flats, garages, classic cars

mwainwright · Post by **mwainwright** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 7:08 pm

Moi..

new to the forum here.. i`m planning a move to Helsinki in the summer, at the moment this is an extended holiday type stay of say 6 months with the possibility of staying if it all works out.. i have been offered a good priced apartment on a temporary basis in Arabianranta, thought this is dependant on when my contract in london is up as i dont have a final date yet, if not i will most likely stay with friends and look for a flat while i`m there.

i will have rent saved in advance to cover 6 months (if it is necessary) and am hoping to work a little freelance too.

as its an extended holiday part of the fun is that i want to bring my car over (1968 mustang) to drive around the finnish countryside (to my friends summer housees no doubt also) but i`m worried about where i would keep it living in helsinki (especially if i needed to do work on it) ive been told about the parking hall at Arabia which sounds like a good idea but not good if i have work to do on the car.

so my question really is.. are there garages available to rent in and around helsinki, and which areas should i look in. also if there is any chance of rental housing (for min 6months) with garages/driveways which areas would be good and what would i expect to pay.. living in the centre of helsinki isnt essential.

i understand i can use the car on british plates for 6 months, but dont know anything about whether i need finnish insurance (my uk policy may cover for a while but not 6 months, i have to check with them) so have to look into that. and if there is anything else i should know about bringing a car into finland temporarily.

kiitos,
Mark

**Sponsor:**

DMC · Post by **DMC** » Tue Jan 27, 2009 8:12 pm

I did a similar thing years ago. I can't comment on your housing questions, but can offer some other advice. My UK insurance covered me driving the car to Finland, and for a short time whilst here. When I got here I took out a 12-month policy with a Finnish company. I don't remember which one - Pohjola perhaps. I know it was a bit of a hassle to get insurance with the car being on UK plates, but it was possible. Before doing that, though, ask your current insurers if they can offer cover. Some will, particularly on a classic.

The only real problem I had was when I took the car back to Britain. The MOT, road tax and insurance had all expired whilst the car was in Finland. Using the Finnish insurance I could get the car as far as Dover but then I couldn't legally drive it away from the docks. I suggest you make sure none of the UK MOT, tax or insurance expires during the period you plan to be out of the country, even though it means paying for a period when you can't use what you are paying for. It will save you a lot of hassle.

Do you have AA or RAC cover in the UK? I know the RAC will also cover you whilst abroad, in the EU at least, but there is a limit on the length of each trip. I think it is 3 months. Check that, and if it is a problem check out alternatives like Green Flag. For such a long stay it is worth having cover that will take the car back to the UK in the case of major breakdown or accident.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:24 am

ha ha ha - try to get the information for free

mwainwright · Post by **mwainwright** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 11:49 am

cheers DMC, thats useful advice.. ta.

Pursuivant wrote:ha ha ha - try to get the information for free

huh?

sinikettu · Post by **sinikettu** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 12:17 pm

One of my friends has a Classic Car..(TVR) he found a farmer who was willing to let him rent a corner of his barn to store the TVR during winter. How did he find it you ask?
By driving around and looking for what might be a possible suitable farm, and driving his TVR up to the front door and asking.
Got a few "not interested" but eventualy found farmer who was willing to rent an area. (you will probably need a Finnish speaking passenger).

It is not far out-side ring 3 so he can go out there by bus, and a bit of a walk (1KM), and the farmer does not mind him trinkering about, but has said that he would not be happy if there was any oil changes/spillage.

So explore...

sinikala · Post by **sinikala** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 4:39 pm

mwainwright wrote:cheers DMC, thats useful advice.. ta.

Pursuivant wrote:ha ha ha - try to get the information for free
huh?

If you have a '68 mustang ... try looking here http://www.mustangclub.fi/portal/

Perhaps you will find a fellow enthusiast in Helsinki who can advise you where to store and work on your car.

There are contact details here ...

http://www.mustangclub.fi/portal/index. ... &Itemid=48

My bet is at least that you'll find a place to work on it, might cost you some small fee as a sub, and most likely will have crowd of people watching you tinker. Even more so if it's a RHD.

