Bringing UK car to Finland

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Clarky78
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Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Clarky78 » Sat Aug 18, 2012 10:55 pm

We are shortly moving to Finland, and are thinking of bringing our UK car for several reasons, but mainly cost. What is involved? Can we keep the car there? Will it need re-registering as Finnish? Also, do we have to pay taxes for it? I was told that you don't pay import tax if you owned the vehicle outside Finland for more than 6 months, if this is true, I assume there is no issue bringing it in to Finland?

Many thanks



Bringing UK car to Finland

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Upphew
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Upphew » Sun Aug 19, 2012 12:49 am

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Pursuivant
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Pursuivant » Sun Aug 19, 2012 7:21 am

You need to get the headlights changed, so order a pair from say German ebay and get them fitted just before you go (as you need the tourist shades on). Get the Euro CoC cert off the dealer... and get a 2nd set of rims for the winter tyres... block heater is best fitted in Finland I doubt they know what one is where the palm trees grow. Oh, and make sure your UK insurance covers you initially overseas for the while and the MOT is valid. Also check with the DVLA what paperwork you need to submit back to them so they don't hound you for unpaid road tax.

Once in Finland, you need to go to the customs and make a declaration of the car as a removals - then when the decision gets in you go to the katsastus and get it import-mot'd and registered. As far as insurance goes, get "all the papers" of no claims etc. off your current provider and go shopping around for a deal. Usually your bank is tied to an insurance company, and as the bank already "knows you" its a fraction easier to deal through them (and they might give you a slight % off) as they might not then look at nonexisting credit record as an obstacle. Insurancewise, the minimum you should get is the mandatory road and then the fire/theft/moose on top thats about 50-100. And the car is insured, not the driver - anyone can drive the insured car just as you can drive any insured car.
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Clarky78
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Clarky78 » Sun Aug 19, 2012 2:05 pm

Thanks,
After posting this I found some more information, which had put me off and was considering selling the car. But what you have said makes it sound less, well, painful! 2 concerns though, it's a diesel, people say the tax is much higher, but how much we talking? Deal breaker higher? The car may or may not get much use, as initially I will be jobless and studying the language for the foreseeable future, and the wife won't use it to get to work. But, even though many Finns I know cope without a vehicle, I feel I need one for various reasons like taxiing relatives about when they visit! The other thing I read was that, because it's a foreign car, no one else can drive it? As it is illegal for a Finn to drive a foreign car in Finland, unless I misunderstood that. That doesn't concern me too much though. As long as the wife can drive it? Who is Finnish..

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Pursuivant
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Pursuivant » Sun Aug 19, 2012 10:57 pm

A "Finnish resident" may not drive a foreign registered car. So once you register yourself as a Finlander, you can't drive the car if its Englander. :wink: Nothing to do with passports. A tax-free removals car with Finnish plates can't be sold for 2 years unless full import tax is paid - theres a moratorium note in the title.

Yeah, diesel's a bit of a PITA - basically, if its been made after 2002, you first pay road tax according to the CO2 mg figure. Good luck finding that number. So an average car thats something maybe 85-170 a year. Diesels get hit on top a weight tax, so how much the car weighs per starting 100kg is 5,5c/day, so say your car weighs 1201 kg so you pay 13x365x0,055 - so thats about 260 & change on top. Oh and its the same as in UK if you put heating oil in you get asswhoopping from customs & excise.
So, with the fuel prices driving a diesel the break-even is you need to drive around 25K a year. <= show that to the missus and she'll give you one of those looks and you'll put the car on autotrader ;)

Be glad you didn't have a LPG conversion, thats an easy one - they're not allowed.
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Clarky78
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Clarky78 » Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:15 am

So, I need to register the car as Finnish sooner, rather than later. Sold for 2 years within Finland I assume? If I go to all the hassle of getting it there I don't see it being sold in less than 2 years, but I assume I can take it back to UK to sell it? Who is going to want to buy a right hand drive car in Finland anyway!

I can't see anyway that the car will do 25K a year really. Unless I get a job some way away that requires me drive, and as I say I need to study Finnish first. But the wife is the one saying bringing it is better? It's a 4 year old, top of the range Ford Mondeo, so it's going to be pretty heavy weight! So petrol cars don't get this weight tax? What has weight got to do with it being diesel anyway!? By heating oil, do you mean cooking oil, like vegetable oil?

In UK, this car would be about £10k now, but what kind of car are you going to get for that in Finland? I'm led to believe some kind of car tax was changed within the last 3 years or so to do with buying cars? I certainly noticed 4-5 years ago there were lots of really old cars around, but in last 2-3 years I've been seeing lots of newer cars, so I assume there is a reason? I just presume we won't get very much car if we by it in Finland for similar money to the Mondeo. I guess you suggest it not worth it in the end then?

