Repatriating a UK registered van with no MOT

[Lizbiebrowne]

There's a motorhome I'm interested in buying in Portugal. It's UK registered with an expired MOT and no road tax. How would I get it back to the UK? I understand that once I'm in the UK I can legally drive it untaxed and without a MOT to a testing station for a pre-booked appointment but can it be legally driven to Santander or Bilboa for the ferry home?

 

[Emmit]

In a word. No.

If you drive a UK Reg. vehicle abroad it has to be legal in the UK.
IE. It needs an MOT, Insurance, and be driven by a Brit who is qualified to drive a vehicle of that class. IE C1 licence if over 3.5t etc.

Further, and in no way endorsing any kind of illegal behaviour, if that van lands on the UK shore, it better be booked for an MOT close to where you come ashore. The Authorities may not give a monkeys about how you got to the UK port but they'll take a dim view of you driving a vehicle any distance from the Port.
In addition you will have to tell a few porkies to get Insurance while you are physically out of the country in advance of your arrival.

 

[Lizbiebrowne]

In a word. No.

If you drive a UK Reg. vehicle abroad it has to be legal in the UK.
IE. It needs an MOT, Insurance, and be driven by a Brit who is qualified to drive a vehicle of that class. IE C1 licence if over 3.5t etc.

Further, and in no way endorsing any kind of illegal behaviour, if that van lands on the UK shore, it better be booked for an MOT close to where you come ashore. The Authorities may not give a monkeys about how you got to the UK port but they'll take a dim view of you driving a vehicle any distance from the Port.
In addition you will have to tell a few porkies to get Insurance while you are physically out of the country in advance of your arrival.

I understood that you can legally drive a vehicle without an MOT if the vehicle was being taken to a pre-booked MOT test. Why would the authorities take a dim view of this?

 

[Emmit]

Because(I apologise Mrs Ward, 3rd year Primary school for starting this with 'because')
years ago, peeps were driving vehicles from one end of the country to the other, sans MOT, on their holidays, parking in a car park and cancelling the MOT and repeating the procedure to get home.
I can only tell you what I would have done 23yrs ago (edited?) and that is to seize the vehicle and call in a vehicle examiner or, even worse, VOSA.
They take unkindly to peeps driving past???? how many MOT stations to circumvent the spirit of Legislation.

 

[Northernraider]

The insurance is your biggest problem.

The mot.....well its simply a gamble.

Depends if you want to take it or not.


Another tip is simply , dont broadcast or announce your decision online.

Good luck in your quest

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[Larby]

The only practical /legal answer to getting it back is low loader to the ferry terminal.

 

[Carpmart]

Yep, I’m with Larby. You need to ship it back…

 

[Lizbiebrowne]

The only practical /legal answer to getting it back is low loader to the ferry terminal.

Yes, that was beginning to be my conclusion. Any ball-park idea how much it would cost to move a 4T van from Lisbon to Bilboa/Santander?

 

[Carpmart]

Yes, that was beginning to be my conclusion. Any ball-park idea how much it would cost to move a 4T van from Lisbon to Bilboa/Santander?

Muchos €€$$€€$$



Honestly don’t know, but it ain’t going to be a low cost logistics exercise… will you accompany the vehicle?

 

[Lizbiebrowne]

Muchos €€$$€€$$



Honestly don’t know, but it ain’t going to be a low cost logistics exercise… will you accompany the vehicle?

No, I was thinking of asking the seller to arrange delivery to the port and I take it from there to the UK and MOT it on arrival.

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[TheBig1]

IF, and a big IF you could borrow a set of spanish trade plates it could be done. Otherwise, I believe mikebeaches had his van repatriated just after lockdown. Not cheap as I recall

 

[L' Hobo]

Could you get it towed to the ferry by some kind Funster with a large RV?

 

[gpat]

Could you pay a nice guy called Tam (aka Northernraider ) to fly over and drive it to Santander. I'm not kidding here. Book an MOT in Plymouth. Job done.

 

[L' Hobo]

Because(I apologise Mrs Ward, 3rd year Primary school for starting this with 'because')
years ago, peeps were driving vehicles from one end of the country to the other, sans MOT, on their holidays, parking in a car park and cancelling the MOT and repeating the procedure to get home.
I can only tell you what I would have done 23yrs ago (edited?) and that is to seize the vehicle and call in a vehicle examiner or, even worse, VOSA.
They take unkindly to peeps driving past???? how many MOT stations to circumvent the spirit of Legislation.

you could have nicked him in the public car park for being on the public highway without a valid MOT the moment he cancelled!

23yrs ago, surely the official Vehicle Examiners were employed by VOSA?

 

[DerryW]

Have it shipped (recovery vehicle) to the nearest port. Unload, and you drive it on and off the ferry to a precooked mot. Get it insured from the moment the wheels hit the deck in UK. It’s not going to be a cheap job, that is unless you’re a betting man and prepared to take the risk mentioned by many other on here. Good Luck whichever route you take.

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[Lizbiebrowne]

Could you get it towed to the ferry by some kind Funster with a large RV?

Doesn't a towed vehicle need a valid MOT?

 

[Bolti]

Doesn't a towed vehicle need a valid MOT?

Towing not allowed in Spain and Portugal

 

[Emmit]

you could have nicked him in the public car park for being on the public highway without a valid MOT the moment he cancelled!

23yrs ago, surely the official Vehicle Examiners were employed by VOSA?

But
1. You would have had to know that he was in the car park.
2. 23yrs ago from memory, the Police had their own vehicle examiners, in addition to VOSA (but I don't think they were called VOSA then) or were they?

