Hi, I've been reading about this in this newsgroup but never found an answer I
needed. I'm planning to take my car to Europe and since that is going to be for a
while, my car registration is going to expire (but I would love to be able to extend
it). The problem is that the car insurance I have in US is no good in Europe and
therefore I would like to suspend it. I'm not sure if at that point I will be able to
renew my registration since I need the insurance to register the car. I know if I
cancel the insurance I won't be able to register the car. I phoned the insurance
company and the agent told me that if I suspend the insurance it is the same as if I
canceled it since I only have one car (and few months ago I had it suspended with no
problems) so I don't trust them with any of their statements (they just want money).
I also phoned DMV (MVS) and they told me that without valid insurance I can't
register the car (which I already knew). They didn't even understand what I'm talking
about I know I have to take European insurance in order to drive there and I don't
feel like paying for both of them.

Does anyone have any experiences? Car has NJ plates and is insured in NJ (State Farm)
but any other experiences welcome.

Please DON'T suggest to sell the car and buy one there or similar because I already
tried and they offered me an unreasonably low amount compared to both Blue Book and
NADA and where I'm going car taxes and registration fees are so high that I would be
able to buy a better bicycle for the money I would get out of selling

Thanks,

Sasha

Hi

I don't know the ins and outs of US - Euro registration.

I imported a car Sweden - France, and that was tricky. Non EU spec cars need much more documentation. It may not be economically feasible, if it is an older vehicle.

What I know is that registration in my country, France, does not need any Insurance documentation.

I also know UK registration does not need Insurance documentation, but the issue of the "road license" disk does.

Peter

Sasa Stiasni wrote:
    >The only problem is how to keep the existing plates without spending much on US
    >insurance which i don't need (except for registration ). If i continue to pay for
    >the insurance =3D no problem (except for my pocket
    >=A0)
    >I'll be staying there at least 1 year if not more and that will mean at least 2
    >registration periods.

Check this option out. But in might be cheaper in the long run to keep just a minimum
liability (no fire, theft, collision) on this car with your US insurance company.
Long story but, 10yrs ago I was out of work, Xmas was coming with 2 kids (not mine.
My girlfriend has the new car with ~6months paid insurance on it. I let my insurance
lapse on my older car (my baby, a 71 Dodge Charger. Insurance wasn't required at
that time in my state but I carried liability. With a clean driving record it was
only $420/yr. 3 months later I go back to my insurance co. (and others) and they say
sorry you were without insurance for over 30 days, you must go into the "Risk Pool"
for 1yr. If you have no accidents or tickets *then* we will insure you. I paid $625
for the year with no accidents/tickets. I get my Risk Pool diploma after 1yr, go
back to my (and other) insurance companies. Now seeing that I was in the Risk Pool I
must now start over in the company's version of a risk pool for 3yrs @ $620/yr.
Bottom line, 4yrs insurance cost me 6yrs of my earlier payments ($1680 vs $2485).
Your state's insurance laws and companies might be different than mine but you should
look into it. Regards, Walter



..And Paradise Was Lost...like teardrops in the rain...

"Sasa Stiasni" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi, I've been reading about this in this newsgroup but never found an
answer
    > I needed. I'm planning to take my car to Europe and since that is going to be for a
    > while, my car registration is going to expire (but I would love to be able to
    > extend it). The problem is that the car insurance I have in US is no good in Europe
and
    > therefore I would like to suspend it. I'm not sure if at that point I will be able
    > to renew my registration since I need the insurance to register
the
    > car. I know if I cancel the insurance I won't be able to register the car. I phoned
    > the insurance company and the agent told me that if I suspend the insurance it is
    > the same as if I canceled it since I only have one car
(and
    > few months ago I had it suspended with no problems) so I don't trust them with any
    > of their statements (they just want money). I also phoned DMV (MVS) and they told
    > me that without valid insurance I can't register the car (which I already knew).
    > They didn't even understand what I'm talking about I know I have to take
    > European insurance in order to drive there and I
don't
    > feel like paying for both of them.
    >
    > Does anyone have any experiences? Car has NJ plates and is insured in NJ (State
    > Farm) but any other experiences welcome.
    >
    > Please DON'T suggest to sell the car and buy one there or similar because
I
    > already tried and they offered me an unreasonably low amount compared to both Blue
    > Book and NADA and where I'm going car taxes and registration
fees
    > are so high that I would be able to buy a better bicycle for the money I would get
    > out of selling
    >
    > Thanks,
    >
    > Sasha
    >

