Moving to London soon. Want to bring my S14, but it's LHD. Questions inside.

[pitesy]

So it looks like I am going to work in London from July. I have an S14 in Hungary, LHD model. I spent a lot of money on that stupid car, so I don't really want to sell it. I have a few questions about importing it to the UK:

I know I have to pay tax, and other extra money for paperwork. But:

Since it's LHD, I'd like to reshell it, or just convert the original shell to RHD. What kind of paperwork hassle does this have? Is it even legal? Would this make the insurance more expensive? Any ideas, thoughts, infos regarding this topic?
I'm curious, because this hassle is crazy expensive and complicated in Hungary.

Thanks in advance!

Cheers
István

[Hugh Janus]

I know very little about this, couldn't you just buy a RHD car here and transfer all bits over then scrap the left over shell, i don't think then you would have to import the vehicle.

inform DVLA of engine change job done..i think ?!

[-ghost-]

A. I wouldn't bother moving to england.
B.Have you tried getting uk insurance with a eu license and No NCD? I bet it won't be cheap
C. I wouldn't bother changing it to RHD My mate has a LHD doesn't bother him to much.

[Actual_Ben_Taylor]

You'll be fine for the first 6 months then you'll need to register, MOT, tax and insure it in the UK.

[sgt_raffie]

A. I wouldn't bother moving to england.
B.Have you tried getting uk insurance with a eu license and No NCD? I bet it won't be cheap
C. I wouldn't bother changing it to RHD My mate has a LHD doesn't bother him to much.

Excatly this. I just moved back to Poland after 7 years in UK. Did not live in London but out in sticks (Cumbria) but I would not move to UK ATM.
Insurance was a major pain. Had to find a company that accepted my eu license and NCD (was quite expensive) and than go to another company with NCD confirmed by UK insurer.
I used LHD cars in UK and it wasn`t very difficult. Just a bit of PITA when overtaking.
And I had my 200 on polish reg in UK for 5 years. Was not my main car but never had a problem with it being on foregin reg plates. Was insured in Poland as well. I just made sure that I got out of UK for some time every year (Drive to get the MOT equivalent). A non-offical advice from a traffic cop I knew was " go to france or ireland once a year and You will be fine, just keep ferry tickets".

Hope this helps

[pitesy]

Hugh Janus: that sounds like a pretty good idea. I have every car related documents, so a legal engine change shouldn't be a big deal.

-ghost-: well.. After seeing Hungarys future, and the current living standard here, and having friends already working in England, I suppose if I'm bit lucky I'll have a better life there than here, really. I tried RHD cars here, but it was a pain in the ass to be honest. City and highway driving is fine, but B roads...

Actual_Ben_Taylor: good to know. So I have time to think about this, and see if the job works without paper hassle. Enough time to decide what the best and cheapest method is.

Thanks for the useful infos!

[pitesy]

sgt_raffie: so I could keep my car insured in Hungary. Sounds good!
May I ask what's the biggest con in moving to the UK now? Honestly living here sucks badly at the moment. Long working hours, very low salaries. Expensive life. So.. In the hope of a bit better life I'd like to try myself there.

Helped a lot, thanks!

[docwra]

sgt_raffie: so I could keep my car insured in Hungary. Sounds good!

You would still need to insure it in the UK and probably register it here too (the EU thing might mean you can keep it registered in Hungary, Im not 100%) If you are here more than 6 months you need to get it changed, Id imagine they can crush a car if you havent done things right.

Biggest issue in UK is the cost of living, everything is expensive but then we do earn well

[Actual_Ben_Taylor]

Its not as bad as -ghost- continually tries to make out, some of us actually like living here

[sgt_raffie]

Don`t get me wrong. Initally UK was so much better than Poland (living standard wise). But after 7 years there even I, a short time tmmigrant, could see it rolling downhill. So after I was made redundant, and tried looking for ANY work for 6 months, we decided to go back. But I was in a very rural bit of UK.
From what You say Hungary is simmilar to Poland (very expensive living - stuff is dearer than in UK, low income etc). Go, try it out. Just don`t burn the bridges.

Re the car: I was describing my experience. I had a mate who got his car crushed as he could not prove that he was in UK shorter than 6 months. But he was using it everyday and did not know the coppers (running a motorway petrol station has its merits and my rule of free coffee for police made me popular . Also I heard that Police was cracking up on foregin registered cars in bigger cities. That way or another You will have a min of 6 months (or approx a year probably) to make Your mind up.