 

[L' Hobo]

But
1. You would have had to know that he was in the car park.
2. 23yrs ago from memory, the Police had their own vehicle examiners, in addition to VOSA (but I don't think they were called VOSA then) or were they?

Sorry, I forgot, 23yrs ago you didn't have cars which 'pinged' when it observed an illegal car.

Could have been 'Ministry of Transport' but I don't think so, I think the name change was before 1990?

 

[Otter Spotter]

I understood that you can legally drive a vehicle without an MOT if the vehicle was being taken to a pre-booked MOT test. Why would the authorities take a dim view of this?

If you were stopped by Police whether you have booked and supposedly going to MOT test they can still prosecute you for obviously defective parts on a vehicle if they want to so getting off ferry and travelling home 100 mile would be considered as ‘taking the p@ss‘ by officers and you would be ticketed and if the vehicle was deemed dangerous by officers it could be confiscated.
In addition try getting insurance for a vehicle with no mot and no recent UK history.

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[L' Hobo]

Doesn't a towed vehicle need a valid MOT?

Does a trailer? My understanding from my trucking days is 'that anything with a permanent attachment', becomes part of the power source.

 

[L' Hobo]

If you were stopped by Police whether you have booked and supposedly going to MOT test they can still prosecute you for obviously defective parts on a vehicle if they want to so getting off ferry and travelling home 100 mile would be considered as ‘taking the p@ss‘ by officers and you would be ticketed and if the vehicle was deemed dangerous by officers it could be confiscated.
In addition try getting insurance for a vehicle with no mot and no recent UK history.

Surely a vehicle without an MOT should not be a problem. What about all these vehicles on Sorn? Might be a problem with the rest though?

 

[MisterB]

are you allowed to book the portugese or spanish equivalent of an MoT and drive it to the test station without a 'ticket' - of course you already know its going to fail ..... but ....
and of course its massively important to abide by the law

as for the seller, they may be happy to contribute to any cost just to get it off their hands ....

 

[L' Hobo]

are you allowed to book the portugese or spanish equivalent of an MoT and drive it to the test station without a 'ticket' - of course you already know its going to fail ..... but ....

you mean in Bilbao perhaps?

 

[Northernraider]

Could you pay a nice guy called Tam (aka Northernraider ) to fly over and drive it to Santander. I'm not kidding here. Book an MOT in Plymouth. Job done.

I'm not cheap

And I have 3 dogs

But for clarity IF it was me I'd insure it and drive it to the port. And I'd mot it when it arrived in UK.


Having spoken to people in both Spain and Greece who's UK registered vehicle's haven't been back in the UK for several years yet they still travel around in them I'm of the opinion the European police aren't paying a whole lot of attention to them.

As I said it's a gamble and not strictly legal either.

But then neither is having a party during lockdown lol and the nations happy to turn a blind eye .



Lead by example I say

Toodle pip

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[gpat]

Surely a vehicle without an MOT should not be a problem. What about all these vehicles on Sorn? Might be a problem with the rest though?

If you drive a vehicle in a foreign country then it must be fully legal in the country in which it is registered.

We don't have MOTs in the Isle of Man but it's legal to drive a Manx registered vehicle in the UK. However it's an offence to drive a UK registered vehicle in the Isle of Man if it is not taxed and does not have an MOT.

When we traded our last van in, we were legal to drive it to the dealers in the UK, on Manx plates because it was legal in the country in was registered.

 

[Northernraider]

If you drive a vehicle in a foreign country then it must be fully legal in the country in which it is registered.

We don't have MOTs in the Isle of Man but it's legal to drive a Manx registered vehicle in the UK. However it's an offence to drive a UK registered vehicle in the Isle of Man if it is not taxed and does not have an MOT.

When we traded our last van in, we were legal to drive it to the dealers in the UK, on Manx plates because it was legal in the country in was registered.

I once met 2 guys from iom at a vw show , van fest in malvern. I couldn't believe their old vw bus had no cab floor practically it was rotten and they drove it to the show. That's when I first learned there were no mots there and that they could drive them in the UK. Crazy.


But then I've also seen the state of some vehicles on the road in various eu countries.

 

[Nanniemate]

Could you get it towed to the ferry by some kind Funster with a large RV?

So neither vehicle would be insured ? There are many vehicles looking for return.loads
Have a look at specialist transporters

 

[gpat]

I once met 2 guys from iom at a vw show , van fest in malvern. I couldn't believe their old vw bus had no cab floor practically it was rotten and they drove it to the show. That's when I first learned there were no mots there and that they could drive them in the UK. Crazy.


But then I've also seen the state of some vehicles on the road in various eu countries.

Yes, there are some rot boxes on the roads here. However, whilst there are no MOTs, vehicles have to be roadworthy. Now and again someone will get caught and they get sent to the testing station where they have to be examined.

The UK police are normally on the lookout for suspect IOM vehicles. However, given that you hardly ever see a police car on the motorway these days it rare that they get stopped.

People are very relaxed about the condition of their vehicles. Traa dy looar applies.

Back to the OP though. I reckon I agre with Northernraider . I would insure the van and drive it to Santander. At the end of the day the Portuguese and Spanish police have no interest in UK tax or MOTs so long as the van is roadworthy and insured. Like I said MOT in Plymouth. Off you go..

 

[L' Hobo]

If you drive a vehicle in a foreign country then it must be fully legal in the country in which it is registered.

We don't have MOTs in the Isle of Man but it's legal to drive a Manx registered vehicle in the UK. However it's an offence to drive a UK registered vehicle in the Isle of Man if it is not taxed and does not have an MOT.

When we traded our last van in, we were legal to drive it to the dealers in the UK, on Manx plates because it was legal in the country in was registered.

Totally agree!