Yes let's avoid scaremongering the facts are clear and are easily checked online and if you bothered to check the DVLA will send a tax disc to an overseas address, see bobaol's post after yours.

As I stated the exception is if the MOT had been pre-booked, if you enter at Prtsmouth (sic) why would you book an MOT in Edinburgh?  Common sense suggests that you would book it close to the point of entry to the UK.

I suggest you get your facts straight before posting replies to genuine posts.

 My facts are based on actual experience. If I live in Edinburgh then it is perfectly reasonable to book the MOT test in Edinburgh. Regardless of what  the website says the DVLA will not post a tax disk overseas, they refused to send me one in January of this year.

i suggest you wind your horns in. Suggesting posts are not genuine and pinting out typing errors is, at best, small minded.

Delaluzian
 

I post only actual, verifiable facts not 'experiences'.  DVLA will post a tax disc overseas if you follow the directions in their website.

Pointing out typing and grammatical errors serves only to highlight the level of literacy (or lack of it in your case).

So, if we are going to be small minded then:

i) It is tax disc not disk.

ii) Capital I in your second paragraph is missing.

iii) Pointing not pinting out, unless that was a lame attempt at sarcasm.

I think that most members will agree with me when I say that these type of forums can do without people like you.

The purpose of forums is for sensible people to gain accurate information and help from other like-minded people.

surely if you want accurate info then go straight to the official website

seems you are right the dvla do say disc perhaps the official sites are not so good after all

perhaps we should all just get out more

stillgoin

well said.

Happy Easter to all.