Brianandmaria

We have our UK house for sale and the deposit is paid on our italian house close to Forli (50km south of Bologna) - we thought it was all sorted until speaking to an "expert" this week!

The original plan was that the furniture is packed and shipped by Pickfords and we follow on in the family car (plus two dogs and three cats, all passported up). We are now told that the costs and documentation involved make taking the UK car a none starter and we should sell the car in UK buying local when in Italy.

OK so the plan changes to "one way van hire to Forli" probably better more room for animals etc, except that after hours scouring the internet we can't find a hire company to oblige - can anyone help? Time frames are uncertain as all depends on house sales but expect to be able to give 6-8weeks notice.

Patty

Hi and welcome to the forum
Well I dont know if things have changed - but we came down in 2003 and we brought English car and pet and we havent had any problems. We had to change the number plate within a certain time (not sure - think it was 6 mths ??). You can do it through the ACI (automobile club italiano) or through one of the many agencies that deal with car paperwork. (for a fee )
Our pet had a passport but no-one checked at all. I still drive with my UK licence - something that I will get sorted but all in good time
I think these so called 'experts' actually dont always know what they're on about - maybe thats just me
good luck

(ps: you are lucky being near Forli - its got one of the best hospitals around )

Brianandmaria

Thanks Patty, I'm sure you're right about the "experts" but it's a bit unsettleing knowning who to believe etc. so it's good to get the voices of experience.

Good news to hear about your car experiences can you help with info about insurance etc? ie how did you find the right insurer? Good bad companies? Cost (bog standard Skoda Octavia diesil)? and when did you arrange the cover, before you left UK or when you arrived.

While I've got you (sorry, but you're the best info source I've got) does the same company cover for domestic home insurance?

Thanks again

Patty

Well if my memory serves me right....our UK insurer gave us a certain period and then we just trawled around the local offices here in Italy and just kept going till someone gave us a decent offer. It did take a while and we did get a bit disheartened but you just mustnt give up. Some were requesting all sorts of silly documents ! Car insurance here goes from 14 up to 1. So as an experienced driver with no claims etc you should be able to get up to maybe 4 or 3 (maybe 2 if you're lucky ) ??? (a new learner will be down there at 14 - the reason alot of italian kids get the insurance through their parents - its the car that gets insured over here and not the person )
If you dont have much luck you can try the online insurers - they seem to be getting more popular.

Sorry cant help with home insurance - alot of italians dont do this - but I'm sure someone else will come forward with some help for you

sheilamarsco

hi there i brought two dogs over with me in the back of my car when i came here in 2007 they had all the documents etc., but no one ever asked to look. i still drive with my right hand drive car and again no one seems the slightest bit interested i did go to the local police station to ask if i needed to register but they weren't concerned at all. i have de registered the car in the uk as i don't intend to go back to live there and at the moment am delighted to be living in such a beautiful place. i haven't found it a problem to drive here in italy even on the autostradas with a right hand car so it might be worth considering just sticking with your original plans. as far as the car insurance is concerned i insure with a company on line that actually advertises with this mag. if you want further details pm. me. re house insurance i haven't bothered as no one else seems to do this despite livining in abruzzo. p.s. the dogs have settled fine in italy despite having moved from the north west highlands of scotland to the heat of central italy and now speak with an abruzze dialect!!

Lorna at Vicenza

Just a quick note to BrianandMaria ..........
you won't be able to PM anybody (private message) until you have at least three posts on the forum.

chris120

The reason you get conflicting advice about cars (or anything else for that matter) is because you need to discern between what is the legal requirement and what you can get away with.
You cannot legally drive a UK plated car in Italy indefinitely but lots of people do, you should only get limited UK insurance cover but you can get a 12 month green card.
There are other considerations; if you have a relatively modern car, the brand and type of which is currently on sale in Italy, this will be relatively easy to re-register (that's an Italian "relatively easy" by the way ie quite difficult) but quite expensive, i've never done it but be prepared to spend 800 to 1,000 EU) at the other end of the scale a 1960s classic, that was never sold in Italy, will be a nightmare. Also don't forget that your RH drive car's second hand value in Italy will be very low, OK if its a 10 year old Fiesta, not so good if its a 2009 BMW 6-Series!