anonimouse

Hello again everyone,

My Spanish plated car is coming to the end of its life and I am faced with the problem of getting another cheap vehicle here in Hungary, my question is, what is the best way for me to go.

Buy a LHD on English plates and keep it taxed online and go back for Mots, If so who will insure me living here with no English address. or

Buy a cheap Hungarian car, but do I need residency to buy one? I have downloaded the forms but see conflicting reports on the price for this and also, I have been here more than the 4 days after moving in period. This option will require Hungarian Insurance. ANY Ideas please?

I have been looking on Austrian ebay and have seen some reasonably priced cars, however, can I purchase in Austria and live in Hungary? I am of course thinking of the registering of the vehicle into my name (not bothered about the plates) in both this and the last case. Is it easy here like in the Uk, or is it more difficult like perhaps Spain?

The biggest problem I foresee is the Insurance, most will not insure an English plated car, English firms will only allow you a short while abroad, and certainly not to live abroad. Not sure how an Austrian vehicle would make this either.

Any help on this matter would be gratefully appreciated as It is important I am totally legal.

One other quickie (mostly out of interest so not so important for me), is it possible to Mot (or equivalent) a car from another country here in Hungary?

Many thanks in advance if you can advise whats the best way to go on this.

Rural Hungary

Hi anonimouse, you can certainly have any car tested in Hungary, just as in the UK you can have any car put through the tests required for an MOT, however, this will not be accepted as an "MOT" in any other country, only put your mind at ease that the car is road worthy.

I am not sure about buying in Austria, though would assume it to be the same as in Germany in that you will need an address within that country to register the vehicle.

We have been told, though not confirmed it ourselves yet, that K&H insurance will insure foreign vehicles so long as they are left hand drive. Should be looking into this further in the next couple of weeks and will post any relative information.

daniel.szollosi-nagy

Please note that if you purchase a vehicle outside of Hungary, and later decide to get it registered in Hungary, you will have to pay a car registration tax that may amount to thousands of euros, depending on the car's age and engine displacement.

I did look into insuring a car with US license plates for a co-worker, and while it is feasible, and K&H insurance would indeed insure the car, it was so expensive that he decided to just buy a car in Hungary and have it insured like everyone else.

You would need residency in Hungary to have the car insured, though, even if you can purchase a car without residency. Insurance rates are determined in function of sex, age and place of residence, among others, with people in the countryside having to pay somewhat less than in the large cities and Budapest. Without residency you can only get temporary insurance that allows you to get the car out of the country.

A good Hungarian website for used cars is at http://www.hasznaltauto.hu/ It's in Hungarian only, alas, but you can click on the drop down menus to narrow your search based on make, model and year. "Vetelar" is sales price, you can enter a price range there. Hope this helps you compare used car prices.

If you have residence in an EU country outside of Hungary, and if you intend to maintain that residency, then the cheapest way would be to buy and insure your car there. As far as I know, most insurnace companies offer the compulsory third party insurance with a full European coverage. The car registration tax in Hungary does push up used (and new) car prices, so again, if you have the option of buying and insuring your car outside of Hungary, do so.

As an additional anecdote, there is an increasing number of Hungarians who set up shell companies in Slovakia for the sole purpose of purchasing, registering and insuring a car there, since they can save up to 30% of the car's purchase price and insurance by doing so. Technically, this is a violation of Hungarian law, which states that a car must be registered in Hungary if it stays in country for at least 183 days per year, but it is practically unenforcable. The Hungarian tax authorities make a big fuss once a year that they will crack down on Hungarian citizens evading such car taxes, but nothing ever happens. The upshot of all this is that if you are the holder of a non-Hungarian passport, driving a car with non-Hungarian plates (even if it's from a different country than your citizenship), the police won't care as long as your car papers and insurance are in order, whereas they'd question a Hungarian citizen driving a non-Hungarian registered car.

Rural Hungary

Hi daniel.szollosi-nagy and welcome to the forum, I guess it must depend on the type of car and country of origin as we have friends who have a British car insured with K&H and apparently it was very reasonable. I will ask them the exact amount and post later.

anonimouse

Thanks everyone,

I opted to buy a Hungarian vehicle, its easier to go with the flow, mind you it costs about 200 quid to get it into your name but at least the Mot gives you two years

Ettamogah

If anyone requires a UK address for registering and insuring a UK vehicle please feel free to contact me.

Mitzyboy

Errrr ... that would be illegal though.

anonimouse

Its not the address thats the problem, its the insurance, I have seen some fabulous Uk reg LHDs cheaper than here or Spain but the insurance is the problem,...that is unless anyone can advise me

Mitzyboy

Well, I'm not sure what your plan is. But in Spain for instance you cant drive a UK plated car here if you are a Spanish resident. Registering it at a "friends" UK address means presumably that you are mis declaring the place where the vehicle is normally kept.

There are insurance companies in Spain that will "insure" a UK reg car, but it has to be legal in the country of registration (i.e. MOT & Tax), so I assume there are same in Hungary. However, I dont know how legal it will be as when the car departs UK shores it should be registered as a permanent export.

anonimouse

Sorry for the confusion, I bought a cheap Spanish car to get me here and now I want to return to Spain, I am sick of old bangers now and was trying to find out what I could do best to get a decent car without wasting more money.

I have got residency in both Spain and Hungary now, but think I will buy a decent priced Uk reg LHD car when I return to Spain and re register it there, and dump this one

I could try to sell it but not sure how to transfer ownership of the Hungarian car to a buyer say in Spain.

Hope it makes sense to anyone now?Thanks

Mitzyboy

OK, if you are a Spanish resident you will need to matriculate the car for sure within a short time of arrival. It may be it will cost about €600 - €900 for a gestor to do it, and you may end up paying import regsitration fees as well

Ettamogah

Would it be illegal?
If that was the UK address of the registered keeper.

Mitzyboy

If its not the normal registered address where the car was kept, then the DVLA wouldn't be happy, and the insurance company would be very unhappy. Its not a question of the registered keep address, it's where the car is kept overnight.

Or if its been permanently exported, but they haven't been notified

anonimouse

After 6 months in your name No import duty to pay and €900 is nothing compared to the savings that can be made on €20 000 cars in the Uk costing €35 000 plus for the same thing in Spain.

Mitzyboy

Fair comment, although you will have to try and sort your residency, because you have 30 days from the day you take residency in Spain to matriculate to avoid import registration fees (tax), and youve been resident for some time I think you said