Sorry for so many questions, but the plan was to take the car over in the next 2 weeks as the first part of the move, so a decision need's to be made fast.

Again, many thanks for your input on this.

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Pursuivant
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Pursuivant » Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:10 am

Note the numbers... if you wonder the high mileage, remember the weight tax

Mondeo diesel
http://www.nettiauto.com/ford/mondeo/?i ... 9&yto=2009

Mondeo petrol
http://www.nettiauto.com/ford/mondeo/?i ... 9&yto=2009

You'd really be getting 1/2 price worth more with a petrol Mondeo
Last edited by Pursuivant on Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:38 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Pursuivant
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Pursuivant » Mon Aug 20, 2012 10:18 am

Who is going to want to buy a right hand drive car in Finland anyway!
Some guy delivering mail in the boonies?
But the wife is the one saying bringing it is better? It's a 4 year old, top of the range Ford Mondeo, so it's going to be pretty heavy weight! So petrol cars don't get this weight tax? What has weight got to do with it being diesel anyway!? By heating oil, do you mean cooking oil, like vegetable oil?
Weight=engine=consumption. Diesel fuel's been subsidised for lorries, and maybe farmers living in the boonies. This is so joe bloggs don't get any benefits in having a diesel. Heating oil is heating oil, oil you heat the house with, the lorry that comes and fills your ground tank, can't use that.
In UK, this car would be about £10k now, but what kind of car are you going to get for that in Finland?
Something "small and sensible" you won't enjoy doing long road trips in ;)
I guess you suggest it not worth it in the end then?
YMMV - you'll have a car with probably lower mileage and bigger bang for the buck, but
- you need to do some alterations to it (lights mainly),
- steering wheel in the passenger seat isn't really a sales enhancer (not that you care atm)
- diesel prices going up
- road tax on CO2 are harsher on diesels
- you need to pay the additional weight tax for a diesel
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Something wicked this way comes."

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Pursuivant
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Pursuivant » Mon Aug 20, 2012 11:26 am

Oh, and I am assuming now you've kept the car well and taken it to the garage frequently etc. Don't know of the UK, but in Finland the MOT includes a test they revv the engine to bits. If it goes to bits, no more smokey diesel on the road, and its your own fault that one.
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Pariah
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Pariah » Mon Aug 20, 2012 11:47 am

On a similar theme, I'm just about to drive to Helsinki from the UK. I've bought a flat there with my Finnish wife but I am not registered there and I am currently in the UK. I expect to spend about three months in Helsinki maximum.

I've searched the web and it would appear that I can toodle around Helsinki for three months in my UK car as long as I am not registered there and I have valid UK insurance/tax/MOT etc.

My wife being Finnish and technically non resident (she is not paying taxes or claiming any benefits) MAY be able to drive the car but would require specific approval from the Authorities.

If I've misinterpreted the law I'd be grateful for feedback.

I found the following useful for the OP:

http://www.tulli.fi/en/finnish_customs/ ... 005_en.pdf

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Pursuivant
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Pursuivant » Mon Aug 20, 2012 12:47 pm

As stated, passport doesn't mean jack. Residency does. I can drive an UK car in Finland even I own property and whatnot in Finland. I'm a resident in the UK.
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sinikala
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by sinikala » Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:31 pm

Clarky78 wrote:So, I need to register the car as Finnish sooner, rather than later. Sold for 2 years within Finland I assume? If I go to all the hassle of getting it there I don't see it being sold in less than 2 years, but I assume I can take it back to UK to sell it? Who is going to want to buy a right hand drive car in Finland anyway!

I can't see anyway that the car will do 25K a year really. Unless I get a job some way away that requires me drive, and as I say I need to study Finnish first. But the wife is the one saying bringing it is better? It's a 4 year old, top of the range Ford Mondeo, so it's going to be pretty heavy weight! So petrol cars don't get this weight tax? What has weight got to do with it being diesel anyway!? By heating oil, do you mean cooking oil, like vegetable oil?

In UK, this car would be about £10k now, but what kind of car are you going to get for that in Finland? I'm led to believe some kind of car tax was changed within the last 3 years or so to do with buying cars? I certainly noticed 4-5 years ago there were lots of really old cars around, but in last 2-3 years I've been seeing lots of newer cars, so I assume there is a reason? I just presume we won't get very much car if we by it in Finland for similar money to the Mondeo. I guess you suggest it not worth it in the end then?

Sorry for so many questions, but the plan was to take the car over in the next 2 weeks as the first part of the move, so a decision need's to be made fast.

