Buying a car from Jersey

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Godfrey

Active Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2013
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165
Location
North of Aberdeen
Car
211 320cdi Elegance estate, Soon to be sold RR Vouge, Defender, Triumph Daytona and Thunderbird
About 20 years ago when I was in the trade I used to buy a few choice motors from Jersey. It got to the stage that Customs and Excise got to know me and after paying the duty (20 odd % on the value of the car) would allow me to go on my way with a Jersey registered car without UK road tax or mot. I was told that I had a few weeks to mot and tax and reregister the purchase.

Now I have just bought a Mercedes from a friend in Jersey but do not nowadays have a Motor traders policy, and my insurers will not insure a Jersey registered car. I think I have that covered by my friend (who is selling me the car) putting me on their policy for the month but would like to know if any of you southerners buy motors from Jersey or elsewhere and what the current correct way of dealing with the above situation without running foul of the authorities, ie do I admit the purchase at the English port on reentering the UK and pay the duty there, or run it up north and deal with it when home? I do realise that I won't be able to reregister the car without the receipt for the paid duty, and really don't want the hassle of doing something wrong.
My concern is that things might have changed requiring the motor to have a current MOT and tax immediately.
Your thoughts/ experiences appreciated!:thumb:
 
You are perfectly entitled to drive your Jersey registered car in the UK, ( my daughter is in Uni and has her car there ) There is no MOT in jersey so i assume if you were to re-register your vehicle on the UK mainland you would then need an MOT certificate.
Cannot understand the insurers angle " not insuring a Jersey car " average yearly mileage is sub 3000 , my wifex A3 Cab 2008 has only 10,000 miles on the clock ,they are insuring a vehicle surely immaterial where it originates .
jersey customs and excise are really helpful and rather than use an automated system to get to the wrong person , try them first on 01534 448088
Ian
 
Done a bit of reading into it and it is a lot more complicated than it used to be!

Car first has to have all duty paid on it before Form C&E 386 or 388 is issued then it has to be reregistered at nearest office ASAP + MOTed +Taxed and obviously insured. This is going to take some organisation!

Anyone know if it's possible to sit and wait and get a car reregistered at a DVLA office or whether it's a few weeks turn around?
 
I registered an imported camper last year, I had it mot'd on the chasis numver and insured it on the chasis number. Went to my local DVLA and it took 5 minutes for them to take payment etc and then I have a v5 about a week later. They do not assign a registration number at the time, it gets sent off to swansea

J.
 
You are perfectly entitled to drive your Jersey registered car in the UK

Not if you are a UK resident though. You are supposed to re-register and tax it here straight away.

If you are not a UK resident and the vehicle is registered and taxed outside the UK you can only drive it here for a total of 6 months in any 12 month period.
 
I registered an imported camper last year, I had it mot'd on the chasis numver and insured it on the chasis number. Went to my local DVLA and it took 5 minutes for them to take payment etc and then I have a v5 about a week later. They do not assign a registration number at the time, it gets sent off to swansea

J.

Did you need proof of type approval to get the camper registered, and do you think that info on a Jersey registration document be sufficient?
 
BTB 500 said:
Not if you are a UK resident though. You are supposed to re-register and tax it here straight away.

If you are not a UK resident and the vehicle is registered and taxed outside the UK you can only drive it here for a total of 6 months in any 12 month period.

my daughter is at university on the mainland , her permanent address is in Jersey where the vehicle is registered . my point was that you could legally drive your car back to scotland and re register/pay the duty when you get back .
 
my daughter is at university on the mainland , her permanent address is in Jersey where the vehicle is registered . my point was that you could legally drive your car back to scotland and re register/pay the duty when you get back .

Completely different circumstances.

Your daughter isn't importing a vehicle into the UK. :dk:
Import Duty and VAT has to be paid at the point of entry into the UK.
 
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Yup as I said, if you live outside the UK there's no problem driving a non-UK registered car here (for up to 6 months). But the OP is a UK resident so the car is supposed to be registered and taxed here before being used on the road.
 
Yup as I said, if you live outside the UK there's no problem driving a non-UK registered car here (for up to 6 months). But the OP is a UK resident so the car is supposed to be registered and taxed here before being used on the road.

It's not widely realised, but a UK resident can't (legally) drive a foreign registered car in the UK at all - even if it was owned by someone visiting from abroad. Same applies in many European countries.
 
It's not widely realised, but a UK resident can't (legally) drive a foreign registered car in the UK at all - even if it was owned by someone visiting from abroad. Same applies in many European countries.

Are you sure about that? I've seen some discussions about it in the past but the outcome has never been completely clear.

It would mean (for example) that if you were visiting the UK and had a problem with your car, nobody at a dealership would be able to road test it?