When I enquired about registering my 200 in UK I was told do do an MOT (that would involve changing the lights, mirrors, direction of wipers and some more bits) and filling in some DVLA paperwork. In the end it was cheaper and easier jut to travel back and forth every year (plus You can strecht cars legs on Autobahn)

[immy21]

You will probably be able to exchange your licence for a UK licence, I have came across a few people that have had their licence changed to a full UK licence (from within EU)
You will need to move and settle here first, then it will probably be worth checking to see how much of a difference insurance cost would be if you did exchange it over.
I'm not sure what happens to the penalty points that would normally be put onto a UK licence when someone with a foreign licence gets caught in the UK for something like speeding, just maybe something worth taking into considering, that's all.

...anyway, have a read:
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Motoring...nce/DG_4022562

[gonzomagic]

Whats the price of fuel in hungary?

I actally wonder how people survive, Myself, being born, bred, educated as well as many friends, see so many same folk out of work, in the city, in around London, let alone the rest of the country, i wonder how anyone coming here can actually make a living?

Good luck though, can only imagine though Hungary being worse.

[sgt_raffie]

Whats the price of fuel in hungary?

I actally wonder how people survive, Myself, being born, bred, educated as well as many friends, see so many same folk out of work, in the city, in around London, let alone the rest of the country, i wonder how anyone coming here can actually make a living?

Good luck though, can only imagine though Hungary being worse.

Not sure about Hungary but to ilustrate how expensive living in Poland is: In UK, whan I was there, for a minimum wage per hour (about 7 quid) You could buy 5 liters of fuel. In Poland, for a minimum wage You can buy 2 litres of fuel. This is IMO, best way to compare cost of living between countries.

And Yes, license exchange is easy but be careful. When I enquired with DVLA I was told that it wont be backdated. So if You exchange the DL now it will say that You have had licence since 2012. Try putting this to insuarnce test

[pitesy]

It's nice to hear good things too. I hope I won't regret this decision.

sgt_raffie: no, I won't burn the bridges. Parents and friends will still be in Hungary. Thanks for the ideas and advices! I know Poland is the same, have a few polish friends and they aren't happy either. Met them in Greece last year. (worked there too)
I see it's good to be in a good relationship with the police. Good job mate!

immy21: that sounds really good. Thanks for the link, I'll read it through! It may be an option to leave the car in Hungary for a while, and after I settled and checked the insurance and licence stuff, decide if it's worth it or not.

gonzomagic: The cheapest fuel is around 1,21 pounds. Just to compare: the national average salary here is about 500 pounds. But this is just a statistic data, in real life it looks worse. Had a job earlier (as a student), daily 14-16 hours, 5 times a week, monthly salary: 200 pounds. Really low, even here.

Thanks everyone!

[Lou_Lou]

Its not as bad as -ghost- continually tries to make out, some of us actually like living here

Me too.. I wouldn't be anywhere else

[pitesy]

So if You exchange the DL now it will say that You have had licence since 2012. Try putting this to insuarnce test

Ouch, that's bad. I saw the insurance prices here and on dw, it's not exactly cheap if you're a youngster, or in this case you exchanged your driving licence.

[nitrodave]

do it, London is a really great place to live and work, although it costs a bloody fortune! Saying that, you get what you pay for... i've been round the world a couple of times and it's not til you see what else is out there that you realsie how lucky we are.

if you don't like it here feck off

[-ghost-]

Its not as bad as -ghost- continually tries to make out, some of us actually like living here

Dude its something like 48% of brits won't to leave the uk ;D

SGT_raffle: I sold some stuff to a polish guy a few weeks ago that said the same thing as you. He was only in the uk for 18 months tho.


To the OP make sure you do your research The grass isn't always greener. London is a great place depending on area but hugely expensive. I hope it works out for you.

[Cloudy]

Dude its something like 48% of brits won't to leave the uk ;D

And I wonder the percentage rate of that 48% who are actually going to stop moaning and do something about it, I also wonder the percentage rate who have actually stayed any length of time outside the UK (2 weeks in Benidorm doesn't count).

[Monkey]

Dude its something like 48% of brits won't to leave the uk ;D.

the british like to maon and think the grass is greener............... plus you got that stat from a news paper.

i want ot leave the UK, but i wont, too much hastle