Left hand drive cars

tjtigger

Hi anyone know about buying left hand drive cars? I am considering buying 1 as we have family who live abroad and want to buy a family member a car. The only problem I have it I don't know what documents the car should have if I decide to buy it. Also does it have to be registered in the uk and what proof will the owner have if they say it is. I will only be keeping it in the uk for a few months on my drive then I will take it there. Any advice would be gratefully received.

boyse7en

I'd buy a car in whichever country your relative is living. Left hand drive cars in the UK seem to be expensive in comparison to mainland Europe for some reason.
Also, you may have to pay import duties if you plan to take it abroad and leave it, and it may need to be re-registered in whichever country it ends up in, depending on the legislation in force there.

111KAB

Where car is registered or where you decide to register depends very much upon how you intend to use the car and where it will 'live'. The documents you require also depend upon the country of registration ie IMO France a lot more stringent than say Spain eg in France you have to have a registration plate which confirms the region of France the car is registered/you live in. I have found it easier to have a LHD UK registered car as I keep nipping back to the UK so I can insure/tax/MOT/service the car here and feel a lot more comfortable with this route. With regard to buying the 'normal' places are a good starting point ~ Autotrader, ebay etc and I found most of the LHD dealers were expensive but private cars (if you are comfortable going this way) offered better value. Another way is to look at the BCA auction in Holland ~ stacks of cars and if you have a particular model in mind there is a good chance they will have one. Read up on the various import/export laws and you should be ok.

hartcjhart

^^^^^^^^ what he says