Anyone with a clean UK driving license

04/23/2015 - 07:45

Anyone with a clean UK driving license interested in driving my car from Umbria to the UK, and/or back, in July so I can get it MoT'd? It will have been serviced and it is fully insured with European breakdown cover. I am just not confident enough to do it by myself, let alone both ways! It has been in Italy for nearly 2 years and as I am non-resident, I am getting twitchy as essentially, it is not legal. I know of several people who just do not bother with MoT's & UK tax once the car is there, but I worry as the insurance company could get 'difficult' if there was an incident with the car & I guess I would feel happier and less illegal, if it came back to the UK for a few weeks!

Topic

Travel

Location

Umbria

Comment

I have a full, blemish-free Irish driving licence and I used to drive my family from Dublin to Livorno (and back!) on holidays every year. I was PR manager with Fiat Ireland and used to bring journalists to Italy to drive new Fiat / Alfa Romeo / Lanc cars there and I even organised the 'Hannibal Run' for Irish journalists, where 14 of us drove 7 new ALfas all the way from Napoli to Dublin over a week, including a week-end stop in Geneva. Anche, parlo un po' d'Italiana...and I have even been to Umbria a few times! If this sounds of interest, let me know,,,,and we can discuss directly.

Hi Joe, Thanks for your reply..... Unfortunately, my Insurance company insist on a full UK license... for fully comprehensive.I also did not make very clear, that I had hoped any volunteers would, like me, have a home in Italy and would like the idea of driving ibstead of flying, so they could have the convenience of taking a load of "goodies" to or from the UK! Or someone who could maybe, share the driving with me! I was not looking to employ someone to undertake this task... I can't afford it!! I would of course pay or contribute to travel expenses..Thanks for your interest anyway!

Hi Maggie,sorry I can't help, good luck with the project and with the MOT.Joe Gantly

You don't need to do this. Just have an MOT booked the day, or the day after you next plan to return to the UK. You are perfectly entitled to drive in the UK as long as you have a valid MOT appointment booked.

Thanks Chris, but it won't be taxed either as that runs out at the end of July.....

You don't need that either until you are on UK roads. And you can legally drive without it until you get an MOT. In fact if your MOT expires it is impossible not to!Have a look at the discussions here:https://www.italymagazine.com/community/post/registering-uk-car-italy#comment-21013Just declare S.O.R.N. As long as you are insured you are good to go.YMMVChris

Thanks Chris, I feel so much better now!! Just angry that I wasted £200 in car tax last year, thinking I would have to bring it back this summer!Maggi

Hi Maggi,Best check your insurance position is ok.The only problem I can see is that you are supposed to register your car in Italy after you have had it in country for a year. However as long as (you say) the car was in another country less than a year ago...................C.

.......... of course!!! I do know this and it is a slight concern, but it is parked on my property, well away from the main road too... It is a Fiat and I always leave it facing out so no one can see the GB sticker! There used to be someone on this site called "Spud", I chatted to him a lot about this issue, but not heard from him for well over a year now after he was diagnosed with the big C (hoping he's OK as they caught it very early, does anyone know?). Anyway, for years, he used to leave his UK reg. car at Perugia Airport between visits to Italy, before it became "International" and before they started charging! Amazing that he got away with it for so long as they only spent a few weeks once a year at their home quite close to me.... We did talk of sharing at one time......I am fully insured with Saga, one of the very few companies to offer insurance for "travel" in Europe for a whole year, not just 90 days. I also have European breakdown cover and I get it serviced regularly... Friends visiting from the UK can only drive it if I put them on my policy for the length of time they stay. Non UK residents cannot drive it.Thanks again for the advice Chris.

'Are you still looking for a driver to assist you?

Possibly, but I must make it clear that I am not looking to pay for the assistance!! I was looking for someone who, like me had an Italian "bolt-hole" and whom it might suit to drive back to the UK once in a while to load up with items that would be too large for airline baggage or too expensive to send.... or who just fancied the trip, maybe has a fear of flying etc. Obviously, I would pay or share the cost of fuel & Channel crossing.....

Maggi,You really don't need to bother with UK MOT or road tax unless you intend to use the car there.It is false security for you to think that it has any legal status outside UK or that any Italian official will give a damn or know anything about such things.