mikelincs

Most, if not all, spanish insurance company T & Cs state that the insurance only applies to spanish plated vehicles, as they have no idea whether your car is legal for Spanish roads. I insure through Liea Directa, and that insurance applies only to Spanish Plated vehicles. Certainly would never consider driving an illegal car from Spain to the UK, don't think the authorities over here would accept the explantion you were taking it for an MOT, doesn't mattter what the DVLA would say, it's the authorities over here that count, and they usually impound and stop you driving unless you have ALL relevant papers and receipts in your car at the time, there is no 7 days to produce your documents here.
Mike

Mitzyboy

This company insures Spanish AND UK plated cars in Spain

http://www.abbeygateinsure.com/index.html

jdr

How can they legally insure an illegal car ?????

Fred James

As far as i can see you should be able to insure a UK reg car (currently in Spain) with an insurance company in the UK. You would be covered to drive it in Spain and France for a limited period under the normal policy rules. It doesnt seem to be relevant as to where the car actually is at the time you take out the insurance.

As for the drive back to the UK without an MOT, as has been pointed out, under UK law you are allowed to drive a car without a valid MOT and tax so long as you are driving it to your nearest MOT station with a booked appointment - it doesn't say that you have to start the journey in any particular place.

Since under the above two specific circumstances your car is actually perfectly legal in the UK (even without tax and MOT) then it should also be legal anywhere in the EU and your insurance will be valid and you are complying with EU law that states that you can drive in any member state so long as the car is legal in its country of registration.

The only snag I can see is trying to explain all that to the Guardia/Gendarme if you are stopped. However if you wave a ferry ticket at them I would be very surprised if they bothered you - they have far better things to do.

kevray

I interpret mitzyboys comment as providing a company that insures both uk plated and Spanish plated cars in Spain,
As to the legality, in the UK you have to show proof of insurance and current MOT BEFORE taxing the car, if the car has an expired MOT you can still insure it legally, and you are covered when driving to get it MOT'd, ipso facto you can theoreticly insure an illegal car

jdr

By illegal car I mean A UK plated one that has been in Spain for more than 6 months I know they take your money for insurance, but the cover aint there.
Insurance companies make their money out of not having to pay out claims, and if its illegally in Spain, and no tax or mot it shouldn`t be on the road anywhere, so that gives them three reasons not to pay for a kick off.

Mitzyboy

I know what you mean mate, but apparantly it is .... under a 12 month green card cover.
It really doesn't bother me that much as I will be converting my hobby car to Spanish plates after 6 months anyway, but its interesting to note. As you say, when tested it might prove interesting, but with the proper written guarantees from the insurance company .........

jdr

The green card will not cover it if it has been here for more than 6 months, cos you are resident in Spain, they will not pay out for witholding information.
It is a neccesity to change registration of vehicle to where you are resident, which is Spain if you have been here that long.

This was posted on the FRench site explaining all about halfway down page.

apezzer

Exactly Fred James!
Thats the way i see it! But no-one else on here seems to!
I think the laws can be interpreted in so many ways for this scenario that who the hell knows, i bet the DVLA nor the Spanish police could give you a definite answer!

Mercedes

I had a british car her, insured and mot in UK. I wrote it off 5 months later in Spain. My British insurance company paid for the gura fees from when I had the accident and it's stay in their yard which was 3 months in total. They also transported it back to the Uk where they wrote it off, and they also paid me £5000 which was more than the car was worth at trade price. My argument was if I had to replace the car it would cost me that to replace it. So I did very well out of my insurance company on all accounts, having an accident in Spain. At the end of the day most insurance companies don't always know that the car is out of the country, and it is easy to say you were on holiday at the time, especially if it has the Mot, tax etc at a UK address.

jdr

The Guardia will give you the answer, they will Grua it away if you got stopped like a load of the other UK plated cars around here.

Mitzyboy

Well ... what can I tell you mate, the insurance company says it will. I didn't withold any information, I just told them as it was. The whole thing seems to be a confused mess, as it is with many things to do with cars.

The licence situation for instance .... A UK card licence is perfectly legal in Spain .... full stop ... according to EU directives. But theres so many people that say it isn't .... I just dunno any more

As I said it doesn't bother me greatly as I'll re register on Spanish anyway, but its no wonder people get it wrong!!

kevray

Any and I mean ANY insurance company that proves that you dishonestly made a claim will blacklist you, your details are placed on a register and you are then barred from ever getting insurance be it car/home/holiday etc unless you pay a huge premium. ( I repair computers for a major insurance company and they told me this as so many people claim the computer "fell off the desk").

mikelincs

I think the old style card license is not legal, but the new plastic one with photograph on is, and that's what the EU directives say. As you say it's all a mess, and will be even more complicated when UK plates become legal here, which should (or might, or won't) be happening in 2007, then all that will have to happen is that the car will have to be converted with headlights etc, but when registered here you can keep the UK plates, how will the guardia know who to stop, bet they will stop loads of people just because they won't be sure.

Mitzyboy

Can you imagine the mess Loads of non spanish speaking brits being stopped by loads of non brit speaking spanish, and each trying to explain to each other whay they're doing what. The only reason tbh that I was going on Brit plates was because of considering buying a car from Germany which of course I have to own for six more months to avoid the tax!!