All you need is insurance to register the car? Why is European insurance not valid
for this? If all you have to do is mail in the insurance verification, the loonies at
the DMV probably won't give it another thought. Just make sure you can do it with a
popular brand insurance company. Also, why do you need to reregister the car before
you return to the states? One final thought. Try registering the car early, just
before you go to Europe. This way the registration may last until you get back. I've
bought inspections and tags and such early with no problems.

"Sasa Stiasni" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi, I've been reading about this in this newsgroup but never found an
answer
    > I needed. I'm planning to take my car to Europe and since that is going to be for a
    > while, my car registration is going to expire (but I would love to be able to
    > extend it). The problem is that the car insurance I have in US is no good in Europe
and
    > therefore I would like to suspend it. I'm not sure if at that point I will be able
    > to renew my registration since I need the insurance to register
the
    > car. I know if I cancel the insurance I won't be able to register the car. I phoned
    > the insurance company and the agent told me that if I suspend the insurance it is
    > the same as if I canceled it since I only have one car
(and
    > few months ago I had it suspended with no problems) so I don't trust them with any
    > of their statements (they just want money). I also phoned DMV (MVS) and they told
    > me that without valid insurance I can't register the car (which I already knew).
    > They didn't even understand what I'm talking about I know I have to take
    > European insurance in order to drive there and I
don't
    > feel like paying for both of them.
    >
    > Does anyone have any experiences? Car has NJ plates and is insured in NJ (State
    > Farm) but any other experiences welcome.
    >
    > Please DON'T suggest to sell the car and buy one there or similar because
I
    > already tried and they offered me an unreasonably low amount compared to both Blue
    > Book and NADA and where I'm going car taxes and registration
fees
    > are so high that I would be able to buy a better bicycle for the money I would get
    > out of selling
    >

you need to think about where you are going and what the import regs are (and how
they change depending on your status). Frankly, I'd say US plates are the least of
your problems - I really can't see many European companies insuring anything with US
plates. You also need to consider that grey imports (if that's what it becomes) have
massive penal charges on insurance in a lot of Euro countries. Sounds like you need
(subject to status) temp plates pending re-export but you'd have to say where you are
going, for how long, and what you immigration status would be to get more info.

On Wed, 29 May 2002 14:02:00 -0400, "Sasa Stiasni" <[email protected]> wrote: but
then again I might just have mucked up the snipping as usual!
    >Hi, I've been reading about this in this newsgroup but never found an answer I
    >needed. I'm planning to take my car to Europe and since that is going to be for a
    >while, my car registration is going to expire (but I would love to be able to
    >extend it).

You may be better finding a group/mailing list connected with military families,
since they are practically the only group who regularly do this type of thing (since
families posted in Europe often bring their US registered car) and will know about
the technicalities. When I lived in London part of the street was US forces
accommodation and they drove US registered (and LHD) cars, so it can be done, though
I suspect there were special exemptions from time limited applied.

I took a UK registered car to Denmark for 11 months and the insurance firm I used
mainly catered for the services. No good for you though, they would only insure UK
registered vehicles. I had to find insurance in my own country and I paid above the
odds to insure it as well (over twice my usual premium). Like you though, it was
cheaper than selling or re-registering (twice, out and back), though obviously my
shipping costs (by passenger ferry) were much less.