Again, many thanks for your input on this.
Might be worth looking into when you have to declare it as a removals vehicle? When I moved here there was a grace period when you could still bring removals goods over (was it in the first 12 months of moving here?). If you aren't officially resident here you could drive it 6 out of the 12 months and then towards the end of your period either declare it, or remove it from Finland if you find you're not using it. You should check if that way is still possible.

If you are driving here on a UK insurance policy, check what your policy covers - mine originally gave 45 days of fully comp EU driving p.a., the rest of the time it was EU wide 3rd party only - dunno how it goes nowadays. My brother was in the Army based in Germany at the time, he had a special policy (Norwich Union?) that covered him EU wide year-round, was quite pricey though.

Is it worth registering it here? Depends on how long you are likely to stay in Finland and whether you are going to be ok keeping the car it until it's 10+ years old to get value for your money.
As already noted you aren't going to be able to sell a RHD saloon easily, if it'd be a sportscar or a classic that people would want to hold onto, that'd be a different matter, but a Mondeo...
I brought a 2 year old Ford over in late 1999, it was a lot of arsing around registering, converting the lights, winterifying it, testing it, paying the tax (I'd only owned mine 3 months before moving here) but I've still got it, so it was deffo worth it. Infact, I'm reluctant to let it go as nowadays it's worth more to me than the buttons I'd get for a 15 year old car.
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Pariah
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Pariah » Mon Aug 20, 2012 3:24 pm

To follow up on what Sinikala said:

Most UK fully comp insurance policies cover a vehicle in Europe for up to 90 days, but typically third party only. You need a separate green card from your insurer if you want fully comp. I've been quoted about £140 for 90 days on top of my current premium.

I think it only makes sense to bring a car into Finland if the numbers stack up.

1: used car value in UK vs used car value in Finland (say 25% or more reduced because RHD UK model) + cost of getting there (£500 fuel/ferries/accomodation) + cost of conversion (winterising/sump heater/lights/kph clocks etc say £500 upwards if you shop off Ebay) + cost of registering

If you plan to keep it until it rots it can make sense.

Clarky78
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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by Clarky78 » Tue Aug 21, 2012 1:23 am

Invaluable and informative information guys, many thanks.

Still don't get the weight/diesel justification, I can't see the weight of diesel engines being any different hardly to petrol, but that's the way it is so not much you can do I guess.

The odd's are surely stacking in favour of selling and buying again there. I'm surprised how fairly reasonable those cars are, though unsurprisingly the petrol's cost significantly more, assumedly due to supply and demand because of the whole taxation thing. The wife is still reluctant for us to sell the mondeo though! She really like's it! But the TAX thing is swaying her.

I have done some research and the new Xenon lights seem to be switchable for EU use with a switch on the back of the light, so assuming that is correct there will be no cost involved there. Any idea how much an engine heater element thing costs? I have asked at least 3 people an know one really knows what the heater does? I assume it just heats the oil sump?

Yes, the UK does a high RPM diesel engine test where they rev it's nuts off. There is a disclaimer saying they have to do this and your car may break! Can't see it being an issue on a car less than 10+ years old though.

The speedo has KPH anyway, so why would that need changing?

Wheels are going to be an larger expense, about £600 for a new set of wheels with non-studded winter tyres, can't get studs here.

The cost of driving it there is outweighed by the fact I need to either way to bring the wife stuff for the new flat. If I don't bring the car I will have to bring the work van which will be a return journey and actually cost more.. And I will still bring the van when I bring the rest of the house stuff in a few months..

We will be staying there indefinitely, in theory. So long as I can eventually find suitable work and not lose my mind :)

The car is in immaculate condition, except for the wheels being kerbed (women drivers)! So it will hold good resale here, but the negative of RHD outweighs that there.

We will do some thinking, but I think it's safe to say, it would be easier and in the long run cheaper to buy a petrol there I think. If it wasn't for the ongoing diesel tax, I would surely keep the Mondeo, because I think that would work out cheaper.

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Re: Bringing UK car to Finland

Post by DMC » Tue Aug 21, 2012 7:58 am

Clarky78 wrote:Wheels are going to be an larger expense, about £600 for a new set of wheels with non-studded winter tyres, can't get studs here.
That would not be the best way to do it. Why do you need new wheels? Why not buy a set of used wheels from a scrap yard, either in UK or Finland? Also buy the tyres in Finland. This would reduce the volume of stuff to bring from the UK, give you a wider selection of winter tyres, and give you the option of buying studded tyres.
You don't need the second set of wheels when you import / MOT / register the car, so there is no need to get them before you are here.


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