Originally Posted by Nomad_H (Post 5090308)

I am driving my UK car here for a while and am currently insured by Saga UK. I have been told that it is not possible to get Portuguese insurance for a GB car. The guy that told me this mentioned that there was a Spanish Insurance company that would do it, but I dont have contact with him any more, so I cant follow up.
Has anybody been down this road? I,m paying well over the odds at the moment.:frown:

Originally Posted by jdr (Post 5091106)

You need to be careful with your insurance, it will only be tourist cover and not PT resident ;-(
PT will probably also have a time limit to change UK plates to PT registration.

Originally Posted by Mike (Post 5091169)

jdr is wrong.

It is possible to arrange cover for your UK registered vehicle in Portugal.

Contact Lloyd & Whyte for further information.

Phone: 289 36 05 78 or 281 32 58 42

Originally Posted by derbyflan (Post 5091161)

Have you applied for residency yet Nomad?

Originally Posted by Mike (Post 5091169)

jdr is wrong.

It is possible to arrange cover for your UK registered vehicle in Portugal.

Contact Lloyd & Whyte for further information.

Phone: 289 36 05 78 or 281 32 58 42

Originally Posted by jdr (Post 5091307)

Sure they will take your money, the same as some of the Spanish companies, but their get out clause will be, it is up to you to tell them about change of circumstances etc.
A foreign car in any part of the EU has to be taxed, mot`d and insured in the country of origin to be legal, and has to be re-registered, tested and re insured when the residency law of each country comes into force.

An interesting read here

Originally Posted by Nomad_H (Post 5091540)

Thanks JDR. But one of my pet hates on the net mainly, is undated documents, or articles if you will. This is one such example. When was it written? 2007? 2004? On many occasions recently I have been taken in by such things and just as I was about to react, found a date of 2001 or 2002.
However I take your point, but insurance is always a matter of what you tell people. If you have an accident, you,d be a bloody fool to tell the insurance company that you were speeding or that you werent wearing a seat belt or your lights werent on. Similarly if one gets stopped by the cops, then your visiting.
Anyway thanks for the input!:D

Originally Posted by Mike (Post 5092782)

I will use myself as an example.

I have a UK registered vehicle and I live in Portugal.

Obviously the vehicle is registered at my alternaive address in UK.

The insurance is registered to the same address. For the avoidance of doubt the cover was arranged here in Portugal and the insurers know I live here.

My UK licence is registered to the same address.

The vehicle has a current MOT from UK. When this expires I can have the vehicle tested in Portugal at IPO centre. This will satisfy the insurers that the vehicle has been maintained in a roadworthy condition as per policy requirements. It is of course possible for MOT's to expire whilst on holiday!

The vehicle is currently taxed in UK.

When stopped by GNR I tell them I am on holiday. It is difficult for them to contest this if documents are all in order.

I know that I can use the vehicle in Portugal for 6 months before the vehicle must be imported.

Originally Posted by Mike (Post 5092865)

It will still be taxed in UK.

There was an article in The Resident recently which said foreign registered vehicles could now be taxed if here for longer than 6 months. I would view this with some caution as it surely alerts the authorities that the vehicle needs to be imported.

Originally Posted by Nomad_H (Post 5092904)

You are right.
The thing is, this isnt major stuff. Having to go through importing one,s car after 30 days is pretty rough, so to bend the rules to allow one some time to get adjusted and then buy a local model, I think is reasonable.
In my case I should think by this time next year I will have a local car anyway.
Thankyou very much for your input.