Secondly, there are timelimits on how long you can drive a foreign registered vehicle
before you must re-register in the country you are living/staying in. Generally a
year, but check it out with the country you are heading for.

Finally - my car tax ran out whilst I was there (twice, in fact, for a month or so
each time). Outside the UK, the police were not particularly interested whether I had
the valid documentation in any case, I just removed the expired tax disc and drove
without one, actually got stopped by the police in Northern France (smuggling spot
check) and they never noticed, let along questioned me on it. Apparently driving it
only outside the UK enabled me to declare it was 'off road', since I was not using it
on UK roads. When I returned to the UK, I just re-taxed it. Check whether there would
be any consequences stateside (and for your insurance) doing this, because frankly I
suspect the authorities in Europe wouldn't give two hoots the status of the car for
use in the US, as long as it met conditions for driving in Europe (i.e. was insured
and roadworthy).

Megan
--
Megan Farr Montgomery

Lille kat, lille kat, lille kat på vejen Hvis er du, Hvis er du Jeg er sgu' min egen
- Piet Hein

"The Oik" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    >
    > you need to think about where you are going and what the import regs are (and how
    > they change depending on your status). Frankly, I'd say US plates are the least of
    > your problems - I really can't see many European
companies
    > insuring anything with US plates. You also need to consider that grey imports (if
    > that's what it becomes) have massive penal charges on
insurance
    > in a lot of Euro countries. Sounds like you need (subject to status) temp plates
    > pending re-export but you'd have to say where you are going, for
how
    > long, and what you immigration status would be to get more info.

It is not EU country and i don't even want to think about importing or getting
different types of plates since i'm legally a citizen of that country. Customs +
taxes + homologation fees=A little bit over car value. Easy maths. I know the company
there insuring US plates, that is not the problem. The only problem is how to keep
the existing plates without spending much on US insurance which i don't need (except
for registration ). If i continue to pay for the insurance = no problem (except
for my pocket
     )
I'll be staying there at least 1 year if not more and that will mean at least 2
registration periods.

S.

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
    >
    > "Sasa Stiasni" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Hi, I've been reading about this in this newsgroup but never found an
    > answer
    > > I needed. I'm planning to take my car to Europe and since that is going to be for
    > > a while, my car registration is going to expire (but I would love to be able to
    > > extend it). The problem is that the car insurance I have in US is no good in
    > > Europe
    > and
    > > therefore I would like to suspend it. I'm not sure if at that point I will be
    > > able to renew my registration since I need the insurance to register
    > the
    > > car. I know if I cancel the insurance I won't be able to register the car. I
    > > phoned the insurance company and the agent told me that if I suspend the
    > > insurance it is the same as if I canceled it since I only have one car
    > (and
    > > few months ago I had it suspended with no problems) so I don't trust them with
    > > any of their statements (they just want money). I also phoned DMV (MVS) and they
    > > told me that without valid insurance I can't register the car (which I already
    > > knew). They didn't even understand what I'm talking about I know I have to
    > > take European insurance in order to drive there and I
    > don't
    > > feel like paying for both of them.
    > >
    >Frankly, I'd say US plates are the least of your problems - I really can't see many
    >European companies insuring anything with US plates.
Absolutely. I found it impossible to find a local (Aistrian) insurer who'd insure my
british reg. vehicle here. There's no reason why they shold, so they don't. It's too
much hassle. They also have to worry about things like road tax, MOT tests
(roadworthyness/safety test) being valid/paid. Do you ship your car back to the US
every year to get the certificate ? Do yo pay road tax in the US or in the coutry
that insures you , or the country you're living ? Too many questions and such a
small market no-one's interested. Even if they were allowed to. I'm not really sure
if the planned opening up of the insurance market in the EU has taken place so far
as to include motor insurance anyway. There's a lot of red-tape and stuff, and it's
not a case of "just" insurance in some countries. In Austria, for example, the
Insurance companies are responsible for collecting road tax.

