Moving to the UK

[Mike Arman <armanmik@n-jcenter.com>]

Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 11:00:21 -0400
From: "Bertenyi, Tamas" <Tamas.Bertenyi@nrc.ca>
Subject: Moving to the UK

(snip) shipped off to England for at least a three year term. Here is 
my difficult Audi-related question:
snip
QUESTIONS: Has anyone had any experience moving a car to England from 
North America? What is involved in doing this? Does my car need to be 
modified in anyway to be legally driven in England? What about legal 
issues? Or insurance? 
	Sincerely yours with baited breath,
		Tamas Bertenyi
			'90 90q20v

OK Tamas, exhale slowly - (btw - its "bated" breath, as in "to abate or
stop" <G>)

Today is Friday the 13th, and this may be appropriate for the following
information:

It appears that taking your car to the UK will be a major paperwork hassle.
According to an article in June 96 Resident Abroad magazine, it appears that
you can bring a non-UK registered car into the UK  - FROM ANOTHER EC COUNTRY
- for up to a year, as long has you have a foreign driver's license. What
happens after that is unclear. HM tax officers will collect VAT on your car
if you are from an non-EC country (Like Canada), and the time limit is not
stated. If you get a UK driver's license, you only get six months.

No coherent answers were obtained from Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
in Swansea, either Customer Inquires - Drivers + 44 1792 783 822, or
Customer Inquires - Vehicle at + 44 1792 783 935. You must declare your
vehicle at port of entry, to Customs & Excise Central Processing Unit at
Dover, + 44 1304 224 372.

You'll need the following info about the car: Make, Model name, model series
number, Chassis and Engine numbers, engine capacity, #of cylinders, fuel
used (ie gas or diesel), body description (2dr, 4 dr), RHD or LHD, purchase
price, year of manufacture, first registration date, date of delivery to
current owner, odometer reading (mi or km), automatic or maunal tranny, any
extras, any defects that might reduce the car's value, documentary evidence
including the foreign registration, purchase invoice, insurance details, etc.

Sounds like a huge PITA - I'd consider storing the car or (sob) selling it.
(Or you could lend it to me  . . .  )

Sorry to send such rotten news, but I'm SURE you'd rather hear about it
_before_ the car goes on a boat instead of being told about it by HM's
minions explaining why you'll have to send your car back to Canada or
destroy it or something awful or expensive or awful _AND expensive.

Best of Luck

Mike Arman