Update - just been Googling this, and although it's mentioned quite widely on forums etc. they are mostly quoting from a DVLA web page that no longer says this. There's also reference on Honest John to a letter from the DVLA saying the information that had on their site was misleading:

Driving foreign-registered cars in the UK - Honest John - Telegraph

I've had a good look at the DVLA website now and can't find anything saying that a UK resident isn't allowed to drive a foreign-registered car that isn't their own here.
 
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It's not widely realised, but a UK resident can't (legally) drive a foreign registered car in the UK at all - even if it was owned by someone visiting from abroad. Same applies in many European countries.

This is true!! That is why Insurance companies will not insure based on foreign plates. However, they should insure it once the car is over based on VIN, after all this is one of the requirements when applying for registration at DVLA.



Done a bit of reading into it and it is a lot more complicated than it used to be!

Car first has to have all duty paid on it before Form C&E 386 or 388 is issued then it has to be reregistered at nearest office ASAP + MOTed +Taxed and obviously insured. This is going to take some organisation!

Anyone know if it's possible to sit and wait and get a car reregistered at a DVLA office or whether it's a few weeks turn around?

Legally, if you want to drive it yourself into the UK you should apply for export plates (though I'm not sure if Jersey DVLA issues these privately), declare it at UK customs , pay VAT/Duty and a reciept will be provided for you to send to Customs House In Dover (IIRC). Then a C&E 386/388 (can't remember which) will be issued and sent to you for you to submit at your local DVLA.

If export plates are not possible then the only legal way is for your friend to drive it over or on a transporter. I know some risk it by just driving it over on existing plates with insurance covered by seller/friends/relatives and sort paper work when car reaches uk.

If the car is more than 10years old, all you need is a UK MOT. If less then you must obtain a "Certificate of Conformity" from the manufacturer if the car did not come with it to confirm that it's "EC Type approval".!

Once DVLA checks and approves (Insurance, C&E form, MOT or C of C) over the counter you will need to pay Road tax and plus whatever the fees nowadays for registration. A certificate of your new REG will normally be sent to you in 5days (V5 much later) and so you can have number plates made. And Bob's your Uncle !!:rock:

[FONT=TimesNewRoman,BoldItalic][FONT=TimesNewRoman,BoldItalic]Oh..an import pack is available from DVLA web which explains all this. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT=TimesNewRoman,BoldItalic][FONT=TimesNewRoman,BoldItalic]Here's PDF : Search[/FONT]

[/FONT]
 
Are you sure about that? I've seen some discussions about it in the past but the outcome has never been completely clear.

I agree. It seems as long as you have a plausible explanation, then it's OK. But the basic premise is correct - residents (as I say, I think this applies to all countries) can't drive a foreign registered car in their home country.

It would mean (for example) that if you were visiting the UK and had a problem with your car, nobody at a dealership would be able to road test it?

I guess that's covered by plausible explanation. Or they would put trade plates on it.
 
As per my edit above, there are lots of references on the web to a DVLA web page that no longer states this.

It's of interest because Mrs BTB (German passport but UK resident) is insured to drive her parents' (German registered) car. Don't think she's actually driven it here (when they've been over), although she has a couple of times in Germany.
 
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Are you sure about that? I've seen some discussions about it in the past but the outcome has never been completely clear.



Update - just been Googling this, and although it's mentioned quite widely on forums etc. they are mostly quoting from a DVLA web page that no longer says this. There's also reference on Honest John to a letter from the DVLA saying the information that had on their site was misleading:

Driving foreign-registered cars in the UK - Honest John - Telegraph

I've had a good look at the DVLA website now and can't find anything saying that a UK resident isn't allowed to drive a foreign-registered car that isn't their own here.


Here: https://www.gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/overview

Honest John's is based on owning the Vehicle yourself , registered abroad, entirely different scenario.
 
It's of interest because Mrs BTB (German passport but UK resident) is insured to drive her parents' (German registered) car. Don't think she's actually driven it here (when they've been over), although she has a couple of times in Germany.

I said "legally" earlier - actually I think it's more of a Customs Regulation than anything else.

As I understand it, strictly speaking your wife shouldn't drive her parents car in the UK.
 
Rory said:
It's not widely realised, but a UK resident can't (legally) drive a foreign registered car in the UK at all - even if it was owned by someone visiting from abroad. Same applies in many European countries.

Not sure that's right, I have a jersey registered car, I was told by the Dvla that there's no problem my girlfriend driving it on her learners driving license here. In fact, she nearly took her test in it.
 
As I understand it, strictly speaking your wife shouldn't drive her parents car in the UK.

Do you have a reference for that (other than the DVLA web page about importing a vehicle)?

It's a fairly unlikely scenario (we have three vehicles of our own), but if her dad was taken ill or something :dk:
 

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