Long term travel outside of the UK?

[Deleted member 207]

Just wondered how people cope with being out of the UK when your road tax and MOT fall due?

 

[t&s]

i dont bother about it
but you should realy make sure they are done before you leave they can be done at any time
on mots i think you can renew a month before and they add the owing month to the new mot
road tax the same but it is available on line now so should not be a problem as long as your mot is valid you could renew this anywhere

 

[David & Ann]

My MOT, Tax and Insurance fall on the same day each year. I know I am home on those dates, so have no worries. Only once, a few years back I had to go away on a family matter, I arranged with my brother to do the MOT and tax (gave him the right of authority in writing) Insurance was automatically continued on a standing order through my Bank.

 

[wildman]

a foreign MOT is not valid for UK tax so the vehicle has to return to the UK once a year, no other way around it. I do of course stand to be corrected should anyone know different.

 

[Maroy]

a foreign MOT is not valid for UK tax so the vehicle has to return to the UK once a year, no other way around it. I do of course stand to be corrected should anyone know different.

Would it be legal to book your MOT like you do here and then travel back for it. For eg: We intend leaving in April for Europe. If we get a new MOT and then travel back just after it has run out and we have it booked, would this be ok? In the same way you can drive an insured vehicle to MOT here if it is booked in. Am I making sense?

 

[Deleted member 775]

well in the uk you can travel to a booked mot as long as your vehicle is insured, ie you can go from lands end to john o groats. i have bought cars many miles from home without documents as long as you are booked in for an mot and it is insured it is legal to do . last car i bought was from south coast in portsmouth drove it to leeds without tax and mot if i had been stopped no probs as it was booked in for an mot,if you have a friend that has an mot station you dont even have to have it booked in as mot tests can be done on demand within the day as long as your insured then ok

 

[t&s]

why not have the M.O.T. done before you leave
you dont have to wait for the current one to run out!

 

[ian81]

Me thinks that you would have difficulty persuading the French gendarme

Judging by the number of UK registered vehicles running round in SW France without benefit of MOT or UK tax illegally it is a reasonable conclusion that the French gendarmes do not know the rules. This probably is not the case in NE France, but it is a regular issue on many of the expat forums.

The bottom line is that if a vehicle is not legal in its home (registered) territory then it should not be on the road. I do not think that there is a way to avoid a yearly return to the UK other than buying a new MH which will give you three years. The UK seems to lag(?) our European neighbours where tests often do not start till after a wehicle is 4 years old and then have to retested every two years.

 

[Deleted member 775]

you can travel europe for 12 months with a uk mot and tax it takes one day in the uk to renew both, cannot see the problem. if you want to travel abroad for longer then i suppose without uk docs your uk insurance will be invalid, if you have an accident then you will be up the creek without a paddle so my best advice stay legal in the uk after all your van is registered in the uk.

 

[smudger]

long term travel.....tax&mot...

hi guys...in the republic, we dont have mot,s for campers etc. they are exempt for some unknown reason.........so if your away at the time, you just tax your vehicle online, print off the reciept to prove there is no loss in revenue to the state, and for insurance just get it faxed or posted to you,and your home and dry as so to speak.iv,e been wilding fulltime for just over a year now and no problems so far..........regards smudger.....

 

[Deleted member 775]

hi guys...in the republic, we dont have mot,s for campers etc. they are exempt for some unknown reason.........so if your away at the time, you just tax your vehicle online, print off the reciept to prove there is no loss in revenue to the state, and for insurance just get it faxed or posted to you,and your home and dry as so to speak.iv,e been wilding fulltime for just over a year now and no problems so far..........regards smudger.....

whoohoo can i register my van with you please ,save me a bob or two once a year, to me an mot is just to make a few quid for someone. i know my van is safe to drive after all i carry my family in the thing, and after all if a police officer dont think it is safe he will issue a prohibition notice to stop you driving and that cop may not even be able to change a car wheel or know anything about mechanics. an mot is only one mans opinion at that moment your motor was tested (i was an mot tester ) it is not worth the paper it is printed on once you leave the test center even the new computerized system is open to fiddling

 

[bigtrev8xl]

During my many years HGV driving throughout Europe, and having many roadside checks, I most certainly would not like to put it to the test. well, not unless I liked walking
Just not worth the worry
Stay legal

Hi All.
I suspect your insurance company, may be reluctant to pay up in the event that you make a claim, and the vehicle wasn’t moted at the time of the accident

Cheers Big Trev 8XL

 

[jimmnlizz]

Hi Big Trev 8XL, welcome aboard to the best site on the web! JIM!!

 

[Santiago]

I must have been touring on another planet,, dont worry about not getting MOT and Tax for more than a year, You just try and get a years cover for a van fully comp with Breakdown insurance. 6 months max continious. then you are heading back to Calais. contact the previous HGV driver , they know. also remember, what's clever in driving a van thats not MOT'd , at least the van's got a chance in lasting the year if its had a least a look. .