Forum Greece

[zantegirl]

Can anyone please give me some advice?

I was working in Greece this year and drove my English registered car there in January with insurance, tax and MOT up-to-date. I have returned to England for Christmas but left my car in Greece as I plan to return next month. Early next year I need to renew my car tax but I have recently discovered that an MOT certificate from abroad may not be acceptable when purchasing a tax disc in the UK. Is this correct and if so, does this mean I have to register the car in Greece if I'm not planning to bring the car home in the near future?

[Emmanuel]

Hi

If you are planning to leave your car in Greece for a while, I know that you definitely do need to register you car in Greece. I have some Swedish friends who had this problem. They wanted to register their car in Athens and it turned out to be quite pricey - they were even considering driving it back to Sweden and then returning with it again to Greece so that the time period that the car officially entered Greece started from zero again. Not sure after how long you have to register it though. Perhaps you could try your nearest British consultate for info. Will try to find out more.

Emmanuel
www.athensroom.com

[zantegirl]

Thanks!

[Emmanuel]

Hi

Sorry it took so long. You have to register your car after it has been in Greece for six months. Some people return to the UK to do their MOT/tax etc and then return again, thus starting the six month period from the beginning. If you are driving around in Greece, make sure that you have something in the car that proves when it was brought into Greece - since you have foreign licence plates, there's a higher chance of you being stopped by the police. Most people seem to agree that if you are going to stay in Greece for a significant amount of time, then it is far easier - in terms of saving time and money - to sell your car back home and purchase another in Greece, than registering a foreign car here.

Emmanuel
http://www.athensroom.com - a site for newcomers to Athens