Hi,

So you buy a 2nd hand car here, with UK reg, UK insurance, UK tax and UK MOT and then you put it in a Ferry and take it to Spain (I just can't wait the week and a half left).

Then you register it there, including any approval needed and so on.

1. Does the DVLA need to know that happened? In other words, if I ever wanted to return and put my UK reg on it, would I need to pay for the many years of taxes I didn't? Or you can just store a car in the UK, not paying anything for years, and then take it again to the road?

2. If I needed to pay for all the years, do you think our DVLA in Spain should deal with the termination of the UK reg or should I do it? (I should find out!)

The 2nd question is because, for instance, when you have your driving licence interchanged from one country to another (and you cannot keep both!), the DVLA issuing the new driving licence contacts the other country's DVLA and sends them the old driving licence, so who knows.

Many thanks!

Cheers,

Alex

Alez,glad to hear your sorted,better to ring the government departments responsible,good luck in spain and we hope you stay in touch,laters John

Yes man! I posted the full story on the BEC forum! Thanks for the advice. Oh, I'll surely be around!

If you have a new style drivers liscence (ie photocard) it is offically classified as a EU license so you shouldnt need to re-register. But check this out as it may affect insaurance! I know foreign liscences in UK can not be found for speeding though....

I was reading a leaflet about registering cars when stood in a queue at the post office the other day and there was a section about what to do if you export the vehicle, didn't pay much attention to it though - sorry. I guess you could go and pick it up.

No reason why you couldn't store a car in the UK - just make sure it gets declared SORN each year and there ahould be no problem. If you are not resident in the country I don't know where they would send the reminder to.

Thanks a lot everybody! I've found some interesting stuff on the DVLA website:

"
If you are abroad but the vehicle is off the road in the UK unlicensed, a SORN declaration must be made. This can be done at a licence issuing Post OfficeŽ branch on a V11 or to a DVLA Local Office on form V890. If you cannot get a V890 you may write a letter. Notifications can be made up to six weeks in advance. Someone in the UK can do this on your behalf.

If you are the registered keeper of the vehicle you can also make a SORN declaration verbally by contacting DVLA Customer Enquiries on 0870 240 0010.

Please note it is only the person shown as the registered keeper on DVLA's records who can make a SORN declaration by telephone. You can make a declaration from the 15th day of the month in which the licence or SORN declaration expires. If you make a telephone SORN declaration you will be sent a letter of acknowledgement confirming the details. You cannot backdate a SORN declaration over the telephone.
"

Looks good, but actually I also found things like:

"
You must declare SORN if you take the vehicle off the road and claim a refund of duty on your licence. However, you should only do this if you keep the vehicle. Please do not declare SORN if you have sold, scrapped or exported the vehicle, or if it has been stolen.
"

Also:

"
If you intend to take your vehicle abroad for more than 12 months, this is regarded as a permanent export. Before you go you must complete the V5 Registration Document, to show the intended date of export and return the document to DVLA or to a DVLA Local Office. In its place, you will receive a Certificate of Export V561 as confirmation of your vehicle's registration.
"

Regarding the last quote, I guess that I have the right to change my mind, so I don't strictly need to do anything in advance, especially before I know it will pass the Spanish regulations for approval at all!

I don't think that the Spanish DVLA would ever notify that the car was registered in Spain to the UK DVLA, but I'm not 100% sure about what to do. At least I don't need to decide just now, but when I get it approved abroad and I'm ready to register it there.

Cheers,

Alex