Buying a car in the UK as a tourist

[Nitzan]

Hi everyone,

I'm from Toronto, Canada, and have recently purchased a K24 swapped MR2 Spyder/Roadster that's parked for winter.

As I'll be spending 2.5 months in the UK this spring, I was thinking of finding an Mk3, driving it while in Britain and then shipping and importing it to Canada - where I'll use it as a parts car or sell it.

The idea is to avoid high car hire costs (around £1500), while finding a car with some good parts that my Canadian car needs, including that illusive, hard to get hardtop - that's much cheaper to buy in the UK.

I already have a broker in Canada to take care of importing, and even after the added cost of shipping (£4000ish) it seems like a decent deal compared to North American prices.

That said, I wanted to ask about estimated costs for MOT, insurance, etc. and see what you think about the possibility of this whole crazy idea...

Thanks.

[McMr2]

Hi everyone,

I'm from Toronto, Canada, and have recently purchased a K24 swapped MR2 Spyder/Roadster that's parked for winter.

As I'll be spending 2.5 months in the UK this spring, I was thinking of finding an Mk3, driving it while in Britain and then shipping and importing it to Canada - where I'll use it as a parts car or sell it.

The idea is to avoid high car hire costs (around £1500), while finding a car with some good parts that my Canadian car needs, including that illusive, hard to get hardtop - that's much cheaper to buy in the UK.

I already have a broker in Canada to take care of importing, and even after the added cost of shipping (£4000ish) it seems like a decent deal compared to North American prices.

That said, I wanted to ask about estimated costs for MOT, insurance, etc. and see what you think about the possibility of this whole crazy idea...

Thanks.

MOT is capped to around £55 for just the test, but if you only need it for a couple of months why not just buy one that will still be in date. Insurance will depend on your situation.

I might be proven wrong but I can't see many members here being too forthcoming in advising about knowingly breaking a car.

[Carolyn]

You might struggle with insurance as a non-resident.

[Petrus]

You might struggle with insurance as a non-resident.

VÉRY!!! good point.
Also totally not adviseable to fudge the data to get an insurance.
Does not bother the thoúsands of post Brexit illegal immigrants from the UK over here 
Even more don´t have a valid drivers license becasue of Brexit and are thus also not insured despite being residents.
Their insurance will still pay out to third parties and then reclaim on them.
But... at least third parties are not left holding the candle.

[MikeBoo]

In regards insurance, depending on your circumstances you may have a couple of options:
1) Buy an annual policy, then cancel part way through, though you might not get much if any refund.
2) Buy a short term policy.
4) If you know someone in the UK who is willing to insure the car, then add you as an additional driver, but check the terms because this is typically not allowed in the UK because you'd be the main driver.
3) If you know someone in the UK who is willing to insure the car, then you could purchase temporary insurance in addition to this. Normally this type of policy is completely separate from the original insured and in the event of an accident/claim would not effect the original insured policy or claim record.

I would recommend contacting some UK insurers to get an idea of cost.

BTW There are three levels of car insurance available in the UK:
1) Third party only (TPO) cover: this is the minimum legal requirement and only covers damage to other vehicles and property. It doesn't cover damage to your own car
2) Third party, fire and theft (TPFT): this gives you TPO cover but also protects your car against fire damage or theft
3) Comprehensive cover: this includes everything you get with TPFT as well as covering you and your car if you're involved in an accident.

Noting that most UK citizens generally pay less for full comp than the other 2 types.

[The Other Stu]

These folk say they can cover up to 3 months....
https://www.moneymaxim.co.uk/short-term-car-insurance-uk-overseas-residents

In addition, many of the comparison websites say they can do short term cover with an international licence.

[Petrus]

In addition, many of the comparison websites say they can do short term cover with an international licence.

good alternative option

[Nitzan]

Thanks so much for all the help. Really good advice.
I'll have a look at those short term insurance companies.