Is the differnce you were offered for your car and the Blue-Book value more or less
than the cost of shipping it across the Atlantic ? Don't forget to add that to the
equation. If you're going anywhere near any of the old US bases in Germany, you could
maybe try and buy a car off one of the people there. Maybe worth investigating.

Tim.

"Killian" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > All you need is insurance to register the car? Why is European insurance not valid
    > for this? If all you have to do is mail in the insurance verification, the loonies
    > at the DMV probably won't give it another
thought.
    > Just make sure you can do it with a popular brand insurance company.
Also,
    > why do you need to reregister the car before you return to the states?
One
    > final thought. Try registering the car early, just before you go to
Europe.
    > This way the registration may last until you get back. I've bought inspections and
    > tags and such early with no problems.

Heh i can imagine the faces of DMV when they would see something they don't
understand (my european insurance) and everything that's not on their check-list is
no good by default . I remeber having problems with my international drivers
license over here when i was applying for US license. One guy said its no good (my
country is not listed) and that i need to take driving test. Prior to that 3 of my
friends had no problem so i was coming every day until i saw a different guy and he
issued a license without any problems. The thing why my country wasn't listed was
because they updated their list last in 1974 or something ))) Why i want to keep
the registration is probably because i want to keep everything legal and in case an
accident happens they at least know how the car belongs to. I'm planning to stay
there for a longer period and will probably catch at least 2 registrations.

S.

"Megan" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    >
    > Finally - my car tax ran out whilst I was there (twice, in fact, for a month or so
    > each time). Outside the UK, the police were not particularly interested whether I
    > had the valid documentation in any case, I just removed the expired tax disc and
    > drove without one, actually got stopped by the police in Northern France (smuggling
    > spot check) and they never noticed, let along questioned me on it. Apparently
    > driving it only outside the UK enabled me to declare it was 'off road', since I was
    > not using it on UK roads. When I returned to the UK, I just re-taxed it. Check
    > whether there would be any consequences stateside (and for your insurance) doing
    > this, because frankly I suspect the authorities in Europe wouldn't give two hoots
    > the status of the car for use in the US, as long as it met conditions for driving
    > in Europe (i.e. was insured and roadworthy).

careful.. Technically, under EU law, the car has to be legal both in its place of
situ, and in its country of origin / plate. There was a time, about 15 years ago,
when it was common to tax UK trucks as cars (then, about GBP80) and keep them out of
the UK but the 'two countries' thing was used to clamp down on it. Having said that,
I drove around Europe for a while with an expired tax disk and had no hassle until I
drove off the train at the tunnel! 'Yes, officer, I'm on my way to an MOT station,
which as you know I am allowed to do with no tax or MOT...' Big smile, quick search
from HMC&E and away!

"Sasa Stiasni" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > "The Oik" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > >
    > > you need to think about where you are going and what the import regs are (and how
    > > they change depending on your status). Frankly, I'd say US
plates
    > > are the least of your problems - I really can't see many European
    > companies
    > > insuring anything with US plates. You also need to consider that grey imports (if
    > > that's what it becomes) have massive penal charges on
    > insurance
    > > in a lot of Euro countries. Sounds like you need (subject to status)
temp
    > > plates pending re-export but you'd have to say where you are going, for
    > how
    > > long, and what you immigration status would be to get more info.
    >
    > It is not EU country and i don't even want to think about importing or getting
    > different types of plates since i'm legally a citizen of that country. Customs +
    > taxes + homologation fees=A little bit over car value. Easy maths. I know the
    > company there insuring US plates, that is not the problem. The only problem is how
    > to keep the existing plates without spending much
on
    > US insurance which i don't need (except for registration ). If i continue to pay
    > for the insurance = no problem (except for my pocket
    > )
    > I'll be staying there at least 1 year if not more and that will mean at least 2
    > registration periods.
    >

If its a CEFTA country and you try to keep it there for that long its illegal. Flat.
Most CEFTA places have temp plates for cars which will be re-exported - why don't you
just do it legally? If its further east than CEFTA, then nobody will really give a
rats if the US plates are expired anyway. I assume what you are saying is 'how can
avoid paying the correct taxes'?? Well, if its east of CEFTA then the answer is make
sure you carry cash....

