jacksprats

Hi all....Yipee my first thread.
Me and my girlfriend (italian) will be moving to Tuscany hopefully within the next couple of months as permanent residents. We are both going to need to drive but have heard some real horror stories on the price of cars in Italy and the cost of insurance. The main objective for these questions is to spend as little money as possible..

Questions:

1.Is it cheaper to buy a car in italy or the Uk?
2.Can i insure a UK bought car with UK reg plates in Italy or is it possible to insure it in the UK although the car will be kept and driven in Italy?
3.Is it easy buying second-hand cars in Italy and how does it compare in price to the UK?
4. Why is everything so bloody difficult and expensive and getting rapidly more expensive?

Basically, whats the cheapest way legally to own and run a car in Italy?

TestaRossa

Hi and welcome to the forum! Merry Christmas!! !

First, go to the DVLC website there is some stuff on there, then the British Embassy in Italy website for more and finally the European portal site which has some more.

The upshot is to be legal and buy here you will need residency. To bring a car over on UK plates is only legal for 6 months then you need to register it with Italian plates which means getting through it's Italian MOT plus any modifications it may need. Others will chip in after the hols I'm sure but there is no easy process for this!

ononno

Ciao Jacksprats, welcome, and Merry Christmas. As testarossa says, to be perfectly legal easiest way is to buy a used car in Italy. Go to the site Subito.it and you will find all sorts of vehicles at all sorts of prices. I think you would find some good bargains. Or have a look on Italian ebay.
There is another solution if you are in a position to travel to Uk frequently. Just keep your UK car and reg; and go back every year to get your MOT. This would mean of course keeping a UK address, and extended use 'abroad on holiday' insurance. You could try Comfort or NFU or Zurich for this.
ciao for now,
'o nonno

jacksprats

Thanks for the responses,glad to be part of the forum.
Can tell this site is going to be very useful in the coming months as we have so much to sort out.The more we learn about the highs and lows of italian living the more we can put back and help others i hope. Also the fact that my partner is italian should make the ride a whole lot easier and this should be of help to others on the forums also.
As for the car problems, buying the car second-hand is obviously going to be cheaper so this is what we would prefer. We will check the websites (thanks).

I hear you have to pay in italy for volture when you buy a second-hand car. Can anyone tell me how much this is?
Also after checking these sites for second-hand cars they seem so much more expensive than in the UK, does anyone know why this is?

Insurance i think is going to be a problem no matter what we do. we have pretty much lost our non claims bonus in the Uk and i have points on my license so insurance is bloody expensive.
We have heard that insurance in Italy is based on the car and not the people so im thinking Italian insurance companies wont take these details into account, but insurance in Italy is Expensive anyway we have heard?

jacksprats

Also i might add if any one knows of any sure-fire way of getting away with any of this stuff 'not by the book' for want of a better word, then i would be all ears.

TestaRossa

If your girlfriend is Italian and registered in a comune here from birth then buying a car in her name would be your most legal bet. Most insurance here is 3rd party. Yes there are extras to pay to change the owner of the car - bear in mind that if you don't any fines, HP etc become your responsibility and you can have the car taken off you if the previous owner has defaulted. One thing I would say is drive legal however you get insured - if you are going to be driving in the same area for an extended period you can be noticed by the police and they can rake your car if you are on UK plates or if you don't have your Italian insurance certificate displayed in your windscreen.

clint

Buying a 2nd car it won't be any different for your Italian girlfriend if she is officially registered at her comune as resident abroad same as it happened to me, although I am Italian my residency was in UK before moving back to Italy so in the end I had to register the 2nd hand car I bought in my father's name.

As far as 3rd party Italian insurance is concerned from my experienced is not the same as the UK. When another driver failed to give way and hit my car the Italian insurance company did all the work to get the claim paid in full plus as you say it is the car insured not the driver so anyone driving that car is automatically covered.

jacksprats

Then my partner will be in the same position as you were,as she has lived in the UK for the last 14 years. Maybe registering in her mother or fathers name also is the best way to go. Thanks

Patty

Hi Jacksprats and welcome

I have just bought a used car - I used the website autoscout.it
As for the voltura I think I paid about 320 euros but I think it can vary a bit.
Good luck with your search.

jacksprats

Thanks, not as expensive as i thought. Will check out the website.

giodafa

Be careful the insurance has to have the same name as the owner. I made a big mistake and co-registered my car ,no company wanted to insure the car, still don't know why. As usual a friend of a friend who worked for an insurance company sorted it for me but it was expensive.

dido2

Hello Jacksprats, Just 1 snip of info, Direct line operate in both countries & you can insure the car in the UK & then transfer it to Italy, may be cheaper for the 1st year, cheers, dido2