I am planning on moving to Var, permanently, in about 6 months. I will be completing on the purchase of my house at the beginning of July and would like to drive there for that. I have found a used LHD with UK numberplates that was originally bought and used in Switzerland and I would like to buy it for the drive and to use when I am eventually living there.
Would anyone advise on the simplest way to navigate the red-tape in this regard? Shall I just drive there with its UK number-plates as a ‘tourist’ and then register it there or would that raise problems in terms of customs etc? What to do?
I seem to remember that if you’ve not owned a car being imported for at least 6 months, then I think you have to pay customs duty, and vat. If so, it might be worth buying it as soon as possible and then just drive it over on its UK plates and register it once here (within 12 months of arriving).
I’m sure someone more knowledgeable about this than me will be able to say if this is correct or if I’ve misunderstood.
That’s my recollection too, @Gareth : in order to benefit from the exception from duty, you need to have owned the items for 6 months.
@Emski , remember also the malus tax if the car you’ve found has a reasonably powerful engine. Even on our 190bhp bagnole, we paid around 2000€. There’s an online calculator, but it’s not straightforward.
.. Luckily won`t be taking that one to France