I remember going to Ford in Pitäjänmäki when I first came here, I needed a second rear fog light adding to my UK Escort... came back to find the hood up and 4 guys peering in wonder at the engine, confused at why they had the hood up for adding a rear light they told they had never seen a RHD before and were checking the differences under the hood.

Mook · Post by **Mook** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 5:31 pm

There are a few companies that specialise in "international insurance" that aren't too bothered about how long a car is in a certain country for. (and if it has an MOT, etc.)

DMC · Post by **DMC** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 8:36 pm

Sounds useful. Finnish companies or UK companies? Do you know any company names?

Mook · Post by **Mook** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:31 pm

There are UK companies, which I s'pose are easier to deal with. They're used by people like diplomats or hard-core expats - y'know the ones that live in Russia and drive german registered cars. There was one company mentioned here once (do a search). Google also has a few hits for "international car insurance" but...

paulrenn · Post by **paulrenn** » Wed Jan 28, 2009 10:51 pm

Hi Mark,

Sounds like a nice car

Many moons ago I used these guys - http://www.stuartcollins.com. They were (still are?) expensive but you get fully comprehensive insurance from there, and service was good, although I never needed to make a claim. I don't know any other source of European insurance from the UK; I think my policy was underwritten by Norwich Union but did not find any other broker who could offer the same package. I used to research these things a lot, but I haven't had a car on UK plates for 8 years now so there might be some better deals around. However, with the GBP so low currently, it is getting tempting to pop over and pick up some bargain, even if it is RHD.

BTW I have a nice big garage but it is pretty far from Arabianranta, probably at least an hour's travelling. If you don't get something closer sorted, give me a shout when you come over.

Muddy Zuk · Post by **Muddy Zuk** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:25 am

The fun lies with EU rules saying you can have your Uk registered car in another country for upto one year of you plan to tka eit out again, but Finland being weird and choosing to be part of the EU but cherry picking rules says if you are registered here, working and living, you must register the car here and pay the taxes or it is illegal for you to drive a foreign registered car

not usre how it stands up when you can produce all the relevant paperwork to say its legal and a court of "higher power" has made the call about foreigners moving around the EU

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:36 am

Muddy Zuk wrote:The fun lies with EU rules saying you can have your Uk registered car in another country for upto one year of you plan to tka eit out again, but Finland being weird and choosing to be part of the EU but cherry picking rules says if you are registered here, working and living, you must register the car here and pay the taxes or it is illegal for you to drive a foreign registered car

Yes well there isn't a problem of driving the car in Finland for the year. After which you have to take it out as you planned. If you wish to register it in Finland - as you are a Finnish resident, you cannot import it without taxes because that is what you should have done originally - when you moved in. Theres a bit on the "piecemeal moving" at Tulli website, but you EU people can't go cherry picking avoiding taxes. Not that a classic would rack much up, but its still gone in 60 seconds.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:40 am

mwainwright wrote:
Pursuivant wrote:ha ha ha - try to get the information for free
huh?

Well you usually receive the quality what you pay for.

a free piece of advice - don't "think" - read the rules and don't "think" you understand them meaning something you want them to mean -usually its the opposite.

DMC · Post by **DMC** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:18 am

Pursuivant wrote:Not that a classic would rack much up

No? When I first moved to Finland I tried to import a classic. The Finnish tax man wanted tax amounting to about 14 times what I had paid for the car when I bought it 12 years previously. The car's resale value had not changed much in that time.

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 11:32 am

Thats why you bring cars in as removals. But it depends on the definition of a "classic" too... A "classic" back in the good old days was over 25 years old and the tax was a % of the purchase price which was easy. When the new car tax came the age depreciation calculated from the equivalent new car was used which that is some higher mathematics... they went silly back then. But today I still don't see myself paying much tax for a 68

December 2008
FORD Mustang 2d 7.0 335hv N 20081202 19701231 0 620.00 147.56 18.29 165.85
FORD Mustang 4.7 Coupe Aut N 20081203 19661231 0 400.00 92.00 10.30 102.30
FORD Mustang 5.0 Convertible N 20081223 19731231 0 547.40 122.07 15.13 137.20

Thats about how much you pay filling it up...

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