Rural Hungary

Spoke with a couple of friends and not really much else to add to previous post. There was talk, early July, about banning imports of RHD vehicles though this was along with other regulations hoped to be introduced in October.
Perhaps garage knows otherwise or is pre-empting the change in October or as before, just didn't like the look of the owner There's some shady dudes about these days



Disclaimer: of course the latter comment was said in in case those not used to forum banter get and want to or about how much nonsense us peeps on the forum. Is this no, not at all, would I do that

richardmc

Apologies for the to those that took it the wrong way, not meant maliciously, only banter

Pollypaprika

A relocation company in BP has just posed this question to the head of the National Transport Authority who has confirmed that no such rule exists. RHD cars can be registered so long as they are roadworthy, show km/h on the speedometer and have headlamps that conform to the EU standard for driving on the right side of the road.

So hopefully this clears up any confusion

Rural Hungary

Thought people would have heard more if it were the case.
Sounds like the satellite dish saga all over again..... Rumour has it... then 10m wide dishes start appearing all over the Balaton (of course an exaggeration) for it to turn out that you only needed a 120cm dish.

Rural Hungary

Seems this is still going round and confusing people.
There has been nothing in the Hungarian news, nothing on the Hungarian law sites and nothing on Hungarian language forums - apart from a few debates in July when the banning of RHD vehicles was first mentioned.
None of my Hungarian friends have heard anything about it, nor Polgardi's, the National Transport Authority have stated it is untrue and so I think it is safe to say that apart from the changes in requirements mentioned by Polgardi, nothing has changed.

Pollypaprika

Message from Balaton Brits for those who have not seen it as follows:

"Following lots of feedback, it appears that the garage (BOSCH AUTOSERVICE) opposite Interspar is not willing to carry out re-registration of British (RHD) vehicles due to constant problems.
The owner now admits that there is no such law forbidding the re-registrations, but (he personally) thinks that the law will eventually change !!!!"

Rural Hungary

Wasn't that basically what was said days ago?

Rural Hungary

Looks like you'll need to be writing a "how to" guide Duztee

duztee

I think it is all covered earlier in this thread, and in theory it is all doable in 4 or 5 hours.

But equally I can understand the garage owners reluctance to undertake this work, it took me two days to get new headlights and another two to change them because of the amount of vehicle dismantling required to get at all the mounting bolts, and then I had the problem of an incorrect VIN number which required e mails to Japan to rectify which added another week to the time scale.
For the conversion work involved and paying someone to spend half a day drinking coffee at the Test Station and the other half running around government offices, it is hard to see how he could charge a profitable fee that would not seem unreasonable.

Your local Vehicle Test Centre spends a lot of it's time testing and re-registering imported cars, and the system doesn't differentiate between LHD and RHD, they all have to meet the same compliance.

However it does seem from other posts that local councils do vary in their translation of the regulations, so a translator is very helpful here.

My pickup is classed as commercial and therefore exempt from import duty, I believe for car owners this tax needs to be paid at a different office, but again the Test Centre will give you all the information along with all the paperwork, and probably point you in the right direction if you ask.

Finally you will need to buy (from any garage) a pair of plate holders, since Hungarian plates are only clipped into these, not bolted or stuck like English ones. mine cost 1000 fts including fitting.

Oh! and a finally finally, there is the little sticker which goes on the windscreen, it cannot be unstuck! so be careful putting it on in the correct place, and if you break a windscreen a replacement sticker costs 12,000fts!

Rural Hungary

Thanks for the summary Duztee

Useful pdf on driving in Hungary, from the EU transport police.

Read an interesting comment on the legality of a non resident driving a Hungarian registered vehicle. Could understand the insurance not covering non resident drivers but an actual ban by the department of transport is another thing and makes you wonder what else is being snuck in, under the noses of Hungarians and expats! Anybody heard more about this?

vorsman

re: non residents driving Hungarian cars. This is not unique to Hungary I think you will find it is an EU wide rule.

Rural Hungary

Is this a recent change? Do you have a link to the info?
I know it was possible around 2008 as I have a friend from Kent who insured their car so that visitors from France could drive it. Definitely worth clarifying for future information.

duztee

[QUOTE=Rural Hungary;

Read an interesting comment on the legality of a non resident driving a Hungarian registered vehicle. Could understand the insurance not covering non resident drivers but an actual ban by the department of transport is another thing and makes you wonder what else is being snuck in, under the noses of Hungarians and expats! Anybody heard more about this?[/QUOTE]

If true it must be only for private cars, as opposed to airport rentals etc. Even so what is the difference, it surely doesn't alter the way you drive.

vorsman

Do a bit of Googling and make your questions as long as you like. Lots of EU sites come up which give you the lowdown on all sorts. This includes the latest EU releases on proposed changes to registration etc. www.honestjohn.co.uk has a wealth of info on these matters as well.

dave1982

I would be interested in finding out more about this.

Since purchasing a property in Hungary with the intent of visiting as a holiday home frequently. My intention was to buy a vehicle, register it in Hungary and garage it, ready to use on our trips over from UK.

Thus saving a huge amount on car rental fees.

I'm assuming as a non resident but property owner I would be able to insure the vehicle? Or Not?

Can anyone offer clarification on this or have I missed info in previous posts?