"Tim Challenger" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    >
    > Is the differnce you were offered for your car and the Blue-Book value more or less
    > than the cost of shipping it across the Atlantic ? Don't forget to add that to the
    > equation. If you're going anywhere near any of the old US bases in Germany, you
    > could maybe try and buy a car off one of the people there. Maybe worth
    > investigating.

Yes it is, they offered $2000 less and i can take the car round trip for that money.

S.

"The Oik" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    >
    > If its a CEFTA country and you try to keep it there for that long its illegal.
    > Flat. Most CEFTA places have temp plates for cars which will be re-exported - why
    > don't you just do it legally? If its further east than CEFTA, then nobody will
    > really give a rats if the US plates are expired anyway. I assume what you are
    > saying is 'how can avoid paying the correct taxes'?? Well, if its east of CEFTA
    > then the answer is make sure you carry cash....

Not sure what CEFTA is, i'll take a look but it is a east-block country. If the taxes
were fair and human i would definitely pay them and not brainstorm about some
insurance but the method they use to calculate them is a rule of thumb not sane logic
and some pre-written sheets like in most civilized countries. The fact that i'm gonna
stay there only as much as the project i have lasts, makes it even less smart to go
hussle with the paperwork that's probably not gonna be done until the time i leave
And why i want to keep the plates is because i have a need to travel to neighbour EU
countries where those things matter.

S.

"Sasa Stiasni" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Not sure what CEFTA is, i'll take a look but it is a east-block country.
If
    > the taxes were fair and human i would definitely pay them and not
brainstorm
    > about some insurance but the method they use to calculate them is a rule
of
    > thumb not sane logic and some pre-written sheets like in most civilized countries.
    > The fact that i'm gonna stay there only as much as the project
i
    > have lasts, makes it even less smart to go hussle with the paperwork
that's
    > probably not gonna be done until the time i leave And why i want to keep the
    > plates is because i have a need to travel to neighbour EU countries where those
    > things matter.
    >
'East Block' vanished a while ago - I think its even in the history books by now. I
suggest you check out temp import for re-export plates. If its *really* east and not
central Europe, then I wouldn't even bother, the car will go walk about within five
minutes anyway. Are you familiar with the Ukrainian regulations on car ownership? Or
why Merc closed its Albanian dealership? Get a good customs agent and/or
relocation agent and let them sort it (and, if you want, tell them its a 'no invoice'
transaction as far as their work is concerned)

Sorry, did you say which country yo'll be going to ? I missed your first email.

    > Not sure what CEFTA is, i'll take a look but it is a east-block country.
Central European Free Trade Association: Poland, Czech rep., Slovakia, Hungary,
Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria.

    > If the taxes were fair and human i would definitely pay them and not brainstorm
    > about some insurance but the method they use to calculate them is a rule of thumb
    > not sane logic and some pre-written sheets like in most civilized countries.
mmmm, I think that could start a whole new thread here...any takers?

    > The fact that i'm gonna stay there only as much as the project i have lasts, makes
    > it even less smart to go hussle with the paperwork that's probably not gonna be
    > done until the time i leave
Don't underestimate the "civilisation level" of these former eastern- block
countries. Some of them have come a long way in a very short time.

    > And why i want to keep the plates is because i have a need to travel to neighbour
    > EU countries where those things matter.
Where having US plates matter? (I doubt it - nobody gives a toss about what plates
you have on the car in the EU - they are only concerned that you're basically insured
etc. - ie legal)

Don't forget, if you have an accident then you're in deep shit.

TIm.